Chapter 27
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
Luna
“Carbon copies, my old man and yours,” Vince admits, lost in the past. “I got me and my brother out of that situation when I became a bookie.”
“How old were you?” I wonder.
“Sixteen.”
“How old was Aldo?”
“Six.”
“You weren’t lying about raising your brother,” I comment. “Is that why you don’t want kids? You had to be a ‘parent’ so young.”
He shrugs.
“There were times growing up I wished I had an older sibling; someone looking out for me,” I admit for some reason. “Your brother was lucky to have you.”
“No such thing as luck,” Vince says dismissively.
I cross my arms. “What do you call it, then?”
“Odds.”
“But wasn’t your brother lucky to have such good odds?” I counter.
Vince shakes his head. “Luck and odds don’t belong in the same sentence.”
“Are you going to give me some kind of statistics lecture?” I groan. “Because I fucking hated my statistics course.”
“Numbers never lie . ”
“What about mobsters?”
“Mobsters never lie,” he parrots.
“Liar.”
He chuckles as we pull into the Italian social club
I follow Vince to the back, and he unlocks the door. We walk past the kitchen, and he disappears briefly, returning with a box of cookies.
I go to reach for them, but he holds the box over my head. “Only if you’re a good girl.” The second the words are out of his mouth, I can tell he wishes he could take them back.
The air’s become intolerably thick between us as I lean in and whisper, “You know just how good of a girl I can be.”
Vince shoves the box at me, stepping a few feet away as he leads me down the hall to his office.
I smile; check for Luna.
Using a key, Vince unlocks the door, and I follow him inside.
“Your office feels smaller,” I decide, taking in the room where my own flesh and blood offered to trade me like a commodity.
“Same size it’s always been,” he says. “I bought you a regulation chess board so you can practice when I have to work.” He motions to the coffee table.
“Thanks.” I place the cookies down as I set up the pieces on the new board.
“I need to hit the floor.” Pulling out a headset from his desk, he puts it on. “Stay here, and I’ll be back later to check on you. ”
“What if I have to go to the bathroom?” I wonder.
“Private bath.” He points to the door in the corner.
“If you’ll recall, I’ve been to the social club,” I point out.
“So?”
“ So why do I have to hide back here? Is it because you don’t want another man playing with your shiny new toy?” I goad him.
“Sophie doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about,” he says dismissively.
“Really?” I say skeptically. “She seemed pretty well-versed in Vincenzo.”
Vince sighs heavily. “Luna, I don’t have time for your bullshit.”
I cross my arms. “Not my bullshit; your girlfriend’s.”
“Sophie was never my girlfriend,” he corrects me, and for some weird reason, that makes me feel better.
“Because you don’t want to settle down?” I repeat what the housekeeper let slip.
Vince pinches the bridge of his nose. “Why do you have to be such a pain in the ass?”
I examine my nails. “It’s a skill.”
“Stay.” He points at me.
“ Ruff. Ruff. ” I hold my hands up like dog paws.
He shakes his head as he walks out, locking the door behind him.
I give it a few minutes before strolling to his desk. Oh my God, the man has a word of the day calendar.
Loquacious . Adjective. Extremely talkative.
Vince may be a wordsmith, but loquacious he is not.
Next to the calendar is his name plate.
Vincenzo Rossi
General Manage r
I roll my eyes. General manager of my life, according to him.
Opening the top drawer of his desk, I find pencils, paperclips, and other office supplies. A pencil-pushing mobster. It might be easy to believe if I hadn’t watched Vince put a bullet in my dad’s head. I can’t say I’m sorry Vince did it, but if he expects a thank you from me, he’ll be disappointed. Sure, things have improved since Vince barreled his way into my life, but trading up from a poverty prison to a middle class cage is still confinement.
Tossing a stack of sticky notes to the side, I find a hundred dollar bill. “Don’t mind if I do.” I shove the money in my pocket, closing the drawer.
Falling to my knees, I search underneath his desk. “Ah ha!” I rip the taped key ring from its hiding spot.
Twirling the ring around my finger, I hurry to the door and try each key in the lock until I find the winner.
Vince thinks he can keep me hidden like some dirty little secret? Sor-ry.
I lock the door behind me, sneaking down the hall. As I recall from my first “visit” to this club, the door to my left leads to the gambling hall. I try the handle, but it’s locked. Grabbing my trusty key ring, I try the keys until I find the correct one.
No sooner have I stepped inside when a strong arm bands around my wrist and slams my body against the wall.
“Oww.”
“Who are you?” An Italian man with a headset demands.
“I’m Luna. A family friend of Vince’s,” I explain in a rush.
His eyes roam over my body as he smiles, and a disgusting feeling washes over me. “Ah, it’s nice to officially meet you, Luna. I’m Sal.”
“Could you let go of my arm?” I say.
“No wonder he’s keeping you as his goomah . Don’t blame him.”
“I don’t know what that means,” I say, trying to wiggle out of his firm grasp.
Leaning closer, he says, “It means I’d gladly risk the time for this jailbait pussy.”
“Gross.” I make a face.
He says something in his headset, and while he’s distracted, I jerk away from his hold and sprint away from him. Spotting a woman seated at the bar, I make a beeline toward her.
The bartender disappears to the back, and needing something after that unsettling encounter with Sal, I reach over the bar and snatch a beer. Knocking the bottle on the side of the bar, the cap flies off. “Cheers.” I salute the woman beside me before taking a sip. I’m not sure if it’s the mother of all hangovers still fresh in my psyche, or the way that disgusting dude leered at me, but my stomach churns. I continue to hold the bottle anyway, to give my hands something to do.
“Aren’t you a little young to be here?” The exotic-looking woman asks. I don’t think she’s Italian, but I can’t place her heritage.
I raise an eyebrow. “In this illegal gambling establishment?”
“Fair enough.” She flashes a friendly smile. “What’s your name?”
“Luna.” Vince answers for me in a growl, jerking the bottle out of my hand and tossing it in the trash.
I smirk. “Uh-oh. Daddy’s here.” Dammit, how did he find me so soon?
Vince yanks me out of the stool. “Don’t fucking call me that.” He grits.
“Is everything okay?” The woman asks in a concerned tone.
“Yes,” Vince says.
“No.” I roll my eyes. “My guardian seems to think he’s in charge of my life. ”
“My ward seems to forget her guardian is in charge of her life,” Vince informs me.
“My guardian seems to forget that I’m a legal adult now.” I turn to the woman. “What’s your name?”
“Kat.”
“Hi, Kat. I’m Luna. This buzzkill is Vince; I wouldn’t confuse him for a friend,” I stage-whisper.
“Okay,” the woman says, eyeing us both.
“Ms. Stefanos, it’s nice to meet you,” Vince says. “Let’s go, Luna,” he says firmly, grabbing my arm and pulling me along.
“Hope to see you around, Kat,” I call over my shoulder.
“You’re not seeing anyone on the gaming floor,” Vince informs me in a clipped tone, dragging me out the back.
He practically shoves me in his office, closing and locking the door. Turning around, his calm and cool demeanor is gone. He’s pissed. Like really fucking pissed.
“Vince, calm down. It was only a sip?—”
I squeal as he grabs me and takes a seat on the couch, splaying my body over his lap. His hand lands firmly on my ass cheek with a whack .
“Oww!”
“You act out, there’s gonna be consequences.”
Whack.
“Stop treating me like a child!”
Whack.
“Stop acting like one.”
Whack.
“Daddy, please,” I beg, the words slipping out as tears threaten to fall.
His hand stills over my ass cheek. “What did you just call me? Twice now?”
“Vince, I’m sorry.” I try to scramble out of his lap, but he holds me firmly in place.
“Don’t lie; we both know you’re not.” His hand roams beneath my skirt, and I squeeze my legs together—trying to save myself from this embarrassment.
I’m wet.
Not wet, but dripping wet.
“Open,” he barks, and I find myself spreading my legs for him. Feeling his thick erection beneath me, I release a shaky breath. At least we’re in delulu land together.
He growls as he cups my pussy over my panties, rubbing back and forth. A full-body shiver races through me, and Vince says something strained in Italian. Switching over to English, he says, “Why do you have to be such a bad girl, piccola ?” He tugs my panties down, my bare ass on display for him.
Whack.
My clit pulsates wildly as I hiss in pain. My logical brain doesn’t understand how pleasure and pain can be connected like this, but my body screams for more.
“I asked you a question.”
Whack.
“Because you’re too controlling!”
He massages my stinging ass cheek with his rough hand, my body quivering. “There are things that happen at this club that you don’t need to be a part of. Drinking and gambling, to name a few of the milder vices.”
“You dragged me into this world, and you’re upset that I’m curious about it?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know.” He sighs, snaking his hand between my legs, tracing circles with the desire dripping down my thighs. “Luna, Luna. What am I going to do with you?”
I hold my breath as his finger ghosts a soft touch over my pussy lips. “Make me come,” I whisper brazenly.
He laughs darkly as he nudges my entrance, and I moan as he pushes a finger inside me. “Why should I let such a naughty girl come? ”
A mewl escapes my lips as he adds a second finger, my pussy seizing around his digits.
“Hmm, Luna? I don’t like rewarding bad behavior.”
“Please.”
He makes a come hither motion with his fingers, and I buck wildly on his lap. “Be still,” he chastises, his erection like a steel rod beneath my pelvis.
“I can’t.” I squirm as he hits the same spot deep inside me, over and over.
“You can.”
“It feels like…” I trail off, my cheeks flaming hot.
“Like what?”
“Like I might pee on you,” I whisper.
“You won’t,” he assures me, kneading that spot relentlessly.
“But what if I do?”
“Then we’ll find out if I’m into golden showers.”
“Vince!”
Whack
I let out a feral-sounding moan, the sting and throbbing between my legs such a delicious combination.
“Christ.” He groans, bucking his hips beneath me; the friction of his thick erection against my pussy feels heavenly as he fucks me faster with his fingers. “You’re so tight, I’d mistake this for a virgin cunt if I hadn’t already been inside you.”
“Oh, God,” I pant, digging my nails into the leather couch as heat pools in my core.
Vince stills his movement, removing his fingers. “You wanna come?”
“Yes.” I whine.
Vince fixes my panties and skirt, pulling me up to sit on his lap. He leans in to kiss me, but I jerk my head away.
“Why won’t you give me your lips?” He grabs my chin, forcing me to face him .
“I’ll give you my lips when you give me my freedom.”
He growls in frustration, kissing me on the top of the head before standing with me in his arms and placing me gently on the couch. “And you’ll get your orgasm when you’re a good girl. I told you to stay in my office. Next time, your spanking will be more than love taps.”
“Ugh, I hate you,” I bitch as he walks to the door.
“That’s a dollar.”
“Owe me ninety-seven.” Vince smirks, sucking my pussy juices off his fingers before he locks the door.