Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 83755 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83755 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Our mouths crashing into one another, I threw my arms around his shoulders and dangled them over his back. His strong body rubbing into mine, he trapped me between himself and the wall. His lips moved down to my jaw and bit my skin for a fleeting moment, before he ran his hands down my body.
One moment, they were clutching my back thighs. The next, they were gripping my outer thighs and making their way up to my ass. I tilted my head back, his fury taking me by complete surprise. Up until then, I thought his approach would be slow and gentle. I was badly mistaken. He squeezed my cheeks over my skirt, his index finger brushing the top of the zipper. Long exhales were escaping me as he nipped at my chin. I took my arm off of him and put my fingers over my mouth.
Just as well.
A couple of seconds later, came a sound that should have made him stop.
The men’s room door, clicking open and shut.
It had absolutely no effect on him.
“Yeah,” I whispered, feeling his hot breath on my neck. “That’s it. Keep going.”
“Fuck!” My eyes snapped open at his growl. Just like that, he had pulled back, his reddened eyes looking at me with regret. “What the fuck are we doing here? I’m going to break the code because of you?! I can’t break the code!”
“What code?” I asked, my voice a little more than a whisper.
He heaved a long sigh and palmed his forehead. “Men’s code. I can’t do that to Cesare. I’m sorry. I have to go.”
“Matteo…”
Only a fool would have believed he wouldn’t walk out.
And I was that fool, because I called out his name twice, with no results.
Matteo punched the stall door away and stepped outside, leaving me alone, turned on and confused. He was well-aware of what we were going to do. He hadn’t rejected the idea. In fact, he loved that idea, since he had followed me to the ladies’ room. With my heart racing, I straightened out my skirt and my blouse. I didn’t want anyone to suspect what I had been doing, especially after being dumped by Matteo…
17
MATTEO
Cesare’s text tested my patience that morning.
We’re in Brooklyn Bridge Park, putting together our crew. You’re the arms expert. A candidate for that job will be here in about an hour. You should be here to see if he fits the bill.
Who gives a shit? This was my initial possible response. My thumbs over the screen of my cell phone, I did consider telling him to get lost.
I wasn’t in the mood.
No. Scratch that.
I was too pissed to do much else, other than look at myself in the mirror and call me names.
What the fuck was I thinking?
Why had I let that nurse lure me to the ladies’ room?
The good thing was that I had an answer to the first question.
I wasn’t thinking. Not really.
Not with my head anyway.
I had allowed the little guy in my pants to take over. In other words, I had kicked out reason and allowed lust to take charge.
Recipe for disaster.
A guaranteed way to get in trouble with Cesare.
Of course, I knew what was going to follow after that. My cousin would never forgive me if I laid a hand on Piper. He might have kept this secret from me, but I had reached the truth. She had tried to hide this, but she had given herself away. Leonardo wouldn’t be so pleased with me, either. If I did that with one of Cesare’s girlfriends, he’d suspect I would do that with one of his, too. I wouldn’t blame him. He’d have every right to believe that I would double-cross him, just like I had done to Cesare.
Throughout the night, I wracked my brain to find out why I had done such a thing.
An obvious explanation was looks.
Smoldering-hot looks, to be exact.
Damn, that Piper girl was a sight for sore eyes.
Those curves would even make monks stare at them. That perfect, hourglass figure looked like it had been sculpted by the finest sculptor in the whole world.
Yet, I didn’t think this was the only factor in play.
When she texted me with the suggestion to meet up, I suspected that she and Cesare were a thing of the past. Yes, they had been fooling around. She hadn’t bothered denying that. However, they were not dating. If that had been true, there was no way she would call me, willing to have that so-called casual conversation. I respected the fact that she had questions, but I wasn’t the one she should have gone to, to get answers. That guy was in Brooklyn Bridge Park that morning, waiting for me to turn up.
Sadly, this was a joke of an excuse.
It didn’t matter whether a friend had been seeing a woman, or they had ended things with her ten years ago. An ex was always an ex. She was considered nuclear territory. A person you should stay away from at all costs. She made a pass at you? Shut up and walk away. She invited you over and tried to seduce you? Keep your hands to yourself and get the hell out. That’s what the whole “nuclear territory” was all about. And I hadn’t respected that rule. Instead of those two words, I read “free access to anyone interested.”