20. Vinnie

20

VINNIE

I may burn in hell for this, but at the moment I don't care.

I need her. I want her. And I'm going to take her.

Falcon will probably kill me, but it would be a sweet death.

I devour her mouth. I let my hand slide up her belly to her chest, where I cup her breasts.

The perfect size, more than a handful, and I can feel her hard nipples through her bra and blouse.

She gasps into my throat as I give her nipple a pinch.

I break the kiss quickly. "Where? Where can I take you?"

"I… I have my own home. I've just been staying at Mom and Dad's. You know, while I recover…"

She has her own home.

I don't. Not yet. I'm staying at my parents' house, helping Mom get used to not having Dad there.

"Are you sure?"

She nods. "I don't think I've ever been more sure of anything."

"Your house far from here?"

"About ten minutes."

I open the door for her, and she slides back into the passenger seat.

I get in the driver seat, but before I start the car I turn to her. "Are you sure? Because if you're not, tell me now. And I'll understand. If your body is too weak, if you don't think you can do this?—"

"Stop it," she says, her tone slightly acidic. "Just stop it now, Vinnie. Do not treat me like I'm some weakling. You want to hear what I want? I want you to fuck me. I want you to fuck me so hard that I don't know where I am. Even who I am." She grabs my hand and squeezes it. "It's been so long, Vinnie. I never thought I'd have these feelings again. I never thought I'd want these feelings again. And frankly? What I'm feeling right now is so much different from anything I've ever felt. So much better. So much more… I yearn for you. I ache for you."

My blood is boiling. "Raven, God."

"I want you to use me up," she says. "Use my body. Take me until there's nothing else."

I suck in a breath.

"I feel like an animal," she continues. "That's how intense this urge is."

I adjust my groin. "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean."

"Then take me to my home."

"Will your parents worry?"

"I can text them. Tell them I'm spending the night with Falcon and Savannah. That way they won't worry."

Damn, she's thought of everything.

"Do you have everything you need? I mean, I don't want you to be without —"

She places two fingers over my mouth to stop me from talking. "I have everything I need in my purse. I always come prepared. So please, Vinnie. Please just take me home."

My body is on fire as I start the engine of my car.

This is happening.

And damn…

I know I'm going to hell.

This is a woman who deserves everything. She deserves a man who can fall in love with her. Give her a family, children.

Not a man who's got "kill Giacomo Puzo" on his to-do list.

But I can't stop now.

Just for tonight, I will allow myself this release. To be with a woman who is an angel in every sense of the word.

Raven directs me to her home.

It's a ranch house, smaller than her parents', but about the same size as Falcon and Savannah's.

Which is still pretty damn huge. These people have money that I can't even conceive of. And growing up in a mob family, we always had a lot of money. But nothing like this.

Raven's house stretches out across the landscape, clad in a beautiful mix of natural stone and dark wood with a gently sloped roof covered in slate tiles. The front entrance is framed by large floor-to-ceiling windows with black iron frames.

I pull into the driveway, but she doesn't wait for me to help her out of her side of the door this time.

She gets out quickly, and I meet her on her side of the car. A wide covered porch wraps around the front and back of the mansion, and several wooden patio chairs and a suspended wooden bench furnish the area.

We walk briskly to her solid oak front door, which bears some impressive carvings of Texas bluebonnets. Raven keys in a code and opens it.

Her house is magnificent. The high ceilings of its foyer, adorned with rustic wooden beams, draw my eyes upward to a large wrought-iron chandelier. I don't notice much more before I grab her and kiss her again.

And this time it's a kiss of promise.

Not a promise for the future, of course, but a promise for the night to come.

Her words echo in my head.

I want you to fuck me. I want you to fuck me so hard that I don't know where I am. Even who I am.

That's what I want too.

I want to forget who I am. I want to forget that I'm Vincent Gallo, Junior, heir to the Bianchi crime family.

I want to forget what's in front of me, what I'll be forced to do.

Who I'll be forced to kill.

I break the kiss, and rasp out, "Bedroom?"

She takes my hand, leads me through the foyer and down a hallway to the end where she opens the door to a huge master suite.

The room is bathed in moonlight from the large windows, the silver rays casting a mystical glow over every surface. Some would call it romantic. The scent of her perfume fills the room, intoxicating and enticing. Her king-sized canopy bed is neatly made, but by the end of the night, I know it won't be.

Raven pulls me toward her, her lips finding mine in another searing kiss. She tastes of temptation, sweet and all-consuming. I explore her body, tracing the curves that have been teasing my imagination.

Our movements are urgent as if we're racing against time—which we are, in ways she doesn't know. We're fused together at our mouths, both moaning and groaning. Though we're still fully clothed, I can feel her heart stampeding against her chest like a wild horse. Every gasp she lets out fuels my desire even more.

She clings to the lapels of my jacket and pushes it over my shoulders. Her every touch is like an electrical current that ignites me from within. I deepen the kiss—a desperate kiss that echoes the turmoil of emotions rioting inside me.

Her moans are like sweet music to my ears, spurring me on. With each gasp and shiver that courses through her body against mine, my last vestiges of control slip away. A beautiful surrender it is—her to me, me to her—giving in to the unspoken promise of pleasure that this night holds.

She digs her nails into my back, pulling me closer and closer until there's no space left between us. We're entwined with each other in such a way that it's hard to tell where one person ends and the other begins.

"Vinnie," she whispers between gasps, breaking the kiss. The way she says my name sends shivers running down my spine. She's summoning me, drawing me in deeper, urging me to lose myself completely.

"Yes," I breathe into her ear, unable to form any coherent words beyond that. And why should I? Words have no place here. Actions speak louder than any phrase ever could.

I gaze into her eyes and I see more than lust.

I can't look away, even though I know I should. I see a promise of something more, maybe even something akin to love. But it scares me more than anything else. Love is dangerous, lethal in its own way. Love brings vulnerability, and vulnerability is not something I can afford right now.

So I won't fall in love with this woman.

I can't.

I shouldn't even be doing what we're doing.

But it's too late for me to stop now. I can't stop. I don't want to.

She asked me to take her. To use her up. That I can do. Guilt will creep in tomorrow, but I'll deal with it then.

She's wearing a simple T-shirt and baggy blue jeans. Nothing fancy, but on her they're sexier than the skimpiest lingerie.

My jacket is on the floor, but I'm still in my shirt, trousers, and tie, and right now the necktie seems to be choking me.

I loosen it, and she puts her hands over mine.

"Let me."

With her long and delicate fingers, she slackens and removes it, setting it neatly on a bed table.

Then she unbuttons my first button, her fingers grazing against my flesh.

If possible, my cock grows even harder.

Everything about Raven Bellamy is so delicate. To touch her might shatter that delicacy, but I've already touched her, already kissed her. Already flicked one of those delicious nipples between my thumb and forefinger. I can't wait to do it when nothing separates us. When I can see her beauty unencumbered by clothes.

But apparently she's going to undress me first.

I'm not used to that. I like to get a woman naked. Perhaps it's a control thing, but I like to see a woman in her nude and vulnerable state before I present myself.

With Raven? If this is how she wants to proceed, I'm all in. It scares me how much I want to give this woman everything. Even when it goes against my nature.

I'm not a gentle soul.

I never was, but after my grandfather molested me on my eighteenth birthday, any remaining gentleness got thrown out of me.

I don't make love gently either.

Raven, though she looks so delicate and porcelain and perfect, asked me to use her. Use her up.

Fuck, does she even know what those words did to me?

Does she know what I'm capable of?

I spent seventeen years in Europe, and during that time I did a lot of soul-searching. But my ultimate conclusion was that I am a product of my upbringing. Some things about me I can never change. I had to make peace with that.

I had to come home, take my place. I had to do it for Savannah. For the memory of Mikey.

She finishes unbuttoning my shirt, slides it over my shoulders, and lays it gently next to my necktie.

And I'm done with gentle.

I want to see clothes strewn on the floor. I want to see bodies entangled on the bed.

"Stop," I say on a growl.

She widens her beautiful eyes. "Am I doing something wrong?"

"Raven, I'm not sure you could do anything wrong."

"That's not true."

"That's not what I mean. You told me to use you. Use your body. So we're done with gentle here."

Her lips part, tremble just a touch. She stops it quickly, but I notice.

"So I'll ask you again. Is this what you want? Because after this, I'm done asking. I will take from you. And I won't stop."

She nibbles on her lower lip for a split second before nodding and kicking off her shoes. "I'm sure, Vinnie. I'm so very sure."

I grab her then, pull her to me, and press my lips to hers, shoving my tongue between them.

Another raw and ferocious kiss, and all that makes my cock throb harder.

I'm good with taking it slow. I'm going to savor every minute. I'll undress Raven slowly, even though I want to rip her clothes off her.

Slow is fine. But I'm done with gentle.

I glide my hands under her shirt and pull it up, revealing inch by inch of her perfect skin. She trembles beneath my touch. Or maybe I'm the one who's shaking. Either way, this is real and raw.

After I've stripped off her shirt, I toss it to the floor. Her chest rises and falls with each breath she takes.

I hook my fingers into the waistband of her jeans and meet her gaze. Her dark eyes are wide and full of fire. The intensity there sends a jolt straight to my gut. Damn, she has power. Raven has power she doesn't even know about. She could bring me down in a minute, and I'd go willingly.

I pull down her jeans, and they join her shirt on the floor. She stands before me now in only a bra and panties, both lacy and white—innocent and provocative at the same time.

"Vinnie," she whispers.

My name in her voice is like a spell binding me to her. It's a plea, a confession, a prayer. It's all of those and none at the same time.

"Raven," I growl back, my voice heavy with longing. I find the clasp of her bra and snap it open. It joins the rest of her clothes on the floor.

Now she's standing in front of me only in her panties, her plump breasts falling gently against her chest. She's breathtaking, undeniably beautiful, but it's not just her physical beauty that draws me in. There's a strength about her in the way she carries herself. As if the storm of her illness made her stronger.

I lean down to kiss her just below her collarbone, trail my lips across her skin before I reach behind her and tug at the elastic waistband of her panties.

With a harsh grasp, I rip them from her.

She gasps.

Yeah, I'm so done being gentle.

"Vinnie…wait," she breathes.

"No," I growl, my heart pounding a primal beat in my chest. "No more waiting."

I pull her into my arms, crushing her soft curves against my hard planes. She wraps her arms around my neck as if she's holding on for dear life.

Is she?

With a swift and sudden movement, I sweep her off her feet and stride toward the bed. Her gasp echoes through the room.

As I lay her down on the silk sheets, her gaze never leaves mine. Her eyes are wide, filled with trust and a vulnerable desire that takes me to the edge.

I capture her lips in a searing kiss that leaves us both gasping for breath.

I linger there for a while, lost in the taste of her, until she pulls away just enough to look up at me. Her eyes are bright, full of expectancy and uncertainty.

"Vinnie," she whispers. "I want this. I want you ."

The words hang heavy in the room, echoing in my mind as I search her eyes. Her vulnerability is clear, but so is her resolve. It's a potent mix that drives me even further into madness.

With a growl, I roam my hands down her body, tracing every curve and contour, trying to engrave them into my memory. Her skin is soft and warm under my touch.

Every gasp and moan from her lips sends jolts of pleasure through me. She wriggles beneath me as I edge my fingers closer to her core. When I reach the ultimate destination, I slide my fingers through her soft folds.

She's molten hot and ready for me.

Her breath hitches, a silent plea that I don't ignore. My fingers wet from her juices, I glide them over her clit. Her back arches up, pressing her chest against mine.

"Vinnie!"

"You're mine," I growl into her ear, my voice laced with possessiveness.

Even though I know I can't let myself fall for her, I'll die before anyone else touches her. She's mine to protect, mine to cherish.

In my darkest moments, I never thought I could feel something like this. I never imagined that the walls around my heart could shatter so easily.

But this woman penetrated my defenses with a mere glance.

I'm so fucked.