by Jessi Talbot
In case you’d prefer wearing something different, you might want to take a look in the closet. I hope it fits.
I moved hesitantly towards the closet door. He had clothes in his closet for women to wear? I couldn’t help but wonder how many women had found themselves in the same situation I was now in. I couldn’t help but wonder… but I really didn’t want to. It was none of my business. I’d keep telling myself that until I believed it.
I opened the door and gasped. Dante’s closet was probably as big as my bathroom at home, and it was filled with suits and dress shirts and jeans. For just a second, I smiled as I pictured Dante in a tight pair of jeans, but only for a second because one item in particular drew my attention from everything else. Hanging right inside the door, in front of several suit jackets, was a royal blue dress. The neckline wasn’t exactly modest but it wasn’t risqué, either, and the dress itself looked like it would fall just a little above the knee. On a shelf beneath the hanging clothes was a lacy royal blue bra with matching panties, and even a new pair of black heels.
“Oh my god,” I whispered softly to myself. I couldn’t believe it. No man had ever bought me clothes before. I reached out and ran my hand down the dress. Silky smooth with a slight shimmer as the closet light bounced off it. It was simply gorgeous. I squealed like a little girl, snatched the dress off the hanger, and quickly slipped it on. It fit perfectly. Too bad I had to take it off again in order to put my new bra on. I decided to blame the hangover for that little oversight.
After I got dressed again, I looked at my reflection in the full-length mirror hanging on the inside of the closet door. There was probably someone somewhere in Las Vegas doing the walk of shame, but it wasn’t me. I hadn’t even had a cup of coffee yet and Dante had already earned that kiss he mentioned.
Chapter 10: Dante
I sat in Luc’s office, staring at the box on the desk. I’d been staring at it for thirty minutes, ever since I opened it, thankful that I had gotten here before Olivia since the box had been waiting for me on her desk.
I shook my head, frowning, fighting the anger that was building within me. It wasn’t fair, dammit. All the pieces of my life were finally coming together to form a nice picture. I had a great job working for my best friend, and now it looked like there was a real chance at happiness in my personal life with Olivia. At least there was if she still felt the same way sober.
But that didn’t matter now. Because of this damn box. I looked inside it again, hoping that the contents were somehow gone, that I didn’t really see what I thought I saw. It was still there.
A severed hand – a left hand – sat on a colorful cloud of red and blue packing paper, creating a surreal sight. Nestled in the packing paper, leaning against the hand, was a note written with a bright red marker. A note that asked me to hold on to it until ‘he’ arrived. I had no doubt about who the owner of the hand was. Boris Akulov.
Years ago, before the military, when I was nothing more than muscle for the Bratva, an impetuous fool who was too smart for his own good worked his system on several Bratva poker games. He won thousands of dollars, and then it was discovered that he was cheating. That man was Boris, and it had been my responsibility to deal with him the way all thieves were dealt with.
Even after all these years, I could still remember the fear in his eyes, the way his voice shook as he begged for mercy. But those who could give mercy had already gone. It was just me and Boris and the axe in my hand. I gave him the only mercy I could, letting him choose which hand he lost. And now he was back. It had not been personal. It was simply the way that world worked. But Boris obviously wanted to make it personal, and I couldn’t risk Olivia getting hurt by my past deeds. As much as the thought pained me, I would have to distance myself from her. It was the only way to insure her safety, because Boris would use her against me if he found out she was important to me.
I quickly closed the box and sat it on the floor behind the desk, hearing voices outside the office. It sounded like someone was shouting. I moved to the door, pulling my gun from under my jacket. If Boris was this careless, the problem would be taken care of within the next few minutes. I opened the door slowly. The voices were coming from the bottom of the stairs, and one of them was Olivia. I opened the door wider and quietly stepped out, keeping my pistol at my side. A man I’d never seen before was talking to Olivia, and she looked upset. I tightened my grip on the gun, squeezing until it was digging into my palm.
“Of all the casinos in Vegas, why did you have to come to this one, Pete?”
“It’s the hottest place on the Strip right now, Liv.” He smiled at Olivia. “You don’t have a problem with that, do you?” He looked Olivia up and down. “I mean I could understand you being embarrassed since… you know… there’s a little more of you now than there was when we were together.”
“Asshole,” Olivia said.
The man – Pete – laughed and I gritted my teeth until my jaw hurt. So this was the ex, huh? I slipped my gun back into its holster beneath my jacket. No need to get carried away and do something I might regret later.
“So what are you doing here?” Pete asked. “You’re like a secretary for someone around here, right?”
I’d had enough. I cleared my throat and started down the stairs, staring daggers at Pete. “Actually, she’s Lucifer’s assistant. As in Lucifer, the owner of Sinsations. She handles the day-to-day operations of the casino so Lucifer can focus on other things that require his attention.”
I reached the bottom of the stairs and wrapped my arm protectively around Olivia, pulling her close. “Good morning, gorgeous.” Before she could response, I claimed her mouth as my own, kissing her deeply. Her eyes burned with lust when I pulled away, leaving her gasping for breath.
I smiled at her, and then glared at Pete. “I heard you mention her curves.” My eyes raked up and down his body, my lip curling in a sneer. “It’s understandable that you’d feel angry and intimidated. Only a real man can handle a real woman.”
Olivia’s ex-boyfriend gaped at us like a fish, his mouth hanging open. I frowned at him. “You have something more to say?”
He closed his mouth, shook his head, and quickly walked away.
“Have I told you how awesome you are?” Olivia whispered, a huge grin on her face.
I started to slide my hand down her back, my palm itching to feel the curve of her ass, but I stopped myself, remembering that this couldn’t continue. I smiled at her. “I have some things to take care of so I’m afraid I won’t be able to make your coffee this morning.”
She stood up on her tip-toes and kissed my neck. “You already made coffee this morning. The next pot’s on me.” She flashed me a smile that tied my stomach in knots and started up the stairs. My cock grew rock-hard as I watched her hips sway back and forth. Damn Boris to hell. If he was foolish enough to show his face here, I’d kill him for ruining this.
I started walking quickly through the casino, nodding at a few customers and servers who said hi as I passed by, my eyes scanning the room for someone in particular. Within a few minutes, I saw Pete heading towards the elevators with a blonde that I assumed was his new wife. I walked up behind him, grabbed him by the shoulder, and spun him around to face me. He looked up at me towering at least a foot over him and paled noticeably. I grabbed his arm, digging my fingers into his bicep, and leaned down, inches from his face.
“Listen, Petey,” I snarled. “I’ve been informed that you’re here on your honeymoon so it would be sad if something happened to you that made your stay less than enjoyable.” I lifted his arm up, tightening my grip even more, forcing him to stand on the tips of his toes to ease the pressure. “But that is exactly what will happen if I catch you trying to upset Olivia again.” I gave him a slight shake. “Understand?”
He nodded.
“Good.” I released his arm and punched him in the gut. He sank to his knees, gasping for air. “That’s for being rude to her a few minutes ago.”
I heard
someone laugh behind me and spun around, saw a familiar face behind a row of slot machines. He grinned and disappeared from view. I ran after him but he was already gone by the time I got to where he had been standing. I looked around but I already knew it was useless. He had been leaning out from behind a machine and I couldn’t tell what he was wearing, and I only got a quick glimpse of his face. But it was enough. It was him. Boris. He was here.
Eyes carefully scanning every face I saw, I walked from one end of the casino to the other, my fingers curling and uncurling as my anger screamed for a target. But he had disappeared. He had been close enough to hear me threaten Pete, close enough to hear Olivia’s name, especially since I hadn’t bothered being quiet about it. I shook my head, frustrated. It was a stupid mistake, and now Olivia could be in danger. Instead of separating myself from her, I needed to stay as close as possible to insure her safety. I headed back to the office, planning on remaining there all day so I could keep an eye on Olivia at her desk.
As I approached the stairs, Pete came walking towards me. He wasn’t alone. I watched as the three men who had been behind him stepped in front of him. I frowned, glaring at each of them before settling my eyes on Pete. “I don’t have time for this right now, prick. Take your little friends with you and go have a circle jerk in the bathroom or something.”
I started walking around the trio but one of the men grabbed my shoulder. Nobody touched me without permission. I turned to threaten the punk and he hit me in the jaw. It was a decent punch. Pete had found some competent bodyguards. I smiled at the guy, grabbed his collar, and head-butted him. Unconscious, he dropped to the floor.
The other two men rushed me. I lashed out, dropping one with a kick to the knee and then turning to the side, grabbing and flipping the third attacker over my hip. When he crashed to the floor, I punched him in the face just to make sure he stayed down. I looked at the other guy as he got back to his feet, favoring the leg I had kicked.
He held his hands up in surrender. “Not getting paid enough for this kind of shit, man. I’m out.” I nodded once. He turned and began hobbling away.
I glanced over at Pete. He stared at the two unconscious men on the floor and then looked up at me. He tried to turn and run but I lunged for him, grabbing him and pulling him to me. “I tried to be nice, Pete,” I snarled, my nose almost touching his, “but you’re not smart enough to work with nice, so now we’re going to try doing things the not-nice way.” I pulled my gun and jabbed the barrel under Pete’s chin. His eyes grew wide as a whimpering noise escaped his throat.
“Do you know what that is, Pete?” I asked.
He nodded, the barrel of the gun never breaking contact with his chin.
“If you try anything stupid like that again, Pete, I’m going to take this gun and shoot your tiny little pencil dick off. Understand?”
The whining grew louder and the sharp smell of piss reached my nose. I nodded. “Good. You understand.” I released him and stepped back, holstering my gun. “Understand this, too. The only reason I’m not beating the holy fuck out of you right now is because I don’t fight boys pretending to be men.”
He nodded.
“Get the fuck out of here, Pete, before I change my mind.”
He turned and walked towards the elevators slowly, his shoulder sagging, head hanging down. Good. He was beat. No more problems from him. I ran up the stairs as quickly as possible, anxious to have Olivia in my sight. I stopped and stared when I reached the upper level, my veins filling with ice water. She was gone. I roared like an injured animal and slammed my fist down on her desk. Boris had her.
Chapter 11: Olivia
I was halfway up the stairs when I heard Dante’s pained scream, making me jump, and then I heard him hit something. I quickened my pace, imagining my desk as a pile of scrap. “Hey,” I said as soon as I reached the second floor. “Take it easy on the desk unless you plan on buying me a new one.” He turned and looked at me, the pain and fear on his face taking my breath away. I’d never seen Dante look like that before. Seeing a big man like him scared had the unnerving effect of scaring me without even knowing why I needed to be scared. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
He stared at me for a few seconds, as if unable to believe it was me, and then rushed towards me. He quickly grabbed me and lifted me off the floor, hugging me tight, squeezing me so hard I was afraid my ribs might crack. “Can’t breathe,” I gasped into his chest.
He quickly put me down. “I’m sorry. Where were you?”
“I needed to go to the bathroom.”
He nodded, exhaling loudly, rubbing a huge hand over his face. “You’re taking the rest of the day off, and you’ll be staying in my suite.”
I took his hand in both of mine. He was shaking. “Dante, what’s going on?”
He looked around and I couldn’t help but shiver at the cold look in his eyes as he looked out into the casino. I imagined this was what he looked like when he was in the military, coldly examining his surroundings for danger. But this wasn’t enemy territory. This was Sinsations. It was home. “Dante?”
He shook his head. “Not here. It’s too open. You’re too vulnerable.” He took my hand in his and started for the stairs. “Come with me.”
“If I want to live?”
He looked back at me, shock in his eyes… and something else. Embarrassment?
I shrugged. “Sorry. Bad sense of humor. It’s from The Terminator.”
He nodded. “Yes, if you want to live.”
Mierda. Shit. I was trying to be funny and lighten the mood but Dante was scaring the hell out of me. I followed him down the stairs, stopping – or trying to – when we got to the casino floor, but I had no choice to but to keep following him to the elevators because there was no stopping Dante when he didn’t want to be stopped. “Dante, I left my purse in the desk.”
“I’ll come back and get it,” he said, his head slowly turning from side to side as we made our away across the casino floor, his eyes never stopping their sweep of the room. He drew me close to him as he pressed the button for the elevator, maneuvering me around until he was between me and the casino. He finally relaxed – a little – when we were in the elevator and headed up.
The ride up was silent but having Dante hold me close, his rock-hard body pressed against me, made me wish it would last forever. Unfortunately, that was impossible. As soon as the door opened, he put his arm in front of me to block my path and leaned forward looking both ways down the hall before quickly escorting me to his suite. He swiped his keycard across the scanner, ushered me inside, and quickly closed the door behind us. The relief on his face made me want to hug him. He had really been worried. I just didn’t know why.
“What’s going on, Dante?”
He looked at me for a few seconds, and then moved to the kitchen. “Would you like a drink?”
After last night, just the idea of drinking made my stomach roll over. I shook my head. I didn’t think I’d ever drink again.
A ghost of a grin flickered across his face for just a second but it quickly disappeared. If I had blinked, I would’ve missed it. He pulled a bottle of scotch from a cabinet, spun the cap off, and took a healthy swig. He went into the living room and I was struck again by how odd it was to see such a big man move with cat-like grace. He sat on the couch and motioned for me to join him.
I sat next to him and he took my hand in his. “I’m not a nice man, Olivia.”
I squeezed his hand. “Yes you are.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I’ve done bad things, worked for some very bad people.” He sighed heavily. “I have lived in darkness my whole life.”
And he told me. Everything. Being raised in a mafia family. The death of his brother. The Bratva. Boris and the terrible price he had to pay. All of it. When he was finished, he looked at me, his cheeks wet with tears. “You deserve someone better and I will not stand in the way of that… but I will keep you safe until Boris has been dealt with.”
I took his
face in my hands and kissed him. Passionately. Fiercely. Putting all my heart and soul in it. And then I looked him in the eye. “What happened to your brother wasn’t your fault. It was just really bad luck, and while the rules of your old life were pretty… strict, this Boris guy knew what they were. He knew what could happen and he broke the rules anyway. His stupidity isn’t your fault, either.” I kissed him again. “So stop being an idiota and talking about me deserving better and not standing in my way.” I looked into his eyes. “I want you, Dante.”
He looked into my eyes, wiping the moisture from his face, a small smile on his lips. “And I want you, my sexy firecracker.”
“I still have one question, though.”
He raised his eyebrows, waiting.
“If Boris wants revenge against you, why is he after me?”
Dante squeezed my hand. “Because he knows you are my weakness. I would gladly give my life to save yours, and he wishes to use that to his advantage.”
I blinked. Swallowed hard. Dante would give his life for me? I was pretty sure my parents would’ve made that kind of sacrifice but I had never known a man who was willing to that. I had never even known a man willing to say the words. And I could tell by the look in Dante’s eyes that they were more than empty words. He meant it. How does someone respond to that?
Luckily, Dante saved me from that. He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and stood up. “Stay here. Don’t open the door for anyone. I’ll take care of this as soon as possible.”
I nodded as he walked out the door. “Stay safe,” I whispered.
Chapter 12: Dante
I double-checked – and then triple-checked – the door to make sure it had locked. Olivia was mine now and I’d do anything to insure her safety. When I got my hands on Boris he’d regret his foolish idea of revenge.