Negotiation: A Mafia Romance Read online

  “Except me.” He laughed with a hint of darkness. “I can’t believe I’m prepared to overlook your brother’s blatant dishonesty and disrespect just for having you in my bed for a while.”

  She couldn’t believe it either, and she was uncertain whether to be hopeful or fearful. “Does that mean you’re considering the proposition, Mr. Moretti?”

  His hand went to her thigh, squeezing lightly. “Indeed it does, but I think I might need a sample before I can make up my mind completely.”

  She took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in her throat. “No. No free samples. You don’t touch me until we have an agreement in place.”

  His hand inched higher up her thigh, and soon his thumb brushed the crotch of her slacks. Thankfully, the denim hid the secret of just how wet she was from his light touch. “You drive a hard bargain. How do I know you’re worth that?”

  She used her last bargaining chip, tilting her chin. “Do you like virgins, Mr. Moretti? You said you wanted to ruin my innocent persona, but the truth is, it’s not a façade. I’ve been too busy with school and trying to keep Shawn out of trouble to have time for relationships, so I’m untouched. If you agree to our deal, you’re acquiring completely pure stock.” She hated referring to herself in such an objectified fashion, but she figured it would appeal to him.

  Instead, he frowned, the first hint of uncertainty showing. “You’re a virgin?”

  She swallowed the lump in her throat, suddenly frightened her bargaining chip had turned into a stumbling block instead. “Yes, but if that’s a problem, I could take care of it before our arrangement starts.”

  His mouth tightened, and he looked angry. “What do you mean, take care of it? You said there was no loser in the picture.”

  She wasn’t sure if she was trying to entice him or just make a straightforward proposal to eliminate an obstacle when she said, “I’m certain I could buy a vibrator and deal with the physical unpleasantness of removing my virginity myself.”

  His hand tightened on her thigh, and the other one around her back lowered to squeeze her upper arm. His anger was palpable. “Don’t even think about doing something like that. I’ll be the one claiming that prize, Lily.”

  Her chest fluttered as her heart pounded as she faced the reality of what she was doing. They were on the cusp of negotiating an agreement, and though it was certainly far more than she had planned to give, at least it would ensure her brother was safe.

  And it would allow her to experience what it would be like to be fucked by a man like Dante Moretti. That appealed to her dark side, the one that everyone had—even virginal twenty-three-year-old nurses. “Yes, sir.”

  His eyes were dark with passion, and his mouth crept closer to hers, but he didn’t kiss her. “You can call me Dante since we’re going to be so intimately acquainted.”

  “Yes, once we have an agreement. In writing,” she added.

  Dante’s eyes widened. “You really want to put this kind of arrangement in writing, where it could fall into the wrong hands?”

  She nodded. “Let’s just say I’d feel better about the whole thing if I have the security of knowing there’s proof somewhere documenting our deal.”

  “Fine. Give me your address, and I’ll come to you tomorrow with paperwork in hand. After your name is on the line beside mine, our deal is in effect. There’ll be no backing out then once you believe Shawn is far away and safe, Lily,” he said with a hint of warning.

  She licked her lips and nodded. “I have a feeling there was no backing out from the moment I stepped into this club, Dante. I’m here to make sure my brother is safe, and I’m willing to do what’s required to do that.”

  “You can’t safeguard your brother from his own stupidity and dark urges, but in this instance, you’re right. I’m willing to accept something far more valuable in exchange for leniency.”

  Suddenly, despite her words about no samples, Dante’s mouth was on hers in a hungry, possessive kiss. His tongue surged into her mouth before she could even think of protesting, and he seemed to be both tasting and branding her at the same time. When he lifted his head a moment later, fire burned through her, and her panties were extremely damp. She had the unseemly urge to finger herself right there, certain he would appreciate the show, but also knowing it would lead to far more intimate actions. Events she couldn’t allow to happen until they had an agreement in place, and her brother was far away and safe.

  “Definitely far more valuable. You have no idea how much I’m looking forward to defiling your innocence.”

  She shivered, temporarily overwhelmed with fear by the intensity in his gaze. She had no doubt Dante would strip every vestige of innocence and naïveté from her, and she had no idea what kind of person he would leave in his wake. She was frightened to find out, but also oddly fascinated by him and whatever he planned to do to her.

  Chapter Two

  He showed up at her house shortly after she arrived home from work the next day. Her hair was up in a messy ponytail, and she still wore a similar outfit to the one she’d worn last night. She’d hoped to have a chance to freshen up and look more sophisticated before their next meeting, but it was as though he had been watching her, since he’d arrived so shortly after her own arrival home.

  Knowing him, and his criminal connections, he probably was watching her. The idea was kind of creepy, but she supposed she’d have to get used to it. She had a feeling he would be a bit of a tyrant during the duration of their agreement, and he was going to likely be overbearing and want to know where she was at all times—assuming he didn’t fuck her once and be done with it when she proved to be a disappointment to him.

  “I have the agreement. Where’s Shawn?”

  She lifted her shoulder. “He’s somewhere reasonably safe, and it won’t be necessary for you to send him to your friends. He’s sworn to get out of all of that, and I believe he’s telling me the truth.” She’d spent the early morning seeing her brother off at the bus station, and she hoped that if Dante really had someone watching her, he hadn’t been doing so at that point. At least once her brother reached Atlanta, it was a hub that would lead him anywhere, making it harder for the Moretti family to track him down if they chose to.

  He glared at her. “That wasn’t in our agreement.”

  She nodded. “I know, but I have to look out for my little brother. Do you have a little brother? I think I remember reading that you have two brothers?”

  “Yes. I’m the middle of a set of identical triplets, so I do have a younger brother, technically. Armo is fourteen minutes my junior, so I don’t feel extremely protective of him. Also, he’s not a dumbass who falls in with the wrong crowd and lets a girl sway him to do something stupid. By sending your brother away, all you’ve done is enable him to get into another scrape.”

  She licked her lips and squared her shoulders. “Maybe so, but he promised me he was done, and I have to believe he’s telling me the truth. He’s made some mistakes, but he’s young, not evil.”

  “I can see that. He’s not a criminal mastermind, and he didn’t set out to hurt me deliberately. He just let that Rasa girl influence him. She’s been dealt with, and she was far more manipulative and sneaky than your idiot brother could ever hope to be.”

  She nodded, watching as he lifted a green apple from the fruit bowl and took a big bite without invitation. Watching his teeth crunch through the firm flesh of the fruit suddenly made her imagine the same teeth nibbling their way down her body. She shivered at the thought, and her nipples tightened. “Let’s see the agreement.”

  He handed her a simple two-page document, and she went to the kitchen table, unsurprised when he followed and sat beside her. It was a surprisingly domestic scene considering the words written on the paper. They spelled out exactly what he could or couldn’t do to her, and she winced when she saw an entire section devoted to anal intercourse. “Object insertion? What the hell is that? You’re not shoving a baseball bat up my ass, are you?”

&nb
sp; He laughed. “No, more like butt plugs and things to get you ready. Virgin asses need some preparation, especially when taking a dick my size.”

  She gave him a dry look. “I have no doubt you’re an enormous dick, Mr. Moretti.”

  “Dante,” he reminded her as he crunched into the apple again. “You should really become familiar with it, because it’s soon going to be on your lips as you scream my name when you come.”

  The agreement appeared fairly straightforward, and there was nothing in it that raised her concern. Honestly, she suspected it wouldn’t be at all enforceable for either party in a court of law, but it was reassuring to have it spelled out in black and white. The only thing that really concerned her was the fact that he refused to put a cap on how long he intended to keep their arrangement in place. Before she signed, she tried addressing that again. “How about we end our agreement in a month?”

  “No way.”

  She nibbled on her lip. “Okay, how about in August? I have long term holiday from the hospital coming soon, and then you could have the whole summer to debase and ruin me.” She meant to say the words sarcastically, perhaps even with an edge of shaming, but she couldn’t deny there was a hint of arousal in her voice when she spoke them.

  He grinned at her as he finished off the last bite of the apple before tossing it over his shoulder, where it landed right in the trashcan without him even looking at it. “I am looking forward to a summer of debauchery, but I’m not going to commit to the idea that you’ll be free of me in August. It could be that I’ll lose interest in you within a few days after I’ve fucked your body in every way imaginable, but if I don’t, I intend to allow myself free access for as long as I want.”

  She frowned at him. “Can’t you see that’s not fair to me? I know you’re being very generous in allowing this arrangement.” She nearly strangled on the words, because she didn’t exactly find his behavior generous by any means. “However, this basically forces my life to a standstill. What happens if I meet someone, fall in love, and want to get married and have children? I mean, are you expecting me to be your mistress for years?”

  His expression turned stern. “I expect you to be available to me for as long as I want you, whether that’s days, weeks, or years. And I sure as fuck expect you to avoid falling in love with anyone. You won’t put yourself in such a position. Do you understand me?”

  She stared at him impassively as she scrawled her signature, glancing down just once to make sure she was on the line. “You can’t help who you love, Dante, and I can’t promise I won’t fall in love with someone during our arrangement.”

  He scrawled his name beside hers before folding them and shoving the papers in his pocket. “I’ll give you a copy of our agreement when you come to my place tonight.”

  “So soon?” she asked with anxiety and a hint of anticipation.

  “If I thought I could be anything but callow and quick, it would be right fucking now. I love the idea of spreading you out on this table and eating your pussy while you scream my name before I fuck you raw. That appeals, but I don’t want it to be like that for our first time together, and especially since it’s your first time at all.”

  Her mouth was dry, and she licked her lips. “I see. What would be different about tonight?”

  He laughed softly. “I can jerk off a few times as I think about you to take the edge off.” He pushed back from the table, pausing long enough to bend down to whisper near her ear, “There’s no need for you to do the same. You can come as many times as you want tonight, and every orgasm you have belongs to me for the duration of our agreement. See you this evening, sweet Lily.” His lips brushed her ear lobe before he stood up and walked to the door.

  He paused before exiting her back door, looking at her again. “And I meant it when I said don’t fall in love with anyone during our agreement. That especially includes me. This is a physical thing, and once I’m done with you, I don’t want drama or hysterics. It’s going to be over and done with, just like any good business agreement.”

  She looked at him coolly. “I can absolutely promise you I won’t fall in love with you, Dante Moretti. I’ll be counting down the days until you let me go, not dreading when it ends.”

  His mouth tightened slightly, but he nodded his head. “As long as we know where we stand, Lily. Until tonight. I’ll text you the address, unless you’d like me to send a car for you?”

  She shook her head. “I prefer to have my own transportation.”

  He smiled. “I figured you would.” Those were the last words he spoke before he disappeared out the back door, closing it securely behind himself.

  She stared at the place where he had stood for a long moment, trying to catch her breath and prepare herself for the evening ahead. She should be dreading it, and she was, but she was also excited about the prospect of having a lover like Dante Moretti. He was far beyond any kind of man she’d ever fantasized about before.

  She’d always assumed that when life settled down a bit, and Shawn stopped being so wild, that she would have time to find a nice man, perhaps a man like Kevin Danielson, a physical therapist at her hospital, and have a quiet relationship with a steady home life.

  Those were the things she craved after her mother had died young, and she had taken on the responsibility of raising Shawn, because her aunt Shirley wasn’t going to do it. She’d never entertained the idea of getting involved with a man like Dante before.

  Now that she had little choice in the matter, she could either surrender to fear or look for the good in the whole thing. At least he was young and attractive—something for which she was now thankful, in light of how their negotiation had progressed—and she was attracted to him, so the sex was likely to be pretty good.

  Pretty good? She snorted aloud. Explosively amazing was far more likely.

  She shook her head as she got to her feet, rolling her eyes at his warning about not falling in love with him. He was certainly a cocky, arrogant ass. As if such advice had been needed. The last thing she would ever do would be to lower herself to fall in love with one third of the Moretti family, who led most of the organized crime in their city.

  That was a not-so-secret secret, and she was anything but a gangster’s moll. This was a temporary arrangement, and they would part professionally and without any hurt feelings or unrequited love when he got bored with her.

  She hoped that would be quickly, because too much of a good thing could be addictive, and she did not want to have even the slightest risk of feeling more than sexual attraction for the man who technically owned her body for however long he wished.

  Dante reviewed the preparations for that evening, going over the menu with his housekeeper before going into the media room. He clicked on the TV, but wasn’t actually watching whatever show was on. Instead, there was a constant stream of images behind his eyes. How would tonight be? He could hardly wait to see every creamy inch of her skin, to touch and taste for himself.

  Briefly, he entertained the idea of tossing her on the ground and fucking her brains out as soon as the door closed behind her. His cock tightened and twitched in anticipation of the idea, giving its full endorsement, but conscience held the impulse in check. It was her first time, and he had to be gentle with her. There would be plenty of time for rough games and pain mixed with pleasure later, but every girl deserved to have a memorable first time.

  Even if that first time was traded to a hardened criminal to buy her brother’s freedom. He grimaced at the thought, not liking the stark reminder of just exactly why he was getting to sample Lily Thompson’s delights. He knew his brothers wouldn’t approve of the decision to trade her pussy for revenge against Shawn. He didn’t really need their approval, though technically Larenz was the boss, and he was simply the underboss, with Armo acting as consigliore, but he didn’t want to piss them off either.

  It wasn’t just his brothers who would think he was weak for taking a woman in exchange for revenge. He had been completely sincere with Li
ly when he’d told her yesterday that the trade had to be something far more valuable to be worth his while. As he anticipated the forthcoming night, he was certain he wouldn’t be disappointed, and he hadn’t undervalued the worth of having Lily Thompson as his mistress, and at his beck and call. Just the thought of her naked and spread beneath him made him hard again, and for the fourth time that day, he slid his hand into the waistband of his pants, grasped his cock, and stroked himself to completion with thoughts of Lily Thompson’s sweet little pussy wrapped around his throbbing dick.

  Chapter Three

  Lily hadn’t been certain what to expect when she prepared for the evening. She wasn’t sure if he would simply open the door and lead her straight to the bedroom, or if there would be something more beforehand. It turned out he offered her dinner first, along with a delicious red wine that she imbibed freely. She needed the extra courage to get over her virginal jitters.

  The meal was filled with light conversation, and the basic get-to-know-you questions, which still left her feeling hardly acquainted with the real Dante even after they had eaten, and he took her hand to lead her from the dining room.

  She took a deep breath as he headed toward the stairs, knowing what was coming and unable to suppress her nervous tension. She shivered slightly when he put his hand on her hip, walking beside her up the wide staircase, and she wasn’t entirely sure if it was reaction from his proximity or what was about to happen.

  “Are you really a virgin?” asked Dante as they reached the second floor, and he took her to a room that opened with two doors.

  She nodded, licking her lips and not too offended at the question. It was certainly an anomaly to be twenty-three and never been to bed with a man.

  “May I ask why?” asked Dante as he pushed open one of the doors and indicated she should precede him.

  She crossed the threshold after taking a deep breath and waited for Dante to join her. When the door closed behind him, she spoke as soon as she heard the lock clicking into place. “I was saving my virginity for the opportunity to bargain it away to save my little brother, of course.”