"Then maybe my wife can set you up with one of her loose friends. Lord knows she has a lot of them," he said, taking another drink of his scotch.
"My friends are not loose, and I would prefer not to," I replied.
"I'm not really on the market right now," Liam said, waving off the notion.
Hook Liam up with someone else? I would never. No matter how much I wanted to lie to myself about the other night being a one-time thing, I surely couldn’t sit back and watch him with another woman.
"Well the offer stands, but if you'd excuse us? I promised my wife a private lunch."
"Of course," Liam said, standing up in his elegant dark gray suit, adorned with a light pink tie.
Only a real man would ever don a pink tie and be comfortable enough in his manhood to do it. I watched as he shook Christian's hand…oh what Christian would do to that hand if he ever found out it was used to make me cum in a dirty bathroom stall a few nights ago.
Liam reached over to shake mine. How dare he?
Fuck, this is going to turn out bad.
I took his hand and shook, careful not to make eye contact as gazing into his ice blues would make this even more awkward than it already was.
He left, leaving Christian and me alone for a romantic lunch together.
Fuck me.
If I thought I couldn’t get Liam out of my head before, I sure as hell couldn’t get him out of my mind after seeing him again.
"So, what did you think about Liam? Christian asked.
"He seems nice," I replied.
He seemed nice alright—nice enough to fuck.
God, why did I fuck him?
I'll tell you why—he's fine as hell, and I was desperate for the attention. It was just my luck that the one time I decided to cheat, it would be with someone who works for my psychotic, slit your throat and ask questions later, husband.
Christian leaned in, cupping my cheek with his palm. "I don't know what it is about you lately, but it reminds me of the girl I fell in love with all those years ago."
I smiled. I felt like a piece of shit for wanting Liam now that Christian was showing me the affection I had been longing for.
Why did he wait so long?
He pulled me in, pressing his lips to mine so gently. I tried to pretend it was just like every other superficial kiss he had given me, but it wasn’t. It was passionate and intense, and I melted into it like butter on a hot stove.
My eyes opened just as his did, his light green eyes so entrancing, I could see why he had his pick of women.
"I love you, baby girl," he whispered.
I sat back in my chair and changed the subject. I wasn’t prepared to respond to his profession of love. My heart didn’t have an on and off switch.
His phone rang before the waiter came, it was Rico, his second in command. Christian shot up from the table and glared at me, the vein in his neck throbbing.
He knows. He has to know.
"Bye," he said, slipping the phone into his pocket.
"What is it?" I stuttered, readying myself for a slap across the face, or a bullet wound to the head.
"Fuckin' scum trying to muscle in our turf. I gotta go and take care of this myself," he said, throwing his cloth napkin on the table before leaning in to kiss me.
I was relieved. "It's okay. Take care of what you have to. I'm going over to Celia's," I said, pulling the valet ticket from my purse.
In a flash he was gone, taking with him all the anxiety I felt. Leaning back in the chair, I called Celia, ready to tell her everything that had just happened.
"Girl, what the fuck? I've been over here thinking your ass was lying in a ditch somewhere."
"He was here."
"He who?" she asked confused.
"Him. The guy from the club. The guy from the fuckin' bathroom."
"What the fuck?"
"He's Christian's new lawyer."
"You're fuckin' with me?"
"Would I make some shit like this up?"
"No. You're not that creative," she sassed.
"Shut—" I paused in horror when Christian walked back into the room. "I gotta go," I said, hanging up the phone.
He looked at my widened eyes and slacked jaw.
What the fuck did he hear?
"I forgot my keys," he said, bending down to grab his keys which had fallen under his chair. "I'll see you at home," he said, winking at me as he walked back out.
I hadn’t said one word. Not that I could after my stomach jumped into my throat.
"Do you need anything, Mrs. Cerisi?" the waiter asked.
I waved him off with a smile and stood to leave. This room was nothing but trouble, and I needed to get as far away from here as possible. I gave the valet my ticket and zoomed off the minute he came back with my car and handed me the keys.
AY DIOS MIO
I pulled into Celia's driveway and ran as fast as my three-inch heels would allow. She met me at the door and threw her arms around me, then led me into her living room, where she already had two mugs waiting on the coffee table.
"What are you gonna do?" she asked, taking a sip from her cup.
"I guess just act like nothing ever happened."
"Is that possible?"
"I don’t know. That man is fine as hell, and I promise I got wet just sitting across from him."
"Oh, girl. No, no, no. You're gonna have to stay as far away from that man as possible."
"I know. But—"
"There is no but! You are lucky as hell you didn’t get caught the last time. Don't tempt fate."
My phone rang. We both looked at each other with bated breath. Slowly, I pulled it out of my purse and looked at the caller id. It was a number I didn’t recognize.
"Hello," I said.
"Lexi, it's me, Liam."
I put him on speakerphone to let Celia listen in. "Liam, what are you doing calling me? It's not safe."
"Why isn’t it safe?" he asked nonchalantly.
"You were sitting at the same table I was, right?"
"Yes—and?"
Celia nudged me with her elbow, and whispered, "This guy is a lunatic."
"What was that?" he asked.
"Nothing. It was my cousin Celia."
"Celia, from the club?"
"Stop talking about the club," I said frantically.
"I wanna see you," he replied calmly as if this morning hadn’t happened.
"Do you wanna get yourself killed?" Celia blurted out, then quickly covered her mouth with both her hands.
I shot her a look that could have killed.
"Am I on speaker phone?"
I snatched the phone and clicked off the speaker option, resting the phone against my ear. "No, you're not."
He chuckled. "Meet me at my office in downtown in half an hour."
"No way. No. We should have never done what we did, and I refuse to take this any further."
"Just meet me one time, and I promise I won't bother you again."
I struggled with my better judgment to answer. Although I wanted to see him one more time, I knew what another encounter could potentially lead to…death. Death by the hands of the head of the Cerisi mob.
"I can't meet you," I replied.
"Just one time. Twenty minutes, that's all I want."
"Just twenty minutes?" I asked, almost naively.
Celia tugged at my shoulder. "You can't meet him again. Are you fuckin' psycho?"
I shrugged her off. "I'll meet you this one time. Twenty minutes. That's it," I replied, standing from the couch.
"I'll text you the address. I hope you're still wearing that red dress," he said before hanging up.
I shook my head and hung up.
"Lexi. I'm begging you. Don't go. I swear I'll back you up and say you were with me the whole night. He can't prove anything."
"Celia, it's just one innocent meeting," I said.
I don’t even think I believed myself when I said that.
"C'mon. There is nothin' innocent about that
fine ass man. Nothing. I swear on my dead gran' mama's grave, this is gonna end badly."
I stood, clutching the doorknob and rolled my eyes at her. "You're being dramatic. I will call you when I leave his office."
"If you go to his office, I don’t wanna know you. Your crazy ass husband is gonna kill us both."
I closed the door behind me and took off to the address Liam texted. I got all the way downtown and found a parking spot just short of the main entrance to the tall glass building I'd passed a million times before while out shopping; pretty unusual for this time of day. I sat there for a while, weighing the cost of going in against the regret of driving away.
I bit my lower lip, thinking about the night at the club, and the way his hands roamed over my breasts and between my legs. My eyes fluttered closed as I began to relive each and every breathtaking moment.
The sudden ring of my phone snapped me out of my haze. It was Christian texting me he would be home for dinner. That's right; I had to cook dinner for my husband.
What am I doing here?
Glancing over my shoulder to the busy street, I stepped on the gas and drove home as fast as I possibly could. Mid-way home, my phone rang. The caller ID read the same number as before. It was Liam.
I threw the phone onto the passenger seat and kept on my way. The phone rang again, but I didn’t even bother to look. The beep of a text message rang through, followed by more ringing.
"Fuck! What do you want?" I asked angrily over the phone.
"Fuck you, bitch," Celia cussed back.
My heart rate slowed. "You don’t have to worry. I didn’t go."
"Ay, Dios Mio," she whined.
"I'll call you later," I said with irritation in my voice.
I had never spoken to Celia that way, but I didn’t want to hear what she had to say as it was taking all of my strength to drive home, leaving Liam in my rear-view mirror.
Pulling into our arched cobblestone driveway, I was surprised to see Christian had already come home. Usually, he stayed out until all hours, blaming it on family business, but I knew where he was.
Pulling up behind his light silver Rolls Royce, I took in a deep breath and made my way into the house as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. I found him sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a glass of scotch.
"What are you doing home so early?" I asked, laying my clutch on the marble counter.
"I'm waiting for, Liam."
I stopped in my tracks. "Liam?"
"Yes." He took another sip. "I asked him over for dinner. I put that in the text I sent you."
"Of course! I must have missed it. I'll make sure to cook up extra," I said, my whole body filling with an anxiety I hadn’t felt since this morning.
"Just make your go-to pasta. No need to get inventive and turn him off," he said, perusing some paperwork.
"No. No, turning him off," I said, with a nervous laugh attached.
CHRISTIAN
I watched her as she moved around the kitchen, pulling out pots and pans, throwing in herbs and ingredients I had never seen before. She was downright perfect in the way she danced around, still dressed in her tight red dress from earlier.
I bit the end of my pen, trying to hold back the urge to take her right on top of the counter, covered in flour, and splatters of pasta sauce.
Fuck it!
Pushing the seat out from under me, I made my way over to her, pressing myself onto her back, wedging her between me and the counter.
"What are you doing, Christian? I need to have all this ready."
I wrapped her long brown hair in my left hand, and pushed her down, lifting her dress past her hips with my right hand. The sight of her black lace panties alone sent me wild. I let go of her hair and slid her panties off, letting them slide to her ankles.
"Christian."
"Shh," I replied as I unzipped my pants.
I grasped on to the base of my shaft, rubbing the head against her already wet entrance.
Damn, she's hot from back here.
I had yet to actually slip in the tip when the doorbell rang, interrupting me.
"Fuck, it's Liam," I said, looking at the door, the outline of an imposing man apparent through the frosted glass window pane.
She pushed herself off the counter and pulled her panties up before lowering her dress.
"What are you doing? He can fuckin' wait."
"Put your dick back in your pants and get the door. I need to get all this flour off me now," she said, pushing me toward the door.
"I said he can wait."
"No. Don't be rude. Later, I promise," she said, giving me a quick peck on the cheek before running to the bathroom
"Fine, but this is going to be a short dinner," I said, zipping up my pants before heading for the door.
LEXI
I ran to the bathroom and flipped on the shower, wrapping my hair in a towel, while I searched for the perfect outfit. I felt like I was going on my very first date. Unfortunately, my husband would also be there. I jumped in and out of the shower as fast as I could, excited to see Liam again so soon.
Their heavy laughter filtered in from the kitchen as I put the final touches on my eyelashes. Spraying my favorite perfume on my neck, and cleavage, I stopped to wonder what I thought was going to happen with Christian sitting in the same room?
I chuckled at how naïve I was being as I took one last look in the mirror, adjusting my tight black mini dress and white pearl necklace I had dipped in gold.
Christian had set the table by the time I sauntered into the kitchen, and the two handsome men were laughing over a couple glasses of vodka. They both stood up when they saw me.
"Such gentleman," I said, heading over to the stove to prepare the food to serve, taking note of how dashingly handsome Liam looked.
He was dressed casually, wearing a white v-neck tee and a pair of dark blue, well-fitted jeans. I loved it when a man could seamlessly go from a suit to casual and still exude class.
Clenching my fingers around the serving spoon, I struggled with myself to get him out of my mind, which was going to be a difficult task seeing that he was going to be sitting right next to me all night.
A warm hand pressed against the small of my back, paralyzing me where I stood.
"What's taking so long?" Christian asked.
A small gasp escaped from my lips.
"Why do you seem so tense?"
"Nothing. Not me. Tense?" I stuttered.
"Here, have a drink. Looks like you need it more than me," he said, handing me his glass.
I took hold of the glass and toasted. "Saluti," I said, tossing the clear liquid toward the back of my throat.
The two chimed in, "Saluti!"
Christian took the glass from me and pressed his lips to my cheek as the burning liquid made its way down my throat.
"Good girl," he whispered in my ear as he squeezed my ass cheek.
I glanced over my shoulder to Liam, who was staring right at us. My heart sunk.
"Here, grab this," I said, handing a bowl of pasta to Christian, giving his hand something to do.
"Can I help?" Liam asked from the table?"
I whipped around. "No—"
"Let him help," Christian said. "Shit…I pay him enough."
Liam smiled impishly and made his way over to me, brushing up against my hip. The electricity from his touch sent a wave of heat over my body, accumulating at the bundle of nerves between my legs.
"Excuse me," he said in a low voice.
I didn’t reply. I knew it wasn’t an accident. Grabbing the bowl of salad, I quickly made my way over to the table, trying to create as much space between us as possible.
Liam sat down to my right and smiled. Quickly, I shifted my gaze over to Christian, who was so preoccupied with his phone, he had missed the whole thing.
Clearing my throat, I said, "So, what have you boys got planned for the rest of the evening."
"Nothing. I just wanted Liam to feel like he was
part of the family. Ain't that what we're all about—family?"
"Family. Right…" my words trailed off as I served myself a plate full of salad.
"What's mine is yours, Liam," Christian said as his phone began to buzz.
"I really appreciate you extending that offer to me, Christian. I already feel right at home," he replied with a slight chuckle.
Fuck me!
"I gotta take this call. Gimmie a minute," Christian said, picking up his phone.
I rested my hand on his. "It's dinner time. Can't she wait?"
He shook his hand away and shot me a glare. Knowing I had just overstepped my bounds, and right in front of company no less, I sat back in my chair and dropped my gaze to my lap.
"Hello," Christian said, walking into the other room.
Liam leaned in and rested his left hand on my inner thigh. "You look beautiful tonight," he whispered.
My thigh tensed up as the scent of his cologne wafted over to me, paralyzing me with its enchanting aroma.
"What are you doing?" I asked, staring directly at the door Christian walked out of.
"Do you want me to stop?" he asked.
No of course not.
"Why did you leave that night?" I asked, shifting his hand from my thigh.
"You didn’t seem like you were ready."
I turned to him. "Ready for what?"
"Ready for what I felt. Like I said, I don’t care that you're married."
"Even though you know I'm, Mrs. Christian Cerisi?" I asked, lost in his eyes.
"I want you. The rest of it is trivial to me."
I drank a big gulp of the vodka Christian had poured for himself. "Trivial until he's slitting your throat in a back alleyway."
"I can be discreet if you can?"
Does this question mean he wants to fuck me again?
I poured another few ounces of vodka and brought the glass to my lips. He wrapped his fingers around the glass, keeping it from tilting enough to let the liquid run out. His fingers tightened around my thigh, sending shivers up my spine.
"Can you?" he asked again.
CHRISTIAN
I made it to the bedroom and closed the door. "I told you not to call me. I'm having dinner with my wife."
"Let me just see you one last time, Christian. I feel like I'm going through withdrawals without you near me. Without you in me."
Wrath: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance (Deadly Sin Series Book 1) Page 3