"Give me another choice," he said, his breath fanning over her lips as his mouth descended.
"Please don’t!"
"I like hearing you beg," he said darkly just before taking her lips in a kiss that told her exactly how he would tame her if she refused to take his message. He forced her mouth to open beneath his and thrust his tongue into the silken recesses, heedless of the hands pushing against his chest.
She tried to push his face away with frantic hands and succeeded in scratching his cheek. Annoyed, he took her hands and forced them down and behind her back, holding them tightly in one hand. He wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled her up onto her toes, reclaiming her lips once more in a brutal kiss. She moaned into his mouth, dominated, distressed and aroused. It had been a long time since she’d been with a man and she was starting to feel the first stirrings of a response for her captor. She was helpless to fight him... or herself.
It felt like the kiss continued forever though it probably only lasted for a few minutes. When he finally released her lips, Jenna was shaking in his arms. Her hands were still twisted behind her back, which thrust her breasts forward into his chest. The posture shouldn’t have been provocative in her scrubs, but her generous curves made most of her clothes look a little on the provocative side. His breathing seemed to be more rapid too, as though he was just as affected as she was. He slid a hand to her waist and felt around until his long, thick fingers touched bare skin drawing an alarmed gasp from her.
"Oh god, what are you doing?" she pleaded with him. "Stop it, please!"
He groaned and grinned down at her, flashing white teeth in the darkness. "Baby, you have no idea what it does to me when you beg like that."
"I’m not begging!" she snapped breathlessly and then let out a yell of shock as his hand slid up her bare stomach and cupped her bra covered breast.
He gave her a stern look, reminding her of the no screaming rule.
Jenna moaned and pressed her lips together.
He curved his hand over her breast and hefted it in his hand. He looked down at her in appreciation. "Nice," he said.
"Fuck you," she hissed.
"God, I’m starting to hope so," he answered back in a low voice filled with grim appreciation.
Her head spun. What did that even mean?
Suddenly he his fingers found her nipple and he squeezed, twisting the tender peak, hard, mercilessly. She cried out and tried to arch her body away from him, tears coming to her eyes.
"Sorry, baby," he murmured, almost regretfully. "Needed your attention, since you refuse to play any other kind of ball with me."
He pushed her back against the wall, his hand squeezing her breast tightly. He dropped his head until his eyes were level with hers. "I need you to take Enrico a message. If he doesn’t get my message, I will be very angry. You understand?"
She stared up at him mutely.
She could see frustration gathering in his eyes, his thumb flicked over her abused nipple drawing a soft cry from her. She tried to squirm away, but he blocked her. He took her chin in his free hand and forced her face up to his.
"If Enrico doesn't get this message, I will be back for you, Jenna. I will take you and I will make you my slave. The things that I will do to you will make what I did here look like a lover’s sweet touch. I will fuck you, Jenna. I will fuck you up, use you up and then throw you out like trash. You are disposable to me, little girl. You need to nod if you understand?" His deep voice was so menacing Jenna thought she might faint from sheer fright.
No such luck. She never had been the fainting type, which is part of the reason she became a nurse.
She jerked her head in a nod, bruising her chin a little against his thumb. He released her and stepped back. Jenna’s legs gave out and she sank to the floor, leaning against the wall. She stared up at him with wide, terrified eyes.
"You need to trust that you don't want to see me again."
Three
Fuck, he wanted to see her again.
And he would. But he needed to give her time to do the job first. If she didn’t do it then he legitimately had a reason to pick her up, bring her home and keep her. If she did the job, as he hoped she would, then he was going to pick her up anyway, bring her home and keep her. During the night he and Jared had come up with a plan B that would ensure Steve Buffalo would turn up dead in the yard Saturday at noon. Either way, Saturday night, the woman would belong to him.
He’d never wanted pussy like this before. He should've known when he first looked at that picture of her with the wide blue eyes and flaming red hair that he would want the beautiful nurse. What he hadn’t anticipated was the stirring of recognition as soon as he'd entered her home and touched her belongings. Not like he met her before, but like his body recognized her scent on a primitive level.
Like some kind of pervert, he’d pawed through all her shit, touching her threadbare cotton panties like they were something special. He’d never admit it, but he had to fucking stop himself from sniffing them just to know what her fresh laundry smelled like.
He definitely hadn’t anticipated the wrenching feeling in his gut and groin the moment he’d laid hands on her curvy little body and taken her scent into his lungs. His eyes had nearly crossed from the effort not to strip her bare and fuck her on the scarred wooden floor of that little shack as she struggled in his arms. Hell, he nearly suffocated her while she wiggled that round little ass all over his crotch, the intense pleasure making him forget he cut off her airway.
His mind screamed, MINE, like some kind of fucking wild animal that knew its mate with an instant recognition.
Vince had never known this feeling before. He had no other female experience of the kind to draw on. He was probably in his late thirties, although he didn’t really know since he was an orphan and gang life was all he'd ever known. What he did know was he wanted Jenna Campbell in a permanent sort of way that he didn’t feel like looking too closely at just yet. He lay back on his king size bed and thought about his future and the future of his little nurse. His teeth flashed in a grin and he ran a hand over his eyes, willing himself to get up and pull the blinds. It was early morning and light was flooding the room.
He was a dirty fucker. All he could think about was the many things he wanted to do to his naughty nurse when he got his hands on her. Now that he and Jared had a plan B, he hoped she fucked with his original plan. Because he was a sadistic bastard that wanted to punish her in bad and delicious ways.
Four
Friday.
Jenna looked up as her next patient sauntered into her office at 7pm sharp with a corrections officer at his side. Her eyes met the hard gaze of Enrico Garcia and her heart stuttered in her chest. She pasted a professional smile on her face and tucked a lock of bright red hair behind her ear. The guard nodded at her and stepped outside the door, giving her and her patient space. Though he was considered gang-affiliated and certain protocols had to be followed, he was in prison on minor charges and thus considered not a high-risk offender.
Jenna’s gaze flicked over him as she handed over his blood glucose test. She wondered who on earth thought this man wasn’t a risk. He was thickly muscled and tattooed, much like his associates, the two men who had visited her house to get her to pass a message to Enrico. His head was shaved but he had a thick brown beard reaching halfway down his neck. Jenna thought he looked pretty mean, but that was before she met Jared and the guy from last night. The one last night made this guy look like a pussy cat.
"How are you today, Enrico?" she asked him politely.
She was always polite to her patients and did her best to treat them like humans in a place where they were stripped of both pride and dignity. She knew exactly what kind of screwed up system could fuck people over and put men behind bars for petty crimes when more often than not they needed addictions therapy and a solid life plan. Or the system needed a good lecture and an overhaul on poverty and racism. Thus, she usually gave prisoners the benefit of the doub
t until she found out otherwise.
She didn’t think that was the case with Enrico though. In fact, she felt pretty sure this guy and the other one that had broken into her house probably needed to be put in prison for a very long time. Much longer than Enrico’s current two-month sentence.
"Not doing too bad," he answered her question and then handed her the test back. "Blood sugar’s good today. Prison food’s better than Mc’d’s and the other shit I eat on the outs."
Jenna smiled, despite herself, and shook her head as she prepared his usual insulin dose. "You know better than that, Enrico. You should take care of this condition. You only get one body, one life. You need to be your own best friend out there."
His eyes roamed over her features, taking in her earnest blue eyes surrounded by long dark red eyelashes, untouched by makeup. He grunted his acknowledgement and took the needle from her trembling fingers. His gaze flickered down, noticing the slight shake in her hand. She quickly moved her hand away and set about tidying her station while he lifted his sleeveless shirt, revealing even more rippling muscles and showing off a few more of his tattoos.
When he finished, he reached past her to drop his needle into the sharps container. As he bent, his bearded chin brushed her shoulder causing her to jump a little. She would have stepped away from his big body, but there was a bed next to her, trapping her between him and the bed.
"You have a message for me?" he asked softly.
Her breath caught and she shook harder, rattling the tray she was holding. She forced a confused look on her face and tilted her chin up so she could look him in the eyes.
"Sorry?" she said, lifting an eyebrow in question and attempting to look professionally distant while her fingers continued to clutch the tray as though her life depended on it. Which it did, if Enrico’s boss followed through on his threat. And he seemed like the type who did exactly as he said he would.
She was so fucked.
"You got a message for me," he said slowly as if she were dim and just not understanding. It was now a statement instead of a question.
Her gaze turned desperate and she tried to look away from him, but with a quick glance toward the door, he swiftly grabbed hold of her chin and turned her face up to his. "Give me the fucking message," he snarled.
She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. He threw her face away from him in disgust. When she opened her eyes again it was to find him large and angry, looming over her as though he planned on beating the message out of her. Though she didn’t know how he planned on doing that with a guard just on the other side of the door.
"Lorry, we’re done now!" Jenna called, surprised that her voice was stronger than a squeak.
"Baby, you just made a very big mistake," Enrico growled and lifted his hand in the shape of a gun, shooting her with his forefinger. He turned and strode toward the door.
Jenna folded in on herself, leaning her hip against the bed and covering her face with shaking hands. What had she gotten herself into? For the first time in three long years of battling for custody of her daughter she was intensely glad Lola was safe with her father.
Five
Saturday morning.
"Our informant just got off duty," Jared relayed to Vince as they walked across the construction site together. Construction was one of Vince’s legitimate businesses, creating the opportunity for his offices to remain mobile.
Jared was on the phone with the corrections officer they’d bribed into giving Enrico the message. It’d been a risky move to involve one of the prison guards, something they’d hoped to avoid. In the end they'd had no choice, they had to have a backup. Despite their bullying tactics, the nurse just wasn't coming through for them.
Jared and Vince had pored through their intel on individual guards and found one with a couple of weaknesses. Some serious gambling debts and steep alimony payments. Unable to make ends meet, he’d nearly tripped over himself to accept their bribe.
Jared grunted into the phone, speaking rarely, just listening to their corrections ‘friend.’ Vince didn’t like the man and how easily he’d fallen in line. No loyalty. It meant he may become a loose end that needed trimming.
Later.
For now, they would await word on the prison. His gut clenched in anticipation and fear. Jenna was inside the prison today. She started work right at noon. The thought of her in the prison while shit was going down distracted him, made him uneasy. As the nurse on duty, she’d have to deal with any inmates that were hurt. Vince needed someone to get hurt. Bad. Which meant she’d be called to the scene, a yard full of inmates.
Fuck.
It was the only part of the plan he was having trouble dealing with. But everything had to appear normal. She had to be there, in her usual place. No suspicion could fall on her when Buffalo died. Once business was taken care of and he could collect the woman, he’d never allow her to step foot in that shithole again. How an angel like Jenna Campbell ended up with a job like that was beyond him. She probably needed the money for her custody battle. He figured that was how she ended up in the falling down shack she called a house. She’d sold everything to continue paying lawyers.
Jared ended his call and put his phone in his pocket. They climbed the metal stairs to Vince’s trailer and went inside. Dumping their hard hats, they sat on opposite sides of the desk.
"The message was sent," Jared said with some satisfaction.
Vince nodded, his eyes sharp. "The nurse?" he asked.
The look on Jared’s face clearly told Vince the other man was hoping he’d forgotten about the red-headed bundle of sexy. As if that would happen. He grunted, shifted in his chair and shrugged. "She failed."
Vince flashed him a grin. "Cheer up, J. We’re about to go to war with the Ghosts. You’re the one who’s been restless lately, wanting to blow off a little steam. Didn’t you tell me last week you’ve been craving some blood? Here you go, heads on a platter. Enjoy!"
Jared shook his head, his eyes flashing. "You’re a sadistic fucker, you know that? I want every last Ghost to die for what they did to us, but I don’t want Jenna to get hurt. She was nice to me and she has a daughter."
"Nice? Did you just say the word ‘nice’? Jesus fuck, man, you are a pussy whipped motherfucker," Vince guffawed, ignoring Jared as he stood and stomped toward the door. "Don’t forget to take your hat with you. I don’t need those safety and regulatory fuckers sniffing around my shit."
Jared bent to scoop his hat off the couch by the door before leaving.
"Another thing," Vince drawled.
Jared looked back, jamming an orange safety hat over his thick sandy blond hair and glaring at his best friend.
"I need some extra security on my home. I’ll need it in place within the next few hours. Shift some of our more trusted guys around so they’re on the house and hire new for the work yards until you can find people you trust."
Jared frowned and nodded. "You need to keep someone in or someone out?" Though they were business associates, they were also friends. He wanted to know if Vince was expecting trouble so they could kill it together, like in the old days.
"Both," Vince said with a grin of anticipation. "I'm going to bring home a new acquisition and we're about to piss off our biker friends. Don't want them thinking they can bring a war to my doorstep."
Six
Jenna ran for all she was worth, which wasn’t fast enough. She really needed to work out more often. The guards on either side of her were barely breathing hard as they made their way toward the yard with sirens blaring in their ears. She’d just hung her purse in a locker and tied her running shoes when the alarm went off. She’d immediately followed protocol, locked herself in the staff room and called down to the main desk to relay her position. They’d called back within two minutes to let her know there was a medical emergency and she was needed in the yard. Thirty seconds later two guards showed up to escort her.
"Gang yard," one of the guards yelled over the earsplitting siren.
Several guards stood over them with weapons drawn. Jenna slitted her eyes against the pepper spray in the air and covered her mouth and nose. Another guard took her arm and led her toward a man who lay face-up, sprawled on the ground. She kneeled next to him and gave him a quick look over. There were at least five stab wounds to his neck and chest. She checked his pulse. Faint. Erratic, gurgling breath.
One of the wounds was on his neck and gushing blood, probably nicked his carotid artery. She swiftly reached for gloves from her First Aid kit and pulled them on. He had several more stab wounds, though she was fairly certain the one to his neck was going to be what killed him.
"Dammit!" she muttered, grabbing a bandage and pressing it firmly against the neck wound. Each pump of his heart was one more beat toward the end of his life as blood trickled from his body. They were losing him fast.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
She glanced up at the guard at her back. "You know CPR?" she asked, knowing he would. It was a requirement for everyone at the prison.
He nodded.
"You’re my second now," she said. "He’s circling the drain. I doubt he’s going to make it to the ambulance. Someone’s bringing out the stretcher and resuscitation mask. We’ll meet the ambulance at the front door and hand him off. If we lose him then I’m going to chest pump while you breathe for him with the mask, nice and slow, on my mark. Understand?"
Loving Vincent: A Mafia Romance Novella Page 2