Chapter 26 Rafael
I was going to Paris. Plenty of men had promised to give me the world, but Cesare was literally doing it.
Fuck, I love him.
“Cesare?” I poked my head out of my room.
My suitcases were stuffed full of clothes, but I was missing some crucial items. Not to mention I had no idea what we were going to do in the City of Love.
The excitement coursing through me was impossible to contain.
Hangover or not, I was up and moving the moment the sun was up.
I was at least halfway packed, one suitcase full of going-out clothes, another one had fashion forward items, and one just for lingerie.
This trip was all about breaking down the last few walls Cesare had up.
The living room, kitchen, and his bedroom were empty. Even the damn fur devil wasn’t around. He was nowhere to be seen. I headed down the hall toward Cesare’s office and opened the door, finding him with the said devil cat on his lap. Bitch was always stealing my seat.
Cesare glanced up, a small grin on his face.
“I can guarantee our original agreement will still be honored. There was only a slight hiccup, but I am taking care of it.” He crooked his finger, and I sauntered over to him.
He hit the mute button as a man began to speak.
He grabbed a fistful of my hair and dragged me down to him.
Pain prickled over my scalp and down my spine.
Our mouths met and my lips parted as his tongue dove in and dominated every inch of the kiss.
I moaned as my legs trembled under my weight.
I leaned more into the kiss, desperate to allow this man to take everything from me, even my breath.
More. Please don't stop.
Cesare's tongue twisted with mine, coaxing more moans out of me that he greedily swallowed up.
"Cesare?" The voice echoed on the phone.
He pulled back. "Go finish getting ready, we leave tonight."
"I have to run to the store. I came to ask if you needed anything."
"Just order it. I have people for that."
Rich people problems. I smiled down at him, tracing over the pulse point on his neck. Touching him always felt like a luxury, and Cesare was letting me do it more often.
"It will take me less time." I kissed him again as the man on the phone grew impatient and called for him again.
"The other night didn't terrify you?"
Fuck yeah it had. I smirked at him. "Were you lying when you said you'd protect me?"
Cesare's hold on my hair tightened to the point of pain.
"Didn't think so." I flattened my hand over his chest, loving the way the soft material felt against my palm. "I know if anything happened, you'd be there."
"Sei un fottuto pazzo." You're a goddamn lunatic. He pulled me close and bit my lip softly. "Take Andrew with you."
Sparks of electricity danced along my nerve endings as I tried to get my brain to work.
A simple interaction with Cesare could render me stupid sometimes.
Who the fuck was Andrew again? I shook my head.
It was probably one of the men Rocky brought to guard the place.
I didn't really pay attention. The whole introduction was nothing more than a blur.
"Okay."
Cesare didn't let me go right away. He turned back toward his desk, and I took the opportunity for what it was and glanced over his screen.
"Here, don't be a brat." The heavy black card sitting between his fingers stole all my attention. His grasp in my hair loosened fully.
It was like seeing a long lost lover. I snatched it out of his hand and kissed it. "I missed you too."
Cesare grumbled something about me losing my mind, but I could care less. Yeah, I was in this mess, spying on him and whatnot, because I wanted Cesare above all else, but money was still my third favorite thing in the world. I was human after all.
"I'll be good." I blew him a kiss and flipped off the rat on his lap before heading back to my room.
I changed my top to a cream-colored crop top sweater.
Cargo pants hung low on my hips and to top it all off, I grabbed my Steve Madden platform tennis shoes.
It gave my already six-foot-three stature another two inches.
There were a total of four guys standing outside our door. I looked around, and I really had no idea who was who and honestly could care less.
"Whichever one of you is Andrew, Cesare said you're with me. I have a few shops to stop by, and then I have to get supplies for Ellie. She's apparently watching the furball."
Tall, bright, and puppy dog energy stepped forward. A smile that would charm a nun out of her panties was aimed at me. I physically flinched back. Paired with dirty blond hair and blue eyes, he was the typical pretty boy. "I'm Andrew, nice to meet you." He offered his hand, and I shook my head.
I glanced up at the camera. What game was Cesare playing at by pairing me with this boy next door? I met Andrew's gaze again, and he was still smiling at me. His hand was still hanging between us.
Objectively hot, but nowhere near my type.
I liked a fucked-up asshole with anger issues, trust issues, mommy issues, daddy issues, fuck, even offspring issues.
I needed him to be a basket case that only I could hold on to.
"You can drop your hand. If you try to touch me again, remembering your name will be the least of my worries.
" I smiled, trying to soften the blow. "I'm Rafael, and I hope you're stronger than you look.
My daddy gave me his card, which means I get to have fun. "
Andrew laughed it off and held his palms up in surrender. "I'm happily married, but I understand. No touching."
I headed toward the elevator and stopped short. "Are you the only one of the guys who’s married?"
Andrew tilted his head before glancing over his shoulder. The others weren't paying us any attention as we waited for the elevator to arrive.
"Yeah, Jamie is in a serious relationship I think, but I'm the only one married and with four kids and one on the way."
"Fuck, does she get time to breathe? And what are you, twenty-two tops?"
He laughed as we entered the elevator. "I'm twenty-nine."
Shit, he was older than me.
"Want to see my wife? If you saw Alice, you'd understand."
Before I could answer, he had his phone out, showing me his abundance of children and a very pregnant woman.
She was beautiful. I had to give it to him, but shit, that was a lot of kids.
I guess I had nowhere to judge. I was currently in love with a man who had just as many kids but three times the amount of exes and possibly more children out there somewhere.
Four stores down, I had a trunk full, and I was nearly done. My foot bounced as Andrew pulled to stop at my final destination.
"There isn't any parking over here."
I glanced down at my phone and sighed. Cesare's last message was still pulled up.
Cesare: How much longer?
Did he know he was starting to cling to me? My chest throbbed as my heart continued to race.
Rafael: Miss me?
He still hadn't messaged me back. I blew out a breath as we circled the street again.
"I'll get out while you look for parking. It should take me only a few minutes. I already know what I want."
"Wait, the boss said I'm not to let you out of—"
I was out of the car and jogging the rest of the way to the sidewalk before Andrew finished his sentence.
If Cesare wanted me back now then that meant I needed to grab my necessities now and not later.
I walked into the familiar sex shop. All the workers at Silver Dreams frequented the spot.
Grand Myah had even secured a partnership with them.
We raved about their products and got a cut of the commissioned sales.
To be fair, their quality in toys and lingerie were top-notch.
It made some of the more luxury brands feel like cheap plastic.
"Welcome to Velvet and Vice," a light, cheery voice said. "If you need help finding anything, let me know." The short woman came from around the corner and smiled at me.
"Thanks." I headed toward the butt plug wall. There were glass ones and some that vibrated. I grabbed a bag and picked the ones I liked the most and the ones I figured Cesare would like to see.
Velvet and Vice had a total of three rooms and each held something new. I moved over to the toy section and stared at the displays.
The nape of my neck tingled as my stomach dropped. I twisted around and fell to the ground in time as a bat swung full force where my head was just at. The display of vibrators crashed and scattered all over the floor.
"Holy fuck." My heart was firmly lodged in my throat, and I swallowed a few times, trying to grasp onto a single thought.
I looked up and was met with a very pissed off Gianpaolo. He twisted the dark cherry wood bat around a few times. If looks could kill, I'd be dead ten times over.
"Paolo, calm down," Benito ground out. He stepped next to his brother.
I looked at both of them in confusion. What the fuck were they doing here? I glanced at the door. What if Andrew found a parking spot and came in here? He wasn't anywhere to be seen and neither was the clerk. In fact, we were the only ones in the place. When had that happened?
"Fuck being calm, my kids almost—"
"I know. Take a step back,” Benito said.
Gianpaolo pointed the bat down at me as if warning me not to make another mistake. I wasn't even sure what mishap I'd had to warrant any of this.
Benito squatted down in front of me, and there were bags under his eyes. His brows were low as he glared at me. "I'm only going to ask this once, Rafael, and if I feel like you're lying, Paolo's going to break every bone in your legs."
"Fuck that, I want his goddamn skull. Betty needs to be properly broken in." He kissed the damn baseball bat like a lover.
I didn't say anything. I doubted I could. My stomach was turning, and as badly as I wanted to call for Cesare, I knew I couldn't.
"Are you double-crossing me?" Benito asked.
"What? No."
Benito stared at me, his gaze heavy as it pinned me to the spot.
"Fucking maledetto bugiardo di merda. I miei figli hanno rischiato di farsi male. Dovrei strapparti la lingua a forza prima di spaccarti la testa." Paolo growled and backed away still muttering curses at me in English and Italian.
My head was a mess. He said something about kids, right? Portuguese and Italian had their similarities but they were vastly different languages.
"You haven't given me anything lately," Benito said, gaining my attention once more.
Paolo might be the psycho with the bat, but Benito was no less dangerous this close up. I could fight, but I wasn't a fucking idiot.
"There hasn't been anything. I told you about York getting fired."
"Yeah, that was bullshit, what about everything else?" Paolo shouted. He looked like he was seconds away from losing it again.
What? I shook my head. "There was nothing else."
"I find out you knew, and I'll hunt down every single person in your family and kill them myself," Benito promised.
He wouldn't be making that threat if only he knew. I nodded, because there was no other answer any of them would accept. "What happened?"
Benito stood back up, phone in hand. "Gin said the bodyguard found a parking spot." He glanced down at me like I was a bug under his shoe. "What is he planning next? I need to get ahead of this shit."
Why couldn't they just make up and be done with this shit? "He's working on fixing the deals he had in place with imports."
Benito groaned as he tilted his head from side to side. "Rafael."
My name coming from him sent chills down my spine, and not the fun, fear-lusty kind that Cesare gave me.
"Once something comes up, I'll let you know."
"Fuck this. I vote we kill him. This ain’t about him not wanting to give up the throne anymore. He's lost his fucking mind,” Paolo snapped.
Kill who, Cesare? Fear like no other sank into my bones. I choked back my no and instead looked at the brothers for who they were. They had no issues killing, but their own father? Did they really hate him that much? Broken glass, bullets, and screeching tires came crashing through my memory.
"Two nights ago, was it—" The words lodged in my throat, and for some reason, they wouldn't come out. If they confirmed it, would I be able to keep my emotions from showing on my face? Fuck no. I needed to be smart.
Benito cocked a brow. "What?"
What if it wasn't them? Telling his sons what happened was an error. Not to mention, I’d screwed up once before. Had let information slip that shouldn’t have. I needed to think carefully.
"Nothing, some random guy came and hit on me in the club. I thought maybe you planted him." A stupid lie, but for some reason I kept the shooting a secret. "We're going out of town."
"You and Cesare? How long?"
"He didn't tell me. It's a vacation."
Benito let out a sound that resembled laughter but was far too empty and humorless to truly call it that. "Yeah, he doesn't do those. He's planning something. Where are you going?"
My stomach knotted with disappointment. But Cesare had come up with the plans last minute. "I'm not sure yet." I plastered on a smile. "It's a surprise."
When did I get so good at lying?
Benito leaned forward. "Remember this, no matter how much he showers you with money and gifts, you're nothing but the hooker he has on retainer.
Cesare isn't some white knight going to save you from your hard life.
Fuck us over on this, and death will be the only thing you'll be begging for.
Keep your head on straight. The moment this is over? You get your money and you fuck off."
"Benito, let’s go," Paolo said.
They were gone just as fast as they'd come. My stomach lurched, and I tilted my head back as I swallowed the bile burning the back of my throat.
The fuck had I gotten myself into?
A chime above the door echoed around the place, and Andrew was headed my way. "Shit, what happened?" he asked as he looked around at the mess and me on the floor.
"Didn't eat enough, got a little dizzy. I just need to pay and we can leave.
" I pushed off the floor, grabbed the bag, and headed over to the counter.
I wanted nothing more than to leave to forget Benito's words.
But a part of me knew. I could cling on to Cesare all I wanted, desperately begging for his love, but how long was he going to keep me?