by Bella Jewel
She stands and places her kindle down before walking over to me. She leans up and places a kiss on my cheek. There is no warmth in my heart for Maria. I care about her, would lay down my life to save hers, but I could never fall in love with her. She’s quiet and subdued, and as a mafia wife they’re both ideal qualities, but I’m a passionate man, full of fire, and I need a challenge.
“It wasn’t too bad. Will you accompany me to dinner with Mama tonight?”
She nods. “Of course.”
My mama has been lonely since the death of my father, and even though she’s surrounded by family, she has days when I think she believes she can’t cope. My father adored my mother. He was one of the few leaders who didn’t have a mistress. He did at the beginning, but once his heart belonged to Mama, he didn’t have them anymore. I believe he set it up to look like he had them, but he could never bring himself to do it. They were two people in our world who managed to make everything work, no matter how hard. It’s rare, but not impossible.
I could never do it. Love isn’t for a man like me.
“I’ll just freshen up and then we’ll go over.”
My mama isn’t Maria’s biggest fan, but she tolerates her out of respect. I’m not entirely sure what it is she doesn’t like about her, but she’s told me more than once that she isn’t the right woman for me. She has a point, but Maria is respectful, sweet, and takes care of things the way she should, and better, she knows our world. I can’t fault her for that.
“I’ll iron you another shirt,” Maria says, disappearing before I can say anything else.
I watch her go, then I exhale loudly and get on with business.
~*~*~*~
“So you still have no news?” Riccardo says later that evening after we’ve finished dinner with my mother. He stopped by to discuss business and see Maria.
“You could say that.” I grunt, sitting down on the sofa in my office. “I still don’t know what happened to the shipment that went missing. I’ve had eyes and ears everywhere, and whoever did this is keeping it on the lowdown. It has me suspicious; something isn’t fucking right.”
Riccardo’s eye flash and he nods, rubbing his fingers over his chin. “It’s strange, that’s for sure. Have you looked into the cartel?”
I shrug. “I didn’t think we had any issues with the cartel?”
He shifts. “Not issues as such but your father wasn’t their biggest fan. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect something went down with them a few years ago.”
I nod, rubbing my chin thinking of the past territory disputes. “Yes, it did, but it wasn’t enough to piss them off enough to do this and besides, they would have declared war long before stealing a shipment.”
“What are your suspicions, boss?”
“Someone powerful, someone who knew it was going to happen. I just don’t know who. I’m keeping track of any increase in drug sales, also. Whoever took that shipment wanted the contents, for what I don’t know.”
“We’ll find them, boss.”
I meet his eyes. “Yes, we will.”
We always do.
CHAPTER 10
JULIETTA
Rafael stands in my doorway, hair slightly damp, suit perfectly crisp, eyes lusty. I swallow and hold his gaze as he steps through the door, forcing me to take a step back. His hand comes up and captures my cheek, gently caressing it. We’re in the middle of week two together, and I haven’t been with him for the last four days because he went away. It was a good thing considering I was out of bounds because of my monthly visitor, but now he’s back and I need him.
I hate that I need him.
I really, really do.
“You’re back,” I murmur, turning my face so my lips hit his palm. I kiss his hand there.
“I’m back,” he says, his voice low and thick. “Did you miss me, cara?”
I smile up at him. “Of course.”
He gently encourages me backwards and when the backs of my knees hit my couch, I let my body fall down. Rafael comes over me, his broad chest hard and primed. He positions himself so his hands are flat on either side of my head and he gently lowers his head, grazing his lips over my jaw. I shudder and my hands get a mind of their own, travelling up his arms and finding the top of his jacket. I want it off. I want nothing between us.
“Patience,” he murmurs, gently laying my arms down by my sides. “The best things in life take time, Julietta.”
“Please,” I whimper, arching up as he gently rocks his hips against mine, pushing his cock against my core. I instantly heat for him and a little mewl of pleasure releases from deep in my throat.
“Soon.”
He kisses his way down my jaw, my neck, and over my collarbone. His fingers glide up my sides, then move under my clothes until they find bare skin. Little bumps break out over the surface and he looks up at me, grinning, pleased with himself. My lips quirk up, but I quickly forget it when he continues his slow, agonizing torture as he cascades his fingers over the curve of my breasts.
“You’re ready for me,” he says, giving me intense eyes as he figures out I’m not wearing a bra.
“Yes,” I breathe.
“That’s my good girl.”
I hate that that feels so good to hear. I love when he praises me. I’m so fucked.
He covers my breasts with his big, rough hands that don’t at all match his perfection and gently squeezes. I arch up, pushing my nipples into his palms, needing more. Desperation takes over, and I throw a leg around his hip and use my heel to push down on his ass, making his cock grind right where I need it to.
He chuckles, low and lusty, and slaps my thigh, making me drop it. “Learn some patience, cara,” he growls.
“You’re making that impossible,” I point out, tilting my hips up.
His lips find mine and he kisses me into submission, his two-day growth scratching my cheeks in that way I like so much. I let his tongue take mine away, lifting me on a high that has my skin quivering.
I’m flying so high I don’t hear the pounding at my door. I don’t hear it until Rafael pulls his mouth from mine and lifts his body quickly. I blink in confusion. Then clarity hits, and I realize someone is at my door.
“Julietta!”
It’s my father.
Oh. Shit.
Rafael’s eyes move to mine and he orders, “Ignore him.”
My mouth opens and closes. “Pardon?”
“Ignore. Him.”
I don’t think so. My dad never visits and if he’s here now, he’s got a good reason for it. I’m not going to just ignore him. I’m sure he won’t ask questions about Rafael; I’ll just open the door and see what’s going on.
I stand but Rafael’s arm shoots out and his fingers curl around my wrist, stopping me. “I said no, Julietta.”
I snatch my hand from his. “No offense, but this is my house, and he’s my father.”
“You make a choice,” he says, his voice icy. “You answer that door, I walk out and our agreement ends.”
“Are you serious?” I hiss. “You’re threatening me?”
“No, I’m saying it how it is. You decide what’s more important right now. Your father doesn’t know about me, so if you open that door, we’re finished.”
My blood boils, and I cross my arms. “It’s just my father. What’s the big deal?”
“You know the deal. This relationship is kept private.”
“I get that,” I snap. “But can’t you just go into the bedroom and hide for a few minutes?”
His face hardens. “Do not insult me. I am not the kind of man”—he leans down close—“who hides.”
“Jesus.”
“Julietta?” my dad calls again.
I stay where I am, but my eyes burn into Rafael’s. We stand like that until I hear my father’s footsteps disappear, and then the elevator dings. I turn and walk towards my bedroom. “I’m done. You can leave now. I’m not in the mood for you today.”
“Don’t walk away from me, Jul
ie.”
He’s never called me Julie before.
I love it.
I hate it.
I go into my room and slam the door, locking it.
He leaves. I hate that even more because it’s just further proof that I’m just a toy and he has no interest in my feelings. Stupid, stupid girl.
Screw him.
~*~*~*~
RAFAEL
Fucking stubborn woman.
She stormed off and for a few minutes, I contemplated going after her. Fuck knows I wanted to, but she needs to learn her place and I need to remember mine, so I left.
Now I’m sitting at the office in the club, glaring down at the people dancing below. She gets on my last nerves, and yet I constantly crave her. I kick the chair that’s rolled in front of the sofa and it glides across the room, crashing into the wall. I grunt. It does nothing to appease me.
“Yo, brother.”
I look up to see Vincent standing in the doorway, grinning at me.
“What are you grinning at?” I snap, swallowing back more whiskey.
He chuckles. “You’ve been in a ripe mood since this morning.”
I grunt and glare at my glass.
“You still seeing that woman?”
I jerk my head as a nod—not that I have to tell him anything. What I do is none of his business, but he’s my brother, so I share more with him than I do with anyone else. He knows about Julietta. He doesn’t give much of an opinion about her, except for when he found out what I knew. Then he had plenty to say. He hasn’t dropped it since.
“She know yet?” he asks, his eyes narrowing and waiting for a reaction from me.
I flinch but keep my composure. “She doesn’t need to know.”
His eyes flare. “She thinks she’s a random stranger you just picked up . . .”
“She was,” I point out.
He shakes his head. “Until you found out otherwise. Don’t you think she’d want to know?”
I give him a warning look. He’s skating on thin ice. “What happens between me and her is none of your fucking business. Now tell me what information you’ve got for me.”
Vin sighs and walks over, taking the office chair and sitting in it, leaning back and crossing his legs. “It’s an inside job, boss. It has to be. There had to be a shitload of information fed for whoever took that shipment to even be able to find it. Someone is double-crossing us.”
“Fuck.” That isn’t good. “Any more leads?”
“As yet, no, but we’re looking into it.”
“What about the shipment going out tomorrow? Is it secure?”
“It is, and we’ve got watches on it all night to ensure a repeat doesn’t occur.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I don’t know if whoever stole my first shipment will show again, but if they do, we’re ready.
We’re always ready.
I glance out at the club again, and my mind travels back to Julietta. I’ll give her a day to cool off, then I’ll give her a choice. She can either accept the way things are, or she can’t. What she will not do is lock me out of her house again. I don’t like doors being slammed in my face, and I really don’t like her ignoring my messages.
Twenty-four hours.
Then Julietta will face me.
CHAPTER 11
JULIETTA
“So everything’s okay?” I ask my father, twirling a piece of hair around my finger as I press the phone to my ear.
“Yes, baby, it’s fine,” he says, his accent thick and strong. I love my father—he’s the best kind of dad there is, masculine but loving, strong but gentle. I wouldn’t want to get on his bad side, but when you’re on his good side, life is peachy.
“You don’t usually drop by my apartment.”
“You didn’t answer my calls. I was passing on my way from work—aren’t I allowed to worry about my daughter?”
I chew on my bottom lip a second before answering, “Of course. It’s just unusual.”
Even if my father was checking in for other reasons, he wouldn’t tell me what they were. I wonder if he suspects I’m seeing someone, or maybe he got wind of Rafael being in my life. Though I’m sure if he suspected that, he’d attempt to put a stop to the whole thing right away. He wouldn’t take kindly to it, of that I’m sure. He has a big problem with the mafia, more so than most people in Chicago, I just don’t know why. Maybe he is just worried.
“Come over and have dinner with your mama and I next week.”
“I will.” I smile, sliding my bum onto the kitchen counter.
“Behave and be safe, Julie.”
“I will, Dad.” I grin into the phone. “I’ve got to get going, Celia is coming by. We’re going out.”
“All right, call me next week. Good night.”
“Night.”
I hang up the phone just as my door flings open and Celia comes charging in. She grins, spinning in yet another bright red dress. “Are you ready?” she cries, doing a twirl.
“You’ve got way too much energy.” I chuckle, sliding off the counter and straightening my dress. “What do you think?” I spread my arms out and do a twirl.
“Super hot!”
“Then let’s get this party started.”
Celia and I are going to a club with some of our mutual friends for a few drinks. It’s a good thing, too. I need to take my mind off the fact that I kicked the head of the Italian mafia out of my house earlier, and have since ignored all his calls. My heart aches with the need to take those calls and tell him I’m sorry. I’ve never been able to handle guilt well. Knowing he’s angry at me is eating me up inside, but I needed to make a point.
I get his rules, but he doesn’t own me.
I have a feeling he doesn’t feel the same way.
~*~*~*~
I stumble up to my front door. Stupid high heels—they’re not the easiest shoes to walk in when you’ve had a few Cosmos. I fumble with my keys and manage to get my door open. I slap the wall for the light, flick one on, and then kick the door closed behind me. It’s nearing midnight, and I didn’t want to continue on drinking with Celia and our friends, considering I have to work tomorrow, so I came home early.
“It’s nearly midnight.”
I scream and spin around, losing my balance and falling to my hands and knees. I scramble backwards and my head jerks up to see Rafael sitting in the dark, on my recliner in the corner of the room. Holy mafia movie, right here. I can’t see his face because the shadows of the room fall over it, but I can almost bet his expression is stern. I swallow and stay on my hands and knees, unsure what to do.
“How did you get into my apartment?”
“Your security isn’t exactly high-tech.”
Right. And he’s mafia. Of course he can do a swift and easy break-and-enter. He must have copied a key.
“Why are you sitting in the dark?” I squeak.
“I enjoy the dark. It helps me think.”
“Yeah, well, it’s creepy,” I say, twisting so I’m sitting on the floor, legs curled off to the side.
“Where have you been?”
I hesitate for a moment, then say in a sassy tone, “Out with friends. Why are you here, Rafael?”
He’s silent for a minute, before saying, “You haven’t answered my calls.”
“Because you got bossy, and I thought we had an agreement.”
More silence.
“You know your family can’t know who I am, Julietta,” he says, his voice low and deep. “I’m sorry you don’t like that, but I have made my position clear.”
“It was my father. I asked you to hide for a few seconds because I was worried about why he was at my door. I wouldn’t ask you to hide for no good reason.”
“Men like me do not hide,” he says, his voice clipped.
Of course they don’t. “Okay, fair enough, but it was my father.”
“Yes,” he snaps, “and I am your lover. We have rules. If you wish to introduce a man to your family, then perhaps
we need to consider that I am not the one for you and this will not work.”
My heart surprises me by lurching in my chest. I have a sudden realization that I don’t want this to end. I don’t want him to go. He’s speaking as if he’s here to end things between us, and that very thought makes my stomach twist and my heart clench in desperation. God, what was I thinking? Who cares if I couldn’t see my father for a moment. Rafael was with me. It was his time. Time I gave him.
I’m so fucking stupid. I have to fix this.
I push to my hands and knees again and slowly crawl across the floor to where he sits. He watches me, at least I think he does, and doesn’t say a word as I move closer and closer. When I reach his feet, I glance up and I can finally see his dark, chiseled face staring down at me, softer than I thought. I rise and place my hands on his knees, then I slowly move until I’m on his lap, nestled there.
He doesn’t move to touch me.
God, I really pissed him off.
I lean forward and my lips graze his jaw. It jumps beneath my mouth and I keep kissing a small trail to his ear, where I whisper, “I’m sorry, Rafael. You’re right; I shouldn’t have done that. I know the rules. I respect them. I do want this, and it won’t happen again.”
He doesn’t say anything; I think he’s enjoying my sucking up.
“I’m not ready for this to end,” I say, using my other hand to slide into his thick hair. I tug gently, prompting him to give me something. Anything.
He turns his face slowly until our eyes are locked. “I’m a powerful man, Julietta. I know what is good and what is not. I only have a few rules—one of those is that our relationship remains the way I asked it to remain.”
“I understand,” I whisper, staring at his lips.
“I don’t like doors being slammed in my face and my messages being ignored, either.”
I swallow. “No, I imagine you don’t.”
“Now you’re going to make those things up to me.”
My lips quirk. “I am?”
“Yes,” he says, finally putting his hands on my hips. “You are.”
That’s completely fine by me.
I know exactly how I can make it up to him. I lean forward and graze my lips over his jaw again. He sits perfectly still, perfectly controlled, and lets me glide my mouth over his skin, moving down over his neck and stopping when his suit touches my mouth. I move my body off his and kneel in front of him, our eyes meeting. There is a huge amount of intensity between us, and there is nothing in the world I could imagine that would be more beautiful.