“Yes, yes, more, more like that,” Bella nearly screamed.
Her breasts were heaving against my chest, and I wished the lights were on so I could watch. I wanted so badly to see Bella as she came undone. Instead, I could only imagine how she was tossing her head, biting her lip, her body thrashing under my touch. Closing my eyes, I pressed my face into her neck to breathe her in. Pumping even harder, I began curling my fingers each time, and Bella’s body began to shake, the sounds spilling from her throat coming faster, and faster.
It was so hot, I almost exploded in my pants like a teenager.
“Don’t forget who made you feel like this,” I growled, pressing my cheek to hers and something like a whimper escaped her chest. “Imagine my swollen cock ramming into your tight little pussy, Bella. Imagine it right now, and fucking come for me.”
Sounds were spilling in a tumult from Bella’s lips. Nudging her open even wider, I now drove in and out with three of my fingers in a merciless, unrestrained rhythm.
Slide in, pull out. Push. Curl. Pant. Again, and again.
Fuck yes.
A sexy, deep-throated scream erupted from Bella as her body went rigid under my hands. Molten walls clenched around my fingers, and she came, shaking so hard that I had to loop an arm around her back to keep her from falling on the floor. For a long moment, we stayed like that until the quakes became light tremors and her breath began to slow.
“Oh, Colt, oh my God,” she murmured, as she got her footing, and I let go of her.
“Fuck,” I muttered and slid my hand out, already missing her warmth. I stumbled away, forgetting where I was until my back hit the opposite wall.
For a moment, all I could think about was starting all over again, but this time with my mouth…and then my hands again, and then my cock.
Keeping her up all night long.
I wanted to drag my tongue across her dancer calves, bite that toned ass, and memorize her mouth. Hear her make that noise over and over again.
But something had splintered apart in me when Bella had come. My big plan for making this memorable for her had backfired somehow. Now all I could think about was how I’d never forget it. I hadn’t even come and it was one of the most erotic and hottest experiences I’d ever had.
The dark, the closeness, her scent. Our harsh breathing as it echoed in the elevator.
Maybe it was making her come but being left hard and wanting…or maybe it was something in her voice as she said my name that had shook me. My mind could barely hang on to those thoughts, though, as I reached down and found my jacket. It was like everything was fighting me as I tried to come up for air.
Don’t let her go! roared a voice deep inside of me. Gritting my jaw, I ignored it. It was exactly that kind of shit that was the reason I needed to get the fuck out of here.
I could hear Bella now, quietly shuffling, straightening her clothes and saying nothing. I could hear her fumbling for the buttons on the elevator and, a second later, the lights flicked on and our eyes met.
She was a disheveled, glorious mess of rosy curls and cheeks. A hickey blossomed on the side of her neck, her eyes were heavy-lidded, and her lips swollen from my mouth. She looked almost as shattered as I felt.
The box lurched into motion and I cleared my throat, trying to ignore the painful ache of my cock that was still so hard, it could’ve cut glass. I’d told her this was a dark place of mad magic. One I hadn’t realized was pulling me in so deeply and quickly. Sensing I was treading dangerous waters I’d never been in before, I forced myself to look away, even though it was like being cut open with a whip.
When we reached her floor, both of us left the elevator immediately. Bella’s head was down, and she said “good night” so quietly, I almost didn’t hear her.
I heard the snap of her door closing though, and it jerked me out of my stupor. She hadn’t even invited me in and I could barely bring myself to care. I had to get home, get the hell away from her, and jerk off this tension.
Get her out of my head.
Out of my soul.
Out of my blood.
Turning on my heel, I found the exit staircase, and stormed down the seven flights. Bella was the first woman to ever blue-ball me twice in one day. She’d woven a web around me and I hadn’t seen it until it was too late. Until I was bouncing off the ropes, spinning, and hitting the ground.
I’d known she was trouble. I just hadn’t known I was in trouble.
Because, not only was this woman setting records. She was also fucking with my head like no one ever had. And I was Colt Capestrana. I didn’t get my head fucked with.
Christ, did I need to get out of this mess before it was too late.
Chapter Seven
Bella
The next morning I lay curled up in bed for hours, fingers knotted in the blankets, and a mess of emotions burning their way through my body. Desire still pulsed through me like a runway for more bad decisions, while shame, shock, and sorrow burrowed into my gut.
When I first woke up, still half-asleep, I’d reached over for Colt. Then I sat up straight in bed, trying to catch my breath, eyes wide.
What the hell is wrong with me?
A cruel reply mocked me, like a twisted lullaby.
Sleep with the enemy, then sleep with the fishes.
I couldn’t believe I let things go that far last night. It was as though I’d stumbled in and out of a dream in that elevator. Colt’s suggestive promises still whispered in my ears. I could feel his lips against my neck, hands roaming over my skin, and then those big, capable fingers bringing me over the edge.
Honestly, now I couldn’t imagine what actually sleeping with him would do to me.
Hey, no guilt though, right?
Well, maybe a little guilt.
I did wake up craving Colt, after all. And never had I thirsted after pleasure from a man like this. So satisfying, it had you shaking like an addict for more. So consuming, you were reeling from the aftershocks hours later.
No biology in the world could create an attraction like that.
Lifting a hand to my eyes, I watched my fingers tremble, and clenched it into a fist. I didn’t know what the hell was wrong with me. But I had to get it together.
Maybe I was subconsciously working out absent daddy issues or something. I mean, after all, Emilio had landed me in this mess, whether he intended to or not.
Or maybe a year with no play really did take a toll on a girl.
Also, as much as I tried to recapture that hatred and disgust that had sustained me these last few weeks, I couldn’t. I could barely summon a shadow of what I’d felt, it’d been so outpaced by these wild, uncontrollable desires for Colt.
Now I was afraid in a way I hadn’t been before. But gritting my teeth, I crushed it all down.
Everything’s gonna be fine. I’ll figure this out. And Colt will get his.
Checking my phone, I saw that it was after ten and forced myself to get out of bed. As I stretched, I smirked a little. If there was one good thing about any of this, it was that Colt was clearly supernova levels of hot for me.
When the elevator had started working again, he’d looked like someone had hit him in the head with an anvil. And if his dick had been any harder, he could have hit a homerun out of Citi Field, Granderson style.
Slowly I stood up, and made my way across the room, pausing to glance in the mirror. Lightly I touched the hickey on my neck and grimaced.
How the hell was I going to use Colt’s attraction to me to my advantage now, though? And how was I not going to keep thinking about those skilled, big hands of his? I was stuck between a rock and a hard place, or rather, a hard cock and a pair of magic hands.
“Merde,” I muttered out loud.
Then my phone buzzed. My heart leapt into my throat. What if it was Colt? What if he wanted to hang out? Should I? And why did I suddenly feel like one of those girls who freaked out and overanalyzed every move a guy made to figure out whether he likes her?
&n
bsp; Snatching my phone up, I scanned it, and my shoulders slumped. It was my cousin Lisa, finally texting back. Relief mixed with disappointment that I didn’t want to think about.
She wanted to meet up for hot cocoa and girl talk. Apparently the reason she’d been blowing me off was because she was out of the country, backpacking in Australia up until two days ago.
I typed out a quick reply.
Damn, girl. No apology needed. Should’ve known it was something like that.
Lisa would know what to do, I realized. She was my closest, wisest girl cousin, and would have inside intel on the Capestranas. Also, Justin mentioned how she used to do the books for my dad while she’d been in college. Texts flying, we coordinated a Manhattan outing and planned to spend the afternoon together.
Not only did I need to get my mind off of things, namely Colt, but I also couldn’t risk being seen in this town with her. Someone from the old neighborhood could recognize Lisa and might start putting two and two together.
Once she’d agreed, I got ready for the day, dressing down a little. Chunky scarf, plaid leggings, and combat boots. No thigh-highs for a while.
On the train to Manhattan, I found myself shifting around in my seat as my thoughts kept circling back to Colt. It was insane. How did he do this to me in such a short period of time? To distract myself, I thumbed through my phone, and opened the podcasts app.
I needed something to mellow me out because my nerves were fried so I cued up some meditations and stumbled across something called “meditating your way to freedom”. It was supposed to help women utilize self-hypnosis to “un-attract” themselves from the “wrong guy”.
Curious, I opened it, and glanced around. The train was practically empty so maybe no one would notice if I was doing weird breathing or ohms.
Slowly I pulled out my headphones and plugged them in.
Closing my eyes, I tried to follow along. First it took me through a basic kind of deep breathing thing, which was okay. But then it started saying, “Now, when you exhale, push him out of you along with your breath. See him vanishing.”
A snort of laughter escaped me, but I hung in there for a while. The soothing voice was a bit too smug, and calm, though, and part of me wondered what Colt would say if he heard this.
Can’t get rid of me that easily, Rabbit.
“God damn it,” I muttered.
“Imagine you’re with him, now,” continued the voice. “His hands are on you, but all you feel is cold inside… Cold inside…”
Cold inside, cold inside.
Cold on my back…
Cold metal walls of the elevator pressed into my bare back. Warm hands.
Colt’s warm hands running down my stomach, teasing my thighs, slipping between my legs…
My breath caught as desire made liquid heat snake through me.
Yanking the headphones out of my ears, I had to quash the urge to hurl them across the train car. What bullshit. I should’ve known better.
Instead, I did what I usually do to numb the world’s problems. Cranked up the music.
Flipping through my playlists, I found a heavy metal one I used in emergencies, and put my headphones back in. Rammstein was far more satisfying and could dull more thoughts than hippy-dippy self-hypnosis any day.
An hour later, I finally made it to the Upper East Side, and the Petite Shell. Walking in, I scanned the place for Lisa. Suddenly two arms wrapped around me from behind and I was overwhelmed with the smell of a citrusy designer perfume.
“Bebe!” shouted a voice in my ear. “I can’t believe it!”
Extricating myself, I turned around, and beamed at Lisa. She was a curvy, and glam, and no-nonsense city chick all rolled into one. Right now she was wearing a pink fur-collared Fendi coat, diamond hoops, and high-heeled Timberlands. She looked like she belonged in a music video, not like someone who’d just been backpacking and living off the land in another continent. Lisa liked to call herself a tough “city brat” because she liked the finer things, but, because her part of the family had more financial ups and downs than mine due to her father’s gambling addiction, she also knew how to dig in and make due with scraps.
She was fearless, also the most versatile person I’d ever met. She could talk about anything under the sun, from celebrity gossip to geopolitics to indie films. Plus, she had an endless list of skills. Everything from curling eyelashes with a spoon to reprogramming computers to picking a lock.
I fucking loved her.
As I hugged her again, I said, “I missed you, Li.”
Walking over to join the line, I saw a few glances come our way, and Lisa’s lip curled. “What the hell are they lookin’ at?”
Like some New York Italians, Lisa wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. I couldn’t deny the fact that I sometimes encouraged her because it made me laugh.
So, smiling even wider, I teased her, “Probably think the fur is real.”
“What, from the elusive pink lion? Christ.” She glared at a couple of leggy blondes in yoga gear and poured on the accent. “It’s faux, sweethearts.”
I smothered laughter as the two women turned away looking scandalized, and I beamed at Lisa.
She never changed, which was exactly what I needed right now. A little stability and normalcy in my life.
“How was Australia?”
“Never mind that, how are you holding up? I’m so sorry about your dad.”
“Thank you. I’m okay, I guess.” I swallowed. “Still doesn’t seem real.”
“Aw, Bebe. If I’d known about the funeral I would’ve come back. I had no service in the outback, you know? Bix, that’s the guy I was with, well, one of them anyways.” She winked. “He insisted on a technology cleanse, so we couldn’t even turn our phones on even when we did have service.”
“Bix?” I echoed, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh yeah, he’s just a friend from down under,” explained Lisa, waving a hand. “Enough about me.” She paused and tucked a lock of dark hair behind one ear. “You’re back in Ehlrich, huh? But you’re not staying in the States, are you?”
I felt a twinge of uneasiness.
“Well, yeah, Lisa,” I responded in a low voice. “You know what happened, right?”
A flash of alarm went across my cousin’s face, but then we got up to the counter, and had to order.
Once we sat down, Lisa reached across the table, and squeezed my hand.
“I know the basics, I think. Look, Bebe, it’s not that I’m not thrilled to see you, I’m just a little worried. You had such a good life in Paris. Coming back here is like going backwards.”
“I had to come back.” I took a deep breath. “Justin’s in jail.”
A hard look came into Lisa’s eyes and her jaw set. “And?”
“Excuse me?” I asked, staring at her incredulously.
“Oh, no, Bebe. Sorry, I-I didn’t mean it like that.” Lisa’s face pinched. “Rudy’s told me bits and pieces, that’s all. He was living the life. It’s the risk they take, you know? I was surprised more of the guys didn’t get booked.”
“Well, the Capestranas orchestrated it to let Justin take the fall,” I replied hotly.
“Well, Justin and Uncle Giulio. Honestly, I thought Rudy was messing with me when he told me that.” Lisa let out a strained laugh. “I called him yesterday, guess he wasn’t as high as I thought.”
“Wait, Uncle Giulio got arrested, too?” I frowned. I knew the name but I was struggling to recall the face.
“Yeah, didn’t you hear?” Lisa patted my hand. “I don’t know if you ever met him. He was memorable, the mean old drunk. Dealt a lotta blow and shit. Only a matter of time before he landed behind bars.” Shaking her head, Lisa took a sip, and frowned. “Was my dad’s go-to-guy for pain meds. Wonder what he’s doing now.”
“Lisa,” I said softly, my heart aching. “How is he? How’s your mom?”
She shrugged, glancing away from me. “Frank’s still alive, defying medical odds, and Ma’s hanging in ther
e. She’s got a new man, works construction in Jersey. Solid guy, kinda boring, but good for her. Both of them are recovering, so as long as one stays sober, they both should. But Ma’s fighting with Frank again for money, trying to drag me into it...”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I said quietly, wishing I could think of something else to say.
“For what?” Lisa laughed. “Bella, I have a good life. I made it out of that city alive. I’m not an alcoholic, I don’t gamble, and I’ve never done drugs. That’s a lot more than you can say for most of the family.” Her face tightened. “Any of ‘em bugging you?”
“No, I haven’t heard from anyone except Rudy, Nevio, and Grandpa. And you.” I sipped my hot chocolate. “I don’t know why. Although you guys are also the only ones who ever visited me.”
“What’re you doing now, though? You’re not working for Rudy, right?” Lisa stared me down. “Please tell me you’re not going to waste all your talent by getting caught up in the family bullshit, Bella. You deserve so much better.”
“No. There’s no more work for our family in that town anyway, Lisa. The Capestranas made sure of that.” She raised her eyebrows at me, and I hesitated, before blurting out, “But I’m going to make sure they pay for what they did.”
Lisa’s eyes went huge. “Bella, what the hell do you mean by that?”
In a low voice, I rushed headlong into an explanation of the events of the last few weeks, explaining about the pole-dancing lessons, Rudy and Nevio’s information, the audition…all of it.
Even the stuff about Colt.
I couldn’t hold it in another second, and when I finished talking, I felt like an anvil had been lifted off my shoulders. While I felt better getting it off my chest, I knew I’d stunned my cousin because she didn’t utter a peep during the entire story. She just gawked at me, letting her hot chocolate get cold, and squeezing her hands together.
Okay, so maybe this hadn’t been a stellar idea.
I hunched over, and finished in a whisper, “I-I think I might be attracted to him, Lisa.” I paused. “The elevator thing was mind-blowing. I’ve never come like that before. I can’t believe it, I’m so furious with myself.”
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