And it’s going to start tonight.
I glance at the clock.
More specifically, in a couple of hours.
A smile spreads across my face and I lean toward Dante’s face, grazing his lips with my own. “Yeah, me too.”
He flashes a knowing grin. “So you wanna go again? To seal the deal?”
I clutch my belly, the butterflies fluttering fast and furious now. “I’d love more but I have to go.”
“Go? What do you mean? I thought Heaven gave you the night off.”
“She did, but I’m meeting my uncle for dinner. He just flew into town today and he also wants to check out UNLV, so…” My voice trails off, mainly because my throat tightens, choking me with all of the lies. “He’s an ass but I guess he’s making an effort by coming out here.” Not like I can tell him the truth.
Yet, anyway.
Once I walk away for good, I’ll come clean with everything because these lies are slowly and torturously choking the life out of me.
“I’m kinda shocked she gave you the time off with the christening tomorrow. She’s a little neurotic about stuff like that,” he says.
“Well, she has her aunt. I guess she figured that was enough backup.” I force a smile as I toss my legs over the side of the bed, but he grabs my arm.
“Wait. Let me come with you.”
My jaw drops open. “What? Are you insane? How would I…he wouldn’t under…I can’t just bring you with me!”
“Why not? If I decided to stay here in Vegas because of you, I think that should earn me access to your family, yeah?” He drops a hand onto my thigh and squeezes. “I bet he’d like to see you’re being taken care of.” With a waggle of his eyebrows, he snickers at my stricken look. “Relax. Not that way, get your dirty mind off my cock.”
“He’s kind of old-fashioned about this kind of stuff. I really don’t think it’s a good idea. Yet. But I promise next time he’s out, okay?”
I can only imagine how that introduction would go.
“Hey, Uncle Boris, I’d like to introduce you to Dante Villani, one of the people you sent me here to destroy. We just had mind-numbing, toe-curling, earth-shattering sex, and I plan to do it again. Like, at least ten times a day if he doesn’t kill me for completely duping him and his family first.”
I jump out of the bed and wander out of the room in search of my gym clothes. The last time I saw them they were on the floor in the foyer.
I grab them and pull them on quickly, catching a glimpse of the time out of the corner of my eye.
We’ve been sleeping for two hours!
I know I needed it. Sleep has been evading me over the past few days since I’ve been getting up with Aisling.
I hop around, tugging at my shorts and crashing into a wall when I lose my balance. I fall backward onto the floor next to my sneakers so I slide my feet into them and tie the laces. Dante pads across the floor, covered only by a pair of black boxer briefs.
I gaze up at him, my body still humming deliciously from the aftershocks of our salacious afternoon delight. He holds out his hands to me and pulls me to my feet, his hands running over my ass and squeezing. “Until later,” he says with a wicked grin.
“Until later,” I rasp.
It only dawns on me in this very second that ‘later’ is when I’ll have my actual assignment, the one Uncle Boris insists on keeping quiet until we see each other at the restaurant.
Good God, what’s it going to be?
What the hell will I need to do?
And is there any way I make it out of this whole?
After everything I just told Dante?
Is being whole a real possibility for me? With the life I’ve led?
The lies, the secrets, the deception, the devastation — that’s who I am.
Is it ridiculous to think I could be anyone else?
Or have anything else?
I swallow hard, past the golf ball-sized lump growing in my throat. I guess that’ll be up to me to decide. “Thanks for a great afternoon,” I murmur.
“Sounds so final.” He winks at me.
I manage a small smile, but deep down I’m afraid that it really is.
Chapter Twenty-One
Dante
“I need you to get up here,” Matteo grunts into the phone. “We have a problem.”
“Okay, give me a few,” I say, dropping my hand onto the mattress after my brother hangs up on me. He sounds pissed off, but then again, that’s kind of his normal tone of voice. And everything with him is a fire drill.
The guy is a ticking time bomb, and it sounds like he’s on the verge of explosion.
Maybe it’s something about the christening. I’m his bitch, so it goes without saying that he’d need me to run some last-minute errands.
And because I’m such an easygoing guy, I might agree to do it.
I push back my hair, my cock half-hard at the thought of me fucking Anya in the shower earlier. Soaping up her porn-star body, sliding my dick in and out of her tight, wet pussy…argh. I don’t want to do anything right now except visit that erotic highlight reel over and over and over…
I finally pull myself to a sitting position and pull on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. Ever since she left, I’ve been counting the hours until I can get her back here…on her back, on her stomach, hell, on her fucking head if we can make it work.
I’m an experimental kind of guy.
I slip my feet into my sneakers, and less than ten minutes later, I’m about to knock on Matteo’s door. But before my fist even makes contact, he flings open the door. “Office,” he hisses. “Now!”
A deep sigh shudders my shoulders and I follow him down the hallway. “Where’s Heaven?”
“Out with her aunt. Thank fuck.”
“Why? What’s up?” I roll my eyes. “Tell me it’s not more about Anya being in here the other night.”
Matteo’s eyes narrow. “She was trying to get into my drawers!” he exclaims. “I don’t understand why you trust her so much! Are you that pussy-whipped?”
I throw my hands into the air. “Maybe she’s just curious. You’re a mysterious kind of guy. Maybe she wanted to find out more about you.”
“I don’t like that she was in here. If I had anything incriminating out—”
“Which you never would,” I interrupt. “So there’s no problem.”
“I could have,” he grunts.
I roll my eyes. “Is that why you dragged me down here? To tell me again that the nanny was wandering around your office?”
“No. There’s more.” Matteo sweeps a hand through his hair. “Conor called,” he growls. “He’s here. Wants to meet before the christening to talk.”
“What’s he want to talk about?” I snicker. “Is he gonna tell you how much money he needs to pay off the Russians?”
Matteo’s jaw tightens. “I’m not giving him a damn penny.”
“Would Heaven agree? I mean, won’t she be pissed off that you make a call that can hurt a lot of people she cares about, including Aisling?” I shake my head. “You can’t fuck with the life of your kid, Matty. I know you’re angry, but—”
“He tried to kill my wife!” Matteo roars. “If I give him anything, I’ll never be rid of him! And I don’t want him anywhere near my family! Let the Russians kill him. It’ll be less work for me since I won’t be the one to drive a stake into his fucking heart!”
“What did you tell him? I mean, is he coming here?” I rub the back of my neck. “That would be a total shit show, just saying. With everyone here for the christening tomorrow?” I let out a low whistle. “Motherfucker has great timing, that’s for sure.”
“I told him to fuck off.” Matteo looks at me like I have three dicks sticking out of my forehead. “What the hell else do you think I would have said?”
“And then what?”
“I hung up on the asshole!” Matteo thunders. “You’re acting like you don’t know me at all!”
“Relax, I know you plenty.” I smirk. “What’d Heaven say?”