Chapter 14

As Alessandro claims me with his mouth, he moves me so I’m teetering on the edge of the pool table. My legs instinctively wrap around his waist, pulling him in closer. The injury in my leg throbs like a bitch, but right now, I don’t care. His tongue forces its way inside my mouth, overwhelming my senses, and like my body has some sort of muscle memory when it comes to him, I soften into his every touch. My hardened nipples crave attention, pressing against his chest. I’m breathless and panting in no time, our kiss growing more desperate by the second. His body just feels so right this close to me. I’ve longed for this feeling for the longest time.

Our lips part slightly, allowing me a moment to think. What’s wrong with me? I’m kissing a man I despise. But when his lips met with mine in such a branding kiss, I couldn’t resist. The magnetic force I feel toward him is undeniable.

As he tries to kiss me once more, I gently turn my head to the side, avoiding his lips. My heart races wildly, not sure what to do. I baited him, but it went too far. I went too far. His behavior is overwhelming and triggers unwanted memories, ones I can’t revisit in my current situation.

He’s not who you thought, Harley. Just because there is some residual chemistry, that doesn’t mean you have to act like a dog in heat when he’s around .

His eyes narrow in on me, a heady desire in his sinister gaze. It’s impossible not to feel his rock-hard cock pressing into me. I want him, and he wants me. But I know I shouldn’t. This wasn’t my intention tonight. I just wanted to mess with him. Show him he doesn’t hold all the power around here, even if I’m the one handcuffed to a piece of his office furniture. Prove I can still push his buttons just as well as he can mine. But that kiss was life-altering. It should be illegal for men like him to be so good with their mouths; it’s just plain dangerous. I can feel myself falling headfirst down a rabbit hole, one I never truly recovered from last time he tripped me.

His expression turns serious. “Harley, there’s something you should know.”

The office door opens abruptly, making me jump in surprise. “Alex, we have a problem,” Maddox growls, his expression stern when he sees us tangled up together. I smirk at him sweetly; this feels like a win. And after the way he manhandled me tonight, I want to rub salt in the wound. He thought his boss would be pissed with me, and instead, he wants to jump my bones and tell me his secrets.

Alessandro’s eyes travel back to me. “We will finish this later,” he snips, and I know whatever moment we just shared is over. He’s all business again.

Disappointment fills me. Why do I get the impression he was about to spill all his juicy secrets, or at least one of them, and now I have to wait for another opportunity .

Alex turns toward his friend, standing in front of me while I fix myself up, pulling down my dress so the other boys can’t see my now dripping-wet panties.

Ricky’s in the doorway as well, and I don’t miss the way his ravenous eyes roam over me. Fuck, he’s turned on knowing I was just hooking up with his boss, brother, friend? Whatever these guys are to each other. Why is that so hot? I long for Ricky to desire me in return because I’m so attracted to him, even if it’s messed up. And it is without a doubt the most fucked-up fantasy I’ve ever had.

“What’s the problem?” Alessandro demands, and my ears prick up. I’m surprised he’s letting them talk in front of me. It’s all been so hush, hush around me till now.

“Damo found a couple of those missing Lamborghinis, on fire in a parking lot downtown,” Maddox explains, a sense of urgency in his tone. Is this what they killed my family over, something to do with the luxury cars my papa sold? It could have been why they were meeting up with his old associate here tonight.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” he growls out, and I can see the tension rolling through his body, his fists clenching at his sides. He’s furious.

Maddox lights up a smoke, blowing a puff through the air. “Nope, we need to get down there before the cops show up.”

Alessandro’s attention comes back to me, a hand running through his day-old stubble. He’s trying to decide how to handle me, I can tell. “I can come with you,” I offer. This all sounds a lot more exciting than being trapped in that room back at their place.

His eyes grow darker, if that’s even possible. “Not a fucking chance,” Alessandro and Maddox say in unison.

I pout, disappointed. I want to know what’s going on. And in the chaos, I might just be able to slip away into the night, never to be seen again. Except after what just happened between me and Alessandro, I kind of want to stick around and find out what he was about to tell me.

“Ricky, take her home,” he demands, giving me one last long, lingering look. Then he’s gone, rushing out the door, with Maddox close behind.

Ricky moves toward me, a sinister smirk playing on his lips. “Anyone would think you like being locked up, baby doll.” He undoes the handcuffs, his hand lingering on my wrist longer than it needs to. “Don’t know where Maddox got these from, but they might come in handy later.” He laughs playfully, pocketing them in his suit pants, along with the key.

“He said he has a fuck-buddy who’s a cop. She gave them to him,” I explain what he told me earlier.

Ricky gives me a funny look.

“Yeah, I thought he was full of shit as well. Who would fuck him?” I agree with a shrug, rubbing life back into the wrist and hand that was tied up. I have blisters from the way it was rubbing from Alessandro’s hold on me.

Ricky smirks at my joke.

“I just figured you lot keep this shit handy. You know, for locking up all your prisoners.”

“You’re the only prisoner we’ve ever had, but I like to think of myself as more your bodyguard. It’s just sometimes you need saving from yourself.” He takes my hand protectively, lacing his fingers with mine. “You’re not going to run away from me, are you?” He looks more serious. Like Alessandro did when he asked why I keep running from them, and I wonder why they care so much.

I meet his stern expression, considering it, but I don’t get quite the same urge to flee Ricky as Maddox. “Not tonight,” I tell him honestly. I don’t think I could, even if I wanted to. I didn’t want to tell the others, but my leg is killing me.

Not letting go of my hand, he pulls me close by his side, like he doesn’t believe me, and we walk back through the club quickly. To anyone else we would just look like a couple on a night out. My body relaxes into his, finding comfort in the warmth of his chest. There is a tenderness in the way this man takes care of me that makes me feel secure with him. Even with all the shit going on around us.

Finding the back entrance where he parked his G-Wagon earlier, we hop in, and he secures my door, pressing the child lock so I can’t make a run for it. He doesn’t trust me for a second, and he shouldn’t.

The drive back to the boys’ mansion, my prison, is short, and I make sure to note the security system on the front entry of the gate, as well as what guards are standing by. This place is locked up tight, with more security than they had at the club. “What are you boys involved in?” I ask, motioning to all the guards, knowing it’s some serious shit. You wouldn’t need this much security otherwise. Yeah, his papa is like a gazillionaire, but he’s not. And these guards aren’t here to keep me locked in.

He tilts his head, studying me. “You’ve never heard the name Moretti thrown around before?”

I shake my head. Should I know the name? “It’s Alex’s surname, and I know his papa owns the casino, has a shit ton of money. But that doesn’t explain the security.”

“It’s all our last name, but that’s not what makes it important. You really are a sheltered little princess.” His words, filled with pity, disgust me. I don’t want his pity.

“I’m sheltered because I was shipped off to boarding school for most of my life. I only came back home for a couple of weeks a year,” I say almost to myself, now thinking my papa didn’t send me away because he couldn’t cope with a little girl alone after my mother died. More likely that he was involved in something shifty, and he was trying to protect me or just trying to keep me out of it. Either way, I can’t help but think keeping me sheltered is why my life is so chaotic right now. If I knew how dangerous these guys were, I never would have followed them back to that cave. I would have gotten out of town when I had the chance and never looked back.

He glances my way before killing the engine now that we’re safely in the garage, but he doesn’t give me any more information either. He makes his way around to my side of the car and helps me out since I was locked in.

“Why do you and Alessandro call me princess? Nothing about me gives off princess vibes.” I glance at my dress; well, maybe the attire, but that wasn’t my choosing.

His look says if I don’t know why, he will not enlighten me.

I follow him through the back door, my mind racing. I have so many questions I don’t know where to start. “Are you guys brothers?” I ask, aiming for something he might answer. They all look different, but he said they have the same surname.

“Not in the blood-relative sense, but we grew up together, and after my mother died, Alex’s parents, the Morettis, raised both me and Maddox.”

An ache forms in my chest hearing his pain when he utters the words. “You lost your mother when you were young?”

He nods, a sadness washing over him. I can see it still affects him now, even as an adult, but of course it does. There’s not a day that goes by I don’t think about my mother, and I was only a little girl when she passed away.

“I’m sorry, Ricky. ”

“You lost your mom when you were young, too,” he says like that makes it okay. I never told him my story, but he knows it. He knows everything about me. They all seem to. His eyes run over me, landing on my legs, but he’s not checking me out this time. He looks concerned. “You’re bleeding. You must have reopened the wound while running. What the hell were you thinking, baby doll?” I hear the frustration in his tone, but he’s not going to yell at me like the other two would.

I sigh heavily. “That I was seconds away from freedom, Doc.” I shake my head, still disappointed I failed. Anyone in my situation would have tried the same.

He takes my hand, squeezing it. His eyes meeting mine, something in them chills me to the core. “Harley, stop trying to run, please. You’re not our prisoner, you’re safe with us. It’s an evil world out there, and you won’t survive alone.” I feel the depths of his words. He believes every one of them.

“Why?” I whisper, my voice shaky, my eyes pleading with him to tell me what’s really going on. I can see how serious he is, and it makes me believe him, but I need some real concrete evidence as to what is going on before I listen to him.

“Head up to your room. I’ll grab the disinfectant and a fresh bandage,” he says, changing the subject.

My stare turns icy at his dismissive manner with me. Why the fuck will none of them answer my questions? But I don’t argue this time. I’m too tired to even bother again tonight. I walk to my room and kick off my shoes, slumping down on my bed. My leg stings like a bitch. I’m not surprised it’s bleeding.

Closing my eyes, the events of tonight flash back through my head like the scenes of a movie playing out. Tonight didn’t go the way I wanted at all, but maybe I got a small step closer to working out what’s going on.

Licking my lips, I find them swollen from Alessandro’s brutal kiss and wonder what he and Maddox are dealing with. Is it the same threat they are trying to protect me from? Is he going to come back here tonight and finish what we started like he promised? Tell me all his secrets? I can only hope so, because being kept in the dark is making me feel crazy.

“Lie on your stomach,” Ricky calls from the doorway, and I flinch, too caught up in my thoughts to hear him enter my room.

I turn over onto my stomach, sinking into the cozy comfort of my soft bed, resting my tired head on the plush pillow. One good thing about this place is the luxury linen. It feels divine under my tired, sore muscles. He shoves my dress up so he can get to the wound. I can’t help but grimace when he uses the antiseptic and shifts my head to the side so I have his gorgeous face to distract me. He’s laser-focused on fixing me up. His face is perfection, deep in concentration. He would have made such a good doctor.

“Why aren’t you a real doctor?” I ask, not able to keep my curiosity to myself.

For a split second, his eyes meet mine, then he’s back concentrating on his task. “I chose to work for the Morettis instead,” he says more seriously. I feel his words like a hit to my chest. The pain in them, the heaviness. Why would he ditch his dreams to work at the casino?

“You would have been an excellent doctor.” I don’t know what possesses me to compliment him, but it’s true, and I feel like he should know it.

His lips twitch up at the sides, and I know he needed to hear my words of encouragement. He takes the sticky back off the bandage and recovers the wound. A couple of hours without the covering was all I got, but that’s my fault. His hungry eyes scan my body, and I’m sure from this angle he’s got a clear view of my ass with the short dress I have on.

“Do you get your kicks out of fixing me up after you did this to me?” The words slip from my tongue before I can stop them.

His brow shoots up and our eyes meet. “How fucked up do you think I am?” He finishes up, and I roll back over so he’s not staring at my ass anymore.

“About as fucked up as me. I like you looking after me. I shouldn’t when you’re the one who did this to me.” My cheeks flush as I gaze back at him, feeling all warm and tingly suddenly.

“You know I didn’t do this to you. The man who did is dead.”

I gasp, covering my mouth at his revelation. I remember his gun going off, but I was in a blur of pain at the time. I hadn’t realized he shot the guard. “Is he?”

“He couldn’t follow direct orders, so that’s on him.” He really was trying to protect me down in the caves. Maybe he has been all along. I look up, and finding him watching me, my teeth sink into my bottom lip and I smirk back at him.

“You shouldn’t enjoy me looking after you,” he says slowly, but I can see how much the thought really turns him on.

“Similar to how you shouldn’t have been all hot and bothered when you and Maddox walked in on Alessandro manhandling me at the club. But you were. I could see it in your eyes,” I whisper, knowing I’m crossing a line, and unlike Alessandro, I have no idea how Ricky will react.

His piercing blue eyes scan my body, and he swallows nervously. I know he’s trying to fight his attraction to me, but it’s there. Something about little old me gets the doc all hot and bothered, and I’m here for it .

“Go on, Ricky, don’t pretend like you don’t want to jump my bones. We both know what’s going on here.”

“Fuck it,” he growls, climbing onto my bed and knocking me down with him. His lips press to mine in a rush.

I didn’t think he would take the bait, but I wanted him to.

So desperately, I needed him to.

I run my hands through his hair, tugging him closer as we share an intense, devouring kiss. Everything else fades into nothingness. Where I am, why I’m here. All of it. I’ve craved his lips on me since Christmas Eve when he held me and told me I was safe. I really am all kinds of crazy. But right now, I don’t care. I just want him to take away the emptiness inside of me. Make me feel alive for as long as he can.

His hands roam over my body, cupping my breasts greedily, before sliding down my dress and under my short skirt. Grabbing my ass, he pulls my body closer to him. He’s hard, and I rise my hips to meet his, wanting to feel him, needing him to release all this pent-up frustration. His hand slips lower between my legs, cupping my pussy, and I let out a desperate breathy moan.

He moves his fingers back and forth with nothing except the thin layer of my panties in between, making me feel like my pussy is on fire. I reach for him, wanting to run my fingers over his chest and down to his hard cock, but he moves my hands away, pinning them above my head and out of reach.

“Keep them here, or I’ll cuff you,” he warns, his voice low and menacing, igniting a flutter within me.

Fuck, my insides clench, remembering the cuffs still in his suit pocket. His kisses move down my body, a mixture of rough, followed by tender light kisses, until he makes it to my midriff where he shoves the skirt of my dress up to my waist, revealing my black lace panties. He drops his nose between my legs, inhaling deeply. This man might be the devil, but he’s fucking gorgeous and breathing me in like I’m a drug he’s been dying to get his hands on to fill his bad habit.

“Fucking perfection,” he compliments me, dragging my panties down my legs, before shoving my thighs farther apart, studying me. I squirm under his intense scrutiny until his free hand settles on my stomach. “Stay still,” he warns before burying his head between my legs and licking right through my folds. Goosebumps prickle over my skin at his delicate touch. Then he licks his tongue over my clit and my body arches off the bed, instinctively wanting him to fill me up.

But he has other ideas, the hand on my stomach holding me more firmly in place to stop me from moving my hips.

A delicious shiver runs over me as he laps me up. Sucking, licking, nipping at me, working me into a frenzy, then backing off just as I’m about to tip over the edge. He’s in his element, watching me with hooded eyes, his tongue flicking out and sucking on my clit. Ricky likes to take care of people in every way possible. His magic tongue causes me to shake, so close to tipping over the edge. Like he senses it, he backs off, placing small kisses on the insides of my thighs, toying with me.

“Ricky, please,” I beg him, desperately needing him to finish me off.

His lips turn up at the side. “That’s it, baby doll, beg me for your release.”

I whimper. His dirty words make my insides clench. I’m so close to falling apart that my vision is starting to blur. I move my hands, grabbing for the back of his neck to bring his mouth back to my core. He laughs against me. “Still haven’t learned to take instructions, have we?” He pulls back from me, his hands slipping into his pocket, and he tugs out the cuffs .

My eyes go wide. I moved my hands without even thinking. “You don’t need to cuff me. I was just…” I trail off, seeing the look of determination on his face.

“Just being greedy. You need to learn to take orders, baby doll.” He moves off the bed, coming to stand at the side of my bed. “Take off your dress and roll over,” he directs me, and a fresh wave of dampness floods my core.

“Why?” I ask, feeling vulnerable.

He grins devilishly. “Do you want to cum all over my face?”

My eyes go wide. “Fuck yes, I do,” I whimper.

“Roll over, on all fours, then.” He chuckles.

This time I do as I’m told. Shimmying out of my borrowed dress, I then roll over onto my front. He secures the cuff around my hand and attaches it to the bed. My heart races with excitement. This feels like I’m handing over all my trust to the devil. Like he knows I’m feeling exposed, he strokes my hair softly. “Good girl,” he coos.

My pussy clenches. I might just cum right now.

He moves behind me, stroking my bare ass then running his hands along my thighs. His movements are slow and calculated. Every one arouses me further, until he abruptly inserts two long fingers into me.

I gasp out in shock and pleasure.

Then he twists them, stretching me. Every slight movement he makes feels heavenly. His fingers curl up inside of me and hit my G-spot like he’s had years to work out my body and perfect the way he gets me off. My slickness mixed with his finger pumps echoes through the room, only muted by my soft moans every time he pushes inside me again.

I grip the bed frame harder when he moves to lie under me and starts licking me again. Oh my God. He’s lapping me up like crazy as his fingers are strumming and twisting inside of me, bringing me undone in the best way possible.

My body shudders violently, falling apart in a way I never have before. “Ricky!” I cry out his name as I cum in waves, and I ride his perfect face.

He devours me, relishing my juices greedily as my body quivers. He doesn’t give up until I’m calm and the trembling of my orgasm has subsided.

Then he moves up under me and unlocks the cuffs. My spent body collapses on top of him, and he holds me close to him, kissing me once more. His lips taste of me, and there is something so hot about it. He runs his fingers through my hair tenderly until I find sleep. Maybe he is the devil, but if that’s the case, I’m here for it. Ricky Moretti can take me to hell with him.