I close my eyes, tears fill them and leak out of the corners onto my dirty face, still caked with the G-Man’s dried blood.
They locked me away in this dungeon and threw away the key. Once a day a guard slides the square opening in the center of the door, peers inside my dark cell with one eye and checks if I’m alive. He closes it as quickly as he opens it, leaving me to die.
It’s not a peaceful death.
It’s a nightmare.
I’m haunted by those I love; those I miss. The beautiful faces I’ll never see again. The memories are so real it’s hard not to believe Grace and the girls are here with me but while my mind may not know the difference, my heart does. My heart knows they are too pure, too good and far too beautiful to be in the depths of Hell with me.
Still, I close my eyes and ignore my heart, pretending my girls are here. My senses shut down, the foul scent of urine, body odor and feces disappear. The darkness turns to light and I see my Gracie.
“Gracie?” I called, shrugging out of my tuxedo jacket, carefully hanging it over the back of the lone chair in the corner of the hotel room. I glanced around the room, spotting the candles I requested the hotel have on hand and began to light the wicks.
The soft bask of candle light sets the perfect ambiance for our wedding night. I averted my eyes back to the bathroom door that was still closed and moved to the silver ice bucket in the middle of the room. Popping the cork, the champagne pours over the neck of the bottle as the door creaked opened and the most beautiful women shyly crept out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but yards of white lace and silk.
“Wow,” I whispered, mesmerized by the beauty who was now my wife. I smiled widely, placing the bottle back in the bucket before walking toward her.
“I didn’t think it was possible but you’re even more beautiful than when you walked down the aisle.”
“I feel ridiculous,” she admitted, taking a step closer. I took her hands in mine and pulled her close.
“Why?” I asked softly, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear.
“You know why,” she whispered as I leaned over her shoulder and pressed my lips to the skin just below her ear, softly peppering kisses along her neck to the silk strap of her nightgown.
“We’ll go slow,” I promised, lifting my head from her shoulder and turning my head a fraction to stare into her brown eyes. “I knew one day I’d marry you.”
I bent my knees, lifted her into my arms and spun her around, her laughter filled the air like a soft melody.
What I wouldn’t give to hear her laugh again, hear her soft voice whisper against my ear, feel her body against mine just one more time. Instead, I relive the memories and thank God they are so clear and vivid.
Then I think of my girls.
And like their mother, they too come alive within my dreams.
“I have a date tonight,” Adrianna said, sitting across the breakfast table, nonchalantly eating her cereal.
I lowered the newspaper, folded it in half and placed it on the table, lifting my coffee mug to my lips as Grace set a plate of pancakes in front of me.
“Michael?” I questioned, drenching the pancakes in syrup as I glance across the table at my sixteen-year-old daughter.
“No, not Mike,” she said, smiling sweetly. The little vixen was up to something and one look at my wife, nervously flipping pancakes as if she was feeding all of Bensonhurst, it became clear she knew what that something was.
The doorbell rang and Nikki jumped to her feet.
“I’ll get it,” she offered.
“Are we expecting someone?” I looked between the mountain of pancakes and my daughter who decided to make her lower lip part of her breakfast.
Nikki came back into the kitchen with our visitor. Anthony Bianci, the eager enforcer looking to make a name for himself within my organization stood in my kitchen, making the oversized room seem small. Anthony had potential to go places. He was loyal to the core, dropped everything at my command and did as he was told, no questions asked. However, that was about to change.
“What are you doing here?” I questioned the man staring at my eldest daughter. Adrianna pushed her chair and stood, facing Anthony. Her smile lit up the kitchen and I watched as he tried his hardest not to be affected by it.
“I came to ask you a question,” he muttered, never taking his eyes off my daughter.
It was a strange feeling watching them together, one mixed with sorrow and relief.
“What question might that be?” I asked, reaching for my coffee mug again as they continued to ogle one another. I knew what he was going to ask. I knew they had been sneaking around behind my back for months, but what I thought was a mild crush became serious over Grace’s pancakes. Anthony Bianci wouldn’t have risked his position with my organization if he wasn’t head over heels in love with my daughter.
It was that morning; I knew that they were the real thing. It was scarier than anything I had ever experienced before, knowing the man you never saw coming was standing in front of you, next to your daughter and, that he would be the man in her life for all of eternity.
My wild child, Adrianna, the rebellious little girl who grew to be such a strong woman.
And then there was my Nicole.
“Daddy, I baked you a cake!” she exclaimed, pointing to the lopsided cake on the kitchen table.
“Did you make this all by yourself?” I asked, lifting her high on my hip as I brushed the tip of my nose across hers.
“Yep! Mommy said you love chocolate cake,” she said excitedly.
I walked her to the kitchen drawer, pulled out two forks and set her on top of the table next to the cake.
“Mommy’s right. It’s my favorite,” I smiled at her. “Should we dig in?”
“What about plates?”
“What about them?” I winked, handing her a fork before I dug into the cake with mine. Her giggle caused my heart to grow ten times in size as she followed my lead and dug into the lopsided cake.
Those days, when the girls were young, were my favorite. They were the precious moments I took for granted and if I could do it again I’d be home more, spend more time with them because those years flew by.
My memory betrayed me, pulling the beautiful memories I cherished away and replacing them with the ugly ones. I was transcended to the cafeteria, stalking my way through the riot to the G-Man, watching as he licked the chocolate pudding off his spoon and locked eyes with me.
The flicker of surprise in his eyes had my pace quickening and I realized I did what I set out to do. I saw my plan through without exception. He never suspected that this would happen. That we would meet like this and I would take his life.
He stared at me, watching as I pulled the scissors out and close the distance between us.
“It’s about time, Pastore,” he goaded, gripping the edge of the table as he slowly stood. “You took long enough to get yours. I was thinking you would let me get away with everything.”
I didn’t reply, truthfully, I didn’t even hear his words at the time but my conscious did. My conscious remembered every fucking word he uttered.
“Come on motherfucker, kill me, but it won’t make you the winner.” He shook his head. “I may have thought you gave up on revenge but that doesn’t mean I didn’t prepare for it.”
Lights flash, sirens sound, men scream but I’m ignorant to it all.
It’s a war zone around us but for me and him we are the only two who exist.
“No one will stop what I have planned. Not you, not your organization, and not your friends over at the Satan’s Knight’s clubhouse” He smiled eerily at me. “This is bigger than the rivalry between you and I, me and Jack Parrish, this is international and it doesn’t stop with me. The clock is ticking, Pastore, the plan is set, and no one is safe. A blood bath is coming. If you believe in God, then I suggest you pray for those tied to you and those tied to the Satan’s Knights.”
I open my eyes; the darkness blinds me as I
try to focus and make sense of my dream. Confused, I don’t know if it’s real or my mind playing tricks on me. His words repeat over and over in my head as I stand on wobbly legs.
A blood bath is coming.
Pray for those tied to you and those tied to the Satan’s Knights.
The plan is set, and no one is safe.
“No!” I scream into the darkness.
No one hears me.
My voice echoes off the walls.
Alone.
Darkness, my only friend.
My mind, my only companion.
My memories, my enemy.
A blood bath is coming.
So real.
So vivid.
So true.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
I lift the sleeve of my black suit and stare at the Breitling watch on my wrist then toward the staircase. We were late for the wedding and Adrianna was taking her sweet time getting dressed.
“Reese’s!” I shout up the stairs.
“Daddy, Grandma Maria said I can stay up late tonight,” Luca announces, walking into the living room tugging my mother’s hand.
“And that I can have ice cream,” he adds innocently.
I turn my gaze to my mother who shrugs her shoulders.
“Grandma’s have free control to spoil their grandbabies,” she answers. “Hasn’t that hooligan’s wedding started already?”
“Jack isn’t a hooligan.”
“Right, excuse me, I forgot he was the big cheese of a lovely motorcycle club,” she corrects, rolling her eyes. “Blue collar criminals, different from the classy ones we’re used to,” she sneers, shaking her head. “One kid married the mob the other married the biker club. Where did I go wrong?”
“Reese’s,” I holler again, desperate to escape my mother’s shenanigans.
“I’m coming!” She calls, her heels clicking across the cherry wood steps, causing me to turn around and lift my eyes in her direction.
She wore a skintight, red dress that hugged her in all the right places and stopped at her knees. After a quick glance, I treated myself to a slow perusal of her body, starting with her shoes. Those fucking things cost me a fortune when all I really had to do was grab a pair out of her closet and paint the bottoms red. Looking at them now, they were sexy as hell and worth every red cent. Her legs, tan and toned, hidden beneath the red fabric that started at her knees, hugged her thighs, accentuated her hips and pinched her waist. I couldn’t wait to run my hands up those curves and bury my face between her breasts. Shit, they were everywhere, spilling out the top of the dress that tied around her neck.
Finally, I find her eyes, full with amusement. She winks at me and spins around so I get the full effect and a glance of her round ass.
“Close your mouth, Bianci,” she laughs, stepping toward me. “Everything you see is everything that is yours.”
Ain’t that a fucking fact.
I grab her hands and pull her against me, pressing the bulge in my fitted pants to her stomach. I want her but that’s no surprise, she does it for me. She did it for me when she was just a girl and she really fucking does it for me as a woman.
A grin spreads across her face as she tilts her head back and brushes her lips across mine.
“You look good enough to eat,” I growl against her lips.
“Maybe we should skip the wedding,” she says, tugging on my tie. I bitched when she brought it home but now I get it—it matched her dress.
“No, but we’re already late what’s a few more minutes?” I say as my teeth graze her red lips teasingly before I pull my mouth from hers and look over my shoulder. “Give Mommy and Daddy a kiss, Luca,” I say, turning around and crouching to my knees to catch him in my arms.
Lifting him into my arms, both me and Adrianna shower his face with kisses as my mother lifts Victoria out of her swing and cradles her in her arms. I set Luca down on his feet and kiss my daughter’s head, watch Adrianna do the same then take her hand and lace our fingers together.
“You two get going, I have it under control,” my mom says, winking at Luca.
“We won’t be too late,” Adrianna reassures her as I drag her to the door. Barely closing it I push her up against it and take her face in my hands as I slam my mouth over hers. I swallow her gasp as I work her lips apart and slide my tongue over hers. The taste of her awakens the beast inside me, one that won’t ever be sated. I kiss her deeply, frantically, feverishly tasting every sweet crevice of her mouth.
Breathless and harder than a fucking iron horse I tear my lips from hers, watch as her eyes flutter open and her lips part, releasing a soft pant.
“Car. Now,” I growl, pulling my keys out of my pocket and taking a step back giving her room to pass. She pushes off the door, smooths down the front of her dress causing me to laugh.
“What’re you laughing at?” she asks, still a little breathless.
I lean forward, blow the hair away from her ear and whisper.
“You fixing yourself. It’s a waste of time. I’m only going to mess you all up the second we get in the car,” I rasp, slapping her ass playfully sending her jumping in her seven hundred-dollar shoes. “Go on, Reese’s strut for me,” I croon as she starts for the car, sashaying her hips with every step.
I bite the inside of my cheek as my eyes drink her in and I unlock the car, reaching over her to pull open her door and usher her inside the truck. I painfully walk around the front of the truck to the driver’s side and climb in.
“Now what?” she asks huskily, as I start the car. I glance in the rearview mirror and back out of the driveway. I didn’t bother answering her, driving to the corner of our block and pulling into the spot in front of the Johnny pump.
I turn to her, pressing the recline button on my seat and with my other hand I tap my lap.
“You’re kidding,” she accuses, undoing her seatbelt.
“Try me,” I dare.
She arches her hips, rolling the silk of her dress up her thighs so it pooled around her waist, revealing a black lace thong.
I groan as she slid the thong down her legs, pulling it off at the ankles as I unbuckle my pants. She was about to remove the shoes when I reached for her hand.
“Don’t,” I order.
“Want to get your money’s worth?” she laughs, raising an eyebrow teasing me.
“Damn straight,” I say, dragging my pants to my knees. Her eyes zero in on my cock as I wrap my hand around it, stroking it as she chews on her lip. She was some sight. Sexy as all hell, and all mine.
“Come on, Reese’s, show me what you got,” I dare, pumping my swollen dick, watching as she straddles the console between us then finally me. She grabs onto the leather headrest behind me, throws her hair over her shoulder as she works her hips, grinding her pussy against me working her clit over the head of my cock.
I reach up, untying the bow at the back of her neck and pull the neckline of her dress until I expose the most perfect set of tits. I take them in my hands, squeeze as much as I can. They used to fit in the palm of my hand but now they were more than a handful. Her nipples were bigger too, darker and when erect even more sensitive than before.
They were perfect.
Like everything else about Adrianna.
I bend my head, take one nipple between my teeth and tug, loving the effect it has on her as she grinds herself harder against my cock. I soothe the sting with my tongue and repeat the action over and over causing her to quicken her pace.
The windows fog as my control teeters. Threading my fingers through her hair, fisting the ends, I force her head back and close my mouth over her pulse point on her neck.
Time to mess you up, Reese’s.
I untangle my hands from her hair and slide them down to her hips.
“Up,” I order, my mouth still firmly planted on her neck, sucking, nibbling, devouring every inch of her smooth skin.
She lifts her hips as I grab my cock and slide the head over the seam of her wet pussy. The breathy moan
that escapes her lips has my dick twitching with need as I position myself and arch off the seat. She slides onto my cock, taking me deeper and deeper until she sits fully on my lap.
I lift my hands back to her face and turn her gaze to me, claiming her mouth with my own as she works me, slowly at first, finding a rhythm that suits both of us. Sweat drips off her face onto mine, skin slaps skin, clothes pushed and shoved aside as she rides me—just like I taught her all those years ago.
My lips are everywhere; her mouth, her neck, her tits, her shoulders and back to her mouth, bruising every part of her. I take hold of her hips again, pushing off the back of the seat and slide into her as deep as I could possibly go.
“I can’t hold it back anymore,” she pants, reaching between us, her fingers caressing her clit. She throws her head back; brown waves fall over the steering wheel as I have front row seats to my favorite show. I watch as Adrianna gets off. Her sleek pussy clenching around my cock, holding me in place as her fingers work vigorously to see her through her orgasm.
“That’s it,” I urge, gritting my teeth. “Come all over me, Reese’s,” I say, grabbing onto her tits as I thrust inside her sensitive pussy. Her eyes roll behind her head as I feel my balls tighten and my dick swell. “Fuck,” I roar, shuddering as her pussy squeezes my release right out of my cock.
Moments later she collapses on top of me, breathless and messy.
“We’re so late,” she mutters against my chest.
“But it was so fucking worth it,” I reply, palming the cheeks of her ass before giving one of them a light smack. “If we leave now, maybe we’ll make it in time for the priest to pronounce them husband and wife.”
“There’s a priest?” she says laughing, leaning back to question me with her eyes.
“Reina’s a holy roller,” I explain as she crawls over the console and drops the visor down.
“Oh my God!”
“He’s a popular guy,” I tease, zipping up my pants. I start the car, roll down the windows to let the steam out of the car before I glance over at her.
The Tempted Series: Collectors Edition Page 186