Speak Easy

by Melanie Harlow

  Evelyn gasped. “Tell!”

  “I will, and I’ll even introduce you to him tonight, if he’s there.” I tossed everything onto the bed. “But the situation is a little strange.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, he’s got a girl, for one. And he’s sort of got my father too—he’s Angel DiFiore’s son.”

  Evelyn’s jaw dropped open. “Tiny, are you crazy? Don’t you think it’s a little dangerous to be fooling around with him?”

  “More than a little,” I said, unbuttoning my blouse. “But you’ll understand when you see him. And you’ll know why I’m not interested in Joey.”

  Because I wasn’t. Not at all.

  I just had to keep saying that.

  #

  At Evelyn’s house, I helped her choose an outfit—a pale pink sleeveless dress with a dropped waist and white satin-ribbon sash. The hem fell nearly to her ankles, but the color was good for her and she wore a beautiful strand of pearls with it. She raided Rosie’s vanity for a gold headband, which set off her fair hair, but I didn’t want to borrow one without asking. Instead Evelyn plucked a gardenia from her mother’s garden and I pinned it above my ear.

  Once we arrived at the club, we stood near the bar and I ordered champagne cocktails for both of us. Sipping the bubbly concoction from a stemmed glass, I tried to appear casual as I scoured the crowd for Enzo. Inside my evening bag was the six hundred dollars from Joey.

  “Do you think we’ll be asked to dance?” Evelyn was looking over the crowd too.

  “Maybe. If you see someone you like, meet his eye,” I encouraged. “You have to let him know you’re interested.”

  “I’ll try. But you’re always so much better at this than I am.”

  “Better at what? Just look at him. You don’t even have to say anything.”

  She giggled. “OK. Hey, that one’s cute over there, don’t you think?”

  “Where?” I followed her eye to where a heavyset young man with sandy hair stood talking to friends. He didn’t look like a gangster, so I relaxed a bit. “Yes, he is. And he’s looking this way, so smile.”

  She did, and I could tell he noticed her. But as he took a step in our direction, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

  “Couldn’t stay away?”

  I turned, going breathless at Enzo’s body so near mine. “I came to pay you back.”

  “Already? I’m impressed.”

  I lowered my voice so Evelyn couldn’t hear. “Shall we do it here?”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Oh—you mean the money.” Looking to our left, his eyes lingered on the crowd down front. Gina gawked at us as she stood at their table, hands on her hips.

  “You’re being watched.”

  He sighed and I could smell the whisky on his breath, even stronger than usual. “Her father’s here tonight. It’s a complete drag. If he didn’t own a distillery in Kentucky, I’d take you back into the stairwell so I could finish what you started.”

  My stomach flipped madly. “Maybe I should just give you the cash now.”

  “Probably.” He drained the glass before leaning in to whisper in my ear. “Because if I get you alone one more time, I won’t stop until you let me have my way. First with my fingers. Then with my tongue. Then with my big, hard cock.”

  Heat rushed my face, and I knew my cheeks must be painted scarlet. Fumbling, I dug into my bag and handed Enzo the money without meeting his eyes. Then I reached for my drink. Taking three long swallows, I finished it and set down the empty glass.

  Enzo laughed, deep and low. “Would you like another?”

  “Yes.”

  I felt a tug on my elbow. “Tiny? I’m going to dance, OK?” I turned and saw Evelyn holding the arm of the sandy-haired man, an eager expression on her face. The man smiled and said hello, but I barely heard him. I managed to give Evelyn a half-smile.

  “Enjoy the music,” Enzo told them, his words slurring a little. He flagged down the bartender while I pressed a hand to my stomach. Get out of here. He’s drunk. But when he handed me the second cocktail and held up his glass to me, my resolve faltered.

  He’s so damn gorgeous. I’ll just look at him while I have one more drink. No harm in looking, right?

  “I’d invite you to join me at my table, but I don’t think it would go over well,” he said.

  “Probably not.”

  “And having you so close might be more than I can bear, anyway.”

  I glugged my champagne like it was water and said nothing.

  “So then, I bid you farewell for tonight.” He picked up my left hand and kissed the back of it before sauntering away. I watched him walk to his table, where Gina tugged him into a chair and sat on his lap.

  Bitch.

  “Hey,” came a menacing whine from behind me. “What’s the big idea with my brother?”

  Fucking Raymond. I turned and glued a smile to my face. “I just needed Enzo for a moment.”

  “You and every other dumb Dora in this town.” A toothpick hung out of his mouth and he grabbed it, poking at the air between us. “You should be talkin’ to me. I’m the one that’s getting you what you want, ain’t I?”

  “That’s right. You are,” I said, doing my best Rosie routine. “I don’t know why I was wasting my time with him.”

  Raymond nodded and stuck the toothpick back in his mouth. “That’s better. Say, want to go up to a room?”

  I sipped my drink and smiled with tight lips. “I have a friend here. I shouldn’t leave her alone.”

  “You could bring her too. I got some booze stashed away up there.”

  “How clever of you.”

  He puffed out his chest. “I am clever. They don’t believe it, but I am.” He looked toward Enzo’s table. “And pretty soon I’m gonna make my move.”

  “What move?”

  He whipped his eyes back to me. “Don’t you worry about it none, doll. You’ll know it when I do. Everybody will.”

  My stomach lurched, and I set down the drink. I have to leave. I’d paid Enzo back, and being around him was too frustrating. I’ll just go home and wait for Joey to bring me good news about the rum heist. I hope those guys rob the fucking DiFiores blind. “You know, I’m suddenly not feeling too well,” I said. “I think I should find my friend and head home. Excuse me.”

  “Don’t forget about tomorrow night and the rum,” he called as I walked away. “It’s the real malloy.”

  McCoy, you asshole. Spotting Evelyn on the dance floor, I waited for the song to finish before approaching. I tapped her shoulder, and when she turned to me her face was flushed and radiant. It fell when I asked if she’d mind leaving now.

  “I can take her home later,” her partner volunteered. “I’d like to, in fact.” He smiled at her, and he looked like a decent guy, but I felt strange about leaving her.

  “But we have that early shift tomorrow.” I made sharp eye contact with Evelyn, giving her the chance to let him down easy if she’d prefer to go with me.

  “I switched mine, remember?” She patted my hand. “It’s all right. Ted can drive me. And Rosie’s here too.” She pointed to a table near the dance floor, where Rosie was cuddling up to a tall man in a tuxedo.

  “All right. Well, have fun.” I hugged her and headed for the exit, refusing to look in the direction of Enzo and Gina’s table.

  If I had, I would’ve seen that Enzo wasn’t there.

  Just as I reached the hallway leading to the exit, he stepped in front of me, his eyes snapping with anger. “Why were you talking to Raymond?”

  “None of your business.” My heart clunked.

  “He’s an idiot,” Enzo spat, and I realized he wasn’t so much suspicious as jealous.

  Ha! How do you like it? “You’re drunk,” I hissed. “Go back to your girl and her Kentucky distillery.” I tried to step around him, but he wrapped his fingers around my forearm, his eyes darkening with fury.

  “No.”

  I attempted to shake him off. “Let me go.”

&nbs
p; “I want you to stay.”

  “And I’m sure you’re used to getting what you want from women, but the answer is no.” I clenched my teeth and my thighs together. “Now let go of my arm.” He only gripped me harder, pulled me closer.

  “I know you want me.”

  How badly I wanted to deny it, but my insides were aching for him. I lifted my chin. “I want you to beg.”

  A smile spread across his lips before he yanked me behind a red curtain into the dim hatcheck room. “Leave us,” he said to the girl working in there. She slipped out without a word, and Enzo swung the curtain closed. Then he spun me around, twisting my right arm behind my back and crushing my chest to the wall. I gasped as he pressed into me, heating the side of my face with heavy breaths. His tongue traced the shell of my ear. “You want me to beg?”

  I could feel how hard he was against the small of my back. Every inch of me buzzed with fearsome desire. “Yes.”

  “You drive a hard bargain, Miss O’Mara.” Grinding against me, he whispered in my ear. “I’m begging you. Please.”

  In that moment I knew nothing but want—for his body, for total abandon, for the mindless ecstasy I knew he could bring. “Yes,” I said. “Yes.”

  “In five minutes, give my name to the bartender and he’ll let you into the storage room. I’ll meet you at the entrance to the tunnel.” Releasing me, he disappeared through the curtain.

  I stood there, mouth open, my breath coming quick and heavy. The hatcheck girl returned and I avoided meeting her eyes. Don’t look at anyone, I told myself as I slipped through the curtain. Keep your eyes low, put one foot in front of the other, and for God’s sake, don’t think! Hurrying to the bar on surprisingly steady legs, I pictured him in his black three-piece suit. Imagined those pieces coming off, one by one.

  Yes, I wanted his clothes off. I wanted to feel his bare, hot skin on mine. I wanted to make him weak with desire and bring him to heel. I wanted to hear him say he wanted me, couldn’t resist me. Keeping my back to the room, I counted off five minutes, growing more agitated with every passing second. Speaking low, I gave the bartender his name and was granted access to the storage room. I walked to the far wall, and two seconds later the door opened and Enzo pulled me into the tunnel. As soon as he shut the door behind me, I lunged for him. His arms lashed around my back and his whisky-flavored tongue drove into my mouth, igniting a flame at my center that flared throughout my body like wildfire. I tried to push his coat from his shoulders.

  “Not here.” He took my arm and pulled me quickly through the blindingly dark tunnel. We exited into a stairwell, and I stumbled going up. He caught me by the elbows, dragging me to my feet, and five seconds later we burst into the paneled hallway, which was dark and empty of guards.

  Is he taking me to the office again? We raced down the hall, and for one fleeting moment, I had the fear that it was all a setup and Angel would be waiting for me behind his desk, ready to impose a new deadline or demand more money.

  At the office door, Enzo took out his keys and unlocked it before shoving me inside. Then he shut the door behind us and locked it again with a loud click. In the silence that followed, I was glad to hear his breathing was as labored as mine. His keys and my purse hit the floor. My heart felt as if it would crack my ribs, it rattled against them so hard.

  “My father is away tonight.” Enzo moved toward me in the darkness.

  “Is he?” I took a step back, wanting him to chase me.

  “Yes. So this is my office right now. Everything in it is mine.” As my eyes adjusted, I watched him remove his coat and unbutton his vest. My insides jittered in anticipation, and I backed up further. He dropped the vest and loosened his tie as my back hit the sideboard, rattling the decanters and glassware on top. I made a quarter turn and kept moving backward. He pursued me slowly, releasing his arms from his braces, ditching his collar and tie, and unbuttoning his shirt. My tailbone hit something hard. “Stay there,” he said. “I want to fuck you on that desk.”

  He closed the distance between us quickly, pulling his shirt from his trousers. Caging me in with a hand on either side of my hips, he devoured his way down my neck to my shoulder. My nipples peaked in response to the nearness of his mouth. I wanted it. I wanted everything. Right now. “Do it,” I whispered.

  His voice was raw with want. “I’ve thought of nothing else since I last saw you. I can’t even look at this fucking piece of furniture without seeing your legs open for me.” As I sucked in air, he caught me underneath the arms and set me on top of the desk.

  Pulse pounding, I pulled my dress up to my hips, revealing the lace between my legs. Then I opened my knees. Wide. “Like this?” Finally my voice was low and sultry, like I always wished it would be.

  “Yes.” Running his palms up my thighs, he unsnapped the step-in with deft fingers. “Just like that.” I trembled as he dipped one finger inside me, opening my legs even more. I wanted that finger deeper, wanted to move against it. But he removed it and rubbed its wetness over my clitoris, making everything inside me twist and tighten. Then he slipped the finger back in, deeper this time.

  “Oh my God,” I murmured, falling back onto my elbows. Deep inside me, a slow pull began, rendering me thoughtless and needy beyond expression but for a single word—yes.

  Yes. Yes. Yes.

  Suddenly yes was the most beautiful word in the English language, and I couldn’t stop thinking it. And when he dropped to his knees and put his lips on the inside of my thigh above the garter, I began breathing it, speaking it, the word breaking out in gasps through my open mouth.

  Keeping my legs apart with his hands, he kissed his way up one thigh, and then the other. Soft kisses with warm lips and hot breath that made my limbs quiver. With his velvet tongue, he traced a line up the seam at my fiery hot center and then slid a fingertip back inside me. Barely.

  I whimpered in protest.

  “Beg,” he said.

  Before I could release my lower lip from between my teeth to plead with him, he retraced the upward sweep with his tongue, using more pressure. One long, slow stroke that had me writhing in need.

  Then he did it again.

  And again.

  After the third time, which had me moaning his name along with God’s, he lingered at the top, torturing me with decadent swirls and featherlight flicks. Every nerve ending in my body was on fire, and the tight ache beneath his tongue was growing too difficult to bear.

  “Please,” I rasped. “Oh God, Enzo, just—”

  But I lost the ability to speak then, because he plunged two fingers deep inside me, all the way this time. And as he moved them in a steady rhythm, he continued tantalizing me with his mouth, licking and kissing and gently sucking. I threw my head back and the world went liquid and golden as the tightness peaked and every muscle in my body clenched. The orgasm built quickly and roared through me in glorious waves of ecstasy and relief.

  While I gasped for air, Enzo stood and undid the cuffs of his shirt. The masculine task had me panting even harder. He dropped the shirt from his shoulders and pulled his undershirt over his head. The sight of his bare sculpted chest sent me reeling.

  “Fuck,” I whispered, sitting up to run my hands over his hot skin. He unbuckled his belt, and my insides quickened again. “Why do I want you so badly?” I swept his hands aside and unbuttoned his trousers myself, pushing them and his underwear down just enough to get my hands on him. Shivers rocketed through me as I recalled his promise at the bar… First with my fingers. Then with my tongue. Then with my big, hard cock.

  Squeezing the solid column of flesh in both hands, one atop the other, I dragged them up and down, slow at first, and then faster. He grew slicker beneath my fingers, and I loved watching his face as I made him grow harder and thicker and more desperate for me. He closed his eyes, struggling for control. “You want me the same reason I want you,” he growled, taking my hands by the wrists and pinning them back on the desk. Then he wrapped one arm around my hip, pulled me toward h
im and slowly eased his cock into the tight, wet space inside me. “We always want what we can’t have.”

  I clutched his shoulders, expecting pain, but I felt none at first, only the sensation of being stretched, and then an exquisite fullness. But just when I thought he was all the way in, he pushed further, making me gasp at the quick, sharp stab deep within. “God, you’re so tight,” he moaned. “It feels so fucking good.”

  His words riled me even more, and I moved my hands to his hips to pull him deeper into me. He groaned as if in pain and finally thrust all the way in, both of us crying out at the shock and pleasure of it. Setting a measured rhythm against me, he whispered, “I knew it would feel this good. I told myself not to fuck you, because I’ve never been this hungry for anyone. But when I look at you, I am fucking insatiable. It’s dangerous.”

  “What’s so dangerous about me?” I breathed, barely able to talk but thrilling at the sound of his voice, the words he was saying.

  “A man…should never reveal his…weakness to his enemies.” He struggled to speak, battling against his body’s need to lose control.

  “So which am I—weakness or enemy?” I dug my nails into his skin.

  “Both,” he answered, thrusting faster. Sirens went off in my head as my body responded by growing even wetter. We’d have to stop soon, or else—

  He froze.

  “Fuck.” Pulling out of me, he yanked up his pants. “Fix yourself up, hurry.”

  I shook my head, sputtering in disbelief. “What? What?”

  “It’s a raid. We have to get out of here.”

  I suddenly realized the sirens in my head were actual sirens, probably some kind of alarm system in the club. With shaking hands, I pushed my dress down and hopped to the floor without even doing up the snaps between my legs.

  “Listen carefully,” Enzo said, buttoning his shirt. “I’m going to take you out a back door and put you in a car. As soon as I find my driver, he’ll come out to take you home. Damn it, why tonight, of all nights!”

  I was thinking the same thing, but it wasn’t just me I was worried about. “What about all the people down there? I can’t leave my friend!”