Carlo Moretti had been bugging me for the past week. Almost every time we ran into each other, it was when I was in town to run a few errands, almost as if he had been watching me.
“Dom,” my father growled into the phone. “We have a situation I need you to take care of for me.”
It pissed me off to no end that my father could maintain his private friendship with Domenic Salvatore, and yet I wasn’t allowed to as much as look at Marco or his brothers. Not that I wanted anyone but Marco to notice me.
Something changed inside me the day Marco gave me the choker with a small feather charm at its center. I was his back then. I still wanted that now. And the necklace I still wore around my neck, beneath my shirt, only proved it. My father had taken it away from me, but I stole it back before he shipped me off to Cambridge.
After he hung up with Domenic, my father fixed his gaze on me, pinning me down with his evil eyes. “Alanna will be over later to fit you for a dress. The entire family is attending a charity gala. I expect you to be on your best behavior around Marco Salvatore.”
“That’s in the past,” I assured him, even though I would never shake Marco from my thoughts.
“Good.” He forced a closed-mouth smile. “Let’s keep it that way.”
Chapter Eight
Marco
I sat next to my father, Antonio, and my older brother, Giovanni, at our table at the center of the ballroom, all of us dressed in custom suits. We blended in with the titans of industry and politicians who gathered here tonight, even though we were imposters.
Most of the men in this room made Joel Franco into the man they wanted him to be. Our new district attorney pledged he would help fight organized crime, when the criminals were the ones who gave this man his power. I sipped scotch and listened to Joel finish his speech about how he was grateful for all the support, more like thankful for all the money the men in this room threw his way.
My father paid twenty-five thousand dollars per chair for the privilege of dining with Weston Hale, the Mayor of Manhattan, a friend of my family who was in his position of power because of the Salvatores. We sat with him among other influential power players, disguised as legitimate businessmen. I hated these events. It was a joke to rub elbows with the mayor when I’d washed blood off my hands before I put on a new shirt and tie.
Waiters walked past us with trays of champagne and fluffy looking pastries. I turned to my left and spotted Sienna York. I held my breath without realizing it. She was so unaware of her natural magnetism.
She grabbed a flute of champagne and popped a tiny pastry in her mouth, washing it down with half the contents of her glass. Her brother stood at her side, leaning into her ear to say something that made her laugh. I loved seeing her happy and with a smile on her beautiful face. From a distance, I studied every movement she made.
This party was boring-as-fuck, and I needed something else to keep me occupied. Sienna was a good distraction. She glanced around the room, her eyes finally meeting mine. I was surprised to get what could pass for a smile from her. Sienna dragged her tongue along her bottom lip, and I almost excused myself from the table to steal to her away.
You’re mine.
Her dark curls covered her full breasts, which were pushed up in the tight black dress that hugged her impressive curves. I thought about ripping her dress to pieces with my bare hands. Like a savage. That’s how I felt when I looked at her. She fueled the carnal hunger inside me. Her innocence spoke to my darkness, and I wanted to smother her with it.
Sienna set her drink on the table behind her, tapped her brother on the shoulder, and whispered something to him, before she left the main ballroom. This was the only chance I would have to get her alone. So, I did the stupid thing and followed behind her.
I found her wandering down the hallway, poking her head into rooms as she passed them. We were in an old mansion on Long Island, renovated to accommodate five event rooms, with suites and guest rooms on the upper floors. The men who paid for the district attorney’s campaign rented the entire estate—my father and Sienna’s among them.
Sienna must’ve heard my shoes hit the marble floor, because she looked over her shoulder at me, with a smile on her lips. She sped up her pace as if she were baiting me into a trap. And then I wondered if this was part of her plan. I stalked toward her, my feet moving faster with each step she took.
When we reached a dead end, she tugged on the door to the wine cellar. This game we were playing made my cock hard. I loved the chase, the feeling of power when I finally claimed what I wanted. Sienna fueled the sickness inside me without even realizing what she was doing to me.
I took the stairs after her and combed through the dimly lit basement. Removing the cell phone from my pocket, I turned on the flashlight so I could navigate the thin, dense passages. In the back corner, the furthest away from the entrance, I found Sienna in front of a barricade of casks, stacked almost up to the ceiling. We would have privacy if someone were to come downstairs, something I would need if I wanted to take my time with her.
Sienna had her back to me and pulled the cork from a bottle of red wine. She lifted it to her lips and took a long sip, making a satisfied sound.
I turned off the flashlight, slipped the phone into my pocket, and moved behind her. “Want to share?”
She yelped as if she was surprised to hear my voice, when we both knew she led me into the basement.
Sienna turned around, her back flat against a wooden cask. “Marco, what are you doing here? You know I’m not allowed to talk to you.”
I closed the distance between us and grabbed the bottle from her hands. “I was only following your lead.”
She inspected my face closely as I took a sip from the bottle. “I don’t recall inviting you down here?”
“No?” I cocked my head to the side and read the lie on her lips. “I’m good at reading people. I would say I read your signals perfectly.”
She fisted her fingers around the neck of the bottle and tugged, but I didn’t let go. Her skin was warm and soft, and I thought of how smooth the rest of her body would be pressed against mine.
“My family is upstairs,” she said, holding her ground. “My dad will kill both of us if he finds us together.”
“I don’t care,” I shot back, our mouths only inches apart. “I’ve waited too long to get you alone again.”
She blew out of puff of air. “We can’t. Look what happened last time.”
Her hand was still on the bottle with mine, the desire in her eyes intensifying my need to quench the hunger brewing inside me. I was a beast around her, wild and desperate to taste every inch of her. I’d been with plenty of beautiful women, but I craved Sienna most of all.
Claiming Sienna would have been the beginning of the end, and I was ready to watch my world implode for one night with her. One night was all I wanted.
When she attempted to steal the bottle from me, I fought her again, this time my actions earning me a slap across the face. My head turned to the side from how hard she hit me. This crazy girl had no idea what she’d done. Her anger was a turn on. The burning sensation spread from my cheek and throughout my body, my cock now even harder and ready to tame her.
“You had no right to follow me down here. I didn’t invite you, and I would like to drink my bottle of wine in peace.”
I didn’t move or speak, still stunned by the brass balls on this woman. The fire inside her ignited mine, the red-hot flames licking my skin.
“I want to fuck you,” I confessed.
Her eyes widened, her lips slowly parting for me. She was about to speak and stopped herself. We stood there in silence for a short while, before she muttered, “Not gonna happen. Not in a wine cellar while my father is upstairs. So, you might as well leave now while your dick is still attached.”
I almost laughed at her last comment and released my grip on the bottle. Her eyes pointed down at the wine, and she let out the breath she’d been holding.
“Have yo
u ever been fucked?” I whispered the words against her neck, slowly moving up to her ear. “Really fucked, I mean.”
When I took a step back to gauge her reaction, her cheeks and chest were bright red. It took her a minute before she finally said, “No. Never.”
“Did you wait for me?” I brushed the back of my hand against her cheek. “Are you still a virgin?”
She stared at me and bit the inside of her cheek, giving me a silent answer. The wine cellar was cold. Sienna shivered and held the bottle tighter. I thought about hugging her against my chest to take away the chill with my warmth. But I wasn’t ready for another slap to the face.
My cell phone buzzed in my pocket, breaking up the silence. I removed it from my pocket and held it to my ear. It was my father summoning me upstairs. He had a few people he wanted me to meet, men who could make our lives easier. When it came to the law, we needed all the help we could get. Keeping politicians in our pocket was a means of survival. They were just as corrupt, only they used lobbyists to do their bidding.
“Until next time.” I stroked her cheek with my hand. “My beautiful raven.”
She sighed, and then drank a big gulp of wine.
I stuffed the phone in my pocket and walked away from her.
One day, she would be mine.
Chapter Nine
Sienna
After Marco left the wine cellar, my entire body trembled, and not because I was afraid of him. He was wrong for me on so many levels. Yet, I couldn’t control how my body responded to him. There was the subtle change in my heartbeat when he was around. The sudden rush of heat that penetrated my skin. My pulse pounded for Marco, every inch of my being high from the adrenaline rush he gave me.
I took a sip from the bottle in my hand, still thinking over Marco’s last words to me. He wanted me to wait for him, and I did. After giving Marco up once, I felt the need to do something to defy my father. Most of my life was a sheltered one, with very few friends and no boyfriends. Marco was the closest I’d ever come. My dad exercised his political power in every way possible, constantly interfering with my life.
No one was good enough for the daughter of Senator Jonathan York, making Marco Salvatore a perfect mark. What I was about to do was wrong. I didn’t care and made a decision as I set the bottle on top of a wooden cask and left the basement.
When I entered the ballroom, Marco was standing next to his father and twin brother. All of them were tall and good-looking, their dark wavy hair long enough to brush their foreheads. Paired with their olive skin and striking blue eyes they were pure perfection, the kind of men who could make women drop to their knees.
Ethan stopped me before I could get to our table and pulled me to the side. He rubbed beneath his nose, his eyes wide and fixed on me. “Is it all gone?”
I sighed, inspecting his face for white powder. “You said you were going to stop, Ethan.”
“I will,” he shot back. “Right after Dad’s re-election. I’ve got a lot of shit I have to get done.”
“That’s just an excuse to do more drugs.” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “You can’t keep doing this to yourself. And where did you get them?”
“Doesn’t matter.” He rolled his tongue over his gums and glanced around the room for our father, who would be looking for him any minute. Ethan was his right-hand man and his current campaign manager. “Am I good?”
Furious with him, I nodded.
Ethan walked away from me, leaving me in the corner of the room to stew over the fact he still couldn’t get his act together. No matter how many times my father paid for his treatment programs, which were disguised as vacations, my brother was still a giant fuck-up. Of all the stupid things he did, what I was about to do was even dumber. It was my turn to live, instead of being held captive by my family’s constant demands.
When I caught Marco’s attention, I tipped my head toward the open doors of the ballroom. He understood the meaning of my gesture, his gaze fixed on me as I grabbed a bottle of champagne from a table and exited the room. I needed some liquid courage to do this. My virginity wasn’t something I held near and dear to me, even though my father would have wanted me to value it.
He sure as hell made sure I’d never lost it, and now I was about to hand it over to his enemy. The only man I’d ever wanted. This was nothing more than an act of defiance, my silent retaliation for being told what to do all of my life. I was so angry with my father for everything he’d done to me.
A wicked grin crossed my lips, the corners of my mouth widening when Marco followed me upstairs. We were in an old mansion on Long Island that was used for weddings and local events. From the balcony of my oversized suite, I had the perfect view of the Long Island Sound.
I left the door unlocked, knowing Marco was right behind me, and stood in front of the glass doors, staring out at the water. He locked the door behind him, and I still didn’t turn around. Now that Marco was here, in my room, I was a little nervous. But I didn’t want him to know.
Marco came up from behind me and placed his palms on my shoulders, his rough grip awakening the deep-seated hunger inside me. “I see you’ve changed your mind.” He dipped his head down to say the words against my ear, his breath on my lobe causing me to tremble.
“You were right,” I told him, with my back still facing him.
His hands moved down my arms, his fingers creating a brush of heat in their wake. Our connection was intense, the sparks between us like a static charge.
“Right about what?”
“I want you, too. I’ve always wanted you, Marco.”
He slid my curls away from my neck, and his mouth hovered over my skin. “Are you sure this is how you want to lose your virginity?”
I hesitated for a second, but when his teeth grazed my neck, I let out a soft moan. “Yes. But I have one condition.”
He stopped kissing my skin. “What’s your condition?”
“Don’t hurt me.”
He stilled behind me, as if pondering my words, and then turned me around so that we were facing. “I think I can do that.”
I cocked an eyebrow at him. “You think?”
Marco cupped the side of my face in his big hand, his eyes so blue they reminded me of the water I’d just been staring at. “It’s going to hurt. I can’t make any promises it won’t.”
“Yeah, I know. Take it slow is all I mean. I’d like to be able to walk out of this room, not hobble back downstairs.”
He laughed, stroking his thumb along my jaw. Before I could get out another word, Marco’s lips crashed against mine. He tasted of wine and bad decisions, one I was more than happy to make with him. His fingers found my curls, and he tugged on them hard enough to rip another moan from my lips.
Marco kissed me like he wanted to claim me. Like he was fucking my mouth and taking what had always belonged to him. In that moment, I felt it, every bit of his adoration as he worshiped me.
Without breaking the kiss, Marco picked me up and lowered me to the bed, covering my body with his. He kneed my legs open wider until I granted him full access, his long, hard cock growing thick against my inner thigh. I knew I was in trouble when I could feel this much of him through his trousers. It would hurt, and judging by his size, I was guessing it would hurt a lot. But I was okay with it. Ripping off the Band-Aid that was my virginity was necessary, or at least that was what I’d thought.
Marco consumed me, made me blind with lust. I was practically begging him to fuck me when I reached between us to unbutton his pants.
He took my hand in his, our lips separating long enough for him to say, “Patience, raven. You’ll be begging me to come by the time I’m through with you.”
I was bursting for him to touch me, my core throbbing with need. But Marco took his time, moving my dress up over my hips, his hand caressing my thigh as he kissed me. This was the opposite of what I’d expected from him. I wasn’t sure Marco knew how to do anything other than fuck a woman, but he was proving me wrong.
&nbs
p; He reached behind me to unzip my dress and then lifted it above my head, draping it on the edge of the bed. The gown was one of the latest fashions, a present from one of the designers who dressed my father for special occasions. My breasts were bare, a bra not part of the outfit. Marco’s gaze fell over my body, and as he did so, he licked his lips.
“You’re beautiful.” He whispered the words as he removed his suit jacket. “Still my perfect raven.”
Next was his shirt. I was in awe of his body, his tanned chest ripped with muscle and his shoulders strong like he’d spent hours each day in the gym. Now, it was my turn to salivate over him.
He leaned forward, his hand traveling up my stomach to my breasts. He massaged them in his big hands, the pads of his thumbs rolling over my nipples. They were like rocks, the skin stretched so tight I thought I would explode when he closed his mouth over one.
Tiny bumps dotted my skin, spreading down my arms and legs. Marco was trying to kill me, or at least that was my best guess. I couldn’t stand to be touched like this without any form of release. So, I thrust my hips, wanting to feel him, greedy to have him inside me.
Staring up at me, Marco took my other nipple between his teeth and tugged. Each time I felt his breath, tongue, or teeth, my body jerked from the overwhelming sensation ripping through me.
“Marco, please,” I pleaded. “Stop messing with me.”
“Beg me,” he growled. “I don’t think you want it bad enough.” He looked at me long enough to wink, and then made his way down the length of my body until he was pulling off my thong.
“Please,” I whined. “I want to come already.”
He shook his head, a devilish smirk on his lips, and then he sucked on my clit.
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