by Fiona Murphy
Dante takes the picture from my hands. “Only a year later, they were dead and everyone knew this was a lie. As you might have noticed, Cesare doesn’t have any pictures of our parents—he hates being reminded of our father. Only every day he sees our father when he looks in the mirror. It’s why he has the beard and the tattoos.” He puts the picture back on the shelf. “Just a warning, he won’t like knowing you saw this picture. I wouldn’t mention it to him.”
I nod, sad. “I love your home.”
He smiles. “I know. I do too. I cheated and used our interior designers. It only took a few weeks, and I made it worth their while.”
The room is incredibly homey, just like the rest of the condo. All the walls have color on them a dark color below the chair rail, and a lighter matching color above. There is a guest bedroom and a gym that’s almost a replica of Cesare’s. Dante’s bedroom is massive and just as comfy and cozy as the rest of the condo that doesn’t feel like a condo. It looks and feels like a home in the suburbs, like there should be three or four kids running around with a dog and cat.
“Wow.” It’s all I can say.
The living room and kitchen are open plan, with big, soft couches and a farm-style kitchen with white cupboards and butcher block countertops. I would never have expected this knowing Dante as well as I thought I did. I’m also taking notes, wondering if it would be possible for Cesare’s condo to be even half as comfy.
The evening is fun, we order pizza for dinner as none of us are really interested in stopping the movies to cook. It also completes the trifecta of junk food we have going.
Once the movies are over it’s late, far later than all of us thought it would be. Enzo decides to spend the night, he has clothes at Dante’s and in his room at the apartment at work. There is a half-heartened attempt at cleanup, but there is enough of a mess left that we all hope Claudine isn’t annoyed with us in the morning.
Walking back to Cesare’s condo, my hand in his, he asks, “Are you going to be able to get up tomorrow?”
“Of course I can. Although you know I usually like to take my showers at night. It makes getting ready in the morning easy and quick. You want to try it?”
Greedy, hungry, we make love against the wall of the shower, water running over us. He dries me lazily, with lots of kisses in between. As he gets into bed, he pulls me into his arms. I love falling asleep like this. “I think I like taking my shower at night. As long as you take it with me.”
“I look forward to it,” I say as I press a kiss into his chest.
19
Alicia
An alert pops up on my calendar, and I write it down to handle after I finish what I’m working on. I’m about to close the calendar when something catches my eye. Has it really been almost a month since I moved in with Cesare? The time has passed in the blink of an eye. We mesh in a way I wouldn’t have thought possible before moving in.
Only we are far more alike than I had believed. In the ways we are different it’s only for the better—where I can be impatient, he has the patience of a saint. I like to cook, he’s content to clean and is almost fastidiously tidy, yet he doesn’t mind when I’m not. I have also grown to truly love Dante and Enzo for the way they treat me like I’m a part of the family. I’m not the only who cooks anymore, there is a lot of teasing, a lot of laughter, and it’s no longer bittersweet for me.
Yet a sigh escapes me. In two days it will be twenty-five days, but Cesare hasn’t mentioned it. He hasn’t said a thing, even though I just remembered, his steel-trap brain can’t have forgotten. Is he going to let me go? Is he going to have me packed up when I get home? Grover would miss Cesare; Grover absolutely adores Cesare. My stupid heart stuttered watching them, Cesare so big and strong, careful and gentle as he held and played with Grover. I blink back tears, dang it, not at work. Quickly I close out of my calendar as I push down my fears of what will happen in two days.
Once we’re home we separate. I forgot the quilt I was supposed to mail today. I need to pack it and prepare it for mailing, and when I tell Cesare he nods and says he’ll see me in a few minutes. Only I guess I take too long. Cesare’s arms come around me.
“What’s the holdup, cara?”
The stress has been building all day, giving me the push to say what I’ve been worried about. “I was just wondering what you would do with this room when I go home.”
He stiffens, his hands less than gentle as he whirls me around to face him. “What the fuck are you talking about, when you go home?”
I’m fighting to swallow the words thank fucking god at the outrage on his face. I keep my eyes down in case he saw what I wasn’t ready for him to see. “The twenty-five days are up in two days. You said you wanted me for twenty-five days.”
It’s there, his hand far from gentle on the back of my neck, forcing me to meet his eyes. “You aren’t going any fucking where. Do I make myself clear?”
I nod, hating the way panic flickered in his eyes for a second. My hands go up to cup his face. “I don’t want to go anywhere. I want to stay here with you, in your bed, in your home, in your life.”
With a growl from low in his chest he takes my mouth. Holy crap, he’s savage; enough isn’t enough even though I offer no resistance, giving him everything he demands. I’m unaware I’ve moved when I feel the bed under me. My clothes are torn from me, I hear them rip and god I’m a freak because I’m so wet from it. From knowing this gorgeous, sexy man is losing his damned mind over me. Then all thought is gone as he plunges inside me rough, hard, oh yes.
***
Cesare
Christ, what she does to me. Panic warred with relief and anger as she had dared to talk of leaving me. No. How could those words even cross her lips? How dare she even think them? She belongs to me, she is mine, her place is with me, always. I should be soothed by her response, her willingness to give me everything I demanded, yet it only fanned the flames of my anger. How dare she say those words when this is where she wants to be?
The need to imprint myself on her, brand her as mine leaving no doubt, no room for second-guessing, burns hot and bright inside me. Inside, I need to be inside her. Fuck. Tight, so fucking tight her pussy wraps around me and squeezes until I see stars. I thrust hard until I’m home deep inside her. Every time, every damn time I find I’m home inside her. I find the other half of me I never knew I was missing. I’m complete, whole, safe. My safe place from the chaos of the world. When she’s in my arms, everything fades away until there is only us.
My name is a whimper on her sweet lips. “Mine,” I growl as I take her mouth, cotton-candy sweet. I’ll never get enough of her. Her legs wrap around me as her dripping wet pussy clenches me in time with the beating of my heart.
“Yours,” she moans into my mouth. “Only you, Cesare.” Damn right. My woman—no one else has ever heard her whimpers, her gasps, felt her tight pussy around their cock, tasted her sweet pussy, and damn it, no one else ever will. Unleashed, I move; I love the way she moans, fighting against me pulling out. She loves my cock, watching her go down on me is so fucking erotic, I never know how I last longer than thirty seconds. Then the way she swallows everything I give her, humming with pleasure, leaves me so hard I swear I could fuck her all over again. Alicia is every damn wet dream any man has ever had. Eager, uninhibited, so very willing, reveling in her desires, in all the ways I want her.
Damn it. I’m fighting not to come as her pussy works around me. She’s close but she comes first, always. I move faster, answering her pleas. That’s it. Tighter now her pussy works me, clenching my cock tight, then she hits her climax and fuck, her pussy clutches me demanding I come with her. I can’t fight her demand, and I do. I love the way she milks my cock, the way she shivers with satisfaction every time I come inside her.
I’m careful not to let her have my full weight, but I can’t move off her. The feel of her is too damn awesome. Her small hands roam my back. “I’m sorry I talked about leaving. I should have just asked you. I was afra
id you’d tell me of course it was time for me to go, because you’ve never said anything about me staying since I’ve been here.”
Raising my head, I see the fear in her eyes and I hate it. I run a finger over her swollen lips. “I told you, Alicia. I took advantage of the situation to get you here. You’re mine, you’ve always been mine. I protect what’s mine. I keep what’s mine.”
Those beautiful eyes glow brightly at my words. Alicia wants to belong to me, revels in belonging to me. Good, now that we’re both on the same page there will be no more doubts, no more question of her going anywhere.
***
Cesare
The chime of my cell phone warns me who is calling me. Fuck, it’s been two days since I left a message, and my uncle returns my call three minutes before I need to go to a meeting. I don’t hesitate to answer. “Uncle, thank you for returning my call. I have an issue I need to speak to you about in regards to business.”
I shoot an email to Dante letting him know he needs to run the end of the month meeting without me. His response is a fuck you, fine.
There is a hesitation on the line. I know he’s wondering what the hell it could be. “My business?”
“Yes, there is an issue where it intersects with someone precious to me.”
“I have free time today. Would you like to take a walk?”
Damn it, my schedule is tight. I consider if I can move things over to Dante, and it’s not possible. “My time is limited today. I would be happy to have you visit me. I have a free forty-five minutes in two hours. My office is safe. Or I have free time tomorrow after lunch to take a walk.”
I’ve always appreciated the way he has respected and shielded my reputation and my company’s reputation, but after so many years I believe there isn’t a question of his business being involved with mine. In the early years there were whispers and innuendo; however, as there was no fire to feed the smoke, it stopped. I’m also not excited about taking a walk in forty-degree weather.
“Tomorrow at two then. We’ll grab a coffee from the shop at Halsted and Addison.”
“Thank you, Uncle. I’ll see you then.”
***
Cesare
My uncle is in the coffee shop with a cup already. I grab an espresso then greet him. He’s grayer than he was the last time I saw him. “I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me.”
As we begin our walk it’s a relief to see the sidewalk is almost empty. Then again, with the cold wind blowing and the sky a gunmetal gray, it’s easy to understand. “I’m always happy to see you. I admit I was concerned with you stating the matter had to do with business.”
Nodding, I take a sip of the espresso as we wait for the light to change. “I wish it wasn’t. My woman has a little sister she has raised as if she were her own. The little sister, Bethany, like all young people, made a mistake. Bethany drove drunk and managed to damage her roommate’s vehicle. The roommate is Kelsey Kane. Understandably, Ms. Kane wasn’t happy; however, what she wanted in compensation far exceeded the mistake. Ms. Kane is blackmailing Bethany with a recording of Bethany admitting she drove drunk to the police. If Bethany is charged she will lose her place a university program, and without it she will be unable to achieve her chosen profession. Although Ms. Kane said she destroyed the recording once she received the fifty thousand she asked for initially, I have found she lied and is intending to blackmail Bethany again, as she had kept a copy of the recording. While a file was found of the recording and was corrupted, I cannot be sure it was the only recording. Her father is Phillip Kane, he owns a building you operate out of.
“His reputation is important to him. I have proof he not only knows what happens in the building, but he partakes in what is happening. I plan to offer him the choice between making sure his daughter has no other recording and she leaves Bethany in peace, or sharing the proof I have with the general public. As it will not be an idle threat, I wanted you to know before I approached Kane.”
My uncle is quiet for almost a block. “Congratulations on your relationship with Ms. Jeffries. Ms. Jeffries is a remarkable woman. She is a good match for you. I’m sure you’ll both be very happy. Phillip Kane is a craven moron more concerned with money and appearance than even his own comfort. I’m not concerned in the least with him not doing whatever it takes to keep the information from being made public. Should Kane be an issue, let me know. I’ll make sure he comes around.”
I’m relieved until I realize he knew Alicia’s last name. I shouldn’t be surprised my uncle knows not just about Alicia, but he probably knows as much about her background as I do. “Thank you, she is a very remarkable woman. I’m a lucky man. I appreciate your assistance with Kane, if I should need it.”
He comes to a stop, then nods at the door we’re in front of. It’s a used bookstore. “This is where I leave you now. Anything you need, let me know.”
He’s gone without another look. For a moment I wonder if the bookstore is a front and for what, then remember his business is none of my business and I don’t really want to know.
***
Cesare
For the ninth time Dante whines. “Eight o’clock in the morning, Che? Why so damn early?”
I laugh, and he doesn’t like that. “Because it’s one more way to throw him off-kilter. He’s a night owl like you. I told you that you didn’t need to be here. You could have stayed in bed.”
Yawning, Dante sucks on his second espresso this morning. “No fucking way are you talking to this fucker without me. I’m also telling you right now, Alicia is going to be pissed you didn’t let her know what’s going down.”
I’m aware she won’t be happy. However, this isn’t something I want her worrying about. As far as I’m concerned all this bullshit is beneath her. “Let me worry about Alicia.”
The phone rings, it’s security from downstairs letting me know Kane is here. Diego texts me that his guy has Kane in his sights. I pull up the security camera and see Kane coming up in the elevator with a guy beside him in the elevator. As the guy gets out, he bumps into Kane and I just know the guy has dropped the listening device into Kane’s suit pocket.
My phone beeps before Hannah comes through, telling me Kane is here. I pick up the phone and tell her to have him come in.
Kane is a preening jackass who thinks he’s a peacock. I don’t stand or offer my hand as he gets to my desk. All I do is indicate to take a seat. He looks from Dante to me before sitting down slowly. “I...um, you wanted to meet with me?”
I nod. Picking up a sealed envelope, I offer it to him. It holds the proof of his knowing what’s going on in the building he owns and him using three different women there.
Confused, he opens the envelope. He goes pale. He opens his mouth but nothing comes out.
With a smile I lean back. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Your daughter has become a problem, my problem. Her former roommate, Bethany Jeffries, screwed up. Bethany sideswiped Kelsey’s precious BMW. Bethany was willing to take responsibility and sought to make it right.
“Your daughter demanded compensation of far more than she deserved in the amount of fifty thousand dollars, using the threat of revealing Bethany’s recorded admission she damaged your daughter’s car because she was drunk. Had that been all, even though I don’t personally think the punishment fit the crime, I would have let it go. However, your daughter has told others she intends on blackmailing Bethany again, that she didn’t destroy the only recording. As you might be able to tell, those are all copies. You bring me all recordings your daughter has of Bethany. Your daughter forgets Bethany ever existed. You do that and no one else ever sees what you have in your hand. You have twenty-four hours.”
Shaking his head, he flinches when I get to the part about the fifty thousand dollars. By the time I’m done he’s angry, his face a mottled red, and nodding. “I’ll deal with her. I’ll handle this. I’ll have it before the end of the day.”
Kane leaves in a dead run. Dante laughs as th
e door bangs closed behind him. “I do believe Kelsey Kane is going to regret she ever thought of blackmailing Bethany Jeffries.”
“I believe you’re right.” Checking my private email, I see the message from Diego, there’s nothing in the email but a link. I click the link and can hear Kane breathing heavily. Going back to the security cameras, I see him in the elevator going down. “You want the link?”
Dante nods. “Hell yeah, I do. I checked last night, it’s a two-hour drive to the university. I’d put a hundred on him making it there in an hour and half.”
“I won’t bet against it. It’s all highway there.”
Hannah shoots me a text, Alicia is on her way up. I tell Dante. He sighs. “Why again am I at work so early?”
Shrugging, “Client said they’d call at eight and you didn’t want to admit normally you’d still be in bed.”
“Sounds good to me.” With a nod he leaves.
I minimize the email from Diego, then try and concentrate on another email from a client. Almost five minutes later I hear Kane yelling. “Pick up, you fucking brat. Now! Right fucking now!”
Another email comes through from Diego, it’s the link to hear Kelsey’s cell phone conversations. I click the link to bring it up but it won’t activate until Kelsey answers her phone. It isn’t easy to focus on work when every five minutes for the next half hour, Kane yells at Kelsey to pick up.
My eyes flick to my watch when I hear a woman’s voice. I click on the box to maximize the window with Kelsey’s link and close out of the one with Kane’s.