After the Dust Settles (California Dreaming Book 3)

by Stacey Johnston

  My whole body tightens before it relaxes, and I realize that Hadley’s finger is gone, her mouth full of my release.

  Looking down, she is grinning at me, pleased with herself. “You are so fucking amazing. I have no other words,” I blurt, kneeling in front of her.

  Gripping her cheeks tightly, I have to smash my mouth to hers, the need to consume her overbearing. I don’t care that my release is on her lips, I just find myself desperate to taste her.

  “You’re not so bad yourself,” she tells me once I break away from her.

  Leaving the stall, she informs me that she needs food. Wrapping the towel around her body, she blows me a kiss, inviting me to take my time. I’m still sitting on the floor of her shower trying to catch my breath. It’s going to be real fucking hard to leave her in the morning, but I don’t have a choice.

  My sister will make sure of that.

  Making my way to the kitchen, the smell hits me before I catch sight of her. It’s becoming a habit for me to stand back and watch where this beautiful girl is concerned. The sight before me now is nothing short of breathtaking and all she has on is the shirt I discarded on her sofa. It just barely covers her ass, but fuck, it looks good on her. I doubt she is wearing anything else if the towel hanging over her dining chair is any indication.

  Dropping my own towel, I grab my sweats out of my backpack. I didn’t bother with a suitcase, especially since I wasn’t planning on staying anywhere for too long. Throwing my towel on hers, I creep into the kitchen, stopping inches from Hadley, waiting for her to notice me.

  “Sean, you dick,” she screams, finally realizing I’m there.

  Laughing loudly, I scoop her into my arms and kiss her lips. Wrapping her arms around my neck, I’m loving the feeling of her tits squashed against my chest. That gets an instant response from my cock, who is eagerly anticipating the warmth he will be heading into soon.

  Gripping her ass cheeks, I lift her so that she can wrap her legs around my waist. “I think someone wants to play Hadley, he always wants to play when you are near.”

  Her body shudders, my cock twitching more at the realization that she wants me just as badly.

  “Eat food first, then you can eat me later,” she drawls, her pained voice matching my own as she slides down my body.

  “Fuck Hads, you’re killing me here.” I groan, my cock aching with need.

  “All in good time, lover boy,” she laughs.

  Backing away, I sit on her stool as she places a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs under my nose. Taking a deep breath, I inhale the delicious smell from the food I’m about to ingest.

  “I love the nickname,” a gentle voice beside me whispers, making me smile.

  Eating in silence, I devour what she has cooked, hungrier than I originally thought. Every now and again, she sneaks a look in my direction, no doubt thinking I’m not noticing. The problem is, I take notice of every little thing this girl does.

  She is slowly becoming an addiction for me.

  Chapter Three

  Hadley

  The incessant buzzing of a cell has me stirring, I’ve no doubt it will be my padre, it always is. A warmth next to me reminds me that I am not alone.

  Shit… Sean

  My padre knows he is here, that’s what the early morning call will be about. Sitting up, I attempt to shake the grogginess away. It was a long night, and I’d rather not be awake right now, but I suppose I should mentally prepare myself for the conversation I’m about to have. That boy laying in my bed has stamina. He kept up with me all night, both of us crashing when we couldn’t take anymore. The reminder of his touch, and that cock of his, sends shivers throughout my body. Unfortunately, a final fuck won’t be happening, as once I answer my padre’s call, I won’t have long to get him out of my apartment.

  I will worry about how to get rid of him once I have made my call.

  Predictably, it doesn’t take long for padre dearest to answer. “Hadley, explain to me why that boy is with you.”

  “Well, Fuck me, hello to you to padre,” I grunt in return.

  “Watch your mouth child, I am in no mood to deal with your bullshit today.”

  Yeah well, I probably deserved that, but you have to have respect for someone to give a shit about how you speak to them. It will be a cold day in hell before I respect that asshole.

  “Just spit it out, I have work to do.”

  He’s quiet suddenly, but that means fuck all where Jason Alexandria is concerned. He will just be plotting how to discipline me, especially since I’ve been caught fucking the enemy again.

  “I want that boy out of your fucking bed within the hour or he’s dead.”

  I knew he would have eyes on me, there is always someone watching.

  I’m never alone.

  And as per usual, he gets in the last fucking word before hanging up on me. Padre or not, he is the biggest asshole I have ever known. My problem, though, is that I’m his second in charge, my life hasn’t been my own for years. Now to get rid of Sean without raising suspicion.

  Walking back into the room, I find Sean already up and dressed. He is fucking gorgeous, especially first thing in the morning. Those combat boots he is lacing up only compliment the package I’m watching from the doorway. I can’t help the pull between us, but unfortunately, we are never going to be more than this. A quick fuck when he comes to town.

  Memories of what we have been doing all night flow through me, causing an ache between my thighs. For a boy with no experience whatsoever, he learns pretty damned quickly.

  “You watching me now, Hads?” he grunts, a smirk brightening his face.

  It throws me, I wasn’t expecting him to see me ogling him. “Of course, it’s my turn to save images to keep me warm at night.”

  The look he is throwing my way disturbs me, because it feels as though he is struggling to leave. The look is fleeting but it was there, and it troubles me. I need for him to leave, otherwise, my padre will have him killed. That is something I will not allow to happen.

  “I will be back, Hadley,” he declares, his voice now serious.

  He has risen from the side of my bed, stalking toward me with determination in his stride. Gripping my cheek with one hand, he roughly slides it down my face to lift my chin. Sighing, I turn away. I can’t deceive him anymore, especially not now that I am developing feelings for him. Fuck - that started the moment I brought him home that first time, almost a year ago.

  “Tell me what’s wrong, I’m not leaving until you do,” his soft voice murmurs.

  He’s so close to me now, his mouth gently brushing my ear and it’s pure torture.

  I want him again.

  I don’t think I will ever get enough of him.

  “You have to go, Sean. You are in danger if you stay here,” I admit unwillingly.

  I am going to have to be honest with him, but once I am, I will never see him again. It’s not something I want to happen, but if I don’t, I will get him killed. Sean is the one thing my padre and I have fought over during the past year, and I refuse to back down. I have promised to give my all, and do whatever was needed of me for the family business, on the condition that Sean stays alive and safe.

  “I’m not who you think I am.”

  I hate it when he breaks the contact, moving away from me. The cold air that brushes past us as he steps back sends a chill down my spine. The expression on his face is darker now, colder somehow, and I expected it, but not so quickly.

  “Talk Hadley, now,” he finally demands, and I release the breath I am holding.

  It’s now or never….

  “We don’t have long so please just let me finish before you walk out of my life forever,” I start.

  He just stares at me, his face void of any emotion. Walking toward him, I hastily place my hands on either side of his face, pulling him in so that I can take one final kiss from his lips. He is going to hate me after I tell him everything, and I miss him already. Taking a step back, I lean against my d
oorframe again, watching as he crosses his arms, glaring at me. I was the only participant in that kiss, but it was enough to quench my need of him, for now.

  “I am part of the Alexandria family, Sean, Jason is my father.”

  The look on his face is hard, and he is pondering, that much is obvious, as I immediately continue, “I am my father’s Consigliere, his right-hand man you could say and have been for the past couple of years. I knew who you were that day on the waterfront. I was sent to kill you.”

  His eyes widen at my admission and why wouldn’t they? It’s not everyday someone throws an admission like that your way. Turning away from him, I step toward my window. With my back to him, the words keep flowing like I have no control over them.

  “When I found you, I wasn’t expecting the instant connection between us. There was something about you and I couldn’t go through with it.”

  There is nothing but silence behind me, I can’t even be sure he is still in the room. I’m not a girl who fears much, never have been. Being a part of the Alexandria family expels fear from your bones from an early age. The expectations imposed on you from that early age are unrealistic, but you are forced into their way of life and eventually, you yield.

  “Sean,” I call, reluctantly turning.

  There is nothing but silence, because he is no longer in the room. I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am.

  I never got to finish my story, my explanation.

  Sean

  I couldn’t get out of Hadley’s apartment quick enough. Of all people, I had to find a girl who was part of the one family we are trying to bring down. As sick as it seems, I did find comfort in the fact that she was given the task of ending my life but had chosen not to. I have never been more thankful for anything than I was in that moment. God knows how long she had been watching that day on the waterfront. She could have done anything to me and I would never have seen it coming. That was how fucking out of it I was.

  Sitting under the same tree right now, I can’t say my head is in any better place than what it was the day she found me. With my knees drawn, I’m just staring out at the water, contemplating what the fuck I had gotten myself into.

  Is it just me?

  Do I attract trouble, because it feels that way?

  Nothing about the last couple of years has been easy for me and what makes this worse is the realization I came to last night …. The one where I was falling for this girl.

  If it wasn’t already obvious, I’m well and truly hooked. Her touch had fed an unquenchable need in me all night long, she became my life support. It was as though nothing else mattered. Our only concern was each other’s bodies. Every time we found our release, the simplest of touches refueled the kindle, reigniting the fire between us. Regardless of all that, the realization that her father knows who I am now means I’m going to have to tell my own father about her. If they are on to me, they will be aware of him as well.

  But… I should have stayed and heard what else she had to say. All I heard was ‘Alexandria’ and I knew I had to leave. She is her father’s right-hand man, thus being a part of what happened to Sherlyn. That alone should have me running back to my father, but that’s not the reason I left. I got out quickly due to the threat of my life being in danger.

  How selfish does that make me?

  I have to get to Sophie. My head is a mess. I need to sort through the overload of information that’s been thrust upon me.

  Standing, I stumble toward a cab. If I can just get to the airport, I will call that sister of mine and make sure she and Ben are waiting for me. The vibration in my pocket surprises me. Grabbing my cell out, I’m stunned. For the first time since we’ve met, Hadley is messaging me.

  Hadley: I’m sorry Sean, this wasn’t how I wanted you finding out. There is so much I need to tell you. Please don’t leave yet. Meet me somewhere. I promise you’ll be safe.

  Against my better judgement, I know I’ll go to her. I won’t be able to stop myself. It’s not like I have anywhere better to be, my flight doesn’t leave for a few hours.

  Me: Where?

  She replies quicker than I expect.

  Hadley: 1110 Manhattan Avenue, meet me in the garden at the back.

  Shoving my cell back in my pocket, I give Hads’ directions to the cab driver. If I’m correct, our destination is an Italian Café my mother found when we first moved here. This whole situation is becoming very surreal, very quickly. Resting my tired head on the leather behind me, I calmly close my eyes. You would think that I should be anxious about what I’m walking into, but I’m not.

  I don’t know what it is about Hadley, but I feel as though I can trust her, as the cab driver approaches our destination.

  Chapter Three

  Hadley

  I wasn’t sure if he would come. Hell, if I were him, I wouldn’t. After all, I have been deceiving him. I’ve known who Sean was for over a year now. I was given the task of getting to know everything about him when my padre’s goon, Vincent, decided to chase that poor girl. I tried to tell my padre what he was doing, but he wouldn’t believe me. Well, he didn’t until I brought him evidence. Only then did padre dearest pay any attention. By then, though, it was too late, the girl was dead, and Vincent was eliminated.

  You would imagine that holding the position I do in our organization, it would grant me some kind of authority, but you are gravely mistaken. My padre may take my concerns under advisement, but he holds all the cards. Oh, but don’t worry, I’m not one to be underestimated. When the situation arises that requires my unique talents, I can be one scary bitch, especially toward those who truly deserve it.

  Like Vincent fucking Salvatore.

  I grew up fast, you fucking well had to in our family. By the time I was sixteen, I could shoot, fight, and fuck as good as any man, if not better. There was no girly shit in our house, you learnt quickly how to fight for survival and only the strongest succeeded. Hence, how I got as far up the food chain as I am today. Nothing was gifted to me, I earned my stripes and it would be a cold day in hell before I would allow anyone to tear me down.

  Until about a year ago….

  When my padre’s number one hitman Silo was killed, I watched as his previous employee Vincent Salvatore sleazed his way back into my padre’s good graces. If the whispers of gossip are true, my padre turfed his ass over a decade ago. That in itself is saying something, because my father is the biggest fucking piece of trash to walk this god forsaken earth.

  To say I hated Vincent was an understatement, I truly despised him. He only had to walk into a room to make my insides cringe. I kept telling my padre that his whole image was bad for our reputation, but he wouldn’t hear anything of it. The guy had a crooked smile with yellow teeth for fucks sake, and don’t get me started on his balding head. Ugh… He was one of those dirty old men that you hear people talk about.

  Yes, he was that bad, and I don’t think I have hated anyone more.

  Silo, on the other hand, I loved. His appearance was always immaculate, everything about him calculated. There was an order to him that I admired. He took the time to each me just about everything he knew, letting slip once that I reminded him of his own figlia.

  Everything he used to tell me, I absorbed. I was like a sponge. When he died, I was devastated, I loved him that much.

  My own padre, well, that’s another story.

  After Silo died, my padre activated the clause, the insurance policy he puts into all his contracts. I tried to talk him out of it, especially after the madre committed suicide. I even came close to convincing him, until Vincent got in his ear. I don’t know what he said or did to worm his way back into my padre’s life, but whatever it was, carried some serious weight. Knowing my padre, he probably had something on him. Little did I know at the time, Vincent had a motive behind his actions.

  What surprised me the most was the girl’s madre. I was astonished at what a waste of space she was. She had me in disbelief that a woman could be that much of a selfish bitch
. Who leaves their figlia behind for the circling vultures to swoop on? I did everything in my power to deflect my padre’s attention away from her, but I was fighting a losing battle, unfortunately. I believed that there was no point pursing the figlia since the madre was already dead, and I pushed my opinions onto him strongly.

  The madre would have always been my preference anyway, just solely because of the way she treated her girl. Oh, and the fact that she let Vincent between her legs.

  That in itself was a sickening thought.

  Sean, though, now he became an obsession of mine. Around the time Silo died, my father pulled me away from the money laundering scheme I had going on with our Swiss bank accounts. I channeled it through so many different accounts that no one cared by the time it reached its final destination. Most of the money I laundered that way was for Silo. He wanted me to set up a trust fund of sorts for his figlia, in the event that anything was to happen to him. It was ingenious really, he scrambled the letters of his figlia’s name to come up with a pseudonym. An alias so that no one would connect the dots.

  Until Sean Valentine came along.

  Fuck that boy is good, but I know for a fact, he hasn’t unscrambled the final pieces of the puzzle yet. I still have that advantage for now. It’s the one link that can tie us to Silo, or so he believes.

  A reflection through the glass doors catches my attention. Shivering, I wrap my arms around my body, fending off the chill from the breeze that’s swirling around me in this garden courtyard. I specifically chose this location because it’s my favorite and the last place I know that my padre would think to look. I come here every morning so that Mrs. Zegarelli can make me her famous hot chocolate. She is one of those old, Italian type women who loved to cook and talk. I love the serenity that her café brings, and the books. Oh my god, I love the range of books she keeps here. It’s like walking into your own personal library.