by Ruby Rowe
“I’m also a bodyguard who fell in love with his principal against all better judgement and creed because she was waiting for me as much as I was waiting for her.”
Lowering my head, I rub my temples, and the tears begin to drop. One, two, three... “Shit, don’t cry. Those tears can’t fall because of me.” He tries to grab my shoulders, but I jerk away.
“Stop. This is one time when you don’t get to tell me what to feel or think or do. I get to decide.”
He holds his hands up. “You’re right, and I want you to ask me anything about this situation.”
How many times in my life is a man going to betray me? That’s the question I want answered more than any.
“Are the Leonis still friendly with the Golinos?”
“Unfortunately, no. My father kept the peace for years, but my uncle Dominic, who’s now boss, never trusted working with another family. You need to understand; the Golinos were the only mobsters in Los Angeles until Teddy and Mickey moved here.
“Your dad claims that ever since Gabriel died, Dominic has threatened them. I guess Mickey’s been nosing around, getting in on a few of the Golinos’ gambling events. He’s too close.”
“If your uncle’s already threatening them, then why would my father hire his nephew? Was he just trying to piss Dominic off?”
“I thought that at first, but instead, your father was setting me up. He knew I’d protect you from Dominic if the need ever arose. I think he was hoping I’d protect him, too.”
“Is your uncle upset that you’re guarding me?”
“Yes, but I’m handling it.”
“How, Griffin?”
“I’m convincing him that Teddy and Mickey are in no way a threat to the family business.”
I look at the ground as I become more disappointed by the second. I thought I’d finally met a man who was different than all the others in my life. “That’s why you were asking me questions about Mickey.”
“I’m sorry. I only asked because I was looking for something concrete that my uncle would believe so he’d back off.”
“Does he know I’m more than just your client?”
“No.”
“Do you plan to tell him?”
“Of course, I’m going to tell him, but I want to ease his mind about the Leoni family first so he’s less paranoid. We’ve always had a rocky relationship, and he will never be the kind of man my father was.”
I look back at him. “But your father did mean, evil things, too, right? Like my father did?”
“Yes, but Gabriel was good to those who mattered. He was honest with them and loyal. I’m sure you love your father regardless of his sins. You loved Mickey once, too.”
“Yes, and I was so smitten by Mickey that I looked the other way. I can admit that, and it’s not something I’m proud of, but it was how I was raised. We ignored the bad shit.
“I didn’t only leave New York because I dreamed of becoming an actress. I left because I couldn’t ignore the family business any longer. It was the only way I knew to somewhat separate myself from a lifestyle I didn’t approve of.”
“I did the same thing. I joined the military and got the hell away from it.”
“So, what’s made you different from your father?”
“We had different mothers. Mine had a heart that his didn’t. Look, your father was trying to protect you by hiring me. Frank was first, and then—”
“Frank was working for Teddy, too?” I ask angrily. “That explains why my father bugged me so much to hire him.”
“I’m sorry. I’m pissed at Teddy for putting me in the middle of his issues with Dominic, but it led me to you. I won’t let my uncle, or any of his men, harm you, and I’ll find a way to get Dominic to let us be together.”
“Do you hear yourself? How naïve are you? Do you honestly think the Leoni and Golino families are going to sit by and allow this?”
“Your father knows about us, and I think it’s what he wanted all along. Dominic’s a different story. As long as he’s alive, he’ll never like it, but I’ll do whatever it takes to get him to accept it.”
“My own father put me in more danger,” I mutter. “Not only do I have Romeo to worry about, I have your uncle and his soldiers.” Abruptly, I stand and shake my head. “We can’t be together. It’s unheard of.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way, and I’d never let someone hurt you.” Jumping to his feet, he clutches my shoulders. “I’d give my life before I’d let that happen.”
“How do you know Dominic’s not Romeo? It would make sense that he wants to run me out of town or torment me.”
“I’m certain he’s not, and once I make him see that your family isn’t a threat, we don’t have to think about it anymore. You and I will be able to live a normal life together.”
Laughing sarcastically, I say, “Right, because my life is already normal.” I attempt to pull away, but he refuses to let me go. I feel so confused, not knowing what I want him to do.
“Ava, give me a chance to fix this.”
“I don’t know…”
Clasping my chin, he gets eye level with me.
“That’s bullshit. You want me to make this right so that we can be together. I know you, baby.” He finds my neck, his touch my weakness. He knows that, too.
As his mouth skirts along my skin, I whimper and move closer. His heavy exhale turns me on, and I want to believe he can fix this so I never feel dead inside again. He brought me to life, and I don’t want to give that up.
Working his way up my neck, he whispers in my ear, “Let me give you everything money can’t buy. Please give us a chance, and let me love you.”
“I can’t think clearly when you’re this close. I need to be alone.” Hurrying inside, I run up his stairs and hide out in the hall bathroom.
I stare in the mirror and envision myself as Ava Leoni, Teddy (Titus) Leoni’s daughter. I then picture Griffin as the son of Gabriel Golino, the former boss of the Golino crime family.
Apart from being raised on opposite sides of the country, we were born into the same kind of life; a shared culture we never approved of and fought to escape. Then, we reinvented ourselves.
We have so much in common and everything to lose. I shake my head in disbelief. And here I thought dating my bodyguard was scandalous.
Could Griffin really fix this? He’s smart and persuasive, so maybe he could convince his uncle that my family and I don’t pose a threat.
Maybe … maybe not. As my stomach churns, I grab my head and close my eyes.
What matters most to you, Ava?
Does this love outweigh the risks?
Confident in my answers, I open my eyes and make a promise to myself. If Griffin can’t fix this, I will. I’ll dig deep and find the woman in me who can.
The bottom line is I love him.
It’s simple one minute and complicated the next. Saying it either makes my heart flutter or ache from fear. Loving him gives me hope, but losing him would mean a lifetime of anguish.
The answer is still clear to me. Our love outweighs the risks.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Griffin
As I sit in the hallway with my knees up, I lean over and rest my head on my arms. I felt her coming back to me. I’m certain.
We’re tethered to one another, and it’s why I had the courage to tell her the truth. It was the hardest confession I’ve made in my life since my entire future rests on the outcome.
Open the door, baby. Come back to me.
Hearing the knob turn, I jump to my feet. Ava exits the bathroom and wraps her arms around my neck.
“I love you and forgive you,” she says. I hug her tightly in my arms, fearing she’ll change her mind if I let go.
“I love you, too, and thank you for forgiving me. I promise I’ll get us through this.” Cupping her face, I kiss her, and the passion reignites between us. Our tongues stroke as we touch, grab, moan and grind, never getting close enough.
“
Baby, I need to tie you up. I’ve gotta know you trust me again.” She doesn’t protest, so I take her hand and lead her to my bedroom. I head to my closet, and when I return with the rope, I find her biting her lip.
“No,” she says forcefully. “You’re not tying me up.” I freeze and hold my breath. “Instead, I’m tying you up,” she adds. “It’s that or nothing, Griffin. For once, I need to feel in control.”
I blink several times. “I can’t let you do that. I’m not submissive.”
“You said you’d fight for us and do anything to keep me. I call that being a little submissive. You do this for me, or I’m calling Harold and leaving.”
I smile over the feisty look she’s giving me as her fists rest on her hips like they always do when she’s not backing down.
Fuck, can I let her do this? She’ll really leave if I don’t. Maybe not forever, but for tonight, and I can’t accept that. Maybe I am submissive to her.
“OK, I’ll go along with this, but it’s a one-time deal. Do you understand?”
“Fine, now undress and get in the middle of the fucking bed.”
With all I’ve got, I fight a laugh. “Whatever you say.” I strip, but I do it slowly to torment her. She’s so damn nervous as she gnaws on her bottom lip. Her low-cut V top reveals the redness of her chest. Something comes to mind as I’m about to remove my pants.
“You’re not hitting me. That’s a hard limit for me.”
She smirks. “I had no intentions of hitting you.” Relieved that we’re not going to have another dispute, I take off my jeans and briefs while she folds back the comforter. I can’t believe I’m going along with this. I must love her more than I thought.
I center myself on the mattress and wonder why the hell I bought a spindle bed. Oh, right, because this should be the other way around. Her wrists should be getting tied to the damn headboard.
“Give me an arm,” she commands as she drops all but one piece of rope on the mattress. Sighing, I hold my wrist up. “I can’t tie elaborate knots like you, but I know enough to get the job done.”
Once she’s finished securing my wrist, she works her way around the bed, binding my ankles and my other wrist, and for the life of me, I can’t understand why my cock is hard as steel. I thought I’d fight my way out of these ropes, but all I want to do is see what’s next.
Not taking her eyes off me, Ava undresses as gradually as I did, but she leaves on her silky black panties. She taunts me with her perky tits, and her nipples are stiff and pointy, showing me how turned on she is, too.
Once she’s finished, she straddles my waist. My first instinct is to jerk on the ropes since she’s close to my dick, but not close enough.
“Don’t even think about it,” she scolds. The sun, which is about to hide beneath the horizon, casts an orange and pink glow on her beautiful skin and shiny hair.
“God, you’re gorgeous.”
“Quiet, or I’m gagging you.” Leaning over, she presses her soft lips to mine before she moves them to my cheek and then my ear. “I bet you’d love it if I sunk my wet pussy right onto your hard cock, but that’s not the plan.”
“Fuck.” I jerk on the ropes, and she falls forward to grab my arms and still them, which presses her tits right in my face. I manage to get a nipple into my mouth and suck before she pulls away.
“Someone must want a punishment.”
“I assure you that’s a negative.” She scoots down my body, purposely rubbing her silky panties over my cock. Her open, wet mouth grazes along my chest and stomach, her nails scraping over my ribs afterward.
Her legs are slipping around mine as she moves farther down my torso. My woman’s a slithering snake, and the image is erotic, her mouth on my skin electrifying. Her blond waves are hanging over, and I’m dying to grip them.
I’m becoming dizzy, the adrenaline rush feeling no different than when I’m the Top, pleasuring a bottom. Tilting her eyes up at me, she licks my abdomen before she kneels between my spread legs.
“Your cock’s all mine, Griffin. I’m going to play with it, lick it and suck it, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”
“Christ, baby. Yes, do all of it, but you gotta untie my wrists so I can bury my hands in your hair.”
She wrinkles her forehead. “No. We’re doing this my way, remember?” One of her brow lifts as she lays one of my own lines on me.
Her fingers skim up my firm thighs before one long nail grazes over the front of my cock. I suck in a breath about the time she wraps her hand around it and gives it a firm stroke. Letting it go, she cups my balls and plays with them lightly.
“Ava, you’re killing me.”
“I guess you didn’t hear me the first time, so gagging it is.”
“No. I’ll shut up.”
“Too late, but I think you’ll like what I’m about to do.” Standing on the bed, she pulls off her panties, and after wadding them up, she kneels next to me and works them into my mouth. Fuck, I taste and smell her arousal on them, so I close my eyes from how lightheaded I feel.
Kneeling between my legs once again, she takes my cock in her hand, and I feel my front vein throb against it and my testicles ache, the buildup for a release growing rapidly.
After a few strokes, she leans over and licks up the pearl of pre-cum on the tip. Combine that with her panties in my mouth, and I’m battling the urge to come this instant. For the first time, a woman’s in control of my body, and fuck if I’m not thrilled about it.
Her tongue skims down the front of my cock before she removes her hand and uses only her mouth to take in my length. Her wet lips slide over my dick, and it bobs as she moves her head up and down.
All I can do is groan against the silk in my mouth as I ache for more. She grabs the base of my shaft and sucks harder, taking it so far back in her throat that she gags, and I know it’s only to get me more riled up, if that’s even possible.
Ava sucking me off is a fantasy I’ve had since the first time I met her, but in my wildest dreams, I wouldn’t have pictured the moment like this.
She lets my cock go, and I growl from the absence of her mouth. As she licks the tip, I admire her swollen scarlet lips. “I’m not going to stop this time until your cum’s in my throat,” she purrs. With eyes wide, I nod and lift my pelvis.
I get one last devilish smile before she covers my entire length with her smoldering mouth. Her lips reach the base, and she gags once again, and although it may be lewd of me to think, Ava gagging on my cock is my new favorite sound.
She gets into a rhythm of sucking, and if I get any dizzier, I’m going to pass out. The pleasure builds until my body seizes up, and I come in her mouth.
Fuck, she won’t stop, milking every drop until my eyes roll back in my head. She releases my cock and scoots up my body until I feel her bare pussy rubbing against my semi-erection.
I open my eyes to relish in the sight of her grinding against me, but she climbs off the bed and undoes the rope on my wrists before pulling the panties from my mouth.
“Are you sure you want this to be a one-time deal?” she asks.
“I’m reconsidering.” With a proud, sensual smile, Ava straddles my waist again and takes hold of my hands. She brings them up to her chest, and I realize the show isn’t over. She’s needing to come next.
“Play with my tits as I touch myself.”
“Holy hell, baby, I can’t take much more.” Like the snake she is, she slides her hand between her legs and rubs her clit as I massage her tits. She knows exactly what to do, and that tells me Ava’s touched herself before. “My. Dirty. Woman.”
Arching to get two fingers inside her, she rocks against them, and my cock starts stiffening from how hot she looks.
Feeling it grow beneath her, she can’t help herself and raises up to sink onto me. A throaty sound leaves her mouth as her head falls back.
“Yes, baby, ride me.”
I soak up the sight and pleasure as she rocks on me fast and hard, rubbing her clit
in the process. In no time, she pushes her pussy down on my shaft as far as she can, and it’s my undoing all over again. I press my fingers hard into her hips as we come together.
“Griffin,” she breathes achingly. Her sizzling, sweaty body falls over and blankets mine, and her hair smothers my face as I hug her snugger than I ever have. Our harsh breathing could fog my room that smells of sweat and sex.
“Shit, I have no words,” I mumble as I press my lips to her hair. Raising up, she grants me a glowing grin, and I’m overcome with emotions, never having felt so close to someone. “OK, I found some words. I love you, and thank you again for believing me.”
“You chose to tell the truth. That meant everything to me.” She unties my ankles, so I jump to my knees and grab her by the waist. I tickle her as I bring her down on the bed, and she squeals and laughs, the sounds remarkable to my ears.
It’s a far cry from where we were on my deck, and I’m determined to keep her in this frame of mind. She has to see how good we are together regardless of where we came from.
Ava
I can’t help but snicker after Griffin flinches and pulls his waist away from me. The man sure can sleep when I’m near. I poke his side a fourth time, and he rolls on top of me without warning.
“Oh, did I wake you?” I ask coyly as I stare up at his handsome, unshaven face.
“Damn, if your smile wasn’t so sexy, you’d be in trouble this morning.”
“I don’t know how you were sleeping through all the noise outside. I think your neighbors are throwing a block party. I picture a tent and people lined up for omelets.” I laugh again since I’m in the best mood after our passionate night together.
Griffin turns his head away to listen.
“I never hear my neighbors. Oh, shit.” He’s off of me and the bed in record time, and before I can even find my underwear, he pulls his on and runs out of the room.
“Fuck!” he yells. I cover my face, feeling dumb for thinking all the noise could be his neighbors. It’s not like this is my first rodeo with the paparazzi.