by S. C. Ellen
“These are deep, Carson. You need medical attention.”
He stops my descent against his skin and kisses my palm to ease my worried expression. “Nonsense. There is a first-aid kit in one of the drawers under the sink. I’ll do it myself.”
I stare at him a bit baffled but get the supplies he needs anyway. I hand the kit over to him as he takes a seat on one of the stools in front of the long and modern-looking vanity. I kneel next to him and take a hold of a disinfectant wipe, slowly cleaning off the two deep cuts on the left side of his ribcage. I try my very best to not let seeing his blood deter me from helping him, but the nauseous feeling is starting to pool in my stomach.
Carson sees my face and he lifts my chin with a tender expression. “It’s okay, Alayna. I’ll take it from here.”
I give him a small, appreciative smile, and turn away as he takes out the needle and thread, and begins to sew up his wounds.
I take notice of the shower still running and an idea comes to mind. With my back still turned away from him, I stand up and remove my shirt, letting it fall with the rest of my clothes onto the tiled floor beneath me. Without looking, I can feel Carson’s heated gaze glued onto me. I suddenly felt a firm body press against me; Carson’s thick and husky voice close to my ear, sending a chill down my spine. “I’d endure a thousand deaths if it meant I got to see you like this again.”
Our eyes meet in the tall mirror in front of us, as his hand makes its way across my body, cupping my breast. I arch my back against him and am met with his hard and pulsing erection at my backside. I turn around in his arms, coming face to face with him now. His mouth finds my own, and soon our tongues are playing a wicked and delicious dance with one another. I breathlessly pull back, and before he can pull me against him again, I get on my knees in front of him.
“Alayna, you don’t—” he starts to say, but I palm my hand around his thick shaft, and move up and down in a steady pace.
He lets out a low groan, sending a spike of pleasure through me that I’m making him have this reaction, spurring me to do more for him.
After a few minutes, my lips daringly lap at his tip, tasting the saltiness of him.
“Fuck yes,” he says as his hands fist in my hair, tightening his hold on my movements.
I have never done this before, but seeing the look of pure pleasure on Carson’s face makes me never want to stop. I let my mouth explore him some more, and I take him as deep as my throat will allow before I start to move my head up and down against it.
“Fuck. Just like that, baby.” His hooded eyes find my own as I continue to take him fully into my mouth. My hand cups around him as well, building up speed. It’s the most erotic situation I have ever been in, and I can feel the wetness that now coats my legs.
“If you don’t want me to come in your mouth, Alayna, I’d suggest you move. Now.”
My grip on him tightens, and my lips don’t let up, until I finally feel him explode into my mouth, and I greedily lap up every drop, enjoying the taste of him.
He pulls me into his arms, kissing my lips and neck with more eagerness than before.
“Join me,” I whisper against his lips, gesturing to the glass door of the shower. I remove myself from his arms and enter the hot stream of cascading water now falling down my back.
Not even a second later, I feel my waist being pressed against the form of Carson’s hard and eager body, now wet from the shower overhead.
I place my hands on his chest and lean into him, letting myself be fully enveloped in his presence.
After a few moments, I move to get the shampoo bottle that’s hanging from one of the racks. It smelled masculine and woodsy, which is now my new favorite scent because it smells just like him. I place a drop in my hands and lather it against his beautiful curls that now nearly touch the bottom of his jaw. I wash out his hair and move on to soap up the rest of his body with him letting me explore every crevice and defined muscle on his perfect physique. I take my time relishing in all that is him, and what he is allowing me to do.
It’s now apparently my turn to get lathered by him. His fingertips stroke across my shoulders and work their way down to my breasts, massaging them lightly with his skilled hands.
I arch my back against him, as the steam begins to cloud the glass doors. We find each other’s lips, and he bites down hard causing me to moan.
I groan out loud as his hand cups between my folds and rubs gently against them. I feel weak against his body as his finger enters me, causing another sigh of pleasure to escape.
“Please, Carson,” I beg out loud. With no warning, he enters me, and the world seems to stand still.
“This is what I needed, Alayna.” His thrusts are so powerful. “Only. Fucking. You.”
I match his thrusts with my own, shouting out in pleasure. He scoops me into his broad arms once the water runs cold, and without missing a single beat, we end up back in the bedroom with me on top of him.
His hands grip my waist, guiding me. I arch my back and let out another moan as my release is hovering just on the edge. “I can’t hold on for much longer, Carson!” I breathlessly tell him.
“Wait for me, baby.” His movements grow rougher and his grip gets tighter.
“Now!” And the most intense orgasm I have ever experienced rips through me, with Carson coming undone beneath me.
I fall breathlessly against his chest, as he traps me in a vise grip against him.
After a few minutes of us trying to catch our breath again he utters a tired whisper, “What are you doing to me, mio angelo?”
I lie quiet in his arms thinking the same thing while feeling the steady rise and fall of his chest indicating that he is now fast asleep.
As I doze off, I realize that neither of us have the answer to that question.
Alayna
As soon as we wake the next day, we take the first plane out of there, much to Elliot’s protest. Carson couldn’t go into too much detail with him, about what happened last night, seeing as it was still La Cosa Nostra business. However, with the details that he did share, Elliot looked like he was on the verge of murder, but was more than relieved to know that his best friend was all-right.
Stepping into Victory, we are bombarded with an overwhelming string of questions from everyone.
“Enough! Let me see him.” My father silences the room as he walks through the crowd of men.
He stops before us, taking in Carson’s appearance. “I’m glad to see you in one piece, son.”
Carson nods, growing tense with all the scrutiny that surrounds him.
“So…what the hell happened?” Jase impatiently asks.
“He was set up,” I voice, regretting my decision at once when all eyes turn to me.
“How so?” my father questions, taking his eyes off of me and looking back at Carson.
“Someone who knew of my whereabouts tipped off an American bratva member. The Russian showed up at a one-on-one meeting I had with a local cartel leader, and he took the shipment, and shit hit the fan quick. The cartel leader took it as a sign of betrayal and tried to gut me for it.” He lifts up his shirt as evidence. Curses are heard throughout the crowd of men.“While the cartel leader and I were going at it, the Russian escaped and must have tipped off the feds, because before I knew it, I was surrounded by the police, and we were both arrested with drug distribution charges.”
My eyes widen at his words, and so do everyone else’s.
“And?” my Father urges, growing impatient.
“Those fucking pigs held me in question for twelve fucking hours. Not getting a single word out of me. The bastards denied me the right to a phone call and a fucking lawyer.”
Well, that explains why we didn’t hear a word from him all night.
“Shit. How did they finally release you, man?” Lance asks, voicing the question in my mind, and probably the others as well.
“Seeing as there were no drugs to be accounted for at the time of the scene since the Russian
stole it, not to mention some of the NYPD deputies are on our payroll, they let me go on insufficient evidence.”
“Well, thank fuck for that,” Uncle Romario grunts. “We thought you were swimming with the fucking fishes, kid.”
Carson’s eyes narrow in thought. “My phone must’ve fallen into the water during the struggle.”
My father lets out a deep breath. “These Russians bastardos are playing dirtier and dirtier every day, no matter how hard we go at them.”
The opening of a door grabs our attention as Lenny walks through with something in his hands.
“That’s not all, boss. I just found this inside the club’s mailbox.” Lenny steps into view revealing the mysterious thing he is holding.
A Russian nesting doll with a noose around its neck. The noose became a chain as more little dolls are revealed inside of the larger one, with the last one revealing a single note.
Carson rips it off with more force than necessary, reading the words out loud.
“How my kukla will return, once I’m finished with her.”
All eyes turn to me, including Carson’s.
Gulp.
Alayna
A few days have passed since then, and we are now back in the underground, in a secluded locker-room while Carson prepares for his fight that’s up next. I shamelessly keep a watchful eye on him, drinking in every square inch of his body with each warmup that he does.
“You’re staring,” he voices, throwing the jump rope he was just using off to the side.
I slyly smile. “And?”
Carson walks throughout the dimly lit room with an intense expression on his face. He looks almost predatorily at me, and my thighs involuntarily squeeze together in anticipation. My eyes lusting over every curve and defined line that lies across his heavily tattooed body.
I watch his hand glide across the lock on the door, clicking it closed. Locking away the outside world and all of its distractions. He finally reaches me and gently grabs a hold of my chin. “How am I supposed to get ready for a fight when you’re staring at me, like you want me to take you over this couch and fuck you hard and raw against it?”
I let out a gasp. “Carson—” I begin but am interrupted by his body pushing up against mine. His fist snakes its way into my hair, forcefully pulling it back to allow him to trail his nose lazily up and down the side of my neck.
“Is that what you want, mio angelo?” His deep rich voice thickens as he laps at my ear, biting down on it harshly. “You want me to fuck you, baby?”
“Yes,” I breathe.
A knock on the door startles us both, as my father’s voice calls out.
Carson curses and moves to unlock it. My father pokes his head through. “There you are, mio tesoro, I was looking for you.”
“You found me.” I give a tight and forced smile. Hopefully, he can’t pick up on what was just about to go down between me and Carson.
“Everything okay in here?” he asks, looking between us.
I pale at his words. Can he sense that something was about to go on? “Yeah, Poppa, why wouldn’t it be?”
He lets out a long and tired sigh, taking a seat on the couch beside me. “This has been a tense few months on us all. I just wanted to thank you both for not adding any extra stress onto my already full plate.” Regret washes over me. If only you knew, Dad. “Especially you, Carson. Thank you for respecting our agreement and taking care of my daughter.” He gets up from the couch and puts a hand on Carson’s shoulder. “I don’t trust many, but I knew I could count on you, son. You are a loyal soldier, and I am so very proud.”
I can see the remorse and guilt in Carson’s face.
My father claps his hands together. “Anyway, enough with that. It’s almost time for the fights to start, so we must take our seats and leave Carson to it, Alayna,” my father says as he makes his way through the door.
My eyes find Carson’s troubled ones. “I’ll catch up with you in a second, I think I left my purse back in the ladies’ room.”
My father waves me off. “What am I going to do with you?”
He exits the room, and I let out a breath. “Well, that was close. Now what did you want to do before we got int—”
“This ends here, Alayna.” His voice cuts through the air like a knife, sending my heart straight to my stomach.
“What ends here?” I whisper with a questioning look on my face.
“This.” He gestures between the two of us. “This has become something far more than it should have ever been.”
“And what’s wrong with that?” I ask, stepping up to him and pulling his hand into my own.
He pushes away from me. “Everything is wrong with that!”
I can’t hide the pained expression on my face. “You make it sound like what I feel—what we feel—is blasphemous.”
His dark eyes flicker up to me, a storm fueling harshly behind them. “That’s because it is, Alayna. Don’t you see? This—” He points between the both of us, “—can’t fucking happen. Shouldn’t have ever happened. It’s fucking wrong. I can’t believe I let you convince me otherwise.”
His words shoot through me like a punch to the gut. “Wrong? I know our situation is complicated, Carson, but we can try and work—”
“No.” He cuts me off. “This is something bigger than the both of us. Your father trusted me, and I failed him. I’ve never failed him, and I did with the only favor he’s ever asked of me. Betrayal is not something taken lightly, and if he ever found out—” His voice trails off, his anger evident, mixed with a bit of disappointment in…himself? “This was a mistake. A mistake I don’t plan on making anymore.”
Tears form in my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. I have too much pride for that. “Don’t worry, Carson, I don’t need or want to be your dirty little secret just as much as you don’t want me to be.” His expression looks borderline deadly at my words, but I don’t care. He knows he hurt me with his words, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to hurt him back. I can’t handle the conversation we’re having anymore; I know if I stay any longer, the floodgates will rip open, and it would be to the point of no return.
“It’s easier this way, Alayna. For everyone.”
Ignoring him, I make my way toward the door, hearing him move behind me.
“Alayna…”
I reach the door, stopping to look back at him. “It’s okay, Carson, I get it. Really. Strictly business. Have a good fight.” And with that I exit the room and don’t look back even after I hear him punching a locker.
Sitting front and center in the arena with my father is an experience, to say the least.
“He cares too much about landing hits on the other guy that his defenses are down,” he begins. “It’s not looking good, not looking good at all for him.”
Two men are circling each other in the ring, one of them looking like he has enough blood on his face to donate to multiple hospitals. The beaten man swings and misses, causing the other to lay a heavy fist on the side of his ribcage.
“What the hell is he doing! I bet my fucking wife’s wedding ring on this coglione!” My eyes connect with a pissed-off Lenny.
“That’s why you don’t bet on fresh meat, Len!” Jase spews from beside me.
Len gestures a nice ‘go fuck yourself,’ earning a warning glare from my father. It’s a sight to see the giant sit back down to sulk in his seat.
The rest of the fights go on, and even though it was my dream to be a part of this scene, I just can’t shake the conversation I had with Carson.
I was naïve in thinking that we could figure this out. If anyone ever found out we even had more than a strictly business relationship, it would be over for the both of us. It wasn’t just foolish, but it was seriously dangerous.
Suddenly the lights turn low for the main event, and Blizzard’s name is called from the speakers.
Cheering from the crowd erupts as he makes his way inside the cage. His expression is unreadable, but by the way hi
s fists clench and unclench at his sides, I know he’s ready for blood.
His opponent comes into the ring, a bulky skinhead who has one too many Nazi symbols tattooed onto his skin. I wanted him KO’d from that alone.
Apparently, Carson is on board with that, too, because as soon as the bell rings for the fight to start, the bastard is knocked unconscious before he can even blink.
Blizzard is scheduled for six fights tonight, and it’s around his fourth fight when I catch on that his anger is showing no mercy today—and I’m probably the root cause of it. After the skinhead, he almost kills the last three.
“What the fuck is he doing in there!” my father shouts as yet another group had to pull Carson off of his opponent.
“He’s gone fucking rogue,” Jase announces, giving me a knowing look. “I wonder why.”
My eyes stay facing forward.
Although there aren’t many rules in the underground, there is one major rule. Since most of the men who fight here are from rival gangs, MCs, other mafias and cartel groups, they are all worth something. The men know the risks when it comes to fighting, but if there’s an intentional killing, a debt is owed in either a hefty fine or a piece of territory—and nobody wants that.
And it looks like Carson is close to breaking all of them.
“Enough! Get him out of there!” my father calls out. Two of our men drag Carson out of the cage, but not without a fight.
I book it toward the locker-rooms, knowing that shit is about to go down; however, what I don’t expect once I get there is seeing my father pointing a barrel directly at Carson.
“Have you gone fucking mad?” The vein in my father’s neck is so prominent it looks like it’s about to burst.
Carson never falters, “I had it under control, Vin!”
“When, Carson? Before or after you nearly caused a fucking war with the others, as if we didn’t have enough shit to deal with already!”