Page 25 of Bought By the Mafia

“Predator. You say that as if you aren’t one yourself.”

He scoffed. “Touché.” His eyes weren’t dark. “Is that why you came after me? Because I was a predator.”

“Believe it or not, I didn’t know who you were.” I never gave a thought fully about what he did when we first met. He was a diversion from the dangerous game I was playing and I liked he was nothing like the men I’ve known before. Fun, charming, and unassuming. He had been so eager to please me. It was refreshing, because I was usually the one playing that role. The time I spent with him before everything went to shit was the best I’ve ever been with someone. Hell, I didn’t know he was rich until he took me to his yacht. Our mark was no longer coming and as a result, I got a free holiday. Then my mother found out who I was with. Then she told Terry. And everything changed.

“So you’re telling me you stumbled onto me by accident? Our meeting was simply kismet. Two people drawn together by fate.”

“You’re the one who came onto me first, remember?”

His eyes narrowed. Whatever else happened after, even he couldn’t refute that he was the one to approach me and not the other way around. The change in Giovanni’s face seem to show he was conceding to the fact. It was a small short-lived victory because his mood quickly shifted. He downed the rest of his drink and placed the glass on the tray of a passing server. He turned around to face me and pulled me within his grasp. Just at that moment, someone bumped into me behind me, pushing me against Gio. I gasped, shocked at the sudden movement and the electric shocks that were running up and down my spine at the thought of embracing him so close in a public place.

I heard glass, liquid, and metal crashing to the ground behind me, and that’s when I realized a server had tripped and fell. The contents of his tray were on the floor. A cocktail of champagne, canapes, and broken glass. “Are you okay?” Gio asked. I nodded. “Your dress.” I followed his gaze. The hem of my dress was soaking up the wine. Gio whisked me away from the mess, but he was a little too late. Some canapes had gotten into my dress. The server noticed this at the same time as I did and he muttered a few strangled worries as he straightened up awkwardly. I accepted his rambling apologies. The dress wasn’t that damaged, and the material was easy to wash.

“We should get you cleaned,” Gio said, his brow furrowed as he inspected my dress.

I gently swiped away his hand that trailing down my hip as he assessed the damage. Not because he was irritating me. Quite the opposite; his touch made me feel hot. “Don’t worry,” I said to him, “it’s fine.” Before I could say anything, he led me away from the mess and towards the bathrooms. There were several powder rooms, most of them unoccupied. We got into one, which had two empty stalls and a washbasin. Gio drew me to the counter and immediately went to work brushing off the bits of crumbs, meat, vegetables, glass, and wine off me with a wet paper towel. His actions were mechanical, but my body reacted with incendiary heat on every part he brushed. As he got lower and got onto his knees, my mind could not help wander what would happen if he were to ditch the towel, lift the dress and pull my thighs to his mouth. “See,” I said after he was done cleaning the mess. My voice sounded a little too husky, so I cleared my throat before he caught onto the fact that what he was doing was arousing me. “It wasn’t that big of a deal.”

He straightened up and threw the towel into a nearby bin and rinsed his hands. “Yes, but the glass could have hurt you.”

I rolled my eyes. “As if you care.”

His gaze was intense when he stared at me. “I care enough to not want to see you hurt. Physically, at least.” His voice was low. Almost seductive. It was disarming. I could sense the shift in the atmosphere. Suddenly, the surroundings felt intimate. The music in the hall beyond, quiet. My focus became him, as his was no doubt me. My gaze went to his mouth. The last time we kissed was a while ago. Just after he went away. We haven’t done anything intimate since then. We haven’t even been this close. I wonder why? Did he find a girlfriend during that time? Maybe he had a new woman who was less combative and did everything he said without question. That would certainly explain his distance with me. “What’s on your mind?” he asked.

I blurt it out without thinking twice. “Where you with someone else? When you were gone.”

He frowned. “Someone else?”

I felt like an insecure wife who could not stand the thought of her husband being away from work. I did not like who I was becoming, but the lack of knowledge was gnawing at me. “A girlfriend.”

“The only people I was with were my brothers and my brothers only. And sometimes some of my men, but that’s it.” A wave of relief washed over me.

“What were you doing there?” I noticed a speck of green on his shirt. It must have splattered on to it from the accident. I brushed it off, but my hand lingered.

“Managing Dante’s business while he took care of business.”

“Funny.”

Gio took hold of the hand that was on his chest and pressed it against his beating heart. “Do you think I’m lying?” I shook my head. Somehow, I knew he was telling the truth. It could have been in the way he said it. He spoke in a manner of someone confident in his answer while simultaneously amused by the question. As if the mere idea of him being with another person was ludicrous. But it wasn’t for me. I had seen the way most of the women in that ballroom had devoured him just with his gaze. Their desire was shameless. I was positive I saw one woman brushing herself against him as we strolled past her. He had me by his arm, but they all acted like I was a temporary fixture.

“It’s just odd,” I said, “that someone like you would not have, you know, wandered.”

“Someone like me?”

“Don’t act so obtuse. I’m aware of your appetites.”

He took hold of my chin and drew me close. My pulse sped up. “My appetites, as you call them, are specific. I don’t just go for anyone.” I tried not to focus on what his words might mean. He surely wasn’t saying I was the only woman he wanted. I was not that naïve. “How specific?” I asked, and I almost wanted to take it back because there was only one answer that would satisfy me and any other answer would not do. His mouth turned up slightly and softly he said, “You idiot,” and took my mouth to his.

Our conversation melted away to nothing at the touch of his lips. I clung to him as if we had not done this in years when it was only a fortnight. His mouth was like magic as it brushed against mine. It could draw out desires I strove to bury with a simple kiss. I leaned into him, wanting more, and felt the pressure of his groin against mine. It was so erotically sweet; I ground against him, the need to feel him inside me growing. He lifted my leg and swung it around his waist. I lifted the other leg and did the same. We both moaned when I felt his cock against my wet center.

This is what I had been missing. Just a few weeks away from him and I was craving Gio like he was a drug. And just dry humping him wasn’t enough. I wanted him. My hands went to his pants, and I fumbled with his zipper. A few quick and jerky movements later, his cock was free. It was hard, thick, and weeping to be inside me. I brushed off the pre-cum with my thumb and licked my finger. His eyes were cloudy with desire as they locked with mine. For a moment, time seemed to stop as we challenged each other to take the next step. Then he galvanized into action. He pushed me back against the wall, flipped up my dress, and ripped my underwear off. His cock entered me with a thrust so deep it pushed me up against the mirror with its force. I moaned a little too loudly, and he put a hand on my mouth to quiet me. His other hand went down to my clit, where he massaged it in time with his rhythmic thrusts. It was quick, but no less pleasurable. In no time, I could feel myself going over that edge and when I did, I screamed against his mouth as my pussy milked his cock. If he hadn’t been covering my screams, I’m sure everyone in the ballroom would have heard us.

Gio was not too far behind. A couple more strokes and he flooded my pussy with his come. His head fell to my shoulder and bit down with a moan against my neck. He must have made a mark there. A primitive part of me hoped he did. It was the part that wanted to be marked by him and display that mark to the world. I didn’t know what to make of that odd desire, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it. We were like that for a couple of minutes as we tried to snatch back our breaths and our sanity. Finally, Gio pulled back and stood to face me. His hair was disheveled and there were small beads of sweat on his forehead. He looked cute in that post orgasmic phase we were in. I had an urge to draw him in and kiss him, but the closer I observed, the more I noticed he wasn’t in the same mood as I was. Something had shifted within those few seconds and I could only describe the look on his face in one word; regret.

What the fuck do I know? I must have said out loud because he then said, “Fix yourself up and let’s get out of here.”

12

Five years ago

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