章 22: | What Just Happened?

𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒

I let go of Vanessa's wrists, wanting to cup her other firm ass cheek, needing to push her harder against me. Her hands fell to my shoulders, and she slowly weaved her fingers through the hair at the back of my neck. Every inch of my body was electrified, ready to consume this woman in every way imaginable.

Both of us were breathing rapidly, and I almost lifted her off her feet as I gripped her ass harder, tighter between my fingers. We were both already lost-lost at the moment, lost in each other. The harder I pressed against her, the tighter she gripped my hair. I couldn't stop myself from moving my hips, grinding my cock against her, wishing we were naked. Dry humping was never my style.

"James," she moaned softly against my cheek, but it sounded more like a plea.

"I want you, Vanessa. I want you so bad it's almost impossible to fucking breathe right now." I leaned back, ready to finally taste her. To feel her lips against mine as I claimed her mouth with vehement strokes of my tongue. I didn't even care that Enzo and Antonio were nearby. All I cared about was her, feeling her, having her, claiming her-fucking caging her.

I wanted her.

I needed her.

I craved her.

And I would fucking have her.

She lifted her chin, and I leaned down, ready to have my first taste of Vanessa Bologna. So close, I could feel her warm breath against my wet lips.

She paused, our lips barely touching.

"We can't do this," she whispered, and I suddenly had an overwhelming urge to throw her over my shoulder, spank her, and kidnap her to a place where I could be buried inside her twenty-four-seven.

Vanessa placed her hands on my chest and looked down. "I can't do this with you, James. Not with you."

Goddammit!

"Vanessa."

She nudged lightly against my chest. "I'm sorry. I have to go." Then she slipped away, leaving me to rest my head against the cold, hard wall.

Jesus Christ. I could hardly catch my goddamn breath, leaning like a loser against the wall with an aching cock the size of fucking Japan. What is the name of the ever-loving fuck just happened? I lost it. I completely lost myself...in her. It was insane, it was stupid, it was reckless...and it sure as hell needed to happen again.

When I finally managed to grab a shred of control, I turned and took a deep breath. That was when I saw him-Enzo Morello standing a few feet away, looking freaky as shit while he stared at me. Did he see what happened between Vanessa and me? How long had he been standing there in the shadows like a fucking vampire?

An epic stare-off took place between us for what seemed like ages before he finally shot me an arrogant grin and walked off.

Whatever the fuck that was, it sure as shit wasn't good.

*****

𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐀

The half-hour trip home felt like it lasted half a day. The silence was excruciating. Even Daniel, who couldn't go ten minutes without talking, was eerily quiet the entire way. It didn't take a genius to know Antonio was busy simmering, building and building to full-blown rage.

He hated Enzo. He hated all the Morellos. I never fully understood the rivalry between us and them. But ever since the Morellos moved into town, our families were at each other's throats. I once heard my dad tell Antonio that Morellos threatened our family business. I never asked exactly what kind of business. I didn't want to know. All I knew was he wasn't referring to the family restaurant.

I glanced at Antonio sitting in the front passenger seat. Daniel and I had kept my sordid secret for as long as we could. But after tonight, it was all about to get cracked wide open.

It didn't have to be spelt out for Antonio to figure out there was a kind of history between me and Enzo. God, I hated myself. I hated myself for ever falling for Enzo's lies. For being so naïve and stupid I believed a man like him could have a good side-a heart. If I had been stronger, I would have spared myself all those long nights of crying, not to mention the embarrassment.

I leaned my head against the window and watched the city lights forming a straight line of yellow as Daniel sped down the streets. This was supposed to be his night, his birthday. And now, because of me, it was ruined. It wasn't even midnight yet, and we were already on our way home. Probably not what my brother had in mind for his birthday celebration.

"I'm sorry, Daniel," I muttered, not lifting my head off the window.

"Sorry, Daniel?" Antonio sneered. "You're apologizing to Daniel?"

I lifted my head and looked at him while he stared out his passenger-side window. "Who should I be apologizing to?"

Finally, Antonio turned in his seat and looked at me. "How about the entire damn family?"

I scoffed. "For what?"

He shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. For embarrassing the family. For putting the family name to shame."

"Antonio, stop," Daniel chimed in, but I leaned forward and placed my hand on his shoulder.

"No, it's okay." I glared at Antonio.

"Tell me, dear brother, what is it that you think I did that put our family name to shame?"

"Please, Vanessa. It was pretty clear what happened between you two. And the cop? You're fooling around with a cop? Do you feel so little for our family values, for our rules?"

And that was the moment I finally lost it.

"Our family values? Our rules? You mean your rules. Your and Dad's rules."

"Rules that were put in place for our protection."

"Protection from what?"

"From our enemies," he snapped.

"Our enemies? I'm sorry, Antonio, but how the hell did your enemies become mine?"

"You carry the Bologna name, Vanessa." He raised his voice, his dark eyes wild with anger. "You are a part of this fucking family, so that makes you a part of everything."

"You see, that's exactly it. I don't want to be a part of all this. I don't want any part in the family business which is causing this war between us and the Morello's."

Antonio glared at me. "Well, you don't have a fucking choice."

"And that's exactly why I've tried to get as far away from this family as possible for the last four years. Everywhere I go, I'm nothing more than a mafia princess, the big boss's daughter, and the little sister of a Bologna underboss. I want my own goddamn life, to live by my own rules, but thanks to all of you, I will never be able to do that."

I didn't even realize I was practically screaming out that last part until I noticed Antonio staring at me as I had morphed into a three-headed alien.

Maybe I had. But I didn't give a shit.

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章 23: | Perfect Ambience

𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐀

I took a deep breath and sank back into the seat, placing my hand on my forehead. This was why I didn't want to come home. Everything always went haywire whenever I was around my family. For so long, I'd denied my father by not joining the family business. I thought by not having any part in it, I would have some semblance of a normal life. But it seemed like no matter what I did, my life would never be my own.

Never.

Antonio turned back and looked out over the road. "What happened between you and Enzo?"

I closed my eyes and exhaled. "You're the genius, why don't you tell me?"

"I'm serious, Vanessa."

"So am I."

"Both of you, stop," Daniel bellowed. " You guys are giving me a headache."

"And the cop?" Antonio asked, blatantly ignoring Daniel.

"Oh, my God!" I pulled my palms down my face in frustration. "Nothing is going on with the cop. Enzo was being a jerk, and James just—"

"James?" Antonio interrupted. "So, you're on a first-name basis with the cop now?"

I gaped at him, partly because I couldn't believe he was giving me the third degree…and also because I had nothing to say to that. Nothing. There was no way I could explain how Detective Gunner and I got to a first-name basis. It just kind of happened. Great. Just great.

Again, I turned my gaze out the window, flat-out ignoring Antonio and his dark stare of disapproval. Now that I said his name, James was all I thought about. When he pinned me up against that damn wall, I wanted nothing more than for him to tear my clothes off like a damn caveman. The way his dark gaze raked over my face, the look of pure sexual hunger reflecting in his hazel irises, made everything south of my navel pulse with need.

God, I needed to get him out of my mind. I took my phone from my purse, and I stopped breathing. There was James' face in a little bubble in the corner of my screen, signalling a new message—from him. My heart wasn't beating. No, it was pounding against my ribs like it wanted out. Like it needed air.

I took a deep breath then hesitantly clicked on the icon, and up popped the message.

James: 31 Unity Ct #4. Let's finish what we started.

Oh, my God, did he send me his address? Holy shit. My heart tried to force its way up my throat, my stomach closes behind it. And right on cue, I rubbed my thighs together thinking about everything he made me feel back at the club when he was inches away from kissing me. Every fibre of my being wanted to taste his lips and wanted to know what his tongue would feel like dancing with mine.

I wanted him to pin me against that wall with his hard body until I became one with the damn concrete. For a few seconds, we were completely swept up by the moment, utterly captivated by each other. But when I felt his warm breath against my wet lips, knowing I was a split second away from tasting him, I stopped. I was too consumed, too entranced by him, by what I was feeling, and the last time I felt that way, I made the worst mistake of my life.

I glanced at Antonio, thinking about the anger and disappointment he must be feeling. It seemed like that day had come, the day the biggest mistake I ever made would come back to taunt me.

When I looked back at my phone, I let my finger hover over the keyboard. Everything inside me was screaming for me to go to him, to take what I needed from him. To forget about all the rules and live my life for me, for what I wanted, even if it was only for one night.

But I couldn't.

Unfortunately, my life was not my own. I might not agree with or like the rules we were forced to live by, but this was my family. Was I so selfish I would jeopardize everything, risk hurting my family because of one detective who had the undeniable talent of getting me wet and needy with a single goddamn glance?

No. Yes.

Shit.

Daniel parked the car in front of the house and switched off the ignition. The heaviness of the silence around the three of us was slowly suffocating me, and I couldn't stay in the damn car any longer.

I opened the door and got out. Antonio jumped out and called, "Vanessa, wait."

"What?" I turned to face him.

The sullen look on his face gave me this weird feeling of warning that moved across the back of my neck.

"Dad needs to know."

I frowned. "Excuse me?"

He closed the passenger side door and started toward me. "Dad needs to know about whatever happened between you and Enzo."

"Antonio, man," Daniel started, "don't be an asshole."

Antonio looked at Daniel. "An asshole? Am I being an asshole for trying to protect the family?"

Daniel slammed his door shut. "No, you're being an asshole for not wanting to protect your damn sister."

"Can you both not see that that's exactly what I'm trying to do?" Antonio bellowed.

"No, you're not. You're being an ass."

"Fuck you, Daniel. You see, that's your problem. You don't have a loyal bone in your body. Did she fuck you up so bad you couldn't give a shit about your own goddamn family anymore?"

Daniel rushed toward Antonio, stopping only a few feet away. His eyes were wild, angry orbs staring at Antonio like he wanted to tear his head off. "Don't talk about shit you know nothing about."

Antonio met his glare. "Maybe if you were a little more loyal to the family, I wouldn't have to bring shit up."

Daniel snorted. "Loyal? You think you're being loyal right now, Antonio?"

"Yes," Antonio answered without hesitation. The tension was so thick, I was sure this night was going to end with my two brothers beating the shit out of each other.

Daniel took an intimidating step toward Antonio, and it felt like my heart was about to rip through my chest.

"She's your fucking sister, Antonio. You have no idea what that son of bitch did to her, yet you're standing here wanting to expose her wounds, her shame, for everyone to see…for Dad to see. Where's the loyalty in that?"

Antonio stepped back and looked at me with the most bewildered expression on his face. And then, as if it was fate, Mother Nature chose that exact moment to start raining. It was as if she thought the cold, hard drops of water, and flashes of thunder would be the perfect ambience for this epically disastrous scene. And who knew? Maybe she was right.

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