Chapter 3
Three
Marchello
Strawberries had been on my mind all day. I had been craving them. Not so much the fruit, though. It was Lissia I wanted to taste.
Wanting her infuriated me.
“Chello?” Milo called, his voice raised.
“What?” I looked up from the insurance papers that I needed to file because of the damage caused by the shooting.
“You’re not listening to me.”
“I am.” I pushed the papers away from me. “What did you say?”
“What has you so distracted?”
I had to get that little minx out of my head.
“Everything.” I leaned back in my father’s chair. “I have a lot on my mind, if you haven’t noticed.”
“I’m right there with you.” He ran his hand through his hair. “If you haven’t noticed.”
“I’m sorry.” The pressure of our father being away took a toll on both of us. “I was thinking about last night. What did you want to tell me?”
“The incident was between two insignificant players. They had been fighting over a woman for weeks.”
That’s why you don’t get distracted . I ran a hand over my jaw. “It had nothing to do with Dad and what he’s trying to accomplish or the turf war?”
“No, the guy you took out instigated the confrontation because the other guy brought the girl with him. They were both employees of Bobby Ciacci. He sends his apologies, and he will handle the employee that’s still breathing.”
“He should send the charity a huge check to make up for what we lost last night.” I clenched my fist. “I knew we should have postponed.”
“We’ll hold a bigger and better event in a few months. Dad will be home then. You’ll see.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I am.” Milo held out his hand. “I’ll file the insurance claims.”
“Thank you.” I gave him the paperwork, grateful he would take care of it. I had enough to deal with. “I have to take a meeting with some investors this afternoon. Do you want to sit in?”
“Sure.” He glanced at his phone. “It looks like you have a visitor on her way up.”
“What?”
“See for yourself.” He turned his phone so I could see the security footage of the dealership.
I studied the live stream. “Are you fucking kidding me? Didn’t her father tell her to stay away from me?”
“She looks pretty hot.” He continued to ogle the screen. “She’s heading right for you.”
“I don’t need this.” I stood and buttoned my suit jacket.
“Do you want me to intercept her?” Milo taunted me like only he could. “No one told her to stay away from me.”
“I’m telling you to stay away from her.” I joined him on the other side of the desk. “She’s the daughter of a major player—one who doesn’t have the best history with the old man. Neither of us needs the aggravation.”
Angela, my assistant, approached the doorway. “Marchello, Ms. Gallanti is here to see you.”
“Send her in,” Milo answered for me.
“Didn’t you hear anything I said?” I asked my brother as Angela went to retrieve Lissia. “We can’t trust this family.”
“You don’t have to trust her to fuck her. Since she’s here, use the ten-minute distraction.” He shrugged. “It shouldn’t take you longer than that.”
“Funny.” I shoved him. “Maybe that’s your normal, but I can last a lot longer than ten minutes.”
Lissia appeared in the doorway. “What takes you longer than ten minutes? Maybe I can help.”
Milo held back a smile. “I’m sure you could.”
She had pulled her black hair into a high, sleek ponytail, accentuating her perfectly sculpted cheekbones and plump lips. She looked stunning last night, but today, her flawless face didn’t have as much makeup on. Her olive complexion looked more natural. Maybe it was the light of the day filtering in through the windows, but I preferred her this way.
“Lissia.” I leaned against my desk. “What brings you here today?”
“I brought you cookies. I wanted to thank you again for last night.” She raised the pink box she held, but her tight brown dress and thigh-high leather boots drew me in more.
“That’s not necessary.” Didn’t I already say that last night? “You shouldn’t be here.”
Milo smirked. “She made you cookies.”
“No, I bought him cookies,” Lissia said. “I don’t bake.”
“Of course you don’t,” I muttered.
She moved closer to Milo and lifted the lid on the box. “Do you want a cookie, Milo?”
She kissed my brother’s cheek, and he rested his hand on the small of her back. A knot formed in my chest, and a possessive need to stake my claim took hold of me.
That wouldn’t be good for any of us.
“I’d love one.” Milo took a cookie from the box. “Thank you.”
“Maybe I didn’t make them,” she said. “But I did wait thirty minutes in a long line. These cookies are very popular.”
Did she want a medal?
“That was really thoughtful of you.” Milo glanced at me. “Wasn’t it, Marchello?”
“Don’t you have paperwork to file?” I asked. “The faster you get the claims in, the better for the dealership.”
“Are you trying to get rid of me?” He bit into his cookie.
“Get out.” I pointed to the door. “I’ll catch you in a bit.”
“In ten minutes?” He laughed on his way out, closing the door behind him.
“He’s adorable.” Lissia set the box of cookies on the desk before coming face-to-face with me. Like she had last night, she rested her hands on my chest and kissed my cheek.
“Don’t flirt with my brother,” I said.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“I heard your ridiculous request, but I’m not going to listen to it. If you think saying hello to Milo is flirting, you don’t get out that much.”
I gazed down at her, trying to keep my composure. I wasn’t sure if I was mad that she was so bold or aroused that she was this close.
“How are you today?” She ran her hands along my shoulders.
“I’m well, and you?” I stepped away from her, creating some distance, because I didn’t like being off-balance. But even with some distance, the strawberry smell still radiated from her.
“I got my nails fixed.” She held her hand up in front of me and wiggled her fingers to show off her light-purple manicure.
“All is right in the world.”
“The showroom floor is back to normal.” She sat on the edge of the desk, crossing her beautifully toned legs. “Did you work all night to put it back together?”
“My crew did.”
“It looks fantastic.” She rested her hand on her thigh. “You would never know there was a shooting here. Well, except that it is all over social media and it was the top story on the news this morning.”
“The reporters have been hanging around outside all day.” I wanted to have security toss them off the property, but Lucas, my attorney, said that would only create more problems for us.
“That’s annoying.” She slid off the desk. “I guess that’s why Michael didn’t let me come through the front. He probably thought I’d want to give an interview or something.”
“Don’t even think about it.”
“You sound like my father.”
“I don’t agree with a lot of what your father says, but he’s right. You don’t need to be in the middle of any of this.”
Her sarcastic mouth and chatty tendencies would get me into trouble.
“Why doesn’t he want me to see you?” She managed to step in front of me again, invading my personal space.
In any other circumstance, I would like a hot, sexy woman not so delicately throwing herself at me. But not her. Not the enemy. I didn’t care how good she smelled or how forbidden she would taste.
“I’m sure you can figure it out,” I said.
“You don’t get along?”
“Our families don’t.” I glanced at my watch. “Which is probably why you should leave.”
“I was here last night.”
“For one night, all the families put aside their differences for an important cause.” The auction was the perfect opportunity for my associates to do a good deed and donate while being able to get rid of their cash in a legitimate way. “We all agree on a ceasefire.”
“That didn’t work out so well.”
“The situation was handled swiftly.”
“I don’t want to go.” She went back to the desk, opened the pink box, and broke off a piece of the large chocolate chip cookie. “I brought you these.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t you want to taste?” She pushed the cookie to my lips. “It’s really good.”
“The cookie?”
“Yes.” She giggled. “What do you think I’m offering?”
I parted my lips, and she paused for a moment, then fed me. I gripped her wrist and licked the chocolate from her fingertips before chewing the cookie.
“Well?”
“It’s delicious.” Now all I could think about was licking other parts of her body.
“The pumpkin spice are my favorite.” She twisted her long ponytail between her fingers and draped the strands over her shoulder. The end dipped between her breasts. “I didn’t sleep much last night. I kept thinking about everything that happened.”
“It’s best to put it out of your head. There was no threat. You’re safe.”
“Because you protected me.”
“I did what I had to do.” I had been taught how to handle a gun and how to diffuse situations like what occurred last night from sixteen years old.
“I’m sorry Danny and my dad treated you that way last night.”
“You don’t have to apologize for them.” I wouldn’t accept her apology for her asshole father and his newest associate if my life depended on it.
“Danny has been hanging around the house a lot lately.” She rolled her eyes. “He’s there every time I turn around.”
“Does that bother you?”
“I don’t know.” She touched my bicep. “Does it bother you?”
“Why would it?” Is she trying to make me jealous?
“You seem like the kind of guy who would be upset if someone took something you wanted.”
“I am.” She was playing with fire, and my flames were too hot for her. Why are you toying with me?
“Danny wants something too.”
“I can’t say that I blame him.” I yanked her arm, bringing her to me. “He would be stupid not to want it.”
“What about you?” Her voice was low and steady, but she trembled under my hold. “You don’t strike me as stupid.”
“I’m not stupid.” I took the side of her face in my hand, keeping her still. “I’m cold and calculated, and I never do anything that doesn’t benefit me.”
“A guy who knows what he wants is sexy.” She licked her lips. “I wouldn’t describe you as cold.”
When I gripped her hip, her breath hitched.
You can’t handle me.
“Why did you come here today?” I lowered my lips to hers. “What do you want?”
“I already told you.” Her breath fluttered across my mouth, making my cock hard. “I wanted to thank you.”
“You thanked me last night, and I specifically told you I didn’t want to see you here again.” I squeezed her face. “I don’t like people ignoring me.”
“I don’t like people telling me what to do.”
I brushed my lips along hers, fighting the urge to throw her over my knee and make her see things my way. “You’re too defiant for me. You require a type of patience I don’t have.”
“Maybe you need to be challenged?”
“I would need to break you.” I licked her bottom lip. “I would make you obey me, and it would be so fucking pleasurable.”
“Okay,” she breathed out. “Break me.”
“You don’t know what you’re asking me to do, princess.” I let go of her face and tugged on her ponytail, pulling her head back and kissing her jaw and throat.
“Marchello,” she whispered. “I want you to kiss me.”
“Fuck.” I growled, abandoning all common sense. Why did she have to smell so good?
I released her hair, gripped her upper arms, and brought her to me. She pressed her palms against my chest, bracing for the impact. I forced my tongue inside her mouth before our lips were fully engaged.
She pulled away, stealing a breath. Too impatient to wait for her to compose herself, I assaulted her lips again. This time, I held the back of her head, keeping her face to mine as I nipped her lips and probed her mouth with my tongue. Holding her close to me, I moved us to the desk and guided her to sit.
I nudged her legs apart with my knee, then stepped in between them. She draped her arms around my neck, initiating the next round of kisses.
What am I doing? I can’t do this.
My arousal quickly turned to rage. Am I mad at her for making me weak, or am I mad at myself for giving in so easily?
I ran my hand over her breasts and to her neck. She moaned, but when I clutched her delicate throat in my strong grasp, her eyes flew open.
“Do you know what I don’t appreciate?” I squeezed my hand. “You coming here and trying to make me jealous with an insignificant piece of shit like Danny.”
“What?” She tried to pry my hand away from her neck. “That’s not why I came here.”
“I’m thirty years old. I don’t have time for games. I didn’t get this far by not paying attention.”
“What is wrong with you?”
“I don’t need a spoiled, inconsiderate brat in my life.” I kept my voice low as I got in her face. “Your games could distract me from bringing my father home, and I’m not going to let the enemy screw with my head.”
“You’re wrong.” She squirmed against me. “I’m not your enemy. I don’t have anything to do with your feud.”
“You’re so naive if you believe that.” I let go of her, pulled her off the desk, and pushed her in the direction of the door. “There is nothing here for you. Get out of here.”
“You’re crazy.”
“You have no idea how crazy I can be, especially when you fuck with my family.” I stormed around my desk and took a seat.
“My father was right about you,” she huffed. “You’re a thug who doesn’t have the smarts to keep your family in power.”
“Get out!” I clenched my fists. “Go back to the arms dealer.”
She picked up the pink box and hurled it at me. The cardboard hit my chest, and the cookies flew out to land on the floor. She turned and stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind her.
“Enjoy your cookies,” she yelled from the other side of the door. “Bastard.”