9.

M ATTEO

“Welcome back, Mr. Russo,” the concierge said with a brief smile. “Is there anything I can get you?”

“No, thank you, Raymond.”

“Your kitchen is stocked with the basics and, as always, our chef is at your disposal.”

I nodded at the man, knowing that he was the heart and soul of this hotel - and also the eyes and ears. Just like Sam was for us at The Castello, Raymond served the same purpose at our hotel in Las Vegas, although things were much different here. The Castello was on the high end of the spectrum in Manhattan, drawing dignitaries from all over the world along with politicians, Hollywood stars, musicians, and other people with plenty of money to afford the amenities it provided.

The Palace was also a luxury hotel and belonged to The Four Families, although we tried to keep that under wraps for a certain amount of anonymity here in Vegas. Unlike The Castello, the people who visited The Palace weren’t always made of money. However, they were here for a short time and usually more than willing to part with quite a bit of their hard-earned savings - some on the room, food, and drinks, but especially in the casino that took up the majority of the ground floor along with most of the basement.

The second floor of the hotel was for high rollers only with separate guarded entrances and the assurance that anyone who made it past had enough to cover their wagers if luck wasn’t on their side. Of course, in order to even be considered for the high-roller room, a background check had to be completed along with the assurance that the customer could cover whatever odds they felt like taking.

Even though we had staff here that were trusted members of our organization, others, like Raymond, were on the periphery - trusted, but not part of the inner circle.

“I’ll get settled in and order up something for dinner if you guys want to go downstairs and let loose for a while,” I assured my guards - Salvatore and Rocco, two men who had been my friends since childhood. “Or if you’d rather, you’re welcome to hang out with me and have a few beers to wind down.”

“Since Vinnie and Paul have the door tonight, I think I’ll go enjoy some entertainment that only Vegas has to offer,” Salvatore said with a wicked grin. He looked over at Rocco and asked, “Wanna join me?”

Rocco looked over at me and said, “You could always go incognito and let loose with us.”

I considered it but then shook my head. The odds of being recognized here were a lot lower than at home but it was still a good idea for me to disguise myself - usually by dressing like a tourist who was in Vegas for a wild weekend. However, I didn’t feel like going out tonight. Instead I wanted to call Bella and talk to her for a while like we did every evening - usually for at least an hour if not more.

“I think I’ll stay in, but you gentlemen have fun.”

“We’ll see you in the morning,” Salvatore said as he walked toward the elevator where Vinnie and Paul were standing guard. Rocco joined him there, probably to reassure the other two men that they were just a phone call away, and as I turned to close the door, I heard the elevator chime before the doors slid open.

Once I was inside my suite - a penthouse I shared with my brother, although we were rarely in Vegas at the same time - I let out a long breath and flopped onto the couch. My impromptu trip had caused me to scramble around getting some projects I had in the works buttoned up, and I’d spent yesterday evening with my nieces - Chloe and Ember.

Chloe wasn’t technically my niece, but since she’d joined our family by moving in with Zach, I considered her family. My brother’s young daughter, Ember, was little besties with Chloe, and they loved spending time together - which meant that hanging out with them was like trying to leash two miniature tornadoes that never stopped talking.

I enjoyed spending time with the kids, just like I had enjoyed hanging out with my sister and brothers when they were small. Kids’ honesty was refreshing. There was no artifice, just big emotion all around, whether it was happiness or anger. And the questions they asked always made me laugh, even when every other word was “why.”

Since Zach had settled down with Brett and become a father to Chloe and the twin boys they were raising together, our lives had changed. When Luca and Tabby got together and added Ember to the mix, things got even more domestic. I’d suddenly realized how lonely my life had become. When I left Zach or Luca’s home with my ears ringing from the laughter and chattering of the toddlers along with the occasional wailing of the babies, my place seemed as quiet as a tomb, and I found that I missed all the noise and excitement.

I knew I wasn’t quite ready for a child or children of my own, but I at least wanted some companionship - and talking to Bella had given me that. I just wished that I could see her again to figure out if the magic between us was real or imagined. Our conversations had been tame thus far with occasional snippets of sexual innuendo or hints at what either of us wanted.

But I knew that phone conversations wouldn’t be enough for long.

I wanted more than anything to kiss that woman, and I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to resist hopping on a plane and going to Texas, if only for a day or two, to spend some face-to-face time with her. I decided to mention it the next time we talked, and when my phone rang, I had the fleeting thought that she somehow knew I was thinking about her.

I slid my finger across the screen to answer the video call and instantly knew that Bella wasn’t exactly sober. There was a twinkle in her eyes and an ease to her laughter that I hadn’t seen before. When she hiccuped and then giggled, I knew without a doubt that she’d been drinking.

“Well, hello to you too,” I said with a grin.

“Hey there, hot stuff! How’s my favorite mobster?” I couldn’t help but chuckle when she hiccuped again and then laughed out loud when she frowned and said, “Fucking hiccups.”

“They’re cute.”

“I need to talk to you, Matteo.”

“I’m right here. What would you like to talk about?”

“You know what’s the worst thing about a long-distance relationship?” Bella asked as the phone wobbled in her hand. I realized she was walking but didn’t recognize her surroundings, so I assumed from the women’s voices in the background that she was at a friend’s house. “Is that what this is? I’ve been meaning to ask.”

“A long-distance relationship? I’d say that it is.”

“Relationship or friendship?”

“A mixture of both, I think. We’ve gotten to know each other so well that don’t you think it would be hard to have one without the other?”

“That’s part of the problem I’m having here.”

“I guess I don’t follow.”

“I don’t know if it’s hard because I’m here and you’re there.” Bella hiccuped again and then asked, “Do you get what I’m saying?”

“Umm . . .”

“Shit.” Bella sighed and then asked, “You don’t find me attractive at all, do you?”

“That’s not the case, Twang. I couldn’t answer your question because all the blood rushed to my cock and didn’t leave enough in my brain to form a coherent answer.”

Bella giggled. “You said ‘cock.’”

I burst out laughing and asked, “What would you rather call it?”

“Man rod.Loins.Length.Arousal.Erection.Steel Avenger.”

That last one was too much for me, and I snorted when I laughed which caused Bella to laugh and hiccup at the same time.

Finally, once I had myself together, I said, “From now on, I’m going to refer to my cock as the Steel Avenger.”

“No. You can’t do that until you have an outside opinion that agrees the name fits. It might be better to call it wiggly wood or something equally as sad.”

“The only thing sad about it is that you’re not here riding it,” I said without thinking.

Bella grinned and got a wicked light in her eyes when she said, “I want to look at it.”

“Right now?”

“Yeah.”

“What are you going to show me?”

“Tit for tat, huh?” Bella burst out laughing and said, “Tit for tat. Get it? You get it, right?”

“I get it, but it’s not your tits I want to see, Twang. I want you to show me your pussy so I know what to imagine while I’m playing with my cock alone in bed later.”

“You want to see it?” Bella asked. She looked over her shoulder and then spun around before she said, “Let me lock the door.”

“Where are you?”

“Amethyst’s house. Me, Zozo, and Squid finished off a bottle of wine before she got here. We took a little nap and then woke up refreshed and started over again.” I heard the snick of a lock clicking into place, and then Bella smiled at me as the phone shifted back and forth. I could tell that she was moving, and when she flopped down onto her back she said, “Okay, New York, show me your Steel Avenger.”

“Prop the phone up on the nightstand and lay down in front of it.”

“Oh! Bossy! I like it,” Bella said as she followed my instructions. I felt my throat close up when I saw that she was naked from the waist down, and I couldn’t take my gaze off her well-trimmed pussy as she adjusted the pillows behind her so she could see the phone. Once she was laying down, she demurely closed her legs as if she didn’t realize I’d already gotten a perfect view. “What now?”

“Open your legs . . . slowly,” I ordered gruffly as I unbuttoned my pants. Once my zipper was down, I shifted my hips onto the edge of the couch and then leaned forward to prop the phone on the books stacked on the coffee table. When it was set up just right, I leaned back and watched Bella as she slowly spread her legs until just her knees were in view on either side of the screen. Her hand was covering her mound shyly, and I whispered, “Show me, Bella.”

Bella slowly pulled her hand up so that it was resting just above her pubic hair and then murmured, “Now you show me.”

I pulled the elastic of my boxers down and tucked it beneath my balls before I stroked my cock up and down a few times, watching her reaction as my hand moved and resisting a smile when her hand drifted down just far enough for her to cover her clit with the pad of her middle finger.

“If I was there, I’d put my mouth on your pussy and flick your clit with my tongue.”

“I’d want you on top.”

“I’ll fuck you after, but first, I need to taste you.”

“No,” Bella said as she shook her head, her finger moving faster now as it swirled around her clit. “I want you over me so you can fuck my mouth while you suck on my clit.”

I let my head fall back against the couch with a groan at the image that gave me and gripped my cock even harder as I slowly tugged on it, moving my hand over the head before each downstroke.

“Fuck, I wish you were here,” I whispered as I watched her slip one finger inside before she pressed the heel of her palm against her clit. She let out a whimper, and I said, “Put two fingers in, and pretend they’re my cock.” Bella did as I ordered and then slowly started to fuck herself, letting her other hand drift up to grip her breast as I furiously stroked my cock. She watched me as I watched her, and it didn’t take long before we were both pleasuring ourselves enough to reach a peak. “I want to see you come, Bella.” I groaned. When she whispered, “Yes!,” over and over again, I was lost, but I had to think about kittens and rainbows to keep myself from going over the edge when her body tensed and she pulled her lips between her teeth to hold back a scream. Bella was writhing on the bed, in the throes of her own orgasm. When she moaned my name, I couldn’t stop myself as I furiously jerked myself to completion and caught the liquid in my hand. “That was so good, Bella, but it could have been better.”

“Could you make me do that, Matteo?”

“Over and over.”

“When?”

“How soon can you get to Vegas?”

I watched as Bella languidly stroked her pussy, her glistening fingers telling me just how much she had enjoyed our video interlude, until she finally asked, “You want me to join you in Vegas?”

“Yes. I can have the jet on its way to you in an hour.”

Bella shook her head and said, “No. I’ll get there on my own.”

“However you do it, just get here.”

“Tomorrow, but I can only stay for one night.”

“I’ll make sure you come so many times that you won’t want to leave.”

“I’ll have to leave on Sunday, no matter what.”

“But you’ll be mine until then?”

“Just until Sunday?”

“I’m yours for as long as you want me, Twang,” I said honestly and was shocked to realize I didn’t just mean for the weekend, but the future too.

“Are you really?”

“Yours?”

“Yeah.”

“Bella, I think I’ve been yours since the first time you smiled up at me while you plotted some woman’s death.”

Bella laughed softly and sat up before she grimaced and said, “I should probably wash Amethyst’s comforter.”

“A little messy, huh?”

There was a wicked light in Bella’s eyes when she asked, “Do you think you can make me messy, Matteo?”

“If I can’t, I’ll die trying.”