Some people might say that Val was a stone-cold killer, no fucking good in their book but in my book, he was aces. I grew up thinking of Val as a father figure. He was someone who I could respect and look up to, someone to teach me how to be a man.
I begged Val to give me a chance, but he always shot me down explaining that his life wasn’t glamourous—it was ugly. It wasn’t until I interfered with a guy trying to put the moves on Vic’s fifteen-year-old daughter that the mob boss himself first acknowledged my existence. I had to cut the eighteen-year-old kid some slack. Vic’s daughter, Adrianna, did not look to be only fifteen years old. She was fucking gorgeous, like drop dead gorgeous, and had the body of a woman not a girl. Her face alone was enough to make a man drop to his knees. She had the most perfect features, making her real easy on the eyes, but her full lips were my favorite part of all.
Adrianna was fifteen years old, a mobster’s daughter, completely off limits. I knew all this, but it didn’t stop my twenty-year-old ass from fantasizing about her. So when the little shit tried getting into her panties at one of Mike’s parties, I put that shit to an end real quick. The next day Vic sent Val to grab me for a sit down. Apparently, Adrianna had told her father I had rescued her from some sleaze ball. The thing was, Vic thought I had done it because I was a standup kid. The truth was, I did it for purely selfish reasons. I didn’t want anyone else to have her.
Vic took an interest in me from that point forward, giving me jobs here and there. I was a glorified errand boy; parking cars for racketeers when there was a meeting or running out for coffee. It was all bullshit, but I guess everyone had to start at the bottom and make their way to the top. At least that’s what I told myself when Vic called me with some bullshit job that had absolutely nothing to do with the mob.
It wasn’t until one afternoon when he called that I really thought he was about to give me a real piece of the pie. I figured he’d start me off with something small, maybe lifting a truck full of goods, or kicking around some sucker that didn’t pay his debts. My days of bringing espresso to the big dogs were done. It was my time; I was finally going to see some action.
Victor summoned me to his home to give me my orders directly. There I was, standing in front of him like a blithering idiot, when he told me my big break into the mob consisted of taking his daughter and Mike to the movies. I was a fucking chauffeur, taking the gang banger kids to the goddamn movies.
“Vic you can’t be serious,” I stammered, finally finding my voice and the courage to question the boss’ decision.
“I don’t think you understand what a major responsibility this is,” Vic stated, leveling me with a steady glare.
Yeah, real fucking major. Should I sit between them to make sure they don’t share a fucking tub of popcorn?
“There is nothing more important to Val and me than our children, so for me to trust you with our kids, that is a major deal,” he said, his voice sounding both reassuring and amused.
“Right,” I drawled, not believing his bullshit for one goddamn minute.
“So my big job is to take your kids to a movie; that’s it?”
“Is anything ever that easy?” he said, chuckling. Cocky bastard. I wanted to punch him in the nose for making a jerk-off out of me. “The last thing we need is our kids getting into trouble, and relationships are nothing but trouble; if you get my drift.”
“So, let me see if I got this right, you want me to take Adrianna and Mike to the movies so they don’t hook up?”
“Exactly you’ll be like a buffer,” Vic declared. “With you there, I know there won’t be any funny business between them and I can do my job with a clear head.”
“Fuck!” I mumbled underneath my breath, combing my fingers through my hair in frustration.
“Problem?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at my little outburst.
“No,” I paused miserably. “No problem at all.” I was going to kick Mike’s ass for putting me in this situation, not to mention, what the fuck was he doing asking Adrianna out on a date? Granted, I didn’t tell him I was itching for a taste of her myself, but still, he should know the girl was off limits. For fuck’s sake, weren’t they raised like cousins or some shit?
I bit my tongue hoping this shit would one day come to an end, that Victor would take me seriously and make me a soldier or an enforcer, anything besides a fucking babysitter. For now, I’d swallow my pride and do whatever the hell was asked of me, even if it meant sitting in torture while my pal Mike went on a date with the hottest girl in the neighborhood.
It took all the self-control I could muster up to sit beside Mike in the car as I drove to the UA theatre in Sheepshead Bay and not wrap my hands around his throat. He sat in the passenger seat with a smug smile on his face, barely talking to the beauty in the back seat. On top of refraining from throttling Mike, I also had to force myself not to steal glances at Adrianna from the rear-view mirror. She had worn the shortest shorts known to man and the cutest little bohemian style shirt stretched across her chest. I understood why Vic wanted a chaperone for his daughter; with a rack like hers, she was dangerous to anyone, especially a hormonal teenager like Mike. However, Vic miscalculated, Mike wasn’t the only one unable to ignore his little girl’s assets. I was starting to feel like a fucking pervert.
I parked my car in the garage and followed them to the box office, only for Mike to turn around and face me when it was time to pay for the tickets.
“What?” I barked.
Mike raised an eyebrow at Adrianna, who in return looked down at her perfectly pedicured feet. I glanced back and forth between the two of them, neither of them speaking. Adrianna chewed on her bottom lip as Mike nudged her with his elbow waiting for her to say something. What the fuck did these two have up their sleeves? He couldn’t be expecting her to pay for her own ticket, could he? Didn’t he know anything about taking a beautiful girl out on a date? Then I realized maybe this was his first legit date. Did I mention how much I hated Victor Pastore?
I leaned forward, trying not to blow up his spot in front of Adrianna—even though the little shit didn’t deserve it. “You have to pay for the tickets Mike, including hers,” I uttered through gritted teeth, hoping he got my drift.
“Nope,” he said, smiling then extended his hand, giving me a friendly pat on the shoulder.
“You do.” Adrianna lifted her head at that moment, her eyes meeting mine to gage my reaction but I remained focused on Mike.
“You’re the one on the date bro,” I scoffed, peering at him suspiciously.
“Actually, I’m not,” he glanced back at Adrianna. “Where is she?”
Where was who?
“Across the street at T.G.I. Fridays,” she whispered, looking away from me.
What the fuck had just happened?
Mike walked around me, paused and then leaned into my ear.
“Spring for the popcorn,” he whispered, holding back a chuckle he eventually gave into once he was safely out of my range. I let out a wrangled breath and stared at my date, our eyes meeting for the first time. Her cheeks were red with embarrassment so I decided not to call her out on their little charade just yet.
“Two for Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” I told the girl behind the counter, reaching into my pocket for some money to slip under the glass partition. Once she handed me the tickets, I turned back to Adrianna.
“You coming or what?” I questioned expectantly. I knew I was acting like a total dick, but in my defense, I didn’t like having the wool pulled over my eyes. I didn’t know how else to act around her. If I was going to keep my distance from her and not give into every fucking dirty thought that crossed my mind, I would have to make her stop looking at me like I was the fucking man of her dreams.
We walked into the lobby of the movie theatre to the concession stand and stood silently in line. I was trying to figure out how I was supposed to watch a movie with her next to me. It didn’t help that while I stared at the soda cups behind the counter I felt her staring at me
. I had no doubt she was waiting for me to acknowledge the situation we were in—thanks to her and Mike’s little plan. I didn’t get the reason behind their plan or why there was one to begin with. All I kept telling myself was that this wasn’t a date because I hadn’t asked Adrianna out. If this was a date, she would fucking know she was on a date with Anthony Bianci, and you bet your ass I wouldn’t be standing here with a scowl on my face. I’d be fucking happier than a pig in shit because every date with me finishes with a sweet fucking ending.
I ordered two coke’s—make that one coke and one diet coke, after little miss slick opened her mouth to correct the beverage selection I had made for her. Once the soda debacle was fixed, I ordered a large tub of popcorn and turned to her, not wanting to make any more assumptions on her behalf, and give her the chance to correct me.
“Anything else?” I asked shortly. Her lip curled in annoyance, I guess my impatient tone was getting to her.
She crossed her arms under her chest cocking her head to the side as she glared at me.
“Reese’s Pieces,” she said, pointedly.
Why the fuck was she giving me attitude? Wasn’t this her fucking idea? I kept my eyes on her and ordered.
“And a box of Reese’s Pieces,” I said mockingly, sliding the money on the counter. Adrianna glanced at the snacks plucking only the box of candy off the counter before turning on her heel, flipping her hair over her shoulder. She made a beeline for the theatre our movie was playing in, leaving me to juggle two sodas, and a tub of popcorn by myself. I carried a soda in each hand and used my teeth to bite down on the rim of the bucket of popcorn, managing to look like a moron as I carried the snacks. Adrianna was standing by the door of the theatre with an usher at her side.
“He needs to see the ticket stubs,” she grumbled. I shoved the sodas at her so I could reach into my pocket to retrieve the stubs I hoped I put in there. She raised an eyebrow, glanced at the sodas I extended towards her before stepping close and slipping her hand inside my pocket. I nearly dropped the popcorn bucket dangling from my teeth feeling her slender fingers over the material on my thigh. Her touch gentle as it seared my skin. I squeezed the soda cups so tightly that the plastic lids popped off and soda spilled over the rim.
“Got them!” she exclaimed, pulling her hand out of my pocket, waving the two stubs in the air before handing them to the usher. The usher ripped the stubs in half and handed them back to Adrianna. Thankfully, she shoved them in her own back pocket and didn’t dare slide her hand into one of mine again. She glanced over her shoulder and grabbed one of the sodas taking a sip before scrunching her nose and reaching for the other one. We swapped cups finally freeing one of my hands to take the popcorn tub from between my teeth. I didn’t think I’d survive the coming attractions let alone the movie as we sat in the back of the movie theatre. Like all the way in the last row; secluded from all the other moviegoers—the seating arrangements by Adrianna’s choice not mine.
We settled into our seats not saying a word, both staring at the screen. I took a handful of popcorn shoving it into my mouth hoping that would stop me from calling her out on her shit. The last thing I needed was daddy’s little mob princess running back and telling him I treated her like a douchebag, considering the only reason Victor even glanced at me was because of Adrianna.
“Mind telling me how I ended up taking Mike’s place?” I questioned, giving in to my curiosity, knowing that if I let it go any longer I’d likely explode.
“You’re not taking Mike’s place, you’re exactly where you are supposed to be and he’s exactly where he’s supposed to be.”
“Come again?”
Her arm reached over me and took a handful of popcorn, but unlike me, she didn’t shove it into her mouth. She opened her palm and poured some of the Reese’s Pieces into the handful of popcorn, closing her fist and shaking it all up. Then opened her palm and took a few pieces of the popcorn-peanut butter-chocolate combo into her mouth. I felt my dick harden against my jeans when she closed her eyes and moaned in satisfaction. Fucking hell, she was a fifteen-year-old sex kitten, and I was completely and utterly fucked.
After swallowing, she opened her perfectly almond shaped brown eyes, setting them on me as she spoke.
“It’s really not that complicated. Mike wanted a date with my friend Natalie and I was able to set that up for him,” she shrugged her shoulders. “I’m a firm believer of a favor for a favor.”
Yeah, I bet she got that from her dad.
“So I agreed to set Mike up with Natalie as long as he helped me with you,” her eyes twinkled mischievously as she looked at me. “And so here we are.”
“You wanted me to take you out?” I asked her as if the thought was absurd.
“Yes, and you wanted to take me out too,” she replied, confidently popping what was left of her concoction into her mouth.
“Oh, you think so?” I queried, twisting in my seat to look at her fully.
“Yes of course,” she said, her eyes meeting mine, challenging me to deny it. I had never once thought about taking Adrianna on a date, but I had thought about a lot of other things I wouldn’t mind doing to her. It was probably safer for both of us to let her think I was a good guy who wanted to take her to a movie and hold her hand.
“You’re just too chicken shit to ask me,” she rolled her eyes. “And that’s mostly because of my father,” she continued, cocking her head to the side before leaning in closer. “You want to impress him, you want to be like him, and you’ll do anything to get that. I get it, but get this too, I don’t care what my dad thinks. I don’t make decisions based on my dad’s approval or disapproval and you shouldn’t either. He’ll notice you when he’s ready to notice you—and as for me—I’ve already noticed you,” she smiled.
“And I like what I see.”
I just had my ass handed to me by a teenage girl disguised as a woman. It didn’t matter she was probably just into me for the sake of rebelling against her father; I chose to ignore that part. My balls tightened as she smiled at me with that sweet and innocent smile of hers. Her eyes were anything but innocent though as they stared into mine, full of mischief. I didn’t just like what I saw–I fucking craved it.
I peeled my eyes from hers and took the box of Reese’s Pieces from her hand, pouring the contents into the bucket of popcorn and mixing it up as she had. I turned back to her placing the tub on her lap before lifting my eyes to meet her amused glance.
“Watch the movie Reese’s,” I said gruffly, the lights dimming as I stretched my arm across the back of her chair and leaned back into my seat. I shook my head slightly accepting the fact I had been played, owning it. I was on a date with Adrianna Pastore and I would bet my life on the fact that when I kiss her later, she’d taste like Reese’s Pieces.
Chapter Three
2013
I glanced down at the soft pale blue teddy bear I was holding in my hands. he tiny toy looked ridiculous in my large paw like hands. I knew I shouldn’t have been there, but my heart didn’t understand the path my mind took. For some reason, I couldn’t get the two to align and be on the same page. The doors opened wide and I let out a heavy sigh as I stepped off the elevator, making my way down the corridor to the hospital nursery.
I stopped in front of the glass windows, my eyes glancing around in search of the baby that carried my name as his middle name, but he wasn’t there.
“You’re looking for the Pastore baby, aren’t you?” I heard a soft voice say from behind me, forcing me to turn around and meet the nurse’s smiling face. “I remember you from this morning. I was just starting my shift when I saw you in that very exact spot, only having eyes for one baby,” she smiled. “All you proud dads have that same look.”
I stared at her blankly for a moment before finding my voice. “Do you know where he is?”
She nodded, her smile still plastered on her face as she spoke. “Room 32B, straight down the hall, last door on the right. He’s feeding with mom right now.”
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br /> “Thank you,” I said roughly, diverting my eyes down the hallway toward room 32B.
“Congratulations,” the nurse said before walking back towards the nurse’s station leaving me staring down the hallway. I asked myself a thousand times what the fuck I was doing, but couldn’t come up with an answer. It was one thing for me to be there for A and the kid last night, but visiting them now was another. I was torn between wanting desperately to see the two of them and being aware of the painful truth, I was no kind of good for either of them. If the kid’s father was a druggie, and in rehab, Adrianna had a long rough road ahead of her being a single mom. The last thing she needed was to get tangled in our fucking shit again. If there was one thing I knew for sure, it was that we loved one another passionately, wildly, and that fucking love…well…it was combustible. We loved each other so fiercely that we fucking destroyed each other.
Besides, what kind of role model would I be for her kid? I had nothing but heartache and broken promises to offer them. Not much changed in the three years I had been away; I was still the miserable, self-loathing, poisonous bastard I was the day they threw my ass in jail. However, maybe I was a little less selfish because I wasn’t willing to take Adrianna and ruin her again, no matter how much I wanted her. No matter how much I craved her. No matter how much I fucking loved her. Christ, I loved her.
Fuck it.
I turned around, determined not to inflict anymore fucking torture on myself, deciding to leave before anyone saw me. Yeah, that didn’t go according to plan. Nikki came bounding down the hallway, her arms full of blue balloons and baby blue gift bags. Which I was sure contained a shitload of expensive gifts for the newest addition to the Pastore clan. A moment later Victor and Grace stepped off the elevator. I wasn’t shocked to see Grace sporting the proud grandma smile.
The Tempted Series: Collectors Edition Page 32