by Nicole Banks
Smoke scoffed and rubbed the back of his neck. It was one of his tells, but she couldn’t figure out if she just hit the nail on the head about Gia or if there was someone else. “Gia isn’t on my radar. I told you I’m saving myself for you, boss lady. But you over here playing hard to get with this big goof standing next to you.”
Sofia shook her head and let out a laugh. “You need to behave, Smoke.”
“Where’s the fun in that? Nah, but if you need me on anything with Otto and Ivy, just say the word. We got the numbers, and whoever isn’t helping with the casino is bored, so they can help here too.”
Sofia nodded, and Smoke gave them a two-finger salute before walking back to his bike. She felt Dom’s breath tickle her ear as he spoke. “You know, I almost hope he falls for Gia so Otto can shoot him in his neck and put us all out of our misery.”
IVY SHIVERED IN THE PASSENGER seat.
It had nothing to do with the chill in the night air and everything to do with the man who sat beside her. There was no air in the car, even though the windows were open. Otto carried a presence now that she hadn’t picked up on in the club, and maybe that was in part because they were alone with nothing more than the center console between them. He seemed to dwarf the space of the car, making it damn near impossible for her to focus on anything but him.
He wore a crisp black shirt and every time he gripped the steering wheel, his arm would flex, making the veins pop. She licked her suddenly dry lips as she continued to study his side profile. The light filtering in from the street lamps allowed her to take him in without it being obvious.
She hadn’t seen any visible tattoos on him, though she was curious if any lurked underneath his clothes. She noticed the scars that danced up his arm and the one just under his right eye. It made her interested—more than she wanted to admit—in his history and him as a person. She wondered about his past and how close he was to Gia. Had they been best friends growing up like her and Eve?
She shook herself, knowing the more she wondered and found out about him as a man, the more of a connection she’d feel toward him.
And connections led to attachments—and attachments were the worst thing she could have with the life she was currently trapped in. She wouldn’t be able to do what needed to be done because she cared about someone other than her sister. If she didn’t keep her and her sister’s freedom a priority, they’d never escape the prison they were in.
“Are you cold?” Otto’s deep timber vibrated through her and made her shift in her seat. She shook her head. “Are you sure? That’s like the third time you’ve shivered in your seat since we got in the car. I can close the windows and put the heat on.”
Ivy did a double take, wondering how long he’d been watching her watch him. She thought for sure she was safe in the privacy of the darkness in the car. “No, it’s fine. I like feeling the wind on my face.” It gave her the illusion that she was free to be a woman sitting in a car with an attractive man.
Otto chuckled. “Me too. It gives me a sense of freedom. It was one of the reasons I used to ride and why I miss riding, now. Nothing but the open road in front of you with the wind on your face. I don’t think there’s anything better.” He glanced her way. “Well, maybe there is.” His lips pulled back into a smirk, and even in the dark she didn’t miss the heat in his gaze.
The air was suddenly sucked out of the car. She felt trapped under his gaze, willing the light to change to green so he could concentrate on the road instead of her.
Warmth pooled in her low belly the longer he looked at her like he was parched and she was his favorite sustenance. Her pulse rolled through her body like thunder in a summer storm. He licked his lips, and she could have sworn she felt his tongue press against her clit, and it made her squirm in her seat and shift her legs. Otto zeroed in on the motion, and it was starting to feel just like when she was dancing on stage for him at Tres.
She felt his touch in his gaze. She had to stop herself from letting her fingertips dance up the inside of her thighs and cup herself where she felt him the most. It was insane how quickly things could get hot between them, and this was just from a simple look. Ivy was almost afraid to see what would happen if they ever got their hands on each other.
The light changed to green, and it was as effective as being dunked in an ice bath. Ivy let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. The heat in the car seemed to be nonexistent, like the two of them hadn’t finished mentally ripping each other’s clothes off.
She cleared her throat. “You used to ride a Harley or a crotch rocket?” She asked, hoping it would keep her libido from reacting to Otto in any way.
Otto laughed. “Crotch rocket, huh? Kawasaki to be exact. I fell right into the fad when they were a big thing way back in the day. I did all the stunts, raced, and even belonged to a little crew.” He shrugged. “Thought I was hot shit in my youth.”
Ivy glanced over at him, picturing him in some biker boy gang. “What happened?” she asked, curious why he had given up something he seemed to have enjoyed. It was a mistake; she knew finding out more about him would only pull her in closer, and she didn’t need any more reasons to be attracted to him.
“Bad accident...scared the shit out of Gia and myself. I tried to get back on the bike after, but I couldn’t stop picturing the accident or the pain and fear on my sister’s face. It was hard to walk away, but I couldn’t put my sister through that again. We’re all we have.”
“You and Gia are pretty close then?”
Otto nodded, “Always been as thick as thieves. You have any siblings?”
The question was natural given the flow of the conversation they were having, but it still made her hesitate. She didn’t want to give up any piece of information about herself that could hurt her or her sister, and she didn’t want to get caught in a lie either. That would be the first sign something was off about her, and given the way Smoke had threatened her in the locker rooms, she needed to be careful.
“Yeah, but we’re a little more like oil and water, so we’re not as close as you and Gia.”
Otto pulled up to her apartment building, and the neighborhood block guys were all sitting in front drinking, smoking, and playing loud music. It was almost four in the morning, and they looked like they weren’t winding down anytime soon.
Guess I won’t be sleeping either.
She turned toward Otto to thank him, but she swallowed the words at the angry look on his face. His gaze wasn’t on her; it shot past her toward the guys in front of her building. “You live here by yourself?” he growled, and she nodded. “I’m walking you up.”
“You really don’t have to. It’s not like I haven’t done it before.” The words came out as a whisper, and she wasn’t sure where her voice had suddenly gone.
“Doesn’t mean you have to tonight.” He quickly stepped out of the car and walked over to her side of the door before she could utter a protest. It really wasn’t that big of a deal—she had to pass them enough times since she was set up here. They’d been polite for the most part, but Ivy knew what a few drinks and boasting could do to men.
Otto opened her door, and she quickly stepped out, not bothering to argue her point. As soon as he closed the door behind her, his palm stretched out against her lower back. Her breath caught, and she shivered against his hold, even as her entire body warmed.
Ivy felt Otto’s breath in her ear. “I’d ask if you’re cold again,” he murmured, “but the way your breathing just changed….” She heard the smirk in his voice, and while she wanted to tell him he was wrong, she couldn’t. Her pulse hammered loudly in her ears; she was positive he could hear it too.
Ivy turned to face him, looking to make some quick and witty remark, but the words fizzled out on her tongue. She was held captive by the weight in Otto’s eyes. It was the same way he looked at her up on that stage at Tres—he looked famished for her. There was some feminine part of her that wanted this to be the end of a date so she had a reason t
o invite him back up to her apartment—let him have a taste of her and hope it wouldn’t be enough to sate his appetite for her.
They were outside, but the air around them evaporated. She couldn’t see or hear anything but the man standing in front of her. She felt his fingertips make lazy circles against her back, and she found herself relaxing to his touch. She leaned in and Otto followed suit like he was going to kiss her, and she was just as desperate to feel his lips against hers.
This was disastrous.
She didn’t understand what force was surrounding them that seemed to be driving their attraction, but it scorched the earth beneath her feet every time they locked eyes.
The sound of a hand coming down on a table, followed by loud shouts, made Ivy jump out of her skin. She completely forgot she was outside her shitty apartment building. She cleared her throat, not willing to meet Otto’s gaze for fear she’d fall right back into whatever was going on between them. She waved her hand out in front of her. “I guess if you insist on walking me up—this way.”
Otto quickly moved around her, making sure her body was blocked from the knowing gazes of the guys sitting in front of her building. He never took his hand off her low back, and each step they took toward her apartment building only seemed to make her hyper aware of his body next to hers.
In her mind she knew this was just Otto being polite and walking her to her door, but her heart hammered in her chest, and she became wet with each step she took—her body was counting down the minutes until he got inside of her, though she feared he probably somehow already wormed his way there.
Boris ended his call. He had his own plan in place but it was set in motion before Sofia had come home. It still burned him how quickly she was able to get Wolf to sign off on his casino when he’d been pushing him for it for a couple of years now. Boris didn’t care too much for Queens—the borough held no appeal to him—but the casino and the guns Wolf ran out of there did.
There was money and power in pussy, drugs, and guns. He had the first two on lock and he wanted in on the third one to expand his ever-growing empire, an empire he almost lost a few times at the hands of Barbati. It was a blessing for him when Barbati was killed. It left the door wide open for him. All he had to do was kill off Vinny once Vinny had his hands on the properties he was after. He would have brought out Bruno or killed him for Tres, and Boris would have had the majority power amongst the remaining two families.
Unfortunately for him, that hadn’t happened yet. Boris went over the plan Bruno had in place for Tres again. It was an okay plan if everything went exactly how it should, but Boris wanted to bury Sofia and the whole Barbati organization. He had the next steps in motion once Tres was either in the ground or back in his pockets. Sofia had too many weak spots, whether she realized it or not—all men under the rule of a female were easily swayed with the right incentive.
The sound of sniffles brought his mind back to the beautiful gift Bruno left for him. It was Bruno’s way to make amends for losing their last shipment and Tres. Boris stood up and walked over to his newest toy. “Look at me,” he snapped.
She flinched at the sound of his voice but kept her eyes glued to the table. He grabbed her hair, rearing her head back and forcing her gaze to his. She wasn’t like the other girls he’d brought. Some did have a little fight in them, but it was quickly diminished once they realized the reality of their new situation. There were some that came to him already broken and resigned to their fate.
But this one before him?
While her eyes were sad with despair, there was also defiance burning behind her grey eyes. She wasn’t scared of him or what he could do to her, and that made his dick harder than he thought possible. His hand groped her petite breast and she didn’t flinch, squirm, or beg him to stop—if anything, she looked like she was going to kill him with her bare hands.
He chuckled, knowing it was going to take more than a woman half his size to kill him. “If I were you, I’d get rid of that silly notion Bruno told you. Your sister can’t save you, especially not before I break you, pet.” He dragged his tongue across the inseam of her lips, hoping she’d take the bait and bite them so he could strangle her while he fucked her on the table.
She kept completely still as he took his time getting acquainted with her slim body. He looked back in her eyes, knowing she would be his favorite toy yet. “If you’re going to fuck me or kill me, get it over with. I’ve endured worse.”
“Aw, pet.” He forcibly grabbed her chin, enjoying the challenge she just issued. “You’re in for a treat. You haven’t seen the worse yet.”
OTTO WAITED WITH IVY FOR the elevator in her building.
He could smell the piss radiating out of the corners of the first floor they were on. He wanted to escort her up to her apartment instead of enduring more of the urine smell he was sure was going to assault him once they stepped foot in the elevator, but she declined. She lived on the sixth floor and was too sore to trek it up the stairs.
“You know, I can carry you up the stairs if you’re that sore. This way we don’t have to wait for this damn elevator.” The words fell out of his mouth before he thought about how absurd they sounded.
Carrying her up six flights of stairs, having his hands on her petite form, would do nothing more than make the lust he was feeling for her stronger. He’d have that coconut smell lodged in his system—it would no doubt overtake the smell of piss in the air around him.
Ivy turned toward him with an arch in her eyebrow and a smirk teasing those damn kissable lips of hers. He’d been so close to tasting her outside. He was dying to see if she tasted like honey and he wanted to stake a claim on her in front of all those assholes who had watched her with want as soon as he pulled up to the curb.
Otto thought for sure once they were outside of the atmosphere of the club his attraction to her would have lessened. The exact opposite happened. As soon as they were trapped in the confines of his car, he couldn’t focus on much but her and the way her voice sounded in his ears. He felt her eyes on him the entire ride, and all it did was let the desire he had for her fester in his system.
Mine.
There was that word again, floating around loudly in his head. He wanted to give the shit the boot. Ivy wasn’t his, and no matter how loud his basic instinct was calling to have her, there was a smaller part of him—a whisper in the wind—cautioning him against getting involved with her. It was that piece of himself he was desperately trying to hold on to, but when she stared at him with a wicked hunger in her eyes, it was hard to let his rational side steer the ship. Especially when the side that wanted to sink his teeth into her was picking the locks to set itself free.
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” she smirked. Her gaze swept his entire body. “You can go you know. I have safely made it through my building.”
“But not to your apartment. I think I’ll wait to make sure you’re tucked away safely.”
“Such a gentleman,” she murmured as she licked her lips. The heat in the hallway skyrocketed. The air around them hadn’t really cooled off since walking into the building. It was still thick with heat and arousal. He was almost suffocated by it. If she knew the thoughts he was having about her, “gentleman” would be the last word she’d use for him.
The sound of someone coughing brought Otto’s attention to the guy lurking in front of one of the apartment doors. The guy had been there when they first walked in and hadn’t taken his eyes off of Ivy. This area was a shithole. No cameras that worked and no one to give a shit to do anything about it.
Otto narrowed his gaze at the guy when the elevator doors pinged and out stepped a bunch of guys reeking of weed. Every last one of them hungrily eyed Ivy, murmuring things Otto could barely hear over the blood rushing to his ears. It was an irrational reaction—the same one he had with Smoke at the club. Ivy was gorgeous in a unique way that made you stop and take notice. She was sexy with an inviting smile. There was a wildness about her that lurked just undernea
th the quiet reserved vibes she gave off. These men had every reason to stop and take notice of Ivy, but all it did was piss Otto off.
He felt the growl deep in his chest and tried to tamp it down. He wasn’t equipped to fight every last one of these men. He was out numbered and didn’t want to make trouble for Ivy—she had to live here. He didn’t.
As soon as the elevator was clear, they both stepped in, and Otto was hit with the rancid smell of more piss, except now it was mixed with the smell of weed. As much as the smell burned the inside of his nostrils, he was going to focus on it and the dingy atmosphere that surrounded him. He hoped it would be enough to get his libido and caveman in check.
“It’s not that bad,” Ivy chuckled.
Otto groaned. “It’s not that bad because you’ve been here too long and your nose can no longer smell this disgusting mix.”
She shrugged with a smile still on her face. “You could have gone home, O. But don’t worry, my floor doesn’t smell nearly as bad.”
Otto pressed his lips together to keep from commenting. The whole building was probably condemned and no one had the decency to tell the residents.
The elevator moved quickly through the floors, and they hit the sixth floor in no time. “I’m to the left.” Otto did a quick sweep of the floor, noticing how quiet and clean it was compared to the first floor.
They walked side by side, their fingertips brushing against each other with every sway of their arms. The silence in the hallway seemed to make his pulse beat louder in the air around them. His body was tight with anticipation, like he was about to spend the rest of the night buried in between her legs.
It was crazy and irrational how he was feeling toward her, but he couldn’t seem to put the brakes on it, no matter how hard he tried. If anything, the harder he tried to pull himself away and draw an imaginary line between them, the quicker his body damn near jumped over that line. This woman had somehow burrowed beneath the surface of his skin, and he only met her mere hours ago.