Twisted Games of Revenge (Sinners of Ravens Hollow #3)

Chapter 8

Alessandro takes my hand and leads me back through his parents’ estate, my heart in my throat. His car is brought around the turn circle, and like the charming gentleman he pretends to be, he opens the back door for me, closing it again when I’m safely inside. Then he moves around the car and joins me in the back.

His gaze, heady with desire, roams over me, making me blush under his constant attention. Something stupid and romantic inside of me is excited by the idea of being with him again. Feeling his body pressed to mine without all the hate that has been swirling between us lately. My hidden identity gives us a clean slate. I try desperately not to think of the jealousy building inside of me at the thought he’s so happy to just go off with any girl. And more, the chemistry that still exists, even if he doesn’t know who I really am.

Briefly I glance out the window, seeing the stately properties and mansions turning into city streets. I had assumed he would take me back to his place, but we’re heading in the opposite direction. “Where are you taking me?”

He collects my hand and presses it to his lips. “I recently took over Sinners’ Paradise. Thought we could go there for a drink if you’re up for it?”

There is a challenge in his eyes. He wants me to tell him this is what I want. “That sounds like fun. I was there last night with a few friends. That’s how I met your mother.”

“She does like to spend her time there making new friends. When she’s not throwing lavish parties with the city’s rich and infamous,” he agrees.

I tilt my head, looking him over, wondering if he will be more honest with Vivian than he was with Harley. “The work she does for charity is very noble. You must be so proud of both your parents for all they do for this community.”

His eyebrow arches in skepticism. “My mother likes to keep herself busy. Don’t let her fool you, she gets as much out of it as the girls she helps,” he answers cryptically.

I nod, wondering how much he really knows about what his mother does behind the scenes. “She showed me the designer gowns that have been donated for her next auction. She was very generous with her time and even offered to help me make a start on the business I’m planning on setting up once I’m more settled in Ravens Hollow. She’s an amazing woman.”

“She’s something, that’s for sure.”

We pull into the turn circle of the casino, and our driver brings the car to a stop. Nervous butterflies take flight throughout my body. Am I really going to go through with this?

Alessandro opens my door and holds his hand out to me, his smile reaching all the way to his eyes, their dark brown glinting with mischief in the bright lights. It’s a smile that I can’t help but return. In his company, I feel completely at ease and relaxed. There is just something about him like this.

We walk through the front doors with his arm wrapped around my shoulder like it’s supposed to be there, and for once, I welcome the contact. “Will we go to the bar?” I ask, wondering what exactly he has in mind for the rest of this evening.

He keeps walking with me past the bar and to an elevator in the back, pressing the button to take us up to the penthouse. “I can drink in my bar any night; I want you all to myself tonight, Vivian.”

I stop before entering, not sure about all this. He’s moving too fast for me, and I need more time to work out what to do. “I’m sorry, Alessandro, I’m not going straight up to a hotel room with you. I just met you.”

He takes my hand, kissing the back of my fingers. “Vivian, forgive me. Let’s have a quiet drink first,” he says with way too much charm.

I blink back at him from under my long lashes, blushing from the way he looks at me. He didn’t expect me to challenge him, but he likes that I did. I assume most girls would just jump at the chance to leave a party and be whisked off to a fancy hotel room for a quick fuck with the big boss himself. Not me, even though I am supposed to be seducing him. I want to know exactly what I’m working with here.

He leads me to a secluded table in a quiet corner, with a navy-blue leather booth seat and low-lit chandeliers hanging overhead. I take a seat, sliding over to the side closest to the wall.

“I’ll get us some drinks,” he offers.

I smile and nod, appreciating the space from him. His presence is already clouding my judgment, and I need to get my shit together before I do something I will regret.

He moves toward the bar in the center of the room. The bartender looks shocked when he sees him and fumbles with the glass as he tries to poor a drink.

In my bag I feel my phone vibrate with a text message, and I pull it out to check who it’s from.

SLOANE: Hope you know what you’re doing!!

VIVIAN: Me too!!

I reply then slip my phone back inside my purse, glancing up to watch the other patrons around Alessandro. They all know who he is, and I can see he gets off on his popularity, nodding in acknowledgment as they greet him as he makes his way back to me. He places a drink down in front of me then slides in beside me, instead of taking the seat opposite. The warmth radiating off his body is enough to melt me into a puddle all over the floor. And when he smiles at me, all charming before tossing his hair back a little with his free hand, I swoon. This is the guy I met at my papa’s party and instantly fell for.

“My mother seems to like you,” he comments after having a swig of his whiskey.

“I only met her last night. I’m not sure you can judge character that quickly, but we had a nice conversation. She wants to help me, I think.”

“My mother doesn’t do anything unless it will benefit her in some way. She likes you because she thinks you hold value.”

I’m not sure if I should be insulted by his remark or if it was more of a dig at her. I take a small sip of the margarita Alessandro brought back for me. “You don’t like your mother?”

“I tolerate her.” He looks me over. “Do you have a close relationship with your parents?”

I shake my head, not wanting to get into it. Even my fake story is too much for me to talk about tonight.

His hand drops to my thigh, a warmth spreading through me. “Sometimes the family you choose is more fitting than the one you were born into,” he says softly, and I’m not sure if he’s talking about mine or his. But either way, he’s right.

I glance up at him, not sure why this moment is starting to feel so damn intimate when I am supposed to have just met this guy. But there is just something about this softer side to him that makes me feel safe with him. “I hope I choose better than my parents did. That’s all I can say.”

He takes my hand in his, lacing our fingers together in a way that makes me all hot for him. “You will,” he assures me, and I know he’s talking about him. He thinks this is a done deal already.

I smile softly at him, a gentle curve of my lips mirroring his, as we sit together in comfortable silence. For the first time in so long I feel like a normal girl, falling for a normal guy, an intoxicating chemistry swirling through the air between us. I glance at his lips, wondering what it would be like to steal a kiss that wasn’t laced with the bitterness of all the angst the two of us carry around. Would it feel like it did before I started hating him?

“Do it,” he whispers, reading my mind and giving me the go-ahead.

Without giving it another thought, I move in closer, pressing my lips to his. A breathy moan escapes my lips as he kisses me back, swiping his tongue through my open mouth. We had been building to this moment since our eyes locked from across the lawn tonight, and he doesn’t disappoint. My hands run up his muscular arms, settling on the back of his neck as I pull him into me. I have missed this side of him, craved it in a way I can’t even explain.

Knowing I’m getting in over my head, I pull back panting, needing a second to breathe. This pull between us is all-consuming, and he knows it as well as I do. But before I have time to catch my breath, he’s kissing me again, desperately.

His fingers press into my waist as he tries to get closer to me. Greedily his other hand travels up my thigh, pushing the silky fabric aside so he can lightly run his fingers over the bare skin of my inner thigh.

Oh, dear God. His feather-light touch sends shivers through me. I want him badly even though I know I shouldn’t. My pussy throbs with need for him, short-circuiting any logic left in my brain.

I relax my back into the seat, his weight pressing into me, and his hand travels farther up my thigh, sending goosebumps all the way down my legs. What I wouldn’t give to have his fingers inside of me. My heart races like crazy because I know I have to stop him, even if I want this.

When he makes it to just before my soaked panties, my breath hitches in my chest, and I move the hand that was tangling in his hair from the back of his neck to wrapping around his wrist, stopping him going any further.

I pant frantically as I pull away from his kiss. His dark eyes meeting mine in question, they are so heady with desire it sends a jolt of fear over me. This is too much. I want him too badly, and I know it’s a terrible idea.

“I’m not the girl you think I am,” I say, remembering Sloane can hear anything we say or do. Tonight isn’t the night for sexy shenanigans with Alessandro, no matter how badly my body craves him. And right now, my pussy is begging me to let him touch me.

He smirks dangerously, amused. Then his face moves closer to mine again, and this time he drops his lips to my neck, placing kisses all the way up to my earlobe. I can’t help the moan that flies from my lips. “I could kiss you all night, just like this, Vivian,” he rumbles seductively, and I believe him because I could do the same. I would definitely end up riding his cock right here in this room full of people, but I could kiss him forever.

I let out a small breathy moan, my body pressing into his, just begging to be touched. My pussy clenches and throbs with need, and I press my legs together to try and stop my hunger for him. “There are people around,” I warn as much for myself as for him, kissing his lips instead.

My eyes close, and I’m taken back in time, swept away with him in the moment. It’s no use, I want so badly for him to sink his thick fingers deep inside me and take away this throbbing desire I have for him. In a moment of weakness, I release his wrist, and this time I use my hand to push his under the bunched-up hem of my dress, giving him permission to touch me there . If Sloane has any sense about her, she will turn off her mic because it’s too late for me to stop this train from derailing.

I feel his grin brush against my lips, the light touch sending a shiver down my spine, and regret washes over me instantly. He knew what he was doing getting me all hot and bothered for him. Even that thought doesn’t stop me from parting my legs, allowing him full access to me. Because I want him like crazy.

His large hand cups my pussy, lightly teasing me as he moves, he rubs back and forth over my panties. By now he knows I’m desperate for him because we both know he can feel how fucking wet I am. My silk panties are drenched and sticky against my overheating pussy. He shoves them to the side, taking his time to explore his way through my folds, toying with me in a way only he knows how. It’s delicious, and I want to beg him for more. “Take off your panties.”

“What? Here?” My eyes go wide, searching our surroundings.

Like he already knows, his middle finger teases my entrance. As he pulls back from our kiss, locking eyes with me, he waits patiently for me to catch my breath and do as I have been told.

I swallow the lump that has formed in my throat. Am I really going to do this? Blinking back at him from under my new extra-thick dark lashes, I see the dominance in his expression. He’s holding back his need to control me, but it’s there, simmering right under the surface. And I love it. I want to be controlled by him no matter how hard I fight it in every other aspect of our relationship. When it comes to this, he can do no wrong. I run my hand under my skirt, still watching him.

He swallows hard and something in the way he looks at me with so much adoration turns me on even more. He’s the one demanding I do as he says, but I feel like I have all the power. I reach under my dress, hooking my finger in the side of my panties before dragging them down my legs and over my heels.

With a filthy smirk, he holds out his hand, and I place them in his palm, feeling so dirty for him. He knows he’s making me squirm, and he loves it. He places them in the pocket of his suit pants. “Good girl, now spread your legs for me so I can play with you.”

Oh God! A flutter runs through me as a fresh wave of heat radiates off my chest and face. But like the good little girl I want to be for him, I do as he says, moving further into the corner of the booth, spreading my legs for him. I pray that booth style seats would have me concealed from any onlookers who work out what the two of us are up to. But even still, this feels so naughty with so many people around us.

He moves so he’s facing me. His hands coming to my thighs, he shoves my legs wider, and I feel like I’m going to combust just from the wicked heat in his eyes as he takes me in. He skates a hand down lower, teasing me before he pushes his finger inside of my soaking-wet pussy.

My back hits the leather booth, pressing into it for stability, my mouth falling open, and my eyes roll back in my head at the pure pleasure of being stretched by him. This is what I have been craving. The first finger is quickly joined by a second. Slowly, he inserts and withdraws them from me in a leisurely manner. He really is playing with me.

“You know, Vivian, from the moment I saw you at The Raven’s Nest, I knew how sweet your little moans of pleasure would be when I fucked you with my hand. I haven’t been able to think about anything else since.”

I moan in response, it’s all I have when my body is so consumed by him and everything he’s doing to me. Desperately, I spread my legs wider, and he moves me further into the corner of the booth where it’s darker, his eyes lighting up with excitement. He’s one fucking dirty man, and he knows it. He loves every second of it, watching me as I come apart on his fingers. In the middle of his casino. I have to admit, something about how public it is turns me on even more.

“Fuck, Alessandro,” I whisper in warning as my body starts to tremble. I rock my hips violently over his hand.

“That’s it, Viv, ride my hand.” As I’m about to tip over the edge, his mouth comes back to mine, and I moan my release into his lips.

I rock back and forth, riding out the waves of my orgasm as he continues to pump me until my quivering body subsides. I stare up at the ceiling of the casino, the lust-filled haze starting to clear. Oh, dear God, what the fuck did I just do?

When he pulls his fingers free, he stares back at me, fascinated. “I hope you don’t have anywhere to be in the morning, because I’m not close to being done with you yet,” he growls, his voice low and threating in the sexiest way possible.

I need to tell him I have to leave; I can’t go any further than what we already did. I fix my dress back in place and take a gulp of my cocktail. Heat radiates off my face, and reality comes back to me. I glance around the busy room, wondering if anyone just had a not-so-private peep show. But the room carries on as if we’re not here.

Am I really going to do this and go upstairs with him? My head screams at me to run. I did my job, he’s seduced. But my heart and my body, they’re greedy and want more. I may never get to have him again like this without the hate between us. And that thought frightens me more than him working out who I am.

He stands, holding a hand out for me to take. I blink back at him, not sure what to do. I’m so torn. Then on a whim, I down my cocktail and except his offer.