Angel motioned to his guards. “Bring Jack O’Mara back to the city. I have a prior engagement tonight, but I’ll speak with him tomorrow.” He turned to Raymond. “He’d better still be there. And the money too.”
Raymond colored again. “It’s there.”
“Good. Until we’re sure, we’ll just keep his daughter safe and sound here. Now will someone take her to a nice room and let her relax? See that she has everything she needs to be comfortable.” He came toward me and I shrank back.
“No need to be frightened, cara. We’re going to work together now.” He leaned over and kissed each cheek. His lips were cold.
#
I refused to look at Enzo as he followed his father out of the club. After I retrieved my shoes, a guard led me to a room much like the one I’d been in before—still no phone and no way to get out the window. I sat on the bed, my head pounding. After a short time, a maid brought a tray of roasted chicken and vegetables. She set it on the dresser and left without speaking, and I stared at the food for a few minutes. It looked and smelled so delicious, it wore down my determination not to accept any favors from the DiFiores. I ate every bite. And licked the plate.
A few minutes later, the maid brought a stack of white towels and some soap, a toothbrush, and a tube of Colgate. I looked at the maid in disbelief, a timid woman probably in her forties, wearing a black uniform with a white apron. “So what am I, then, guest or prisoner?” I asked her.
“Miss,” she said, leaving the room without ever meeting my eyes.
I sighed. The truth was probably somewhere in between.
After I cleaned up, I put on my chemise but left the dirty blue dress on the chair. Once I got home, I planned on burning it. Crawling into the bed, I got under the covers and looked out the window. My mind was reeling as I tried to digest the horrors I’d experienced.
I’d been kidnapped at gunpoint. Robbed. I’d seen a man shot to death. I’d made a deal with Raymond to free Daddy and been taken hostage myself. I’d learned that Enzo has a fiancée.
Somehow, it was that final thought that tore the first sob from my chest.
Why? I thought angrily, tears leaking from my eyes. Why the hell should it? It wasn’t as if I’d thought I would marry him. We never should have fooled around in the first place. Had he owed me the whole truth? Admittedly, part of our spark was how forbidden it was. And I’d already known about Gina, although I’d assumed she was only his girlfriend. So what was I so mad about?
Wiping my eyes, I flopped onto my side and curled into a ball, considering a new wrinkle. Did I have feelings for him I hadn’t admitted to myself, or even recognized? But that was ridiculous! An intense physical attraction like ours didn’t mean anything. He told me himself I drove him crazy. We don’t even really like each other, for God’s sake. Maybe Gina’s the one to feel sorry for, a future with a man like that.
But I couldn’t bring myself to pity her.
#
A while later—a glance out my window showed a black sky—I heard a soft knock. It wasn’t Raymond’s hamfisted pounding, so I went to the door. “Yes?”
“It’s me.” The voice was Enzo’s. “Can I come in?”
My legs went rubbery. Half of me was furious with him; the other half knew I shared the blame. So he’d hidden some truth—I had too. “I suppose.” I opened the door, and saw the flicker of desire in his eyes as he took in my bare shoulders and legs.
“How are you?” he asked quietly, hands in his pockets. His hair was slightly tousled and his collar was loose, making him look much like he had leaving my bedroom last night. All that plus the soft, warm expression on his face was enough to make my breath come quicker. Don’t look at me that way, you son of a bitch.
“OK.” I stepped back, allowing him to enter, and closed the door.
“Have you eaten?” He crossed to the windowsill and leaned against it. “I asked them to bring you dinner.”
“I ate.” Perching stiffly at the edge of the bed, I stared at the floor. “Has my father been released?”
“Yes. I spoke with my father and he agreed to let Jack go home. I saw to it myself.”
I looked sharply at him. “Then why am I still—”
“My father wants to keep you here until the terms of the deal are decided, which will be sometime tomorrow. I assured Jack you would be under my protection tonight.”
“How convenient,” I snapped. We stared at each other as the tension ratcheted up another notch.
“Tiny, about what Raymond said. I—”
“I don’t want to talk about anything he said. None of it matters.”
He nodded. “Fair enough.”
A hot laugh escaped me. “Fair. What’s fair?” I glared at him. “It isn’t fair that my mother died giving birth ten years ago. Or that my little sisters are growing up with me for a mother. It isn’t fair that my brother-in-law was shot twenty-one times protecting some fat boss who probably didn’t give a shit about him. It isn’t fair that my nephews will grow up without a father.” I stood up, the heat of indignation rushing through my veins. “It isn’t fair that I used up all my tuition money to pay the ransom your father demanded. And it isn’t fair that I’m trapped here—in this room, in this city, in this life.” I turned away from him, my arms tight across my chest. “And it definitely isn’t fair that I still want you. So stop looking at me that way.”
Silence. “I can’t. I wish I could.”
I heard his footsteps on the wood floor. When he put his hands on my shoulders, it sent gooseflesh down my arms. I sighed. “Go away, Enzo.”
He slipped aside one strap of my chemise and rubbed his lips on my skin.
I stepped out of his reach and met his eyes. “You could have told me you were engaged to be married.”
“Why? Would it have made a difference?”
“Yes. I wouldn’t have…done those things with you.”
“I’m not getting married any time soon, Tiny. It was more of a business deal than anything else. I told you, Gina’s father owns a distillery, and I want to—”
“Please.” I held up one hand. “You’re making it worse.”
He was quiet a moment. “You know, you still owe me some information.”
I narrowed my eyes. “We need to renegotiate our terms. The situation has changed.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. If my father still has to give up a percentage of his business to you, and I’m going to put myself at risk so you can get your revenge on Scarfone, I want a piece of the action. Enough to pay my tuition this fall.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You do a good job for me, I’ll see that you have what you need. More even.”
“And you’ll keep your brother away from me.” I shuddered.
Enzo set his mouth in a line. “He won’t bother you.”
“Good. Then we have a deal.” I held out my hand, and he looked at it.
“That’s how you want to seal it?”
“Of course it isn’t. But you have a fancy, remember?”
He smiled ruefully but took my hand and squeezed it. “If you change your mind, I’m going to stay in the room next door tonight.” He let himself out and I locked the door a moment later, my heart tripping faster. He shouldn’t have told me he was staying next door.
I wished there was a way to lock myself in.
Chapter Nineteen
The clock on the bedside table told me it was just after ten when Enzo left. For a moment, I forgot what day it was, and then realized it was Friday—the club downstairs was probably packed. I was amazed I couldn’t hear the music up here and wondered if Evelyn had come back with her new friend. How nice would it be just to meet a handsome guy at a club? Share a drink, a dance, a laugh, a kiss, maybe more... My head still ached and my limbs felt heavy as I crawled between the cool white sheets again and closed my eyes. I was exhausted.
But I couldn’t sleep.
He’s right next door. One wall away.
Did he wear pajamas or slee
p naked? I felt that weightless swoosh in my belly, the one I got every time I thought about Enzo’s body.
Don’t think about it.
I punched the pillow a few times and put my face in it. How absurd that I wanted him even more now that I knew he had a fiancée. Maybe we can be together just once more, I thought, desire seeping beneath my resolve. One more time won’t hurt anybody. And I’ll never stay here overnight again, so I won’t be tempted like this in the future.
I sat up and swung my legs over the edge of the bed.
Should I?
Of course not!
“But I want to,” I heard myself whine softly.
A clicking noise at the door sent a chill up my spine. It opened and slammed. Before I had time to react, someone was upon me in the blackness, thrashing around and fumbling with my chemise. I couldn’t see anything, but the bulky chest told me who it was before he even spoke.
“You little whore.” Raymond shoved me onto my back. “I know Enzo was in here. For once he wants what I have and I’m not gonna let him take it.” He dragged my slip up to my hips. One hand clamped down on my mouth and he used the other one to undo his pants. Frantically I fought him off, bringing one knee up sharply into his groin. “Bitch!” He slapped me across the face and grabbed his crotch, and I used the momentary pause in his aggression to wriggle out from underneath him. I just needed one good breath to get a scream out, but he was back on me in a second, bearing down with a force I couldn’t overcome. I twisted and kicked and pummeled him with my fists, anything to keep him from touching me where he wanted to. When he leaned over me, I butted my head into his chin.
“Ow!” he yelled, lifting his chest off me slightly. But he managed to get his knees between my legs and pry them open. The hand returned to my mouth. I needed him to stop moving if I was going to get another solid knee to his balls, so I went still, as if I were giving up.
It worked—he was surprised and stopped moving. “There, see?” He put his hand on my thigh. “I bet you’ll like this.” Suddenly a ray of light streamed into the room and he was lifted off me.
“Bastard!” Enzo threw Raymond into the dresser and punched him in the face so fiercely blood spurted from his nose.
I scrambled to my knees and scooted backward on the bed. The two brothers fought hard, punching and kicking and tumbling to the floor. Someone bumped the lamp and it went over with a crash. I hated watching, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away. Raymond had the advantage of his hefty size, but Enzo was in better shape and quicker with his hands. At one point, Raymond was knocked backward onto the bed and I squealed, jumping to the floor. When I spied a smaller lamp on the bedside table, I shocked myself by having the wherewithal to grab it, yanking the cord from the socket. I hurried to the foot of the bed, where Enzo had Raymond pinned, his head toward me.
I did the only thing I could think of—clocked Raymond in the temple with the metal base of the lamp as hard as I could, on both sides of his big fat head. Then I backed up until I hit the wall, and black clouds swarmed my vision.
#
“Tiny! Are you OK?”
I opened my eyes and the kneeling figure of Enzo emerged from a gray haze.
“No.” I was still holding the lamp.
“Come on. Let’s get you out of here.” He took the lamp from my hand, pulled me up and led me to the room next door, where he gently pushed me onto the bed and told me to stay put. He left, shutting the door behind him. I sat in the darkness, listening to myself breathe. My entire body shook violently. Bringing my knees to my chin, I wrapped my arms around my legs. Men’s voices in the next room filtered through the wall, and the door thumped several times.
After a while, Enzo re-entered the room and switched on the light. His sleeveless white undershirt was spattered with blood. So were his hands. He washed up in the bathroom, behind a closed door. When he emerged, his skin was clean and his hair was damp. A bruise was forming on his right cheekbone, and he had red marks on his throat, but his face still made my insides tighten. He sat next to me on the bed.
“Did he hurt you?”
I shivered. “He wanted to.”
He reached for the tender spot on my cheek. “That looks painful.”
“It’s fine,” I said, leaning away from his touch.
“No, it isn’t. I’m sorry, Tiny. I don’t know what the fuck he was thinking. I never have.”
“He said he heard you were in my room. That’s what set him off.”
“One of the men must have seen me.”
“Why would they tell him?”
He shrugged. “Everyone’s for sale.”
I closed my eyes, the weight of his words sinking deep. “Where is he now?”
“He was put in a car and driven to the hospital.” Amusement crept into his voice. “You knocked him out cold, and he needs stitches.”
I opened my eyes and stared hard at him. “He deserved it.”
“He deserved worse.” For a second I thought he might try to touch me again, but he didn’t.
It’s better this way. I sighed. “Enzo, I want to go home. I want an end to this—I’m tired of danger at every turn. I just want to be a regular girl.”
He was quiet a moment. “No, you don’t.”
My feet dropped to the floor. “What?”
“You don’t want to be a regular girl. You like danger. You wouldn’t be in the bootleg business otherwise.”
I jumped up from the bed, my hands shaking. “You don’t know anything about me,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Yes, I do.”
His ability to stay calm while getting under my skin made me itchy with rage. “Go to hell, Enzo! You’re nothing but a liar and a cheat and—”
He was on his feet with his mouth on mine in a heartbeat, hands wrapped around my head. Momentarily stunned, my body went slack. “I love when you get angry with me,” he whispered against my lips, hands running down my arms. “Your body is all heat.”
“Because I’m mad!” I pushed against his chest. “I was attacked tonight!”
“Let me make it up to you.” He caught my waist and pulled me near, touching his lips to my forehead. “I’ll make you forget everything, even your name.”
Swoosh. “No,” I said, my heart pounding with alternate beats of fury and desire. I pushed him away again and crossed my arms over my breasts, which were tingling. “You can’t have me.”
He whipped his stained t-shirt over his head in one smooth motion and let it drop. My belly warmed at the sight of his bare chest and golden skin. A slow smile crept onto his lips as he came toward me. “You want me to go?” he asked. “Because I will. I can’t let you leave tonight, but if you’d rather be alone…”
I backed away from him.
Tell him to go. Tell him to go. Tell him to go.
But I couldn’t say the words.
“Go on, Tiny,” he said, coming toward me as my back hit the door. “Tell me to leave.” He put his arms on either side of my head, bringing his face close to mine. “Say you don’t want me.”
A groan escaped me as he swept his lips across my forehead, bent his knees and pressed his hips against mine, letting me know he was hard and ready. He always wins. I hate him. “No.” Ducking down, I escaped the cage of his arms and ran for the bed, hopping up on it and standing above him for once.
He faced me. “No, what?”
“I won’t say I don’t want you. I can’t.”
He came forward and wrapped his arms around my legs, pressing his mouth to the spot that ached for him most. Through the thin cotton of my slip and underwear, his lips and tongue devoured me, and my knees trembled.
“Oh my God,” I whimpered, putting my hands on his shoulders to stay upright.
His hands slid from my calves up the back of my thighs and squeezed my buttocks, pulling me tighter to his mouth. When he moaned, I felt the vibrations go through me like an electric shock. He slipped my underwear down to my ankles and I stepped out of it. “Take your slip off,�
� he whispered. I grabbed my chemise at the hem and lifted it over my head. He took my breasts in his hands and massaged them gently before rubbing the back of his fingers over their hard peaks. My desire rocketed. “Enzo. I want you. Right now.”
“Wait.” Taking my hips in his hands, he pushed me back slightly so he could kneel on the bed in front of me. One hand reached for my breast, while two fingers of the other slipped inside me, slowly, easily. I tried to breathe, but need was choking me. He took my nipple between his thumb and finger, and when he pinched it, somehow I felt it deep within my belly. His other hand penetrated me rhythmically as he kissed the insides of each thigh. When he swept his tongue up the silky seam between my legs, lingering at the top, I felt myself swaying and knew I couldn’t remain standing.
Dropping to my knees, I ran my hands and lips over the hard lines of his chest and shoulders as he unbuttoned his trousers. Then I sat on my heels while he undressed, my heart racing in anticipation. Every article of clothing that came off kicked my pulse up higher. By the time he was naked and reaching for me, I was panting.
I fell backward as our bodies and mouths came together. His weight on me was glorious and exhilarating, and I wrapped both my legs around one of his. He propped himself up on his elbows and kissed me ravenously, his tongue driving into my mouth. I reached down and took his thick flesh in my hand, sheathing and stroking it the way I had in my room. I know what he likes. The thought aroused me beyond belief. I needed to say it out loud, needed him to hear it.
“I know what you want,” I said, looking him in the eye. “I know what you like.” His cock grew harder in my grip, and I moved my hand faster.
“Not yet,” he said, his voice gravelly. I arched my back as he kissed his way down my throat and chest, taking one nipple in his mouth and sucking it. My knees fell wide open, and long fingers pushed inside me, once, twice, three times. I lifted my hips, desperate for more.
“Enzo,” I begged, digging my fingers into his shoulders. “Now. Please.”
He moved to the other breast, circling the nipple with his tongue before kissing his way back up my neck. “What do you want?” he asked, his breath tickling my ear. He bit my earlobe gently. “You have to tell me.” He lifted his hips and set them on mine, rubbing his cock against me in just the right spot. “Tell me you want me to fuck you. Say it.”
Speak Easy Page 20