Chapter 18
brUNO
I toss my jacket on the leather couch as I pass it before settling down on my chair behind the desk. It’s quiet in the house, given that it’s just a little past midnight, and I huff out a long breath. Leaning back in the chair, I run my fingers through my hair, uncaring if I mess it up. Work had been concluded long ago after I brokered some new deals, attended meetings, the usual. No blood spilled today, but it’s only Tuesday.
After the business day, I’d gone to one of my clubs, hosting a poker night in one of the back rooms with Leo, Raf, and a few other men. But no matter how hard I tried to focus on the game, my mind kept drifting back to Diana.
Even now, I swear I can still taste her.
I hadn’t seen her this morning before I’d left for the day, and I wonder if she’s avoiding me after what happened last night. Did she regret it? We crossed a line I don’t think either of us expected us to, and it is surely going to change things in some way. If I’m being honest with myself, I don’t regret having sex with her for a second. I hadn’t realized how deeply she had gotten under my skin, but after tasting her on my tongue, after being inside of her, I know I’m fooling myself—I will never be able to have enough.
And the mere idea of her avoiding me this morning makes my fingers curl into my palms, jaw clenching. The fact of the matter is, I’m two seconds away from storming down to her room, demanding to know what’s going through her head, when there’s a knock on my home office door.
My gaze snaps to it, the door on the opposite end of the room. “Come in,” I state, voice loud enough for the person on the other end to hear me clearly.
The door creaks open, and I wipe my expression clean. Stoicism is my best friend; it’s what makes people shift uncomfortably when I fix them with that kind of stare. But I wonder, as Diana steps into the office, if she can see the heat in my stare that I so deeply can feel running through my blood. The sight of her has such a visceral reaction on my body, and it’s a miracle I had avoided acting on it up until last night.
She takes a few steps into the office, dressed in an oversized UCLA sweatshirt with, I’m assuming, shorts underneath since the sweatshirt is too large for me to see them. What I do notice, however, are her long legs. Legs I know are as smooth and soft as they look.
Her face is free of makeup, and yet her skin just glows naturally. When she stops a few feet in front of the desk, I arch a cool eyebrow and ask dryly, “Where’s my water?”
Diana’s eyes flash with heat. She’s so incredibly sexy. “In the kitchen, where it always is,” she responds coolly. Her arms are crossed over her chest as she raises her own eyebrows down at me. “You came home but didn’t ask about the report on the kids.”
My gaze is fixed on her mouth as she speaks, but I lock my dark eyes with her blue when I say, “You avoided me this morning. Thought I’d give you the space you obviously want.”
A razor-sharp edge creeps into my voice as I say the words that taste bitter on my tongue. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her all night and all day, and the thought of her avoiding me stung more than I care to admit. What the fuck am I, a rejected, lovesick middle schooler? It’s fucking pathetic, yet Diana’s got me feeling like one effortlessly.
“That’s not true.”
I don’t move from my chair upon hearing her words. Instead, I tilt my head ever so slightly. She can’t seem to look away from me, just like I can’t look away from her. There’s an electrical current running between us, and from the darkening of her gaze, I know she’s feeling it just as strongly as I am. With a lift of my chin, I ask, “Then what’s the truth?”
Diana’s delicate throat works, and the action fills me with the urge to feel her skin against my mouth again. “Will you fire me if I tell you it?”
There’s a knot in my chest. “No, I won’t.”
The dim light of the lamp in the corner of the office makes her glow in a burnt golden, her hair like a halo. How fitting, that she’s the angel and I’m the devil in the dark. With her gaze locked on mine and her voice dropping just slightly, Diana confesses, “I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to look you in the eye without wanting to kiss you again.”
Her words light a fire in my veins, the blood rushing to my cock. If the simple image of kissing Diana can bring such an intense reaction out of me, I’m not surprised by how attracted to her I am. Her beauty, her voice, her smile—hell, everything about her is sweet and perfect; too good for a man like me. But I’m a selfish fucker, and if she wants me as badly as I want her, who am I to deny either of us?
My voice is gruff as I command, “Come here.”
Excitement flashes across Diana’s face before she moves, slowly yet purposefully making her way around the mahogany desk and toward me. I push my seat back just slightly away from the desk, but I don’t turn. I watch Diana expectantly, my blood rushing, and she gets the hint and comes to stand in front of me, right between my legs, my desk behind her. Not even my knife, the one that’s cut through flesh and bone, could cut through the thick tension that heavies the air as Diana stands in front of me, looking down at me in nervous anticipation.
My posture is relaxed in my seat, but I’m anything but as I reach my hand out and slide it up her inner thigh. I feel her muscle jump beneath my touch, but Diana doesn’t move as I caress the soft flesh, raising my gaze to lock it with hers. “Is that all you want me to do?” I ask her in a low murmur. “Just a kiss?”
I slide my hand up high enough that it brushes against the hem of her shorts under her oversized sweatshirt. My mouth curls up in a smirk as I keep moving upwards until I’m cupping her covered pussy with my palm, and the fire in my blood intensifies when I feel the dampness. “I think you want me to do much more than just kiss you, Diana.”
I see the tension in her throat as I rub a thumb between her folds through the thin material of the shorts. I see her hand reach back, gripping the edge of the desk tightly. “Tell me what you want, sweetheart. Use your words.”
“I want—” She bites her lower lip as I rub her clit through the shorts. My cock is hard in my pants, desperate to be let free and let inside of her. “I want your fingers, and your tongue, and your cock in my pussy.” I suppress a groan at those filthy words being spoken in her sweet voice. A flush is already spread across her cheeks as she adds, “But first, I want your cock in my mouth.”
My eyes flash, lust setting me on fire as I roughly ask, “Then what are you waiting for?”
She takes the encouragement as her sign to move. I watch as she drops to her knees in front of me, her nimble fingers easily working to undo my belt before working open the button and zippers of my pants. I help her pull them off, right with my underwear, my hard cock springing up, flushed and angry at the tip.
I see the desire swimming in her blue eyes as she eyes my dick hungrily, and if I liked the view of her kneeling between my legs, then the one of her taking my cock in her mouth will be engrained in my head forever.
I grit my teeth and groan as she takes me into her mouth, her hand wrapping around me to work whatever she can’t fit. The sensation of her warm mouth around my cock is enough to make me see stars, but I keep my gaze fixed on Diana. She moans around me, and the vibrations of the sound would have made my entire body jerk if I didn’t have any control over myself.
Diana bobs her head on my dick, her hand working the rest, and one of my hands is gripping the armrest of the chair while the other goes to the back of Diana’s head. I thread my fingers through her soft hair, tightening my grip but letting her have control for now as she effortlessly brings me toward the edge. “Wish you could see yourself,” I grunt, unable to tear my gaze away from her. “You look so pretty on your knees for me, with my cock in your mouth.”
My words cause her to moan around me, and it’s enough to tip me to the other side. I can’t remember the last time I received a blow job as fucking incredible as this, but Diana has me coming with a deep, guttural groan. My muscles tighten, blood searing in my veins as electricity explodes when I empty my load in her mouth. And I watch, heart pounding, as Diana swallows every drop I give her.
This fucking woman.
When she pulls back, a thin string of spit connects from her mouth to my cock, breaking off as she licks her lips clean. The sight alone hardens me instantly again, my desire for her seemingly never-ending, as I admire the flush in her cheeks and her swollen lips. “We’re not done yet,” I warn her, sitting up.
“Good,” Diana says with a lazy smirk, still on her knees in front of me. “I was afraid that’s all you had to give me.”
Her teasing words rip a growl through me, and I’m not gentle as I pick her up and put her on my desk. She gasps as I grip the hem of her shorts and tug them off, tossing them on the floor somewhere. Her sweatshirt pools on her lap, and I shoot her a look as I remain sitting on my chair and say, “Take it off.”
Diana listens, grabbing the hem of the sweatshirt and pulling it off, and my jaw tightens at the new skin that’s exposed. She’s only got a bra on underneath, baby pink and lacy—enough for me to see her pink nipples under the gauzy material. The sight of her naked on my desk save for her bra has my cock standing at attention, my mouth watering to taste every inch of her. I slide a hand up the expanse of her stomach, up the valley of her breasts and throat, until my fingers grip her jaw and I tug her forward and down enough to brush my lips against hers.
Electricity sparks at the most gentle of touches, and with my gaze locked on hers, I tell her roughly, “No other man touches you like this. Remember that.”
Diana lets out a shuddering breath before responding, “Whatever you say, Boss.”
I smirk at her response before pulling her in for a bruising kiss. She gasps against my mouth, and I use it to my advantage, sliding my tongue into her mouth, deepening the kiss. My free hand slides in between her legs, and I brush a finger through her wet folds before pushing it in. Diana automatically opens her legs wider, giving me more access to her pussy as I pump my finger, her tongue sliding against mine as she whimpers.
One finger becomes two as I add in another, setting a quick pace, feeling her wetness coat my palm as my thumb reaches up to rub her clit in tandem. My office is filled with the sounds of her whimpers and moans, and the crude sounds of my fingers pumping in and out of her.
“Oh, God,” Diana moans and I feel her clenching around my fingers, and moments later, her orgasm rushes through her.
I keep pumping my fingers as she rides it out, and once her body relaxes a bit, I pull out my fingers. Diana breathes heavily, watching me through hooded eyes as I bring my fingers that are coated in her arousal up in front of my mouth. With my gaze locked on hers, I lick my fingers clean, groaning at the sweet taste of her while she watches.
“I don’t think that was enough,” I muse, my hands on her knees to keep her legs open for me. “Need a little more.”
Bending down, I lick at Diana’s sensitive pussy, wet from her orgasm and arousal, and watch as Diana throws her head back with a moan. I lick and suck expertly, taking her clit between my teeth and giving it a gentle tug that has Diana gripping my hair and moaning my name, which only spurs me on. She leans back, bracing herself with her hand planted on the desk behind her, and one of my hands slides up and cups her breast before tugging down the cup of her bra so I can feel the soft flesh in my hand.
I twist and pinch her rosy, stiff nipple while I continue licking her, smirking against her pussy when she tries to move her hips along with me. Her fingers tug at my hair, her moans encouraging me, and it’s not long before her second orgasm is crashing through. Diana comes on my tongue with a sharp cry of my name, her skin flushed and breathing heavy as her body shakes with the force of it.
When she’s trying to catch her breath afterward, I get to my feet, pulling open a drawer and grabbing a condom that I know is there. “On your feet,” I command, my voice firm with authority.
Diana is still breathing heavily, still sitting on my desk as she looks up at me with wide, glazed-over eyes. “Again?”
I smirk, grasping her chin and pressing my thumb to her lower lip, pulling it down slightly. “Thought you wanted my cock in your pussy, sweetheart? I’m just giving you what you want.”
Diana licks her lips, and as fucked as she already looks, pride and satisfaction flood through me as she gets off the desk. Her knees buckle ever so slightly, but I’m there to keep her up, my arm sliding around her waist. “I got you,” I murmur in her ear, my voice gentler than before as I turn her around. With her back to me, I say, “Bend over,” and I hear the excited hitch in her breath before she does.
Diana grips the edge of the desk as I roll the condom on before my hand grips my cock and the other rests on her hip. I press close to her, her ass against my pelvis, and ask, “Ready?”
She nods, still eager despite how sensitive I know her pussy is by now. “Please, Bruno.”
That’s all I need to hear. I push into her from behind, a moan escaping Diana as my cock nestles deep inside of her pussy, my own grunt mixing with hers. The sounds she makes are heavenly, exactly how her pussy feels around me as I push all the way in until I’m buried to the hilt. Fuck, I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of her.
The rhythm I set is quick and steady, skin slapping against skin, and I watch as the flesh of her ass bounces every time I pound into her. My grip is tight on her hips before I lean over her, pressing kisses up her spine. In this moment, she is everything.
When her third orgasm crashes through her and I ride my own out with her, I whisper in her ear, “You’re fucking perfect.”
Diana turns her head to capture my mouth with hers, kissing me as her body trembles with the aftershocks of her release. She tugs at my bottom lip with her teeth, glazed-over blue eyes meeting my dark ones as she asks in a seductive whisper, “Another?”
God, this fucking woman.
I don’t answer—not in the way she expects. Instead, I pick her up, a surprised yelp escaping her, and I don’t think twice about taking Diana up to my bedroom to have my way with her as many times as she’ll let me.
*****
When I wake up at the dawn, it’s because my phone is consistently buzzing on my bedside table. My room smells different, and when I open my eyes, I realize why. Diana lays next to me, fast asleep on her stomach, blonde hair spread out against the white pillow. The bedsheet is halfway up her bare back as she sleeps soundly, the coconut scent that clings to her burying itself deep into my sheets. I don’t think I mind a bit.
I want to lay here and admire her for as long as I want to, to watch the rise and fall of her back as she breathes easily. No woman has been in my bed for years; if I sleep with anyone, it’s at a hotel or at their place, but never in my home, never in my bed. But here Diana is, laying here as if she belongs here. And part of me. . . Part of me believes that she does.
I don’t know when this woman got so deep into my system, but I don’t think I want to get her out.
Before I can let that thought linger, my phone buzzes again, and I suppress the irritating growl that threatens to escape me so I don’t wake up Diana, and grab my phone off the bedside table. I glare at the screen before my expression tightens even more when I see I have a few missed calls from both Leo and Raf, and a text from Leo that erases all sleep from me and has me sitting up immediately.
Leo: Get to the office immediately. Found out information on Benny Elliott. Not good.
I’m off the bed instantly, responding to Leo that I’ll be there as soon as I can. I move around my room quietly as I get dressed, jaw clenching as I button my shirt and look toward Diana. Whatever I find out today is going to affect her one way or the other, and as badly as I need to know the truth, I find myself hesitant to tell her, whatever the hell it is. Even though I know she asked me to. I’ve kept her in the dark so far about everything, but eventually, Diana will need to know the truth, and I’ll have to be the one to give it to her.
I’ve never, ever had any issue with being the bad guy. But right now, with Diana, it’s the last thing I want to be.
I don’t wake her up, knowing she’ll be up in a few hours anyway. Once I’m dressed, I head out, my grip on the steering wheel the entire drive over as tight as my jaw. I don’t allow myself to jump to the ideas of what my guys found out because that would be ineffective and a waste of time. I need to know all of the information there is to know before coming to any sort of conclusion. Part of me had hoped that when I told my men to dig into Diana’s father, they wouldn’t find anything. I wanted that man to be clean, for Diana’s sake. But the closer I get to my office, the tighter that knot of dread in my stomach gets. I’ve already got a bad feeling about this.
I make the twenty-minute drive to my office in less than ten since it’s early and half the city is still asleep. My underboss and consigliere, unsurprisingly, are already in my office when I burst through the door and immediately demand, “What’d you find out?”
Leo and Raf’s faces are grave, and my jaw tightens even more. “We dug through Benny’s financials, and some inconsistencies stood out,” Raf says before releasing a heavy sigh. “A couple of months ago, he had nearly ten grand wired into his bank account from another account—offshore. Dug around some more and—” Raf shakes his head, the muscle in his jaw clenching. “The account belongs to Alexei Antonov.”
The blood in my veins ices over at that name, and if my jaw clenched even more, I’m sure I’d break a molar or two. My fingers curl into my palms, fists tight. Through clenched teeth, I say, “Go on.”
“We don’t know why Benny borrowed money from Alexei,” Leo continues. “He was supposed to pay him back, but his heart attack set him back, so he wasn’t able to make the payment.” Leo’s lips are thin, most likely taking in my thunderous expression. “Alexei had his men burn down the bakery and Benny as punishment.”
Russians operating in my city, in my territory. They know as well as I do that’s an open declaration of war, working on grounds that don’t belong to them without my permission. Then again, the Russians had no respect for anyone but themselves.
My anger bubbles over, and I wish I had something in my head I could throw at the glass wall. This is not fucking good. I don’t care that Benny borrowed money from Alexei Antonov; I’m pissed the fuck off that Alexei had the fucking balls to operate in my city. Everything that goes on here happens with my permission and knowledge—if I allow it. They didn’t respect that. They spat in my fucking face.
They burned down a building I own. They killed a man who is the father of the woman who I—
Fuck. This is a fucking disaster.
“What do you want to do, Boss?” Raf asks a few minutes after I’ve stewed in my silence and anger.
I want to fucking kill Alexei Antonov and his insignificant little men. I want to slice them open for disrespecting me in my own city.
But I know I can’t.
“Set up a meeting with Antonov,” I tell Raf through gritted teeth. My words have him and Leo exchanging looks of mild surprise. I know they assumed I’d jump straight to murdering all of those assholes, but that can’t happen. “We have to be smart about this. They’re trying to declare war, but we need to settle this shit diplomatically before any more blood is spilled.”
Ironic, coming from me, since I want nothing more than to put my knife and gun to use.
Leo and Raf nod at that before Leo asks me, “Are you going to tell Diana?”
My jaw tightens. I don’t want to but I have to. What other choice do I have?