by Hart, Gemma
It’d be useful to find out who was next in line for promotion. That person would have the best information about the higher ups.
Wiggy turned to me in surprise, clearly having forgotten I was there. He raised a brow at me in question and then a slow, creeping grin crossed his face. “Ah,” he said knowingly, “so the little accountant is a table chaser, is she?”
Table chaser?
“Like the big men with the big power, huh?” he said, his voice becoming an octave lower.
“No, of course not,” I said in a haughty voice. “I just like to know that I’m sitting at a table worth my time.”
Playing the quivering maiden would certainly not do me any favors with the Desmond Mafia men and would most definitely not win me the attention of Marco Desmond. But I wasn’t quite sure if playing the brave and headstrong new Mafia hire was going to be any better.
Chairs scraped behind me as I saw men rise to greet Roy goodnight as he left the dining hall, followed by the other men of the head table.
Well, at least now I didn’t have to worry so much about being seductive while eating a steak, which seemed like an impossible task if I ever heard of one.
Maybe now I could focus on getting more information from the men at my table before they left and—
I turned back towards my table and immediately swallowed hard. Without the head table there to enforce the dinner etiquette, the men at my table now stared at me with the hungry and lascivious look of a wolf on the hunt.
Wiggy carefully set down his drink, his thin face darkened with intent. “Worth your time, eh?” he said slowly. He looked at me, his eyes several shades darker. The entire table was looking at me like I was naked and dancing in front of them.
“Would you like us to show you exactly how much your time is worth?” Wiggy said.
I pressed my lips together, keeping my face cool and neutral even though my heart was pounding so hard it was nearly bruising my ribs. Every time I felt like I had a moderate handle in being in the heart of the Desmond Family, I was always met with a harsh reminder of just how dangerous it really was.
I gave a short, cool smile. “I think not,” I said and quickly rose to my feet, feeling that a speedy exit was my best chance.
I headed towards the doors when a hand shot out to grab my wrist, whirling me around and throwing me up against the wall.
My head smacked hard against the wall in a whiplash moment and I winced as sparks flew across my eyes.
But when I opened my eyes, the pain only worsened at the sight of nine men slowly closing rank around me. I tried to look over their heads to see what help may be around. A stray maid maybe? But the men were too tall for me to see anything but their hungry faces.
My body felt sluggish and slow as it fought against the debilitating alcohol. I could feel a subtle shaking take over my body as I began to realize just how dangerous my situation was.
Wiggy kept a firm hold on my wrist as he pinned me against the wall. His other hand slid intimately across my hips. I wriggled, hating his inescapable touch. Oh god, what could I do to get away? Would anyone in a crime family stop a rape? Would they even care?
Suddenly Wiggy’s hand shot down and cupped me hard between my legs. “Want us to show you exactly how much this is worth?” he breathed harshly against my cheek.
I opened my mouth, ready to scream when suddenly I felt a gust of air brush past me.
Wiggy zoomed past me, collapsing against the table, sending the heavy china plates crashing to the floor. The men around him immediately pulled back, their faces pale in surprised fright.
I tenderly massage the wrist Wiggy had been gripping. Confused, I turned to my right.
And there, standing above me, was Marco Desmond.
I had thought he had left with Roy. My mouth was slightly agape as I stared in complete shock at his presence.
His face was darkened with anger and I could see his neck taut with his fight to hold back. His large fist was still in the air, clearly hungry for more faces to smack into. He looked coldly at the men with a gaze that could cut rocks.
“What do you think Roy would say when he hears his accounts manager has been assaulted right under his nose?” Marco said quietly. His voice was so icy cold, I was sure the men would get frostbite just from hearing it.
Wiggy paled, as did the others.
“Sir, we were just teasing,” Wiggy said, awkwardly getting back onto his feet. Half of his face was already swelling and turning purple. “We didn’t mean—”
“Get the fuck out of here,” Marco interrupted. “And remember where you’re fucking role is in this Family.”
Wiggy and the others made an awkward nodding-bowing motion and then scattered, clearly afraid of incurring more of the Desmond wrath.
A moment of silence passed in the empty dining hall before I let out a shaky sigh of relief.
I stepped away from the wall and turned toward Marco.
“Thank you for—”
But before I could finish, Marco put both his hands against the wall, pinning my head between them. His tall and broad frame pinned me back against the wall as he stared down at me with incredulous anger.
“What the fuck did you think you were doing?” he demanded.
I stared at him. Although I was taken aback by his anger, I still felt an odd relief in having him there. A wave of security flooded me in knowing that Marco had come to my rescue.
“I was trying to leave the dinner when—”
“Was that before or after your four glasses of brandy?” Marco asked in a clipped voice.
My eyes widened in surprise. And a little in indignation. “You counted!” I said in an accusatory voice. Perhaps it hadn’t been the wisest decision to drink so much but then again, I was a grown woman. For god’s sake, I was a goddamn FBI agent!
“You’re damn right I counted,” Marco said unapologetically. “Just like I’m about to count to three for you to get your ass out of here and up to your room.”
I scoffed. Gorgeous or no, this man could not act like some lord of the universe just because his name was Desmond.
“Okay,” I said sarcastically, nearly rolling my eyes but feeling a little too lightheaded to manage. “If you think that I’m going to jump just because you said—”
“One,” Marco counted, his voice clear and strong. I looked up at him. His eyes were nearly black under the dim, glittering lights of the chandelier. His chiseled jaw was cut and square, lending him a look of authority and strength. And above it all was an expression that told me to not even think about defying him.
“What’ll happen if I’m still here at ‘three’?” I asked, the alcohol again making me feel a little too reckless.
Marco raised a dark brow. I saw a humorless smile play faintly on his lips, like a lion amused with a field mouse that dared to defy him.
But before I could think of anything else to say, a large hand wrapped itself around my upper arm and pulled hard. Marco, leaning against the edge of the table, pulled me hard towards him, flinging me across his knee.
The wind was nearly knocked out of me as I landed hard across his lap. With how tall he was, I found myself dangling precariously across his knee. Even with my addled mind, I quickly realized what was happening.
“Don’t you dare!” I cried out, wriggling desperately to get free. It was useless. Marco kept me perfectly pinned against him with absolutely no room to even attempt an escape. “Don’t you even think about it! If you—”
A ringing smack echoed across the high ceilings of the dining hall as Marco’s hand made firm contact with my rear end. I nearly choked on my words as the stinging pain enveloped my ass.
The pain was quick and burning and I definitely felt it yet as soon as his hand made contact with my ass, I felt a deep and hungry pull right at my core. Despite the pain, it felt as if the spank had shot right through me and to my pussy.
Confused, embarrassed, aroused, and drunk, I wriggled again and this time he let me up.
>
I stood before him, panting a bit in fright and arousal. Marco gave me an even stare.
“Be here when I reach ‘three,’ and I do that all over again with your dress pulled up and your bare ass hanging in the air,” he threatened calmly.
“Two—”
But before he could finish, I was already running for the doors.
Chapter Ten
Marco
I sat on the table, taking in a deep breath.
My back from my neck to my ass felt as tight as a guitar string. Slowly, I let out a breath.
I stretched the fingers of my right hand. I could still feel the sweet plumpness of her ass. There had been such a satisfying slapping sound as I had given her a good and well-deserved spank.
Despite my threat, I had been dying to rip her dress off right then and there and spank that bratty little ass till it was glowing red and then bend her over and take her till—
I took in another deep breath before I shook my head clear.
No. I couldn’t let myself get distracted. There was too much at stake right now. Too much risk.
And yet, every time I saw her, I couldn’t help but feel every fiber of my body being drawn to her. My body seemed to always know where she was in a room without my having to look up. No matter how much I told myself it was just a physical thing, I knew it was something else. It was a deep and undeniable connection.
And the connection had been tested tonight when I had watched her tossing back drinks while literally sitting in the lap of danger. It was a lucky thing that I had decided to swing back into the dining hall after I had left. I had come back under the pretense of wanting to speak to one of the men when really, I had just wanted to make sure Halle had left.
When I had seen the men surrounding Halle, an overwhelming urge to ram my fist through every single man’s head took hold of me. A hunger for it, really. It had taken an incredible amount of strength not to bash in Wiggy’s face till I could hear bones crunch.
It wouldn’t do either of us, Halle or me, any favors if I had.
No matter this unique draw I felt to Halle, I couldn’t have others think that there was something special between us. That kind of talk would immediately work its way up to Roy and the last thing I wanted was to give Roy another thing to use against me.
Especially if that thing was Halle.
Feeling my body finally loosening up and my cock returning to a more manageable pressure, I swiftly left the dining room to follow Halle up.
But as it turned out, I didn’t need to go very far.
Standing only three steps up from the foyer, Halle was leaning her head against the banister, one heel dangling off the step as she precariously balanced herself in the odd position.
I huffed a laugh and shook my head as I walked towards her. She certainly could drink stiff brandy like a pro but that definitely didn’t mean she knew how to hold it.
“What are you doing?” I asked, standing on the foyer behind her.
“Admiring your marble stairs,” she mumbled, still hunched over. “What do you think?”
I ran a hand down my chin, trying not to laugh. This girl had some balls. There were very few people who would dare talk to me like that. And even fewer after witnessing me punch a man onto his back.
“Do you think you could save that for tomorrow instead? Why don’t you admire the porcelain of your toilet instead?” I said, coming up behind her and raising her upright.
Halle winced as her eyes were pulled away from the darkness of her arms. “Oh god, I think I might just have to,” she groaned. She tried to take a step up but swayed alarmingly before falling back.
I caught her swiftly in my arms, her body molding against me as if it had been made specifically for me.
“Jesus, woman,” I said hefting her up and nearly chucking her over my head. “You need to eat more. You hardly weigh anything.” But Halle ignored me and instead burrowed her head into my chest.
She was a soft weight in my arms and I carried her easily up the stairs. With every step, I felt myself feeling the true weight of my attraction towards this woman. It was so strange. So surreal. I hardly knew her.
And yet, there was something so undeniably alluring about her. She was a bag of contradictions. She was shy one moment, then flirtatious the next. She was ballsy and then frightened. She was quiet but she was also funny.
I had wondered in the beginning if she had been trying to land the un-landable Marco Desmond. I had experienced more than a fair share of women who had come into the Family for that express purpose. I could pick them out from a mile away.
But if that really was her goal, she was certainly taking a route never tried before. Very few women got so drunk that they could barely bat an eye at me. That usually wasn’t very conducive for strategic flirting.
I reached the second floor and headed towards the east wing.
But I realized, if I truly cared about her, I couldn’t let my feelings get the better of me. At least, not anymore than they already had. In fact, if I had really wanted her safe, I wouldn’t have stepped back into the dining hall.
The quicker she was scared away by the Desmond Mafia, the better.
Working for the Desmond Mafia was a gamble at best. And right now, with the plans I had in works, it was a death sentence at worst. Love had always been a mythical idea around the Desmond Family. A mythical idea that was frowned upon and mocked.
I had definitely done my fair share of mocking. Countless women had claimed they had loved me, nudging me for a diamond ring in return.
Shifting Halle’s weight, I opened the door to her suite. The rooms were still quite bare. She hadn’t brought much in way of clothing or decorations. I laid her carefully down on her bed.
As I laid her head down on the pillow, I wondered, could I love her? I almost laughed at myself. Me? Love anyone? I could hardly stand myself sometimes. There was no way in hell this jagged piece of heart could love someone else.
Get your head straight, Desmond, I thought, shaking myself mentally.
Just as I was about to stand back up, a hand reached out and grabbed at my shirtfront. I looked up in surprised to see Halle staring up at me, her blue eyes as wide and deep as lagoons.
“You came back,” she murmured. “You came back to the dining hall.”
I stared at her.
Despite the countless women I’d fucked in my lifetime, I’d learn that none of that could patch that void I felt inside me. That void which only grew with every job I did for Roy and the Desmond Mafia. And it was ridiculous to expect anyone to ever be capable of such a thing.
It was safer for both myself and for all womankind in general if we kept our relationship on a biblical level. Let’s fuck. And then forget.
Whatever it was called—love, companionship, romance—it wasn’t for me. And it was time this girl learned that about me.
“No, I didn’t,” I said coolly. “You and your tablemates were making a racket and that’s something Roy does not approve of.”
Halle’s eyes washed over me. “But you saved me,” she insisted.
I sighed. “I saved Roy from having to look for another accounts manager,” I corrected. I gave her a cold look. “Although, it might’ve been a favor to him if he did find another one. Preferably one who was a little more drink shy.”
Those two blue orbs that seemed to hold the power of oceans studied me carefully. I kept my face neutral and cool. Her hand was still wrapped around my shirtfront. Although I kept my expression aloof, I couldn’t help be feel that unnatural draw towards her soft lips.
“You saved me,” she finally said quietly, in a decisive tone of voice.
I pressed my lips together in a hard line. If I wanted to do this girl any favors, it was to show her that being with me is exactly the opposite of what she should want.
You’re gonna have to learn quick, little girl, I warned mentally. If you want to stay alive around here.
With lightning quick movement, I grabbed at her
wrist that held onto my shirt, pinning her to me. Then with my other hand, I thrust it up her dress without warning, finding the lacy panties that lay hidden underneath.
Halle’s large blue eyes widened in shock as she felt my hand touching her intimately under her dress. She wriggled and tried to pull away but I kept a good tight grip on her wrist, keeping her close.
“Wha—” she started but I cut her off.
Grabbing the front of her panties, I yanked them hard forward so that the material bunched into the center of her pussy, rubbing the fabric directly across her clit hard.
