Desperate Decisions (Underboss Omega Wives #2)

1. Amara

CHAPTER 1

AMARA

“Go to Italy, Amara,” I muttered from my hiding spot behind a fishing crate. “It’ll be fun , Amara. The mafia there won’t care who you are. You’ll just be a college kid among thousands.”

Fucking idiots.

I didn’t know how they found me, or why they thought I would be able to get money out of my father for them. I hadn’t talked to him for two years specifically because of bullshit like this. If I had known he’d borrowed a hundred grand from the Neapolitan mob, I never would have allowed my friend group to make Naples a stop. But he hadn’t told me and I hadn’t told him I was going. And now I was hiding behind a fucking fish crate.

Three men had been following me for the last twenty minutes, and I’d been too daft to realize I was being herded toward the docks. One of them must have figured out who I was because when I was minding my own business at the Museo Cappella Sansevero, there’d suddenly been a hand over my mouth and heavily accented threats against my father for running out on his debt. How they knew who I was out of everyone there was beyond me, but the mob networks ran deep.

They obviously hadn’t expected me to know how to fight, but my elbow to his gut sure let him know quickly. I’d managed to bolt, at least initially. I crawled on hands and knees around one of the little trucks, and when the way appeared clear, I took off at a run. A sleek Ducati was waiting behind a crosswalk and I tossed myself straight onto the back of it.

“What the fuck? Get the hell off.”

“Please just go. I’ll explain later.” I wrapped my arms around the driver and tucked my head down, hoping the people following me hadn’t seen. “Please!”

“Fucking hell.”

The bike roared to life and whipped around the roundabout to head into the city.

I clung to the driver like my life depended on it. With any luck, this guy would be a good driver because I had no protective equipment at all and I had about as much interest in being a smear on the road as I did in letting the mob catch me.

After what felt like an eternity, the bike turned into a skinny alleyway and came to a stop. I held my breath as the driver pulled his helmet off. He looked exactly like I had expected, with dark hair and eyes, sunkissed skin, and a frown on perfectly kissable lips.

“Are you going to explain why the fuck you got on my bike?”

“I ran into a little trouble. You seemed like a better option.”

He barked a laugh. “I don’t know about that.”

All my little hairs stood up. “Unless you’re planning on kidnapping and extortion, then I’d say you are.”

The man snorted. “Lucky for you I don’t have time for a kidnapping right now. Get off.”

“You can’t just leave me here. I don’t know where the hell we are.”

“Should’ve thought of that before hopping on a stranger’s bike. Off.”

“ Please . I just need a little help. I’ll do anything you want if you just take me to my hostel and then to the airport.”

His gaze was sharp, calculating. “You’re lucky you’re pretty. Where’s the hostel?”

“Next to the Castel Nuovo.”

He nodded decisively and pulled his helmet on again, revving the bike so that I clung back on to him. I would message my friends from the airport and let them know I had gone back home. I wasn’t going to risk staying in Italy if the mob had my number.

At the hostel I ran in like a bat out of hell, stuffed the essentials into my backpack, and bolted right back to the bike, relieved that he was still waiting.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you. I owe you so fucking much. Airport? I need to get on a flight to Rome to head back to the states.”

“It would be just as fast for me to drive you to Rome. Besides, you’ve already missed the morning flight, so you’d be waiting awhile.”

“You’d be willing to drive me all the way to Rome?”

“If you’re willing to show me how grateful you are when we get there.”

I chewed my lip. I would be a sitting duck at the airport in Naples if I couldn’t get out in time, and I had definitely fucked uglier men for less. “Okay. Deal.”

“Hop on, little slut. Let’s get your ass to Roma.”

Over the course of the drive I had a lot of time to think, to ask questions. Like fuck, why didn’t he have an Italian accent when he spoke English? And why had he first started talking to me in English and not Italian? Maybe he was a tourist too. He certainly looked Italian.

Every time we had to stop, I looked behind me, searching for a tail, but there was no sign of one.

Just before we hit the city limits of Rome, he pulled into the property for a beautiful hotel.

“This isn’t the airport.”

“I checked flight times when we were last stopped. We have time for a little gratitude.”

“Here?”

“You’d rather the airport parking lot or back alley? Because those can be arranged.”

Gross. I hated alley sex. I always touched something unidentifiable and sticky. “Here’s great.”

I should’ve just offered to pay him instead of panic offering him anything, but it was too late now. He handed the bike off to the valet and crooked his fingers for me to follow him inside. I tottered after him under the weight of my backpack and gawked at the opulence as he secured us one of the rooms.

“How long are you expecting this to take?” I asked.

“We have time,” he repeated.

So helpful…

“Do you have your license with you?” he asked.

“Why?”

“Answer the question.”

“In my wallet.”

“Let me see it.”

“Because that’s not stalker-y sounding at all.” I got it out anyway because I wasn’t sure what else to do once I was trapped in this room with him. His face betrayed nothing when he looked at it before tossing it back.

“What?”

“Nothing. Curious where you were from.”

“You know regular people just ask that sort of thing.”

I dropped my bag inside and he was on me like a fucking barnacle. Without panic tainting my senses, or the wind from travel diluting his scent, it hit me full force. Allspice and amaretto. Alpha. It was sweeter than I’d expected, but the sharpness of the amaretto was like I was huffing over the bottle, my mind getting sloppy and drunk just from his proximity. My body reacted instantly, slick pooling between my thighs, and goosebumps raising across my skin. He was definitely on the prettier end of the spectrum for randos I’d gotten with for some reason or another, but he smelled fucking delicious compared to the others.

All those stupid omega instincts that served us better in the Stone Age than the modern world were absolutely delighted. We craved softness, but that little subconscious pocket in our minds was an absolute ho for displays of strength. Apparently desperation was the name of the game today. I had started out fearing for my life and now the only thing I feared was that he would take his pleasure and leave me high and dry.

He held my throat, forcing me to stand on my toes to look up at him. “On your knees, omega.”

Before he could push me down to the ground, I latched my fingers into the collar of his shirt and dragged his face to mine. He obviously hadn’t expected me to kiss him, because his grip on my throat tightened, and his scent exploded in the air, drowning me as I took my fill of his lips. He had no right to taste that good. A man who accepted a blowjob in return for a ride wasn’t anyone I wanted to get mixed up with, but since I’d gotten myself into this situation, I might as well steal enjoyment where I could.

He had a mouth made for sin—soft lips, hard jaw, demanding tongue. Fuck me sideways, I was going to get off just from his kiss at this rate. Every inch of me was alight with desire and my pussy throbbed.

Eventually his impatience grew and he shoved me down. I winced at the impact of my knees against the stone floor, but I had a payment to give so I pushed through. He looked so fucking satisfied, staring down at me as I undid the button and zipper of his leather pants. His cock eagerly awaited my attention. It was pretty nice as far as cocks went, not that the appendages were all that aesthetic to begin with.

I circled the tip with my tongue, but my ride wasn’t in a patient mood. I choked when he grabbed two handfuls of my hair and fucked in as far as my body would allow. My eyes watered and I dug my fingers into his leather pants. I caught snatches of breath each time he pulled out, but the brutal force of each buck had panic rising in my chest.

Stay calm .

His thumbs stroked my cheeks. “That’s it, sweetheart. You just let it happen. Let all those pretty tears out.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling the warm trails slip down my cheeks, and opened my eyes again when he stilled. He was buried deep while I looked up at him, panic clawing at me as all my breath disappeared.

“Fuck, you look so pretty like that. Do you want to breathe, little slut? Blink twice for yes.”

My blinks went crazy and he chuckled, holding for another few seconds until I was pushing at him before he finally pulled back. I gasped in all the air I could, digging my nails into his pants.

“You’re not finished yet,” he reminded me.

I readjusted myself and took a bracing breath before descending on his cock once more. I tried to be discreet about the fact that I was pressing my fingers against the seam of my pants, desperate for the pressure and friction to abate the need burning through me.

He laughed when he finally noticed and fucked my face a little harder, the sting of how tightly he was holding my hair only ratcheting up the tension in my body more. I whined around him. He did most of the work, with my tongue doing its best to keep up with languid curls as he forced his way over it. I kept shifting, unable to get comfortable or give myself as much as I needed. I had never gotten this revved up giving a blowjob before. Most of the time it was a chore to get through, but this one… this one was going to make me lose it before it was over.

I fumbled open the button and zipper on my pants and wedged my fingers deep. The moan I let out around his cock when my fingers slid over my clit filled the silence of the room.

“In or out, sweetheart? This time will be lady’s choice.”

Half in a daze, I pulled my head away and he let me, but I only went far enough that I could keep the tip between my lips and stroke his cock with my hand while the other went to town below.

“Shit.” His fingers flexed against my scalp, that sting sending spirals of desire through me. His growl was low and rough, stroking a delightful metaphorical hand over all my omega instincts. The flavor of him shifted and a moment later he burst over my tongue, salty, spicy, and addictive as hell. He pushed all the way in as he finished, cutting off my air again right as I hit the edge. Black spots danced in my vision, my whole body jerking, slick drenching my fingers until he finally pulled out entirely and I sank onto my ass, huffing and puffing while I stared at him like he was the sun.

What the fuck was that?

Before I could protest, he hoisted me up over his shoulder and tossed me back onto the bed. He wrenched my jeans down until they were at my knees and then pushed my legs overhead. He moved too quickly for my lust-addled brain to keep up, and when his hot tongue slid over my clit, I let out a string of every curse word I had ever heard.

Folded up like a pretzel and tangled in my own pants with an alpha’s face buried between my thighs wasn’t exactly how I’d thought I would find myself today. Hell, even my best days didn’t tend to end up like this. A disappointing amount of my previous partners hadn’t given a flying fuck if I was satisfied. I was pretty sure most of them had never put their mouth on a pussy in their whole fucking life. But this alpha…

His teeth scraped over my clit and I bucked against his face. He held me down easily with one hand, another thing that both lit the fires of fear in my belly while making all those ancient omega instincts preen. Twisted and weird as it was, for some reason my brain slotted pussy licking into the ‘caring for me’ category. And I liked it. A lot.

I liked it even more when he pressed wicked fingers inside me, giving a couple of experimental pumps before adding the rest and making me arch up against my folded legs, clinging to him with the most pathetic sound I had ever made.

“Fucking fuck, goddamn, Jesus Christ, what the?—”

Just as I touched the bright shiny edge of completion, his fingers retreated and the heat of his mouth disappeared. I let out a wordless scream and reached for him, but he just stood back, laughing at my desperation. Every inch of me was shaking, my brain galloping and my body twitching at the sudden disappearance of sensation. With a soft whimper I lowered my legs and tried to control the frustrated screech I actually wanted to let out.

I reached to finish things off myself and he snatched up both my hands, pressing them to the bed beside me. “No touching. I want you to remember how much you wanted this. How much you craved this.”

I sucked in a shaky breath. “Asshole.”

He only laughed again and pulled me up by the collar of my shirt to kiss me again. My body vibrated, like a bunch of fireworks let off inside a glass dome with nowhere to go. I wanted to finish so fucking badly, and more than that, I wanted him to finish me.

He wasn’t going to get away that easily. I dragged him back down as heat crackled up my spine, the warmth suffocating as I tried to kick my way free of my pants.

What the fuck was going on? It felt like I was getting close to a heat, but I wasn’t due for weeks. His scent exploded, sweet amaretto making me drunk off him, and it finally seemed like he was getting on board, his kiss ramping up. I squeaked as he ripped my jeans off and chucked them to the side, separating us for only a couple of seconds before he was pressed against me once more. Everything was getting hazy. I nearly came right on the spot when his mouth fastened onto the scent gland at my throat, and his hands scooped up the globes of my ass to pull me closer.

I couldn’t catch my breath. Everything was too warm. I pulled at his clothing, desperately trying to strip it away so I could feel his skin against mine. I would feel better if I could just?—

Yes.

That shirt was fucking gone and I clung to him like a goddamn koala, getting every ounce of contact I could. Closer, but not close enough, not enough to abate the slowly building scream in the back of my mind that demanded I have him immediately.

I wrestled his leather pants down with my toes, letting out an impatient whine that they didn’t simply vanish off his body. All the fight drained away when his cock slid into me with a snap. Fire raged over my skin, and I hissed at the pressure, the sting of taking him so quickly even with all the slick flowing. The screaming voice shut up a little more with each thrust that knocked the breath from my lungs.

My brain was happily melting out my ears as every inch of him drove into me, ratcheting up the tension running through me until I seized, writhing against him.

Fucking finally.

Except the orgasm made things worse , not better. That unholy need for him didn’t dissipate one fucking bit. I dug my nails into his ass cheeks, a wordless demand that he keep going.

I slipped away into a sea of pleasure and desperation, buffeted by the waves and helpless to fight against each rise. All I wanted was more.

More, more, more.

Until I combusted in his arms and disappeared into oblivion.