by Magan Vernon
“Yes, Miss Rainn?” I stopped in front of her desk, which was located directly in front of my office. I never called her Kate. I tried once and she told me we didn’t have that kind of a relationship. That’s usually how it was with girls. They liked me for my money, but anything more and I was the bastardo. That’s why I didn’t do relationships or casual sex. I was a loner. That’s how I usually liked it.
“Your father said he wanted you to come by his office as soon as you got in. He’s stopped by here multiple times.” She leaned in, making sure that I got a good view of her cleavage as she lowered her voice. “And you’re over two hours late so he’s been having a shit fit.”
I forced a smile. “Duly noted.” I turned and reached for the handle, opening the glass doors to my corner office.
The morning light greeted me from the floor-to-ceiling windows. I hung up my coat on the rack near the door and walked the few steps to my large desk. Just as I turned toward my bookcase I heard my father’s deep voice.
“Nicky, good to see you finally showed up for work.”
Shit.
Slowly I turned around, ready to face the punishment I knew he was going to give me. He stood there with his hands in his pockets. Vince Ragusa was a man you didn’t fuck with. At six foot five and three hundred pounds of muscle, he didn’t just look intimidating. His permanent scowl and creased brow meant that you didn’t fuck with the biggest Don in Chicago.
“Hey, Dad, sorry. I had some business to take care of.”
“Business?” He cocked an eyebrow, taking in a deep breath through his nose as he took slow methodical steps toward my desk.
I swallowed hard. I could take down the biggest motherfucker in the cage, but my dad still turned me into a little pussy whenever I was around him. “Yeah.”
“Still fucking around with this fighting bullshit, Nicky? Think that’s going to take care of you when I’m handing you a goddamn empire?” He held his arms out to the side like they were encompassing the whole room, but not once did he raise his voice. He knew his words were enough. He knew what he was giving me and how to make me feel like shit.
“Dad, listen—”
He raised his hand, cutting me off as he walked forward and put both his hands on my desk. “I don’t want to hear anymore of your bullshit excuses, Nicky. You have a fucking degree from DePaul and a corner office. Everything has been fucking handed to you and yet you continue to shit on it. Why?”
I swallowed and turned toward him, but before I could open my mouth to speak he pounded his fist on my desk causing the few items I had on it to tremble. “WHY?”
Before I could answer my desk phone rang and I picked it up as quick as my shaky hand could move, “This is Nicholas.”
“Ey, Nicky, it’s Benji from Cappy’s Customs. Dominic told me you were looking for a bike.”
I glanced up at my dad, trying to show him that I was defiant, that I wasn’t about to back down, even though the truth was that my knees were shaking behind the desk. “Yes, Benji. My associate was correct, but I will need to call you back because I have someone in my office.” I tried to keep my tone professional, at least while my dad was in the room. That would be enough to get him out.
“All right man, I’ll catch up with you later.”
“Goodbye,” I said before cradling the phone back in the receiver.
Dad took his hands off the desk, standing up straight and adjusting his tie. “Your Aunt Jo is expecting you for a family dinner this weekend. You won’t be too busy to grace her with your presence?”
And just like that he went from asshole to supposedly caring father. I had a fight on Friday night, but I wasn’t about to tell him that. I’d have to talk to Dom about it since Aunt Jo was his mom.
“Yeah. I can definitely do that. I’ll talk to Dominic after my meeting, but if you’ll excuse me, I should call this client back.
Dad nodded, sliding his hands into his pockets. I knew this wasn’t the end of our conversation and he was just waiting for his chance to finish it. “Okay, Nicky.” He walked to the door and opened it before sliding out. I followed him with my eyes until he was out of sight and then I plopped down in my leather chair, letting out a deep breath. There was something about the guy that always got the best of me.
***
I got the bike ordered and made sure it was delivered to Jackie’s address. I wasn’t a creeper or nothing, but just took down her address when I filled out all of her paperwork. If I was going to keep up the fake fiancé thing long enough to pay the hospital, I figured I should know that shit.
The rest of my morning was filled with stupid ass meetings. What if I killed the girl when I was just trying to follow her and make sure she was okay? I wanted to get out of every conference call I had and get up to the hospital to check on her, but I knew my dad would have a shit fit if I left the office.
I was in the middle of looking over some contracts when the front desk called me.
“Mr. Ragusa, there is a very distraught young woman down here who is demanding to see you. I’ve talked to Miss Rainn a number of times and she said this woman doesn’t have an appointment. I’ve told her that, but she is very insistent.” The woman at the front desk seemed to be trying to maintain her composure but her voice slightly squeaked each time she spoke.
“That’s fine, you can send her in.”
“Very well, Mr. Ragusa.” She disconnected the call so I hung up the phone as well.
“Shit,” I muttered and tilted my head back. What the hell had I just gotten myself into? I guessed it was probably one of my clients who went crazy over every little detail of some investment. I’d have to talk them off the ledge, give them a smile, and send them on their way. It would have been much easier if my head was actually into working instead of thinking about other things.
“Where the fuck is Nicky Ragusa?”
The hell?
That definitely didn’t sound like something one of my clients would say. I hoped it wasn’t one of Dom’s pissed off exe’s. Or some scorned woman Dad messed around with that wanted to take it out on me.
Kate said something to her but the girl just kept yelling. I pressed the button on my intercom. “Miss Rainn, please send my afternoon appointment in.”
“Whatever you say, Mr. Ragusa. Good luck.”
With that the glass doors opened and my eyes widened when Jackie burst through them. I almost didn’t recognize her. She wasn’t the same girl with the dark make-up and leather. Instead her face was clean and her hair was piled into a bun on the top of her head. In place of the leather gear she was in a white tank top and leggings that showed off the curves of her body, but that wasn’t what I was focusing on. What I saw was how natural she looked, how raw and beautiful those green eyes were when she stared at me.
She cocked her arm back and slapped me across the face.
I rubbed my hand against my cheek. For being a little thing she packed a punch. With some practice, the girl could probably hang in the cage herself.
“Okay, I probably deserved that. How else can I help you today?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Are you serious right now? How can you help me? You fucking hit me with your car and put me in the hospital, and now you’re asking how you can help me?”
I smirked. “You did just show up in my office demanding my attention with one hell of a right hook, so, yes, how can I help you?” I couldn’t help it, the girl intrigued me. I had to tease.
She pulled my business card and a set of keys out of her back pocket and slammed them on my desk. “You can start by taking your bike back.”
I shook my head. “No. It’s a gift. I wrecked your bike. Hell, I wrecked you and put you in the hospital. This is the least I can do.” I picked up the keys and tried to hand them back to her but she stepped back, putting her hands out and shaking her head.
“No, I can’t accept the bike or anything else. Okay?”
“Why? I’m giving it to you. Please just take it.” I stepped around the
desk holding the keys out.
“No. I’m not going to. I’m not going to be tied to you with an expensive gift like this. You don’t owe me anything, Mr. Ragusa.” The way she said my name was too proper like the words weren’t meant to come out of her mouth.
“Please just call me Nick or Nicky or Nicholas—anything but Mr. Ragusa—and please just accept the damn bike.” My hands were shaking as I held out the keys. I’d always kept my head down and focused on fighting or working, but with Jackie it was a whole new fight.
“Listen, you seem like you’re really hung up on being the knight in shining armor or whatever your deal is, but I’m giving you a free pass. You don’t need to save me. I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it for years and I’m fine. You don’t owe me anything,” she said.
“What the fuck is your problem, Jacqueline? Why can’t you just accept the damn bike when I’m giving it to you? It’s a gift.” I tried not to get angry but my fist was clenched so tight around the keys that the jagged edges were digging into my palm.
“Okay, first off its Jackie, not Jacqueline, and second my problem is that I don’t want to be your fucking slave and have you own me just because you give me a bike. I don’t need your gifts. I don’t need your handouts. I’m not some charity case. I’m a big girl and I can take care of myself.” She looked up at me and even though she said the words with defiance, I saw it in her eyes. It was the same vulnerability I saw when I first met her. The sadness in her eyes that said she was trying to escape from something.
I couldn’t help it, I had to take the risk. I cupped her face in my hands and crushed her lips against mine. She let out a small gasp into my mouth as her lips slightly parted and I ran my tongue along them. She was sweet like peppermint and sunshine. I could have tasted her forever.
Jackie pulled back, staring at me hard. I thought she was going to slap me again. She fucking could have and I would have taken it because at least I got that one kiss in. “What the hell was that for?”
“Because you’re beautiful. Go on. You can leave now if you want. Walk away and leave the bike here.” I traced the line of her jaw. “But I’m going to spend all day thinking about that kiss.”
Instead of slapping me she leaned in, purring into my mouth, a sensation that caused every hair on my body to stand on end. I couldn’t get enough of her. I lowered my hands to her ass, gripping onto it and lifting her up. She wrapped her long legs around me, digging her heels into the small of my back and clicking her tongue ring against the roof of my mouth.
A low growl came from deep within my throat and that was all it took for me to push her up against the windows, my cock so hard it was practically jammed into her belly button. All I could think about was burying it deep inside of her.
My lips trailed from her mouth down to her supple neck where I nipped at the sensitive skin that met her shoulders.
“You know this isn’t what I meant to happen when I came up here,” she whispered.
I stopped kissing her and leaned back, meeting her eyes. The eyes that had me from the first moment I met her. “I’ll stop if you want me to. I don’t want to, Jackie, I really don’t fucking want to, but tell me what to do and I’m yours.”
She gripped onto my hair pulling it as hard as she could, tilting my head back. “Then don’t stop.”
I grinned, stepping away from her. Her eyes widened. “The hell?”
Slowly I walked backward toward my door, locking it and pulling the blinds so no one could see inside. I went back and dropped down to my knees in front of her and pulled down her pants, there was already a wet spot on her pink lace panties like she was expecting me, which only made me harder. Delicately, slowly, I pulled them down.
“You don’t have to do this,” she whispered.
I kissed the two small flower tattoos that sat on her hip bones then trailed my tongue down her smooth skin until I got to her clit. “I want to.”
I sucked on her clit and immediately she whimpered, bucking her hips forward as I slipped one finger inside of her, hooking it in to the Gspot. I didn’t go down on a lot of girls, but Jackie was one I wanted to make come every step of the way.
She moaned and came on my finger, but I didn’t stop there, replacing my finger with my tongue and swirling it around her while my rubbing my thumb over her clit.
“You’re torturing me,” Jackie whimpered. “If we’re going to do this fuck me. Please fuck me.”
I looked up to meet her gaze and finally stood. Shit. I didn’t have any protection. It wasn’t something I just carried around with me, especially since I hadn’t gotten laid in a very long time. Fuck, it was just going somewhere and now I had to be the dick that couldn’t give her what she wanted. I had to do something.
“I don’t have a condom, but I can still make you come again,” I said, trying to appear confident even though my cock was straining against my jeans desperate to get inside of her.
“That’s okay.” She kissed me hard and then pulled back. “I’m on the pill.” She didn’t waste any time undoing my belt and yanking down my pants and boxers.
I loved a girl that knew what she wanted. I didn’t even need to say anything, I just grabbed her again and lifted her up against the window and pressed into her. She wrapped her legs around me and moaned into my ear. She was so wet and tight I thought I was going to explode right there.
Jackie fisted my hair, tilted my head back and gasped right into my ear. She felt amazing. Beyond amazing. I gripped onto her ass, plunging myself deeper into her. With each thrust, the most amazing whimper would come from deep within her throat, making my whole body tremble. I always prided myself on lasting a long time but this girl had an effect on me. This girl was different. I was gonna have to change up the positions.
“Wanna see the city?” I panted.
“What?” she asked, breathlessly.
I moved her legs down slowly and pulled out of her. A small moan escaped her oh so kissable lips when I did and I licked them before turning her toward the window, running my finger down the length of her ass.
I put my lips to her ear. “I want to fuck you while you take in the lake view,” I whispered before I ran my tongue across her ear lobe. I reached my thumb around to the front of her and drew small circles on her wet clit. She bit her lip, moaning in response. With my free hand I spread her legs and then entered her wet pussy from behind and thrust into her again.
“Damn,” she whimpered.
“I’m not going to last much longer,” I confessed. I wanted to go longer. I wanted to stay in her all day. I didn’t want her to leave.
She stood straight up, closing her legs together so her body tightened around my cock. Then she leaned back, gripping my hair with one hand and my hip with the other as she ground her ass into me. That was all it took for my body to go stiff and release into her. She moaned and dug her nails into my hip as her body shook around me.
We both stood there, my heart beating against her back and our breathing in sync. We didn’t say anything. We didn’t need to say anything. Jackie Marks had me and I wasn’t about to let her go.
Chapter 4
“Come on, Nicky, you’re half-assing it today.” Coach breathed down my neck.
I kept hitting the bag, but I wasn’t thinking about the fight. Something very different was on my mind. Something with a pair of long, creamy white legs that I wanted wrapped around me instead of the fucking weights I had strapped to me.
“This isn’t like you, Nick. What the hell’s the matter with you?” I stopped hitting the bag and put my arms over my head, resting my forehead against the cool cement of the wall. Any other time I’d be up for all the practice, especially when it was the day before a fight. But not tonight. Not when I had other things on my mind.
Coach gripped onto my shoulder, turning me around to face him. He was so close I could see the veins bulging out of his forehead. “What is it, Nick? Be straight with me. Is it your dad? Did he say something to you? You can’t let him get
into your head like that. That’s what he wants. He wants you to lose these fights so you’ll give it up.”
“It’s not Uncle Vinny you should be worried about, Brandon. It’s a battona.” Shit. I should have known Dom would show up at the gym, and that he would eventually tell Coach about Jackie. I should have kept my fucking mouth shut about her.
Coach glanced back at Dom who strutted into the gym, looking more like he was auditioning for some sort of high-end sportswear commercial than actually trying to work out. Dominic nodded in my direction like the bastardo was actually doing me a favor.
Coach looked back at me, his eyes narrowed. “You mean to tell me that you’ve been off your game because of a woman? Nicky, tell me it isn’t true.”
“Well...” I rubbed the back of my neck and looked down.
“Fuck,” Coach mumbled and slammed his fists against the wall only a few inches away from my head before he stepped back. “I didn’t expect this from you, Nicky. You’ve always been my rock. The fighter that doesn’t let anything get to him. Now a woman?”
I shook my head, finally looking up. “I know, I know, Coach. But this girl is different. She doesn’t care that I’m Nick Ragusa. Not about my money. Or my father. Hell, I’m not even sure if she really likes me.” Just likes to fuck me. But I didn’t really mind that part either. Any girl who was willing to give up a brand new bike and slap me before even saying my name had my attention. She had a Don’t Fuck With Me attitude that I didn’t see in many other girls and I wanted to keep her around.
“Is she coming to the fight tomorrow?” Coach looked me in the eye.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I texted her and asked her to.”
“If she is going to fuck up your fighting, she doesn’t belong anywhere near the cage. But if you gotta see her to get back in the game,” he pointed toward the door, “then get the hell out of my face and go find her now.”
“But, Coach, we’ve barely been at it an hour and—”