Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
S AINT
I drum my fingers on the desk in front of me as I stare at my laptop. She must have run out of money by now—she didn’t withdraw any money before she left and hasn’t touched her bank account since.
Where is she getting money to live on? She must have found a job. She’s most likely to have got a job in a casino, given that’s the only experience she has. But there’s hundreds of casinos over the country, and she could be in any one of them.
I access a back door to the IRS computer system, but my search shows no new employer or new information for Emerald Fiorelli.
I exhale in frustration. How else could she be earning money? What else is she good at…?
And then I have a brainwave.
* * *
I’m not sure if I’ve found her, but I’m going to drive to the town where I have a lead. It’s an area where there’s been a string of dress thefts from department stores and boutiques. It may be nothing, but I know I have to check it out.
But if it is her, I might just have to kill her after all the worry she’s caused me.
Arriving in a small sleepy town, I wrinkle my nose. This isn’t the sort of town I’d imagine Emerald being in. There definitely aren’t any casinos here, and it doesn’t have any of the glamor of New York.
After getting myself a coffee, I start casually asking questions as I wander around the town. Have there been any new arrivals recently? In particular, has anyone seen a beautiful woman with inky black hair and mesmerizing green eyes?
The only response I get is from a couple of people saying that there’s a new woman in town who’s working in the pet store. I sigh heavily. That won’t be Emerald. That doesn’t sound like her at all, and I can’t see a pet store owner considering someone like Emerald as being a suitable candidate for a job in their store. I’m imagining the store must be frequented by old dears who are buying bows and treats for their precious dogs and cats—and there’s absolutely no way Emerald would ruin her clothes by working around animals.
Nevertheless, I decide to check it out before giving up on this town and going back to the drawing board.
Walking into Winifred’s Pet Supplies , my suspicions about this being a quaint little store are immediately confirmed. The owner looks to be in her seventies, and the youngest customer looks to be at least sixty-five. The customers all have various pets with them who are either yapping or meowing away. It’s like a fucking zoo in here.
The old lady behind the counter is wearing a very glamorous blue dress which looks rather out of place in the pet shop. “Can I help you, dear?” she says.
“Yeah.” I gingerly step around a cat who has alarmingly sharp claws. “I heard you have a new employee here—a woman who recently arrived in town.”
“That’s correct. You must be her boyfriend, McKinley!”
I have no idea what she’s talking about, but this woman definitely doesn’t sound like Emerald. Because Emerald is on the run and will be too busy to think about snaring a new boyfriend, so I know I’ve struck out.
I’m about to give up and walk out of the store when I halt in my tracks as I hear something going on in the back room. “Hector, stop pawing at my dress!”
And I charge into that back room as soon as I hear Emerald’s voice—heading straight for Hector so that I can tell the asshole to take his fucking filthy hands off of her—and I find Emerald sitting in a cozy armchair with her high-heeled feet on a foot stool, drinking tea from a dainty antique teacup while a cat snuggles up on her lap. As she looks at the animal and strokes his fur, a full-wattage smile is on her face, and I realize how much I’ve missed seeing it.
“Aren’t you supposed to be working?” I grit out, irrationally annoyed because she certainly doesn’t look to be in any real trouble which warrants all the time I’ve spent tracking her down. If anything, she looks to be rather too goddamn comfortable in the new life she’s found for herself.
Her face falls. “Valentino, um, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
I close the door behind me. “Carmine wants you dead. You’re not safe here. I’ve come to take you back to New York.”
She shakes her head. “You’ve just said yourself that Carmine is after me. New York isn’t safe for me anymore. It’s better that I stay hidden here.”
“Look, we can’t talk about it here. It’s too open. Tell me where you’re staying, and I’ll come by after work.”
Her lips remain resolutely shut.
“Don’t try me, Emerald. Not after the job I’ve had hunting you down. If you don’t want me to make a scene here, then tell me where the hell you’re staying.”
Her gaze flickers, and I can tell she doesn’t want me causing trouble for Winifred or her business. “Fine.” And she tells me the name of the place she’s staying.
I want to hug her and strangle her at the same time. Because how she managed to get four fucking states away and set up a new life in so little time is as impressive as it’s aggravating.
* * *
When it’s early evening, I drive to Emerald’s motel. I knock on the motel room door, and Emerald opens it wearing an oversized T-shirt and little cotton shorts I can barely see. Lust flares in my belly, threatening to drag me into ecstasy just at the sight of her.
She lets me in and shuts the door behind me. I open my mouth and brace myself for a battle.
But before I can get a word in, she shoves me against the wall and kisses me hard.
I groan and melt against her as she fists my shirt in her hands, desperate to have me the way she needs me. And when she sucks my tongue, I know I’m fucked.
There’s no way I can deny her when she’s so damn eager. And she’s getting everything tonight—I’m making damn sure of that. I grip her tee and jerk it off her, revealing her perfect tits.
I undo a couple of buttons on my own shirt before hauling it over my head. Emerald watches me before taking a step back and dropping her little shorts, revealing every inch of her naked body. “I want you,” she rasps.
“Do you?”
She nods and tugs me closer by the loops on my jeans. She undoes the button and zipper, pulling them down. “Now, Saint. I need you.”
“Which is it?” I fist her hair and kick out of my shoes and socks. “Do you want me? Or do you need me?”
“Both. I need you now ,” she insists.
“Already soaked?” I ask, quirking an eyebrow, working my fingers between her thighs to stroke her pussy. Christ, she’s more than soaked. She’s fucking dripping for me. So wet and ready. So eager.
I thrust two fingers into her as I devour her mouth with mine.
She wraps her arms around me, exploring all of my back, shoulders, and chest. I groan as her nails tease my skin. She’s a constant temptation and so much more. I pick her up and toss her roughly across the bed.
Leaning over her, she slides her hand into my hair, gripping as our tongues war. And my fingers slip back inside her and thrust and curl against her G-spot.
“Please. Your fingers feel so good, but you...I need all of you,” she whimpers.
“Good,” I growl, withdrawing my slick fingers from her channel and rubbing the juices on them all over her clit.
She wraps her legs around me. I penetrate her slowly, keeping my eyes fixed on her. Savoring how good and tight she feels and teasing her with just one inch at a time. And holding her gorgeous green gaze makes it so much more intense.
She pants and arches into me. It’s like she’s spelling out exactly how good I feel inside her. And the moans that tumble from her throat threaten to push me over the edge before we can even really start.
She’s so perfect for me in so many ways. I thrust my cock all the way deep into her, and she writhes under me, digging her nails into my arms to hold on while struggling to hold my gaze.
“Ready for more, baby?” I ask.
“Yes,” she exhales.
I brace myself on the mattress on either side of her head, then pull almost all the way out.
Before slamming back hard into her.
I enjoy every single expression on her face and how damn beautiful she is as her black hair becomes a mess under her head. She’s fucking perfect, every inch of her, every beautiful expression, the way her eyes darken as I pick up the pace and give her pussy what she really wants and really needs.
I growl against her lips and make myself hold her gaze even though I want to lick every bit of skin I can see. She claws my shoulders as I pound into her, and I memorize the wet sounds from her pussy when I thrust into her, the sound of skin on skin, and Emerald’s beautiful moans. Her ecstasy is a song I want to sink into.
And when she scratches down my back, my restraint breaks.
And I fuck her the way I need.
Pounding into her hard and fast and without restraint.
Her eyes keep fluttering closed as her mouth opens wider.
And I press my forehead to hers as she comes for me.
I go faster with her legs tightening around me, her perfect thighs nearly locking me in place. I can’t pull out and don’t want to. Not when she feels so good, so wet, so tight, and so damn perfect.
Emerald bucks against me and screams as she comes again and gushes all over my cock.
I groan with her as I come. And as her eyes open, I kiss her savagely.
She’s beautiful like this—her hair tousled, face flushed, lips parted. There’s no way I could ever walk away from this.
I lean forward and kiss between her breasts, up her neck, then finally her mouth, swallowing every moan.
And pulling out, I bundle her in my arms and carry her into the shower.
After we wash, Emerald gets out and throws on her robe, and I immediately mourn the loss of her body next to mine.
“I’m surprised you even let me in,” I say as I grab a towel. “And I certainly didn’t expect that reception.”
“Well, a girl’s got needs.”
“What about your boyfriend, McKinley?”
She shakes her head. “I haven’t been seeing anyone while I’ve been here.”
And I don’t know why, but that statement makes me happy. Very happy. “I’m taking you back to New York, Emerald.”
“No, you’re not. It’s safer here.”
I pull my boxers on. “You’re wrong about that. I’ve managed to find you, so it’s only a matter of time before Carmine tracks you down as well.”
“It’s way too dangerous for the kids to be around me.” She shakes her head, and I can see the pure terror in her eyes. “I can’t risk anything happening to them.”
“I’ll protect you all. You have nothing to worry about.”
She raises an eyebrow. “And how will I be any safer in New York?”
“ Because you’ll be my fake fiancée .” Suggesting that she should actually be my wife or even just my real fiancée might be rushing it a bit, so I’ll settle for fake fiancée for now. Because I’m suddenly having doubts over whether I can ever give her what she truly needs. I’m ice cold, emotionless, and without a heart, and I know she deserves a hell of a lot more than that...
Her mouth drops open. “Your what?”
“He won’t dare touch you if he knows you belong to me.”
“Thank you for the offer, but I don’t want to belong to you or any other man. If I wanted the protection that marriage could give me, I would have married Piero.”
“He’s too old for you,” I say dismissively.
“ He’s only forty-four ,” she snaps, clearly forgetting her previous objection to Christian that the guy must be at least eighty-five.
“Christian agrees with my plan. He’s the one that’s tasked me with your protection and ensuring you stay safe. So, you’re going to be my fake fiancée until this shit with Carmine is over, whether you like it or not.”
The look she gives me could probably kill a man.
“This is serious, Emerald.”
“Oh…” She clears her throat. “Of course. How silly of me. It’s so generous of you and Christian to decide what’s best for me to do without even asking me what I want. I just don’t know how I’m going to ever thank the two of you.”
“You got a better idea?”
“Beside pretending to be engaged?”
“Yeah, because I’m all ears.”
She opens her mouth but then shuts it.
“That’s what I thought.”
She’s still not on board with the plan, and I stare at her while I figure out a way to convince her. “Why don’t we play a game of chess. If I win, you become my fiancée. If I lose, I leave you alone.”
“Why would I want to agree to that?”
I cock an eyebrow at her. “Afraid of losing?”
“In your dreams, Valentino. There’s no way you could beat me.”
“Prove it,” I clip.
She hesitates for a split second. “Okay. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. And if I win, I stay here.”
“Deal,” I nod. I knew she wouldn’t be able to resist a challenge. All chess players like competition—that’s the whole point of the game. Now, I just have to beat her…