But Teddy saw a different look. He saw the look on the faces of the men they passed. And those men had an undeniable look too. Those men, it seemed to Teddy, looked envious. They looked as if they were wondering what special sauce he had to wrangle a woman like Nikki! It was a thought that occurred to him every time he looked at Nikki. Most women would have been gone by now, especially after those explosions. Nikki acted as if they were no big deal to her. As if that craziness was just another day at the office.
After they both sat down at the table, with Teddy first holding Nikki’s chair, the Maître d handed them the menus and took their drink orders, and then left to place the order.
Nikki smiled. “Somebody has some pull up in here,” she said. “For real.”
Teddy smiled too, but it was one of those weak smiles. “A little bit,” he replied as his cell phone began ringing.
He was not a bragger, Nikki thought, as Teddy looked at his Caller ID. She liked that about him. He also was a very busy man. His phone had not stopped ringing since they left the docks. And other than a few calls, he took them all. Including the current call from Joey notifying him that the cops and firefighters had left. The arson investigators, however, he added, were still snooping around. Teddy ordered him to keep the lawyers onsite until were gone too. And then he ended the call.
A waiter arrived with their drink orders, took their lunch orders, and then left the table. Nikki waited while Teddy answered yet another phone call, and then she leaned forward. As Teddy sat his cell phone back on the table, he noticed her cleavage and how he was going to enjoy them again when they made it back home. Despite the stress he was under, and it was tremendous, he still managed to go hard just thinking about having Nikki beneath him once again.
But it was his stress, rather than his hard-on, that had Nikki’s attention. “May I ask you a question?” she asked.
Teddy smiled. “Anytime anywhere,” he responded.
“What do you do for fun?”
“Fun?” Teddy asked, still smiling. “What’s that?”
Nikki stared at him. “You’re joking, right?” She wasn’t so sure!
But then his cell phone rang again. And Nikki, this time, grabbed it from the table and answered it before Teddy could. “Hello?” She placed the call on Speaker.
“Who’s this?” It was a male’s voice, but that was all Nikki could make out.
“This is Teddy Sinatra’s assistant,” she said, and Teddy smiled.
“His who?” the voice asked.
“How may I help you?” asked Nikki.
“I need to speak to Teddy.”
“Is somebody dead?” Nikki asked, and Teddy grinned.
“Is somebody dead? No, nobody’s dead.”
“Is somebody in danger of dying?” Nikki asked.
“What is this? No. Nobody’s in danger of dying.”
“Then give me your name and Mr. Sinatra will get back with you.”
Teddy shook his head. “He’s not giving you his name,” he said under his breath.
And sure enough, the caller hung up in Nikki’s face.
Teddy and Nikki both laughed as Nikki sat back down his phone. But Teddy was thinking too. He needed one. Desperately. Could it work?
He looked at Nikki. “I tried,” she was saying to him.
“You want it?” he asked her.
It was Nikki’s time to be confused. “Do I want what?” she asked.
“The job,” Teddy responded.
Nikki looked around. And then back at Teddy. Had she missed something? “What job?”
“The job as my personal assistant.”
Nikki smiled. “There’s a job available as your assistant?”
“Yeah, it is.”
“But I was just making that up!”
“But why were you making it up?” Teddy asked. “Because you saw that need, right?”
Nikki nodded. “Right,” she said.
Teddy leaned back. “So, what do you say? You want it, or not?”
“But . . .”
“But what?”
“I haven’t even decided if I was going to stay in Philadelphia. I’m a California girl, as you know.”
“I won’t hold it against you.”
Nikki smiled and threw a napkin at Teddy. But then her look turned serious. “You’re serious?” she asked.
He was. “Yes,” he said.
Nikki felt blindsided, but in a good way. Her life in L.A. wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. She had been demoted. Could barely make ends meet. And that Louie situation still hung over her head like a dark cloud. But still!
“What will this job entail?” she asked. “What does this mean?”
“It means you will spend the majority of your days with me,” Teddy said. “And your nights. Although,” he added, “the nights part has nothing to do with the job. You were going to be doing that regardless.”
Nikki smiled. “That sounds presumptuous of you, fella.”
Teddy smiled too. “It does, doesn’t it?” But then his look was serious again. “But what do you say, Nikki? You wanna give this a go?”
Nikki wasn’t sure if he meant their work relationship, or their other relationship. And two people working together day in and day out would either grow much closer, or completely apart. It was a risk.
But before she could answer his question, his cell phone rang again. And Nikki grabbed it from the table again. But this time, she looked at the Caller ID. When she did, she immediately slid it back toward Teddy as if it was a contaminant.
“What?” he asked, surprised.
“It’s Mr. Sinatra,” Nikki said.
And that stressed look on Teddy’s face suddenly became distressed. “Shit!” he said. But then he answered the phone. “Hey, Pop.”
Mick Sinatra’s voice, on the other end, was firm. “Two explosions.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Any casualties?”
“No. Nobody. Although Joey might have been injured if Nikki hadn’t pulled him away in time.”
“Another Sinatra saved by the woman who had no fucking business being anywhere near those fucking docks,” Mick said. “How good for us.”
Teddy’s anger rose. “She was there on my invitation,” he said. “And I’m grateful she was there.” Then he looked at Nikki. “She’s going to be at a lot of scenes like that in the future. She’s my new assistant.”
Nikki was shocked that he made that announcement to his father when she hadn’t even accepted the position yet. And apparently, from the silence that had ensued, it didn’t go over as well as Teddy had hoped.
And Nikki was right. Mick hesitated, but then responded. “Mixing work with play is not a good idea,” he said to his son.
“I know that,” Teddy responded.
“Then why are you doing it?” Mick asked.
Teddy didn’t bat an eye. “Because she’s different,” he said. “She can handle it.”
Nikki smiled at Teddy.
“Maybe she can,” Mick said. “But can you?”
Teddy knew what his father meant. He had never been in a committed relationship before, and especially one that would also involve a working relationship. “I don’t know,” he responded honestly to his father. But he needed Nikki. He was smart enough to know that.
“The witness got away,” Mick said, moving on. “And another family has attacked our family. At least that’s what I’m hearing. What the fuck are you going to do about it?”
“I have a call in to Bovenconti. I’m asking for a meeting. Just the two of us. I have to make sure he’s behind the hit, first and foremost.”
“And if his ass is?” Mick asked.
“I’m going to have to make a deal. He gets the guys responsible. Simple as that.”
“Right,” Mick agreed.
“Their asses knew better anyway,” Teddy continued. “They know no one man is bigger than the organization. They know how we operate. They know if they fuck up, we aren’t taking everybody else down j
ust because of them. Only fools and TV gangsters pull that kind of shit. They understand how this shit works.”
“And if they didn’t before,” Mick said, “they will now. Meet with BB.” BB was what other Dons called Boss Bovenconti. But only the Dons had the privilege. “Find out where his head is at. But don’t fall for his bullshit. I’ve known that fucker a long time. He can bullshit with the best of them.”
“I’ll have my antenna up,” Teddy said.
“But contain this situation,” Mick said, “before it gets out of hand. Because if it does, it’s your ass. I’m in Europe. I’m in tough negotiations. I don’t want to hear any more about any fuckups in Philly.”
“You won’t, sir,” Teddy assured his father.
“I’d better not,” Mick responded. Then he added, “I hope it works out,” and ended the call.
“Well, well,” Teddy said, “you just got Pop’s seal of approval.”
Nikki frowned. “How?”
“He said he hopes it works out.”
“But I thought he was talking about that meeting with that Don.”
Teddy was shaking his head. “He was talking about you working for me and being with me.”
“Are you sure about that, Teddy?”
“Hell yeah, I’m sure! I know my old man.” He was the one who told him to put Nikki to the test. She, in many ways, already past it in Teddy’s eyes.
He sat his phone back down, leaned back, and exhaled. Nikki could see the stress all over his handsome face.
“I’ll take the job,” she said impulsively.
Teddy looked at her, and the gratitude on his face said it all to Nikki. Until he said even more.
“I need to eat,” he said, rising to his feet. “And it ain’t on this menu.”
Nikki rose too. She knew what he meant. He needed stress relief. Now that she had agreed to work for the second-in-command of the Sinatra Crime Family, she needed the same thing.
And with their food order still being prepared, and a crowd still envious that they were able to walk right in and get seated, they walked right out.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Teddy and Nikki had removed every stitch of their clothing as soon as they entered his home. And he didn’t delay. He carried her to the sofa, laid her down, and had her legs open and his face buried between them within seconds.
There was no way he could have made it all the way upstairs. He was too hungry. He was too hungry for Nikki.
And he ate her. He held his hands beneath her thighs and ate her with a ferocity that made her jerk and sigh and almost cum from his tongue alone. He ate her so hard, and with such urgency that they fell from the sofa, onto the floor, with no letup from Teddy. He kept on doing her. For several minutes, he kept on doing her harder and harder.
And then he stopped, to catch his breath, Nikki thought. But it was to gain his strength. Because just when she thought he would ease inside of her right where they were, Teddy got up, lifted her up, and carried her all the way upstairs to his bedroom. He fell on top of her on his bed. And it was then and only then did he stop, and he looked into her eyes.
“Thank you,” he said to her.
“For what?” she asked him.
“Being here,” he said. “Being here for me. Being the special person that you are.”
It was so heartfelt that Nikki touched the side of his handsome face. But when he moved in to kiss her on the lips, she moved her lips away. “Not so fast, Casanova,” she said. “I know where that mouth has been.”
Teddy laughed. That was so Nikki! No other woman had ever refused him, although they probably wanted to. But Nikki was no ordinary woman.
And the fact of her honesty no matter what, even in the midst of their passion, was what turned him on about her. And his smile left. His passion returned. And he wrapped her into his big arms and, without any need to guide his dick whatsoever, entered her with a slow, but steady glide.
Slow and steady was his intent anyway. And he did enter her slow. But as soon as he felt her. As soon as he felt the lubricating effect of her vaginal juices, and her tightness, and her ridges that made the veins on his dick throb, his control broke. And he pushed so hard and so deep into Nikki that it made her lean her head back and lift her body up and take him in with a tolerance for pain she didn’t know she had. But the pain was mixed with pleasure. And the pleasure, as soon as he was fully in and stroking, took over.
They made love with a steady rhythm that seemed as if there could be no end. Teddy’s big, naked body was smothering Nikki as he fucked her. He was grunting and groaning the entire time, as if his orgasm was just there, within his grasp, but their will alone kept it at bay. It was the best fuck Teddy had ever had. It started out as a stress relief. Now it was so much more.
Nikki held on as he kept pushing into her, going deeper and deeper, and kept doing things with his dick inside of her that she didn’t think were possible. Some of it hurt, but most of it gave her pleasure beyond her wildest dreams of joy.
And then they came. Almost together, although she’d declare Teddy came first. She felt a shot of heat just before she came, and then an outpouring that made who came first of no relevance whatsoever. They came. And they both came hard. Nikki felt as if she was on fire. Teddy felt electrified. And they both felt as if they were going to pass out if they didn’t contain their intensity.
They didn’t blackout, but they felt the aftershocks for several more minutes.
Then they just laid there, still in each other’s arms, until Teddy suddenly thought of something that he knew he should have thought of long ago, but he was too far in the throes of passion to even consider it.
He looked at her. “Did I hurt you?” he asked her with a sincere, concerned look in his eyes.
“Hell, yeah you hurt me,” Nikki responded.
Teddy looked mortified.
Then Nikki smiled. “I bet I put a little hurting on you too,” she said.
And Teddy laughed. “Yes, you did! But it was all my pleasure.”
“So was yours,” she said.
“What are you saying, Miss Nikki? Are you saying we’re even?”
Nikki nodded. “Yes,” she said. “In every way.”
Teddy smiled. And despite her earlier protestations, she didn’t have the will or the desire to stop him. She allowed him to kiss her with a long, loving, searing kiss.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Two days came and went as if it were a whirlwind. Nikki fielded calls for Teddy. Teddy had meetings with other crime family heads loyal to the Sinatras who were concerned about what happened at the docks, and if they were headed for war. It was business as usual.
But later in the afternoon of that second day, Teddy took Nikki and decided to drive out.
“Guess who called me?” Nikki asked as she sat back on the passenger seat of Teddy’s Corvette.
Teddy looked at her. “Was it the cops?” he asked.
“Pablo Sands,” she said.
“Sands? I heard that name before.”
“He’s my boss at the bar.”
Teddy was relieved. “What did he want? Was he ordering you back to work tonight, or else?”
“No, he went straight to or else. He fired me.”
Teddy glanced at her. “That fucker. You want me to handle it?”
Nikki smiled. “No, stupid! I have another job, remember?”
Teddy laughed. “Oh, yeah. That’s right.”
Nikki nodded as her smile disappeared. “Right,” she said.
Teddy caught her hesitancy. “What’s wrong, Nikki?”
“I don’t know. I mean, I’m super grateful you’re giving me a job. A major job at that, although I’m still waiting on the paperwork.”
“It’s coming, it’s coming,” Teddy said with a smile. “Dad’s HR department is working on it.”
“But it’s really going to be the biggest job I’ve ever had, bar none,” Nikki went on. “But it’s all still so new to me. This town. What happened in L.A.
Us being together. All of it.”
“Any regrets?”
“About what happened in L.A.? Hell no. He came for me. I didn’t break into his apartment. I didn’t bother him.”
“I mean about us being together,” Teddy said.
“Oh!” Nikki exhaled. And shook her head. “No,” she said. “That part of my new adventure has been great. It’s what gets me up in the mornings, to tell you the truth.”
Teddy was touched by her pronouncement. He had similar feelings about her. “Know what you mean,” he said, and they exchanged a quick glance.
Then Teddy exhaled. Better they moved on. “What’s your dream car, Nikki?” he asked her. “Other than this car, of course.”
“Corvette as my dream car? Not mine! Remember, I have high standards. I used to ride the city bus, buddy boy!”
Teddy laughed. “Yeah, I forgot! But for real, Nick. What’s your favorite car?”
“A car is my favorite car! Consider the source! When you have no wheels, any wheels will do.” She thought about it. “I don’t think I have a favorite, to be honest with you. Why?”
“You’re my new assistant. Not to mention my . . .” Teddy didn’t finish his sentence. He, instead, looked at Nikki.
Nikki nodded. “Yeah, not to mention,” she said.
Teddy loved how she had no problem getting him off the hook. They had a long journey ahead of them, and neither one of them wanted to move too fast.
“If I had to choose a car,” Nikki said, “I guess I’d chose a Chrysler. Now they make some beautiful cars!”
“I agree. But . . .”
“But what?”
Teddy looked at her and smiled that roguish smile she loved. “I drive a Corvette,” he said.
“Yeah, so?” Nikki asked.
“You can’t drive anything below what I’m driving.”
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