Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
NICO
After confessing to Serenity, I wanted us to get back together.
Deep down, I already knew how it would play out.
The wounds from her past, combined with the pain I inflicted, closed the door on any chance of a relationship with anyone.
Serenity is shattered and scarred, perhaps beyond repair.
Even after dragging her down the aisle to the altar, she would never fully love me again.
Don’t get me wrong—I’m aware there’s still some love left in her heart for me.
I catch fleeting glimpses of it whenever we’re together.
Our time in New York was flawless. When she asked what was troubling me, I considered revealing that I knew her secret and that I’d protect her.
But I held back. Instead, I vowed to make those who hurt her pay for what they did to my woman.
We fucked three times during the night. I barely let up. I needed her so much I fell asleep inside her. She bled all over the towels I had laid beneath us. I didn’t care that I had to pay to replace the mattress. Being so close and intimate with her meant the world to me.
When Serenity and I part ways, my men and I fly to Washington D.C.
A blacked-out, bulletproof Escalade waits for us on the tarmac.
Getting a peek at the bastard who sent men to rape and brutalize Serenity’s family is important.
Ettore Vero walks out of the barbershop with his young son.
Three soldiers walk in front of him and two pull up the rear.
Staring ahead, my brown eyes narrow behind my sunglasses from the backseat.
My gloved fingers flex around the handle of my Glock.
I could take the bastard out right now. But Aleksandr’s my target too.
Even if he hadn’t ordered the hit on the Cichello family, he sure as hell didn’t stop Ettore from carrying it out.
It’s clear Aleksander cared only about flooding Newark with his drugs, indifferent to the lives lost to make it happen.
“I’m coming for you, Ettore. All those around you will die.” I growl.
Miff’s gray eyes meet mine through the rearview mirror. “What’s the move, boss?”
My lip twitches. “Move out.”
He pulls off from the curb and eases past the barbershop. Ettore’s men reach for their guns, ready for whatever is coming.
I chuckle. “Now he knows how easy it is to get to him.”
I’d have to thank my grandfather for the tip.
Over the course of thirteen months, I focus on my studies and those involved in harming Serenity. She and I hooked up a few times. I’d go to her dorm or condo. One time she told me to come to Creekwood University library. We fucked in the stacks.
I asked, “Why here?”
She said, “I always wanted to fuck in the library and I was horny.”
I was pleased it was me she called. And not some other asshole. However, I chose not to mention relationships or love. Serenity was like a wounded fox. If backed into a corner, she’d bite. Then, out of the blue, she reminded me again how we could never be a couple. And I rebelled.
Partying hadn’t been at the top of my list of priorities, but after that statement, it was time to bring Serenity to her senses.
I saunter through the bodies dancing on the gigantic dance floor in the ballroom.
“Shout out to my boy Nico. This is one hell of a party,” DJ Karn yells.
I throw a hand in the air and nod in his direction. “Penn State represent,” I shout.
My teammates bark and howl as they dance with several women wearing tiny dresses.
The bass of the music vibrates the soles of my feet. For the first time in a long time, I want to dance. But not with just anyone.
Approaching the chef’s kitchen, I speak to several of the guests I invited to my graduation party.
It’s technically the first graduation party of the season since we don’t graduate until next month.
The mansion I rented for the weekend sits on a huge plot of land.
It isn’t far from Penn State either. If people are too drunk to drive, they can crash in one of the ten bedrooms. My security team will see that they leave by ten a.m.
The second I step into the kitchen all the women's eyes fall on me.
“Nico, thanks for inviting us to your party.” The woman with beautiful brown eyes steps forward and throws her arms around my neck. My arms loop her small waist as I inhale the coconut oil wafting from her honey-brown micro braids that fall past her ass.
Her three friends stare at us before one speaks up.
“Shenese, you said he was fine, but I didn’t know he was this fone.” A flirtatious smile lifts her mocha cheeks as her eyes hold mine. “I don’t fuck white boys, but I could make an exception. I heard you’re packing.”
Shenese hops out of my arms like she’s been set ablaze. Her caramel face flushed with embarrassment.
A grin lifts my lips. “Thanks for the compliment?”
“Kera,” she says, stepping closer.
“Thanks Kera.”
If this is how women feel when men come on to them, I can relate to the uneasy feeling on a small scale.
Granted, women flirt with me often. I don’t meet too many brazen ones.
Usually, I hear about women who have crushes on me in passing or from my small circle of friends.
In the mafia life, I can’t have too many friends.
“Is it true that you’re hung like a horse?”
Someone claps me on the shoulders from behind. “Good evening ladies, I think this is the first time I’ve witnessed my friend without many words to say,” Collin smiles beside me.
Collin is in his junior year. He’ll become the captain of the football team in the fall since I’m graduating.
“Ladies, there’s plenty of food, alcohol, and men,” I announce.
Kera’s brows lower. “I’m not looking for a frat guy who can’t fuck to hook up with tonight.”
“You’re in luck. There are men upstairs who can satisfy you for thirty minutes. I’m paying for the first thirty. You’ll have to pay for extra time.”
Her mouth gapes. “An escort?”
I grab my phone from my pocket, tap a few buttons, and place it in Kera’s hand. “If you want to hook up with any of them, follow the directions.”
Kera’s tongue slides over her plump, glossy red lips. Her friends huddle around the screen, pointing at the selection of men.
“Girl, that man is fine and looks like he’ll break you in two,” one of her friends says.
“That’s the point.” She smirks.
“Done.” She places the phone in my hand.
“Knock on the numbered door you selected at your appointed time,” I tell her.
“Cool, thanks, Nico.”
“Anytime.”
“Oh, also, Shenese has a crush on you,” Kera blurts.
Shenese’s eyes go wide. “What the fuck, Kera?”
“I’m flattered. A woman will walk through that front door soon, flanked by at least two men. She’ll have it out for any woman here who has a crush on me.”
“Is she your girlfriend?” Sherese asks.
“She’s my ex-girlfriend. And one day she’ll be my wife whether she wants to be or not.”
Shenese’s hand flies to her chest. “That’s so romantic.”
I chuckle. “She doesn’t share your sentiment.”
Raising a finger, I say, “Whatever you see here tonight isn’t quite what it seems.”
Collin and I grab a couple of drinks and chat as we walk toward the sitting room.
“Lay off the cookies, Jenny. Someone else might want some,” a woman snaps.
I halt at the doorway and peer around the corner.
“If you want a body like mine, Jenny, you can’t pig out at every party,” Fefe barks.
Her friends roar with laughter.
“What a bitch,” Collin growls.
Anger creeps up my spine. One thing I can’t stand is a fat shamer.
I tap the earpiece. “How are we looking?”
“Good, sir. She’s en route.”
I smirk. “Thank you.” I tap the earpiece.
“Still playing games with Serenity?” Collin asks.
“You know it, brother.”
He blows out a breath as he slips his fingers through his short brown hair, chuckling. “I’m going to enjoy the party.”
I sip my second whiskey of the night as I step into the room. My eyes move to Jenny. “Hello.”
Her pale skin turns beet red as a smile lifts her cheeks. “Hi, Nico.”
“Everyone, enjoy the buffet and alcohol,” I tell them.
I gingerly grab Jenny’s arm. “Ignore the negative comments of the mean girls,” I whisper.
She nods and her body trembles in my grip. Tell me this woman didn’t come just from my touch.
I lean down and whisper in her ear, “Trust that one of them will get what they deserve.” I stand tall and wink.
Jenny’s at a loss for words.
In my periphery, I notice Fefe lifts her boobs in her tiny red dress.
“Hello, Nico,” Fefe chirps.
I amble over to Fefe and her friends. She runs her hand down my navy suit jacket.
“You look sexy in a suit.” She inches closer. “I’d rather see you out of it and my lips wrapped around your cock.”
I raise a brow. “Is that so?”
She cranes her neck and her big blue eyes sparkle with desire. “Yes.”
My fingers curl around her wrist. “Let’s go.”
I can feel Jenny’s disappointing eyes on me as I lead Fefe out of the room. A devilish smirk hit my lips.
Fefe slips her arm through mine as we head for the stairs. Shenese leans against the wall with her friends, Kera noticeably absent. We know exactly where she is.
Just before Fefe and I begin ascending the wide, shining white staircase, Shenese shakes her head. At the top, my gaze scans the numbered rooms housing my escorts—men and women alike.
We walk into the master suite. I close the door behind us.
“Are you having a good time?” I ask.
“Yeah.” She bounces on the bed and dumps a small vial out of her tiny purse onto the nightstand. She wastes no time snorting a line of coke.
Fefe holds out a rolled-up hundred-dollar bill. “Want to do a line?”
“No,” I walk deeper into the room, sipping from the crystal glass filled with whiskey. I lean against the wall.
“If you want to get high, do that shit with your friends.”
She pops open a compact mirror and dusts the cocaine remnants from her nose. “I’ll be right there.”
“Sir, she’s here,” Nolan says through the earpiece.
“Good to know,” I mutter.
Fefe wiggles out of the tiny red dress. It pools around her red stilettos.
She’s wearing a pair of black thongs and no bra.
My eyes move over her fake tits and her bony frame.
Toying with her blonde strands, she kicks the dress aside and saunters closer.
“Mr. Football captain, I’m going to give you the best blow job. ”
Doubt that.
Fefe drops to her knees before me and unzips my slacks. Her eyes widen at the imprint of my hard cock in my boxers.
Her tongue slides across her lips. “I need to see it.”
She attempts to reach into my boxers. I swat her hand away. Reaching into my boxers, I free my cock. Fefe gasps, falling back.
“Can’t handle it after all, huh?” I ask.
“It’s just so big. I can’t wait to tell my friends I got to suck Nico’s dick.”
Her lips form an O as she inches closer.
The door clicks closed.
“I heard about your little party.” Her silky voice drips with sarcasm.
And now pre-cum drips from the tip of my dick for her.
Fefe peers over her shoulder. “What’s with all the fat girls at this party? Wrong room. Buffets on the first floor,” Fefe snarls.
Before Fefe can turn back to me, Serenity pulls the muzzled Glock from behind her back.
“Are you shaming me because of my fat ass, thick thighs, and soft tummy?”
I am so fucking turned on right now.