Page 8 of Sin City Obsession

He wanted to bite those rounded, flushed cheeks to see if she’d gasp. He wanted to see just how low that blush went before it faded away, and trace his tongue along the skin there. He wanted—no, heneeded—a taste of her. Her hair tangled around his fist, her body arching as he fucked into her. Or maybe he’d get her on her knees and find out if she could swallow him.

But none of that before he got her to show him how she pleasured herself.

She may as well have promised.

He pulled more coffee-stained fabric into his mouth and rolled his thumb across the head of his cock as he imagined watching her spread her legs for him. He imagined sitting back, feigning control, and watching while she stroked two or three fingers over her own center, working herself up. Was she bare? Trimmed? He guessed the latter, but he was damn near feral to find out.

The Alessa in his fantasy sank two fingers into her pussy and moaned, gyrating as she began to pump them in and out.

Rocco pumped his own hand faster and closed his eyes.

She began alternating between finger-fucking and almost roughly circling her clit, her head thrown back as she lost herself to her own pleasure. Her soft moaning turned to gasping, and then, finally, she called out his name as her body trembled with release.

It might only have been in his imagination, but it was enough. The orgasm he’d been fighting off ripped out of him and Rocco leaned a little more into the arm he’d been using to brace himself. Slowly, he let the shirt fall from between his teeth.

He’d really just jacked off in the bathroom at work, at barely six-thirty in the morning. Because of a woman he wasn’t even supposed to want.

Rocco heaved another breath. “Fuck.”

Ignazio met her in the lobby just minutes after Rocco took his leave, and Alessa was grateful for it. Rocco was a distraction she couldn’t afford. He confused her in too many ways. Ignazio did not give off the same vibe, and the sight of him sharpened her focus.

Ignazio inclined his head in greeting, but didn’t bother with the superfluous words when he spoke. “You should have an email with two lists. I sent it before heading over.”

Alessa blinked once, then dug into her pocket for her phone. “Lists?” She pulled up her email before he could answer and saw that she did, in fact, have something new.

“Known local money schemers, primarily loan sharks, who’ve been on the scene at any time in the past four years. Including the ones currently behind bars who might still have some pull. The list is color-coded to separate the names who are dead now, but might have living heirs or knowledgeable former employees.”

She identified which list he was referring to easily enough. It was labeledThe Usual Suspects. Alessa grinned as she tapped to download it onto her phone. She hadn’t pegged him for a sense of humor, subtle or otherwise. When the list opened, she glanced back up at him. “That’s more than a few names. Did you get any sleep?”

He grunted and motioned for them to start walking. “The nerd team compiled both lists yesterday, while you were in the air, and forwarded them to me after I was assigned to you.”

Well. Maybe she’d been right about his sense of humor, after all.But his point makes sense.She let it go and switched to the other list, the name of which she promptly read out loud. “‘Check the Wool?’”

Ignazio shrugged subtly and said, “The second list is of those outside the family we think are least likely to be responsible. No one’s ruling them out, but they don’t seem like the best place to waste energy off the bat.”

Alessa opened the file after it downloaded and realized quickly what he meant, and what the name of the list referenced. It was a suggestion of a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Someone in their tech department liked word games. She gave the list a once-over as they made their way to a car, unsurprised to note the inclusion of several celebrities with a known presence in Las Vegas. That was fine. She wasn’t there to play tourist, no matter how much her mother would have loved for her to get an Osmond’s autograph.

Rocco’s words flashed through her mind and Alessa quickly closed out of the list to tuck away her phone, as if it could read her mind. He hadn’treallymeant he wanted to show her the city and they both knew it.

She still couldn’t believe she’d tossed his suggestion back at him, though.

“We can arrange a prison visit as early as tomorrow,” Ignazio said, “if you want to talk to sharks on the inside who weren’t locked up back then.” He pulled open the passenger door of their designated SUV for her. “Your call.”

Alessa dragged her focus back to the moment with a silent curse in Rocco’s general direction. “Are they all in the same prison?” She climbed obediently into the SUV, and when Ignazio opted to shut the door and walk around before answering, she chose to take another look atThe Usual Suspects.

As he’d said, there were color indicators for about half a dozen, with secondary names attached to most of those. What there was not, was a third color to indicate which names on the list were currently behind bars.

“The ones on the list,” Ignazio said after pulling his own door shut.

Alessa looked up at him, and when he didn’t add more, she replayed her question to him in her mind. Then she frowned. “Okay, your guys only listed the usurers in the closest prison. I get that.” She waved her phone for unnecessary emphasis. “But unlessallthese names marked as living are in jail, in the same jail no less, there needs to be more clarification here. I don’t have any way of magically inferring whether”—she looked at the screen again—“Philip Patrick is in jail or on the street. And now I need to take time to sort that out.”

“Jail,” Ignazio said. He rolled the engine over without waiting for her to buckle in. “The first page is the prisoners.”

Alessa quickly buckled, not looking to get either of them in an unnecessarily awkward situation, before examining the list again. She hadn’t realized when she’d skimmed it before, but the first page of the four was visually the shortest. “Okay. That’s useful.” She scrunched up her face and scrolled slower through pages two, three, and four. “I think I’d prefer to start with the names who’ve been active the entire time. Guys who’ve worked out a system and probably have their hooks into multiple people.” She lowered the phone again and glanced toward her temporary partner. “You know, the type who don’t balk at large loans over long stretches of time, or sending bruisers across the country.”

Ignazio responded by switching on the blinker and changing lanes. “You’re in charge.”

Alessa shifted her gaze out the windshield. She was going to try to trust Ignazio, and the Cavallos, but she wasn’t going tobe blindly chauffeured around the entire time she was in Vegas. “Great. But you realize I don’t know which of these names those are, let alone where to find them.”

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