Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Valentina
T here were a hundred reasons why this was a bad idea.
For starters I needed to get back to the restaurant, and it was the middle of the day. Also, I was still slightly hung over. Luca and I were practically strangers. Oh, and no one had ever performed oral sex on me before.
I wanted to say no. But the words wouldn’t pass my lips. My insides were on fire, my skin crawling with need. The way he kissed? The way he touched me? It was with absolute focus and concentration, like I was the only person on earth who mattered. So different from any of my previous experiences, limited as they were. Luca was unexpectedly gentle, too. I thought he’d be rough, impatient, but he was the exact opposite.
Safety—that’s what he felt like.
I wasn’t one to act impulsively, but didn’t I deserve a treat after busting my ass for the last three years? After setting aside so much to care for my mom? After giving up dreams of traveling and parties to take over a family restaurant ?
And I was certain I could trust Luca. He wouldn’t hurt me and I bet he knew his way around a woman’s body.
I walked over to the desk. Then I moved his things, climbed up, and waited. He stared at me intently, his deep brown eyes almost black, the hint of a smile curving his lips. I felt drunk on his attention, the most beautiful and sexy woman in the world, not an inexperienced twenty-one-year-old. The front of his trousers revealed the erection pushing at the cloth and I loved seeing the proof of his desire for me. This gorgeous man wanted me.
He ran a palm over the ridge in his trousers. “Do you like seeing how hard you get me, fiore mio?”
I licked my lips. “Yes. It’s very sexy.”
Dropping his arm, he started toward me. “My dick is sexy, or the torture you are putting me through?”
I gripped the edge of the desk, nerves and excitement at war in my chest. “Both?”
“My dick is exceptionally sexy,” he said arrogantly, then leaned over me to put his mouth near my ear. “Soon I will show it to you and we will see if you agree.”
My lips parted and I was panting, nearly vibrating with need. Between my thighs was already pooling with arousal and he hadn’t even touched me yet. “Today?”
“No, not today.” He straightened, only to drop to his knees. Large hands pushed my thighs apart and he glanced down to examine me. “Look at that wet spot all for me. Mamma mia, I am going to eat this pussy until you scream.”
“Oh, god.”
He dragged the back of his knuckles along the thin strip of soaked cloth between my legs, brushing over my clit. Shivering, I bit my lip to keep from begging him to hurry up. He hummed in his throat, a sound of male satisfaction, as he peeled my panties off my hips and down my legs. Then I was bare in front of him. “You wax all of your hair off,” he said with a deep rumble. “I like it. ”
“You do?”
“I do. Cazzo, you are gorgeous.”
He lightly traced the edges of my labia with a fingertip, a string of mumbled Italian falling from his lips. This teasing was too much. I was ready to crawl out of my skin. “Luca, please.”
“Lie back, Valentina. Let me take care of this pussy.”
I eased down onto the wide desk, nervous about being on display, but Luca began a soft press of his lips to my flesh, quickly erasing all my doubts. I expected him to go quickly, but then I remembered our kiss. Was he going to torture me again? The man had the patience of a saint, apparently.
His dark head looked positively indecent between my legs, his eyes closed as he explored my labia with his mouth. Damn, this man was fucking hot. That, and the combination of his warm breath and gentle touch on my most sensitive skin caused me to tremble with anticipation.
The tip of his tongue flicked at my entrance. He groaned. “Mmmm. So sweet.” He tasted me again, then spread me wide with his hands. “Look at my girl, so wet and slippery. Madonna , the things I’m going to do to you.”
I was so turned on that I barely registered the “my girl” comment. I squirmed, unsure of what I needed but desperate for something more. “Luca, please.”
He dragged his tongue through my slit, then again. “Keep squirming, bella. I like it.”
I didn’t know what that meant, but he was licking me like an ice cream cone and pleasure streaked through every part of my body, little ripples of lust that twisted inside me. It was amazing. If he continued to do this, I might come after twenty minutes or so?—
His tongue met my clit and I nearly shot up off the desk. My body jolted like I’d been shocked and a moan fell from my throat. Wait, was this what oral sex was all about?
“Relax, Valentina,” he whispered, his hands pressing on my inner thighs to hold me open. “I’m going to take care of you.”
Then he began in earnest, his attention focused solely on my clit. Tongue, teeth, lips—he used all three, a mixture of pleasure and pain, varying his speed and suction as he feasted on me. My back arched as my muscles tightened, his mouth all I could feel, wave after wave of bliss driving me higher. I wasn’t sure if it had been minutes or hours, but I never wanted this to end.
I was shaking, quivering, my body strung as tight as a bow. Close, so close. The orgasm was right there, building in my lower half.
“Take out your tits,” Luca ordered against my skin. “I want to see them.”
As if I were in some kind of haze, I unbuttoned the top of my dress and spread the edges apart to reveal my bra and cleavage. Luca’s hand reached up, jerked one of the bra cups down, then palmed one bare breast. He growled—an actual, honest to god growl—and then resumed lashing his tongue over my clit. At the same time he shaped and molded my breast, squeezing, pinching my nipple. I gasped and my inner walls clenched. “More,” I whispered. “I’m so close.”
Luca’s clever fingers tugged, tweaking on my nipple, as he sucked on my clit. The combination was a revelation, an uncontrollable high that shook me to my very core. I was at his mercy, on his desk, taut with lust, unable to do anything but lie here and let him do as he pleased with my body. His play thing.
That did it. An unstoppable rush of electricity started in my toes and raced to my clit. “Oh god!” I threw my head back, a shout ripping from my throat as my pussy convulsed, the orgasm blinding me to everything except Luca’s tongue. It went on and on, my vision turning white for several beats.
When it finally ended I slumped onto the desk and tried to catch my breath. He eased up then, his mouth turning gentle as he nuzzled his way to my entrance. There he lapped at my arousal, gathered it on his tongue. “Fuck,” he breathed. “That’s what I need right there. So fucking delicious.”
Then he pushed up to his feet and lunged for my breast, drawing my nipple into his mouth. I floated happily, blissfully, threading my fingers through his hair as he suckled on me. Letting me go, he bared the other breast, then held them in his hands. “Bellissima. They are better than I imagined.”
“Thank you,” I murmured.
“You like when I play with them, no?” I nodded, and he hummed in his throat. “Good, because I will be touching them a lot.”
“You will?” Did he mean today?
“Sì, fiore mio. We will have a lot of fun together.”
“We will?” My brain wasn’t working right.
“Of course.” He straightened and pulled the cups of my bra back over my breasts, covering me.
Were we done?
“Wait,” I said as he started to button my dress. “I want to reciprocate.”
He paused, like maybe he was considering it, but eventually exhaled heavily. “I want this as well, but not today.” His fingers moved along each button, briskly and efficiently closing the two sides and smoothing the fabric.
“Why not?”
“I like that you are eager for my cock, piccolina. But we need to talk first.”
“I didn’t say—” I closed my mouth tight. Whatever I’d been about to say was a lie. I did want him. At least I was pretty sure I did. But maybe that was the orgasm talking. “About what?”
“Do you always ask so many questions?” Taking my hand, he helped me sit up. He smoothed the loose strands of hair off my face, stroking my hair, and I felt like a newborn kitten, soaking in the attention shamelessly. When was the last time someone gave me this much affection?
And wasn’t it sad such affection came from a man I barely knew?
“Allora,” he said softly, his voice husky and rough. “I need to tell you something. It is about who I am.”
“Oh?” My eyelids drifted shut as he continued to run his fingers through my hair. God, that felt divine.
“My surname is not DiMarco. It’s Benetti.”
He said this as if it should mean something to me. I lifted a shoulder, but didn’t open my eyes. “Okay.”
“And the way I earn a living? I am not a simple businessman as I first told you.”
“So, what are you?”
“I’m the head of a Calabrian criminal family.”
I wasn’t surprised. I hadn’t expected him to admit it, but I wasn’t surprised. “The mafia.”
“The ’Ndrangheta, but yes.”
I didn’t know what to say. A myriad of emotions churned inside me—anger, fear, regret, curiosity . . . and yes, hurt. He’d lied to me.
But deep down, I’d known it all along. Or at least suspected it, as had Maggie and Sam. But I wasn’t thrilled about having my suspicions confirmed.
I just let a mafia boss give me head.
My mother would be so proud.
When I didn’t react, Luca said, “You don’t seem surprised.”
“That’s because I knew. Or heavily suspected.”
“This changes nothing between us, but I wanted you to know. I try to be up front with all of my mistresses.”
Oh, wow. This was . . . wow. We just jumped from him eating me out on a desk to me living in an apartment that he paid for. “We should probably talk about this later.” Jumping down from the desk, I scrubbed my face with my hands, not giving a damn about ruining my makeup. “I have to go.”
“Tell me what you are thinking.”
“That this is a fucking lot right now!” I eased away from him and put some distance between us. “You’ve blown into town and taken over my life. I’m not ready to be a mistress or whatever else you’re thinking. Because if that’s why you’re helping me, then stop!”
“Valentina, I’m not helping you in exchange for anything. I never expected you to find out about the contractors or the background checks. ”
“Or the mayor?”
He grew very still, not even blinking. Ah, so I’d caught the great Luca DiMarco—make that Benetti—off guard. “Yeah, I know about that, too,” I said.
“I won’t apologize for scaring that motherfucker. So don’t expect it.”
I pressed my hands together and prayed for patience. “Luca, this is a small town. My town. We aren’t used to thugs coming in and terrorizing everyone.”
The planes of his face sharpened, hardened, his chest expanding. “This is what you think of me, that I’m a thug?”
“Is it the word you object to, or the definition? Because I can find another word, if you prefer.”
“How about you thank me instead?” he snapped.
I rocked on my heels, the fury so swift and fierce that I wanted to throw something at him. “First of all, I have thanked you. And you can fuck off if you think I’ll let you take over my life without putting up a fight.”
Luca closed the distance between us and I began backing up. I wasn’t afraid of him, but I hadn’t argued with a mobster before. They weren’t known for being reasonable.
Then my spine hit the hard surface of his office door.
Luca kept coming, his muscular frame even larger as he caged me against the wood, pinning me like a bug. His hot breath ghosted along my ear as he whispered darkly, “Fight me all you like, fiore mio. But you slept in my bed and came on my tongue. You’re mine now and you will do as I fucking say. Capisce?”