Negotiation: A Mafia Romance Read online

  She woke in the dead of night from a sound sleep, a scream on her lips and her heart racing in her ears. Almost immediately, Lily knew she wasn’t alone in her bedroom. She reached up to turn on the bedside lamp and cried out when she realized her hands were bound to the headboard. She couldn’t tell by what in the darkness, but they felt like the chintz ties from her curtains. “Who’s there?” she asked, hating how her fear bled through and made her sound weak and pitiful when she wanted to sound strong and in control.

  “Relax, Lily.”

  She frowned at the deep voice, the words rasping near her ear as the bed shifted, letting her know he was lying beside her. “Dante, what are you doing?”

  “Having what I wanted earlier.” He settled on her then, his weight pressing her into the mattress as his hands grasped her breasts in the dark. He massaged them almost forcefully, his fingers tugging with more pain than pleasure, as though he was punishing her for his own need.

  Abruptly, she realized that was exactly what he was doing. Dante didn’t like that he wanted her so intensely, so he was punishing her for the desire he felt. Perhaps he thought it made him strong, but it only underscored his own vulnerability. Some of her anger drained away with the epiphany, and she tried to remain quiet and watchful, as much she could in the dark, to see what he had planned.

  His hands softened slightly, and his thumbs began to circle her nipples rather than pinch or pull them. “I wanted to touch you earlier, to taste and kiss you before I fucked every inch of you.”

  “Why didn’t you?” She sort of knew the answer, but she wanted to hear confirmation. “I was right there.”

  “I want you too much, Lily. I don’t like this need I have for you. I hadn’t planned to send for you for several days yet, but somehow, I found myself sending that text message demanding you come to me anyway. So I decided it would be a test of self-control. I would make you touch me, but I wouldn’t let myself touch you. I planned to use you to get off, to remind us both that this is what our deal is.”

  Lily swallowed the lump in her throat, surprised by how much his words hurt even though she’d expected a variation of them. “That’s hardly my fault, Dante. You don’t have to be so mean or cruel to me.”

  One of his hands moved from her breast to her face, moving with confident assurance even in the low lighting, and he found just the right place to curve his hand a second later. “I know, and it was terrible thing to do. Don’t get me wrong. Part of me wants to use you, to consume you until there’s nothing left, and mold you into someone designed solely to please me. But I won’t do that to you. You’re innocent, and you don’t deserve to be crushed under my heel.”

  There was a hitch in her breathing, and fear filled her. “Are you canceling our contract?”

  He hesitated for a moment, before giving her a single word. “No.”

  She sighed her relief.

  “I should. I should have known this was madness, and I’m only going to ruin you, but I can’t let you go. Even knowing what I’m going to do to you, and what I want to do to you, I can’t make myself do the right thing here.” His hand tightened again on her breast, sending a sharp pain through her even as her folds flooded with new moisture. “I can’t let you walk away.”

  “I’m not asking to,” she said after clearing her throat. “I knew what I was getting into when I made the agreement.”

  Dante laughed, and it was a dark sound. “I doubt that. If you had any idea how I want to fuck you and control you, you’d probably be screaming right now and begging for mercy. You’d be on your knees pleading with me to cancel the contract.”

  She cleared her throat again. “I’m a big girl, Dante, so will you let me make that decision for myself?”

  “I can’t, because I’ve already made it for you.” His hand drifted from her breast down her stomach, moving forcefully between her legs as his other hand from her cheek to her hair, which he wrapped around his fist several times and dragged her neck back to expose it.

  A second later, he bit her almost savagely at the bend of her neck, and his fingers shoved into her wet pussy, three of his fingers filling her with no preparation. “I’ve decided to do everything I want to you, Lily. I know I’m going to destroy you, but I’m not a good enough man to let you avoid that fate.”

  After the initial flare of pain from his unexpected intrusion, pleasure took over, and she began to pump against his hand. “I’m stronger than you think.”

  “You’d better be, or you’ll never survive me.” A moment later, his mouth touched hers, not just kissing her, but devouring her. His tongue pushed through her lips, shoving into her mouth, and he bit hard on her tongue after sucking it into his mouth. The taste of copper blossomed on her tongue, and she winced from the pain as Dante continued to roughly finger her still slightly swollen pussy. It hurt, but it also felt good, and she was soon contracting around him as she came.

  As soon as her juices coated his fingers, leaking over both of them, he pulled out of her aching pussy with a small popping sound, and then his fingers delved between her buttocks, one probing insistently at the taut rosette hidden there.

  She gasped, going rigid as he began to push his finger into her anus. “I’m not sure—” His mouth returned to hers, his kiss rougher than ever as he swallowed her sounds of uncertainty.

  She knew she could turn her head, put some distance between them, and assert her right to say no, and he would have to listen. It was in the contract—but she was amazed to find she didn’t really want to do that. She was enjoying his dark touch, and it became even more pleasurable when he moved between her legs to guide his cock into her slick heat a moment later.

  As he thrust deeply in and out of her wet pussy, he fingered her back passage, stretching her to accommodate two of his fingers, which he crossed and scissored in and out of her. She screamed her pleasure at the sensations whirling through her, and his mouth drifted lower, moving down her neck to her breasts in a long string of bites that were almost punishing, but somehow managed to increase her pleasure.

  She convulsed around his cock when he drew one of her nipples into his mouth and sucked forcefully. The jolt of pain was what sent her over the edge, and she was embarrassed by it, but too swept up in her release to overly analyze the fact that she had gotten off because he had hurt her at the same time he pleasured her.

  It was too complicated for her primitive brain to process at the moment, and that part was strictly the one in charge as she continued to writhe against him while Dante came inside her, only the barrier of a condom keeping him from filling her completely.

  Afterward, she collapsed against the bed with tears in her eyes. She wasn’t upset. They were simply a reaction to the intensity of her orgasm and what had led up to it. It was still dark, and he had made no move to turn on the lamp, and she couldn’t with her hands tied.

  After his rough treatment, she was surprised to feel his tender hand stroking her, moving from her mouth down her body, as though checking for any signs of damage. Her pussy ached, and her backside throbbed, but she was still floating in the slow aftermath of release, and they seemed like mild concerns.

  “That was just a taste. I hope you can handle me, Lily, because it’s too late to back out now.”

  She shivered at his words, a little frightened, but also aroused anew. Her nipples crinkled in the cool air provided by the air-conditioning, and her stomach fluttered with a mix of excitement and apprehension. She wasn’t sure she could handle Dante’s darkness, but she intended to find out.

  Chapter Five

  Lily nervously smoothed the skirt of her red dress as she sat beside Dante in the limousine. He had arrived outside her house ten minutes before to pick her up, and the dress had arrived earlier in the day via courier. It was the first time Dante had taken her out in public.

  The past two weeks had been spent at his mercy, allowing him to explore every inch of her and enact any kinky fantasy that came to mind, but the barriers had seemed to be in place,
with lines clearly delineated. She went to his home when he called for her, and then she went home when he signaled it was time.

  She had not yet slept with him, at least not actual slumber, and they’d never done anything besides meet at his house just to have sex, aside from the one night he had come to her home. She still didn’t know how he had managed to break in, and he’d refused to divulge that information, but he had sent someone to reinforce her security.

  It had been a touching gesture, but she tried not to read too much into it. He was clear about their boundaries, and she was doing her best to stay within them.

  Until tonight, when things had changed. The dress had arrived with a simple note telling her to be ready at eight p.m., and she had done so. Now she fidgeted, wrinkling the skirt of her fancy gown between her hands as she bunched the fabric until his hand abruptly settled on one of hers, pressing it gently into her leg.

  “Relax, Lily.”

  “I’d find it easier to relax if I knew what was going on, or where we’re going.”

  “We’re going to Elizabeth Hall. The Moretti Foundation is hosting a charity gala, and while Armo normally heads up these things, his girlfriend isn’t feeling well this evening, so he called me last-minute to step in for him.”

  She arched brow. “And there wasn’t some other woman who could step in with you?”

  He frowned at her. “I thought you might enjoy this sort of thing. You mentioned the foundation at our first meeting.”

  She licked her lips, wincing at the sticky red lipstick adorning them. It was definitely not her style, but when you wore a sexy red dress that fluttered and swirled around you, along with five-inch platform heels, you went all out with makeup and hair too. “It’s not that I’m not interested or don’t think I’ll enjoy the experience. I’m just surprised you invited me. There must be someone you would prefer to be seen in public with?”

  His hand, still on hers, tightened slightly. “What do you mean by that?”

  She shrugged a shoulder. “Nothing really. We just haven’t gone out before.” And was she a tad resentful about that? Yes, she supposed she was. She shouldn’t feel that way, but part of their agreement had been that he would show her off as the token he had accepted in exchange for her brother’s freedom. It wasn’t that she wanted to be dangled on his arm like an ornament so much as she would just like to spend some time with him that wasn’t in a strictly sexual setting.

  That sent alarm bells ringing and spurred her to pull her hand out from his to rest on his lap instead, suddenly feeling the need to make this sexual, strictly for self-preservation. She received the predictable response when she rubbed her palm against the length of his erection. “Would you like me to suck you off?”

  He scowled at her, abruptly lifting her hand from his cock and putting it back on her leg a little more firmly than necessary. “I didn’t bring you out for that.”

  She tipped her head, scooting slightly sideways so she could look at him better from her seat beside his. “I’m sorry if I misunderstood. Sex is always what you want from me, so I just figured you would like a snack to tide you over until afterward. Then you can bang me in the limo on the way back to my place.”

  He was clearly confused, and also annoyed, and his tone revealed it. “I don’t know what’s off with you tonight, but try to be more pleasant. I thought you would enjoy this evening.”

  She sneered at him. “But it’s not about my enjoyment, Dante. This is about your enjoyment, and you enjoy hiding me away from the world and fucking me in private. I’m startled and surprised by the change of the rules two weeks in. It left me a little…flustered.”

  “And kind of bitchy,” he said, glaring at her.

  She glared in return and crossed her arms over her chest, putting as much distance between them as the seat would allow while she stared out the window. The glass was so expertly tinted that she could see a good expanse of the night skyline and the lights illuminating the city, though no one could peer in to identify who rode in the ostentatious vehicle.

  Normally, she would’ve been having a great time, and she wasn’t entirely certain why she was busting his balls. She was acting kind of bratty, and she acknowledged that to herself, even though she wasn’t entirely certain why she was lashing out at him. She should be enjoying the change of their routine, not resentful that he was finally taking her out. She was confused by her own behavior and made a concentrated effort to change it by the time they arrived at Elizabeth Hall, which was overflowing with people.

  At the valet parking, an attendant opened the door and offered her a hand out. She took it with a smile and slid out, and then bit back a gasp when Dante immediately jerked her hand from the attendant’s the moment he was within reach, folding it tightly in his own. It was a macho display of territorialism, so she wasn’t certain why it made her feel so giddy for a moment, until she identified the look in his eyes. Jealousy. That gave her a little thrill, to know he was jealous of someone else touching her, even in an innocuous way.

  That she felt that way was concerning though. It was like playing with fire in a grass field. She was going to get burned, and the more accelerant she added, the hotter the fire would be when it scorched her. Having any sort of emotional reaction besides sexual toward Dante Moretti was a terrible idea and was pretty much the antithesis for self-preservation.

  No emotions was one of the stipulations she had imposed on herself when entering the agreement. There would be no emotional entanglement. He had already ordered her not to fall in love with him, and she thought she had been successful.

  As she walked up the literal red carpet with him, photographers occasionally snapping their photo with blinding flashes of light, she tried to assure herself she hadn’t done anything stupid like fall in love with Dante. So what if she craved his body, and she enjoyed some of the darker things he did to her? It was still strictly sexual. She didn’t have to freak out about feeling more than she should for her lover.

  It was good that she was aware of these things, because it would keep her from actually doing something stupid like falling for him. That’s all this…thing was. It was simply a reality check by her own conscience, reminding her not to fall in love with him or get emotionally vested in the mobster.

  Feeling better about how she was feeling, and the evening ahead, she gave him a bright smile as they entered the room. There were already people in attendance, and she frowned slightly. “Shouldn’t the host be here first?”

  “If the host had sufficient notice, he would be.” Dantes lips twitched. “Besides, it’s good to make an entrance, especially when your companion looks particularly fabulous. I could just eat you up, and I know every other man in the room feels the same way.” Suddenly, his amused look fled for a deep scowl. “On second thought, maybe I should’ve sent the black dress.”

  “The black dress?”

  He nodded. “Amber selected two dresses, and I picked the one I liked best.”

  Something that felt like scalding acid clawed its way up her esophagus, and she glared at him. “And who is Amber?” Was he really tacky enough to send one of his floozies out to buy a dress for his…whatever she was? Was she his business arrangement, his lover, or simply his mistress?

  He didn’t seem to be aware of her sudden anger, a fact for which she should be thankful.

  “Amber is my sister. I thought I’d mentioned her.”

  She shook her head as she took a glass of champagne from a waiter circulating with a tray. It gave her hands something to do, and it helped steady her nerves as a rush of relief swept through her. She was starting to grow concerned about this jealous need to know who the women were in his life. “No, I don’t believe you have. You mentioned your brothers, but no sister.”

  “Oh. That was remiss of me. I guess I’ve been too busy using my mouth for other things than to talk about my family.” He winked at her in a lascivious fashion as he liberated a glass of champagne from a different tray circling closer to him. “Amber is
actually our half-sister, and she’s a decade younger than us.”

  She arched a brow. “How does that work? I thought I remember you saying your parents have been married for thirty-four years?”

  He nodded. “Yes. Technically, they were married thirty-seven years ago for the first time. Then my mother discovered what my father did—what I do now, and my brothers do—and she had difficulty with the concept. When she realized Father intended to groom us to take over for him, she demanded a divorce.

  “They were separated for three years, and during that time, Papa briefly remarried. His new wife died having Amber, and Mother stepped in to help with his newborn. It was a strange situation, I suppose, but it reminded my parents how much they both still loved each other. Somehow, Mother made peace with the life we had, and she took on Amber just like she was her own daughter.”

  “Does your sister know about all that?”

  Dante hesitated before shaking his head. “No. Papa thought it would be better if she didn’t know.”

  “So she doesn’t know that her mother isn’t really her mother?” She couldn’t hide the hint of disapproval in her tone, disliking the idea of that level of deception. She could well imagine how she would feel in such a situation, to discover twenty-one years later that her entire life had been a lie, and that she had lost her mother, and more than that, had been denied the right to even know about her. She would feel cheated in that situation, no matter how good her stepmother had been to her—and it sounded as though Dante’s mother had been very good to Amber. It still seemed inexcusable.

  Dante shrugged again. “I think he wanted to ensure that Amber felt completely part of the family, and she never questioned the bond she had with Mother. It worked well for Mother too. She could never have more children after my brothers and me. The triplet pregnancy was difficult for her, but she refused to reduce down to one or two. Then we were born early, and she also hemorrhaged. I believe she had a hysterectomy.”