Never Say Never (Vitale Brothers Book 4)

Chapter 3

”Hey, sexy, another night alone?”Big doe eyes, pouty lips, and freckles sprinkled over the bridge of his nose popped up in front of me. He leaned heavily against the wall crowding into my space; the warmth radiating off him was welcoming.

I sipped my whiskey, taking in the twink that screamed fuck me. His smirk was a challenge I was more than fit to meet. All it would take was bending him over a table and showing him exactly what heaven felt like. The week had been a bitch; hunting down my own family, making sure the FBI didn”t succeed, and trying to figure out who the informant was. To say I needed to release some pent up tension and aggression was to put it lightly. A fantastic fuck was just what the doctor ordered.

”You offering to change that fact?” I gripped his chin, tilting his head back, forcing him to meet my gaze. ”I won”t be nice.”

His eyes shimmered with identical lust. ”I was hoping you”d show me what’s so special about you.”

I cocked a brow and he shrugged, breaking the little eye contact we had. He moved closer, a sweet perfume wafting off him. It wasn”t great but could easily be ignored. I didn”t need to like everything about a person to fuck their brains out. Sex was simply two or more bodies coming together in mutual pleasure.

”Well, you know you”re known around here,” the pretty twink said. His face tinged red slightly under the low lights in the club.

”Am I?” I released him, allowing the guy to stay in my space for now. Sipping my drink, I went back to observing my surroundings. ”What”s said about me?”

”You don”t know?” He looked at me skeptically.

I shrugged. Knowing and hearing it face-to-face were two different things.

”Well, um, that you”re packing. And that you know how to do, um, well, you know.”

I sat my drink down. I moved before he knew what was happening. His back slammed against the wall, my arms resting on either side of his head as I crowded in his space. I fought back the natural reaction to recoil from the unnaturally sweet perfume smell. He wasn”t my only option for the night, but I wasn”t in the mood to try that hard either. A part of me wished I could drop by Silver Dreams, the Vitale brothel, and let Gran Myah hook me up. I”d spend the entire night with skillful hands and mouths all over me, washing away the stress of my daily life. But it was just another thing I had to give up all those years ago.

Sometimes I resented my brothers. They got to be themselves and they had each other while I was forced to live in solitude and constantly look over my shoulder. And theirs. I”d never betray them or even think about slacking off, but a part of me wished we”d come up with a different plan back then.

”Why are you acting all shy now?” I lowered one hand and let it circle his slender throat. ”Talk.”

His pupils were blown, his mouth open as he stared at me. ”You”re really good at sex. You don”t care who it is, you”ll screw anyone as long as they breathe.”

My stomach twisted. He wasn”t wrong. I did have that reputation but knowing he sought me specifically because of it made me feel cheap. It was one thing to hear about the wild tales of my sexcapades and another to know I was a morally loose whore.

”Well, breathing isn”t a requirement. Just as long as you”re pretty enough, I”ll breed a corpse too.”

The lust bled away from his face. His peachy flesh was whiter than paper as he attempted to move back from me. The fear in his eyes was comical, and I couldn”t help but smile.

I was supposed to be Paul. He was a fun playboy who was a law abiding citizen. I was not supposed to be Gianpaolo who was the son of a mafia boss or the brother of psychotic mobsters.

I leaned back, wiping away the face of a killer and put back on the charming smile and easy going persona. ”Just kidding! Who”d be into that?”

”Yeah,” the guy said shakily.

Well, there goes my easy fuck.

”Oh, my friend is calling me back over. Um, I guess I”ll see you around.”

I nodded. ”Hopefully not in a back alley. There are multiple ways to show someone heaven.”

He scampered away like his ass was on fire. He was halfway across the room before I turned back around fully. My whiskey was practically gone. I felt slightly better. It would relieve a bit more stress if I”d been able to cause some mayhem.

I am Paul Gallo, a good upstanding citizen.

I was suffocating and there was nothing I could do about it, not unless I was willing to risk my family and everything we”d worked our asses off to secure. Benito would understand but it would only put more work on his shoulders. Gin would be ecstatic, and Enzo he”d be happy in his own way.

Missing my brothers was normal but actively investigating them with the team only made me long to be back on the streets of New York, not as Gallo, but a Vitale.

I eyed the bar, contemplating another drink when a familiar face walked through the double doors. The thumping music and multitude of bodies couldn’t have grabbed an ounce of my attention as York Washington waltzed in. I thought last time was a fluke. There were too many nights I stayed around until last call waiting to see if he showed up again.

The man was inconsistent but if there was one thing I knew about my boss, he wasn”t the go out and party type. I moved back, submerging myself more into the shadows and blending in with my surroundings. Every step York took toward the bar piqued my interest even more. I glanced around, looking for the rat to come up to him. Maybe he was at the gay bar to meet the inside man. There wasn”t anyone I could point out, but then again, I hadn”t been a part of the family in years. I couldn”t possibly know every face in the operation, but I”d take note of anyone who approached him, even the bartenders.

York”s presence wasn”t missed as he moved across the room. People made way for him without him having to say anything. He wore a fitted black shirt and dark blue jeans, a stark contrast to the suit he normally wore every day in the office. I”d have to be blind and without a cock not to notice how good he looked.

Fuck, he looks amazing. Why in the hell does he have to be my boss? And the enemy?

I groaned, bringing the glass to my lips only to be reminded I ran out of whiskey. I sighed, forced to stay hidden until I observed the situation. Tonight might be the night I finally learn who the mole is. York took a stool and flagged down a bartender. A man practically skipped over to his side, all smiles and flirtatious gestures.

”He won”t fall for that shit.” I rolled my eyes as the bartender laid it on thick. I could tell halfway across the room that York wasn”t interested.

Shit, I wasn”t interested and that was saying something. York had his drink and he turned around after letting out a huge breath, his shoulders lifting and falling with the effort. He turned on the stool, his gaze sweeping over the crowd the way I did whenever I first arrived. A look around to map out the exits, another check for any possible threats, and lastly it was time to see what was on the menu for the night.

”No fucking way.” The first time I’d seen him at The Apple, I thought it was a spur of the moment thing. York out on the town, sees a gay bar, and says yay party. No way that happened twice. Besides, the way he observed the men around him was anything but casual.

Is my boss gay?

York never let too much personal information slip. A man with brown hair wearing a polo shirt and fitted jeans made his way to my boss. A smile that screamed sleazy was plastered on his face as he approached. I didn”t have to read lips to know he was hitting on York. The way he leaned in close and attempted to drag York into a full conversation was all I needed to see. There was also no indication he was the mole. No one in my family would have someone like that around. He screamed he worked a soul sucking job and went home to eat TV dinners.

Another five minutes went by and the antsy feeling under my skin only seemed to worsen. York smiled at something the guy said and it was the last fucking straw. He only needed to spare a single minute to tell the guy to fuck off, but instead he was actually sitting there sipping his drink and talking.

I couldn”t get him to flirt back with me but some random person at the club could? I knew logically that wasn”t a sound argument, but it didn”t erase the anger simmering through my veins. York Washington was my boss, but he was also my next and ultimate conquest. After I had him then he”d be free to flirt with who ever the fuck he wanted.

”You could have called me. Don”t you think it”s selfish to leave me at home alone, honey?” I placed a hand on York”s shoulder, staking my claim.

York saw me approach. The only indication he did was the slight widening of his eyes for a brief second. I promised myself if I caught him at the club ever again, I”d shoot my shot, or at least I wasn”t going to let anyone else do it.

”Oh, you were talking about making friends.” I leaned close to him letting my body language speak for itself. ”Who”s your friend?” The rich cologne that tickled my nose was like a drug. I wanted to bury my nose in the crook of York’s neck and inhale. He looked and smelled amazing.

”Not a friend. We only just met,” York said. He glanced up at me, the corners of his lips tilted up in a half smile. ”Is there any reason you”re here?”

I relaxed a bit. I’d assumed he would have been standoffish. He wasn’t a very open person. I was under the impression that seeing him outside of the office was taboo, let alone talking to him.

Quickly recovering from my moment of shock, I said the first thing that came to mind. “You’re gay.”

It wasn’t a question and York didn’t treat it like one. “You’re bisexual. Or is it called pansexual nowadays?”

“Yeah.”

“Um, exsc—” The insignificant man near us was ruining my chances of getting to know my boss more. He needed to go.

I draped my arm over York making a show of how close we were. Or how close I planned on being. ”I’m here to meet you. Don”t you remember we had a date planned?”

The other guy looked between us, his shoulders already fallen as he caught onto the hint.

”If I”d known you would seek out someone else because I was late, I would have been here the moment they opened,” I teased my boss.

York sipped his drink, not denying my words but not agreeing to them either. I looked at the man still standing there. What the fuck did he want? The silence was only accompanied by the sounds in the bar.

”Uh, it was nice to meet you, York. I hope we can meet up another time.”

Not going to happen.

York nodded. ”Have a good night, Max.”

”Max? What kind of school teacher name is that?”

”What are you doing here, Paul?”

I turned to the guy on the stool next to York and jerked my head. He looked ready to argue but I wasn”t in the mood to play nice. I wasn”t letting this chance slip between my fingers.

I wasn’t sure if he saw the murder in my gaze or if he saw how interested I was in York. Either way, he got up, and I took his spot without another word.

”I told you, I”m here for a date.”

”Then you should go find him,” York said without missing a beat.

I ordered another whiskey and stared at my boss. My incredibly sexy and tempting boss. ”I found him already.”

”No.”

”Oh, come on, are you saying us being here after hours isn”t fate? Or better yet cosmetic. We”d be doing the universe a disservice if we walked away without trying.”

“It’s cosmic,” he said shortly. York cocked a single brow at me, not giving me anything. ”No.”

I opened my arms showing off what I had to work with. ”Are you saying no because you”re here for work?”

”No, I”m here because—” He went silent, looking at me and not at the same time. ”Reasons that have nothing to do with work.”

”Then you”re here for a hookup.”

”I”m not like you.”

Ouch.

”You think you”re going to find your forever man here at a club in the middle of Manhattan?”

”I doubt it.” York took another sip of his drink, the liquor left behind on his lips called to me to lick it off.

The amount of self-control I was exerting deserved a gold medal. Fuck, maybe even a nobel prize. I rolled my shoulders back, forcing my eyes back up to meet his. The single brow lifted on York”s face let me know I wasn”t subtle at all. Blame it on the booze I”d been drinking for a few hours. I could handle myself, but some of my normal walls were down. Tonight was supposed to be about blowing off steam in the form of plowing someone”s holes, but I hadn”t expected my boss to appear again.

I was nothing if I wasn”t adaptable. Besides, this change of plans came with a side of having fun with the boss. It brought me closer to a lot of my goals. I could get on his good side and get more info on the investigation, possibly find out who the mole was in my family, and finally get York Washington in bed. Win-fucking-win.

I took the glass of—one sniff let me know it was brandy—from York and sat it back on the counter. ”You need to loosen up if you”re going to actually enjoy your time out.”

”And I should listen to you because?”

”You”re the boss at the office, but out here, this is where I thrive. I”m in charge.”

York stared me down, his gaze heavy sending shivers racing over my spine. My cock twitched like the hungry bastard it was.

”Trust me. Or you can take me up on my offer of a date. I won”t disappoint.”

It was minor but York”s gaze swept up and down my body. And for a split second I thought he was going to take me up on the offer.

”Never going to happen.”

I flagged the bartender down. ”Four tequila shots. Put it on my tab.” I glanced at York as the shots were passed over. I handed him one with a lime. ”You know what they say, right?”

I clinked the shot glass against his. York stared at the tequila as if it had personally offended him. I tapped the bottom of the glass on the bar before licking the salt and swallowing the tequila. It went down, burning as it joined all the other liquor sloshing around inside of me. I bit the lime and gestured for York to do the same.

”How old do you think I am?”

”Take the shot, York.”

My boss paused, probably surprised that I wasn”t being overly respectful toward him. We weren”t in the office. Yes, I still had to play Paul, but at times like this, I could let a little more of Paolo bleed out.

York grunted and followed my lead, licking the salt and swallowing down the tequila. I moved in with the lime, putting it in between his full lips. Fuck, how I wanted to kiss them.

”Never say never,” I said. “You don”t know what will happen tomorrow. Or tonight.”

York bit the lime, shaking his head. ”You”re my subordinate.”

”I know. That”s what makes it even hotter.”

He stared at me before he laughed. Sure, take it as a joke. But I was serious. There was something about York that made me want to roll in the sheets with him at least once.

”Another.”

”I have to be able to function tomorrow,” York said as he held up the shot glass.

I waved the bartender over again. ”A few more.”

”Hey, Paul, are you listening to me?”

”I don”t have to.”

Our shot glasses clinked together and I swallowed another. This time, York shot his down at the same time as me.

”If you think getting me drunk will get you any favors at work, you can stop now.”

I smiled. ”I have better tactics than getting you drunk. I have many talents.”

York opened his mouth before shutting it again. He shook his head and took the next shot.

”What do you do here, besides get drunk?”

”Normally, I don”t have more than one or two glasses.” I looked around the room but my gaze returned to York.

He hummed. ”Did you finish your report on?—”

”Nope.” I handed him another shot. ”We don”t talk work out here.”

”Then what?”

”Life, interests, I don”t know—anything other than work.”

York eyed me. ”I have no current interests, and my personal life is off limits.”

Okay, should have seen that coming.

I swallowed more tequila. If my shoulders were loose before, they felt closer to the floor now. I used sucking on the lime as an excuse to buy myself time. York was a hard man in and out of the office apparently. I couldn”t help wanting to push him to see what he was really like past his walls.

”There are other things we could do that wouldn”t require any talking.”

York stared at me. ”No.”

”You know, you”re really hurting my pride here.” I leaned closer to him, sighing dramatically. ”Am I really not your type, sexually?”

I didn”t expect an answer, but when York gave a reply, I was left flabbergasted.

He downed another shot of Tequila and just under his breath, barely over the thumping music and noise from the crowd of people, I heard him.

”You are.”