Chapter 6 #2
“You’re not going anywhere, Vivienne.” My voice was threaded with steel, making it very clear that my words were not up for discussion. “I will take care of you.”
“Rafa, I can’t—”
Her arguments were pointless, but I’d begun to see glimpses of a stubborn streak that I assumed had been buried under the weight of responsibility and emotional abuse. My eyes dropped to her plump lips as she protested, and I decided to try a different tactic to shut her pretty mouth.
Drawing her face closer, I bent my head and cut off whatever she’d been about to say by sealing my mouth over hers. A groan instantly rumbled in my chest as the feel of her velvety lips pressed against mine.
I ran the tip of my tongue along her seam, then grunted, “Fuck. So sweet.”
She grasped fistfuls of my shirt and leaned into the kiss, prompting me to use my thumbs to nudge her jaw down, opening her lips for me.
At the first taste of her mouth, my already hard cock swelled until it was fighting so hard to get out of my pants that I thought they might rip.
Vivienne’s round little ass was right on top of my groin, and she gasped when she felt the hard ridge beneath her.
Then my hands traveled from her face to her shoulders and down to wrap around her torso, just below her tits, and she released a little moan.
My thumbs gently teased the underside of her perky globes, and a shiver wracked her body.
I was close to losing control. If I didn’t stop, I was going to have her straddling me and my dick buried balls deep inside her tight little pussy before she was ready.
With a tortured groan, I tore my mouth away and rested my forehead against hers.
She was panting softly, and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the need to drive her to the point where she was practically suffocated with ecstasy and choked for every breath.
The image of my hand collaring her throat while I slammed my dick into her over and over nearly broke me.
It wasn’t the right time, though. We’d only met last night, and I somehow knew that my angel needed a little more time before I claimed her body.
“I need to make a few phone calls,” I rasped. “Finish your breakfast, and I’ll give you a tour of the house when I’m done.”
Vivienne tilted her head back to look up at me, her cheeks a pretty shade of pink and her lips curled into a pleased smile. “I’d love that.”
“Bene. I’ll be back soon. Wait for me, and don’t wander off. Is that understood?”
Her gaze turned quizzical, but she nodded without questioning my instructions.
“Brava ragazza,” I murmured, my lips slightly curved up.
“What does that mean?” she asked, almost shyly.
“Good girl,” I translated, my smile growing when her blush deepened. Hmm…I filed her reaction to my praise away for future thought.
Unable to resist temptation, I captured her mouth in another kiss, coaxing her tongue into it and leaving us both shaking with desire.
My pulse pounded in sync with the throbbing in my cock, but I managed to retreat. I lifted her off my lap, then stood before settling her in my chair.
“Eat,” I ordered before I placed a quick kiss on her forehead and strode purposely from the room, not looking back so I would be tempted to say fuck it and drag her upstairs to my bed.
Domenico stood in the hall, talking quietly on his phone, and acknowledged me with a lift of his chin.
“Stay with Vivienne,” I directed, then headed straight to my home office.
Once seated at my desk, I opened my laptop and clicked on an email I’d received from Marco at four fifteen this morning.
As instructed, he’d put together a dossier on the Chanlers and Blackwells and uploaded it onto our secure server.
We never shared pertinent information in any program that could easily be hacked. Instead, Marco had a network of servers in one of our office buildings that we could remotely access to store and share files.
I logged in and skimmed the basics, then set it aside to read more thoroughly later when I didn’t have Vivienne waiting on me. I didn’t want to return to her in a fucking shitty mood after reading about her pathetic parents and spineless ex.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and when I checked it, I saw a message from Aston.
Charles had come through. I let him know I’d look it over after Vivienne went to bed, then navigated to my contacts and called Leonardo De Angelis, Domenico’s brother.
Leo was my caporegime, or captain, for the Georgia branch.
He oversaw our crew, dealing with the details I didn’t have time for.
“Boss,” he murmured when he picked up.
“I need you to put some soldiers on shadow duty. But tell them not to be subtle about it.”
“You’re looking to draw their attention?” he clarified.
“Sì. Make sure they know who the fuck I am and how to contact me.”
“Good as done. I’ll put Alec and Dante on it.”
“Excellent. I’ll text the target’s information to you as soon as we hang up,” I told him.
“Bene. Ciao.”
“Ciao.”
I did as promised, then made a couple of other quick calls before tucking my phone away in my pocket just as Dario rapped on the partially open door.
“Sì?”
“Domenico had to stop your woman from poking around, so I put her in the solarium.”
“Bene. I’m going to give her a tour so she knows the areas to keep away from.”
“I didn’t realize she would be here long enough for that to be necessary,” Dario commented, struggling to sound casual in an attempt to hide his disapproval.
My eyes narrowed, seeing right through him. “Was I unclear when I told you she belonged to me, fratellino?”
“No. I just don’t understand how some woman is worth the extra attention the Family will get when the Chanlers start throwing a very loud, very dramatic fit over you stealing Chet’s fiancée.”
“Are you fucking questioning me, Dario?” My tone was hard, and my expression impassive, a sign that he was talking to the ruthless “King of the South,” rather than his brother. Not only did I not owe him an explanation but he was also overstepping, which wasn’t something I ever let slide.
He flinched and backed up a step. “No.”
“Good. Now get the fuck out of my sight until you remember your place and grow the fuck up.”
Dario hesitated, and I raised an eyebrow. I would never hurt my brother, but that didn’t mean he was above punishment for disobeying an order.
“Don’t push me,” I snarled.
He nodded jerkily and spun around, marching silently out of my office.
I was fucking infuriated and told myself I needed to get my shit together before I went to find Vivienne. However, to my surprise, just thinking about being with her soothed some of the churning in my blood, filtering out the violence that was pumping through my veins.
She calmed me, which fed my growing obsession with her. I knew I was becoming addicted, but even if there was a cure, I didn’t want it anywhere near me.