A Dangerous Game

by Sienna Grant

  “So, do I get to know who I’m speaking to?” I ask curiously.

  “Kelly O’Connor.” She offers her hand out for me to shake. I take it, lifting it to my lips and kissing her knuckles.

  “O’Connor?” I ask curiously. She nods, her tongue licking across the length of her bottom lip. “I’ve heard of the O’Connor’s’ too.”

  She smirks. “I’m sure you have.”

  Pulling my phone out from my pocket, I type out a message to Angelo.

  Find out what you can about a Kelly O’Connor.

  I slip my phone away as she leans into me, her lips brushing my ear, her breaths heavy as she speaks.

  “We can take this somewhere quieter, if you wish?”

  I suppress a laugh at her forwardness. I don’t intend on leading her on, the O’Connor’s are bad news. There’s only one reason she’s here and that’s to cause trouble. If I’m right in my analysis, she’s the wife of Shea O’Connor. He’s much older than her, a trophy wife. My phone vibrates in my pocket dragging me away from my own thoughts and from the eyes of the woman in front of me.

  “Excuse me for a second.”

  Stepping away, I open the message I’ve received from Angelo.

  We need to talk. Do. Not get close to that woman.

  I daren’t tell him that the only real reason I’m up here is to be close to his sister and keep an eye on her myself. I have no intention of fucking an O’Connor woman. That can only bring one thing to my doorstep and my business. That’s trouble, with a capital ‘T’, but I’d love to know why the fuck she’s here.

  Stepping back to the bar, her red glossy lips form a smile, as she tips the glass back.

  “I’m sorry, you’ll have to excuse me; I have to sort out some business. Josh, another Brandy for the lady. Your drinks are on the house Ms O’Connor, anything you want just let Josh know.” I grin.

  Her smile widens. “Why thank you, Mr Di Marco. I do hope it’s nothing serious?”

  “Nothing I can’t handle.” Her free hand lowers, gripping my jacket again as she leans into me.

  “I’m sure you can handle anything.” She fires back, her face inches from mine.

  Straightening my suit jacket, I smirk and move away.

  She captures her bottom lip between her teeth, obviously using it as a seduction technique, before turning back and thanking Josh for the drink.

  Turning on my heel, I head towards the girls table. Laura eyeing me as I near them.

  “Having fun ladies?”

  “Thank you so much for this Mr Di Marco.” One of her friend’s say.

  Laura gets up from her chair and stands before me, raising her eyes up to look at me. One look, that’s all it takes to make my dick wake up to her. That look belongs with her on her knees in front of me, with my cock in her luscious mouth. My lips dry from the images that are bouncing around in my head. I go to speak, but Laura beats me to it.

  “Yeah, thanks Stefano. I’m having a fantastic birthday.” She leans up on her tiptoes, her wet lips barely touching my cheek, kissing it. “Thank you.” She whispers. Her warm breath blowing softly across me, a smile sitting on her pretty face.

  I lean down until my lips are at her ear. “Don’t play games little girl.” Glancing away from the little temptress in front of me, I cast my eyes on the table of girls sitting down.

  “Enjoy your night ladies. Drinks are on me.” With one last glimpse of her to satisfy my own selfish needs, I walk away.

  Once I’m out of sight of her, I shake all thoughts of Laura from my head, before I have to step into the same room as her brother.

  I need to get my head into the game before Angelo catches on.

  Striding downstairs to the office, I open the door. Angelo is sitting at the desk and looks up at me as I walk in, a serious look on his face.

  “What you got for me?” I ask walking around the desk.

  “O’Connor. Kelly. Twenty-seven. Married to Shea O’Connor. Fifty. No children to date, but he is the heir to the throne so to speak. His father is seventy-four and wants to hand over the reins, very soon by the looks of it.” He swivels around on the chair until he’s facing me.

  “I found something else too. You’re not going to like this though, Stefano.”

  I think I have an idea what he’s going to say, but I wait anyway, nodding at him to go on.

  “It seems there’s a connection to Christina through the O’Connor’s.”

  My nostrils flare, my fists tightening into balls ready to hit something.

  “Tell me.” I grind out between my gritted teeth.

  His chest expands as he breathes deep, “It seems the piece of scum that killed your sister, was working for them.

  “What…?” I ask confused.

  Angelo nods. We have this way of communicating without actually voicing our thoughts most of the time. I guess that’s why we’ve been best friends most of our lives.

  “Fuck. Thanks Dad.” I mumble. “How the fuck didn’t we know this?”

  “Stefano, it looks as if we’re stuck in the middle of a turf war. Your Dad knew who he was.”

  “Fuck!” I drag my hand down my face. “Thanks for the recap, not that I needed that. So, I killed Mickey, then they kill my sister, for what, out of revenge? My sister was killed by a car...”

  I killed Shea’s younger brother after he double crossed us. All Dad said was I had to kill him, he said it was to give me responsibility. I didn’t know he was one of them. Then five years after that, I lose my sister to being ran off the road. She was killed instantly.

  “Kind of. You were sixteen Stefano; this wasn’t your fault. You were following orders. You didn’t know. Your Dad made a dodgy deal with the O’Connor’s with some drugs. Cocaine. When Mickey didn’t pay up, that was when he ordered the hit. He made you shoot Mickey because he thought it would take the heat from him.

  “How did you find out? Why have I never heard this?”

  “Your Dad had it hidden and hidden well. Luckily we’ve got good contacts.”

  “Well, I can’t throw her out for being an O’Connor, that will wind them up even more. At the moment she’s just drinking. Keep your eye on the cameras if you see anyone else walk through those doors, that you think is connected to them then let me know.”

  I pat Angelo’s shoulder. “Thanks.” He gives me a tight grin, but I know what’s going through his mind too, this could get ugly.

  “I need to speak with my Dad.”

  I let the door swing shut behind me and make my way down to my spacious office. Unlocking the door and storming through it, smashing off the wall as it swings. I push the door until it’s closing behind me and head straight for the mini-bar. Pouring a shot of brandy, I sit in my black, leather chair, swirling the liquid in the short tumbler before taking a sip.

  Pulling my phone from my pocket, I pull up my Dad’s number then look at the time. It’s late, maybe I’ll leave it until tomorrow and make a point of going to see my parents at home. I need to get to the bottom of this before something happens. They aren’t going to settle. I’ve heard about Kelly, she’s like a black widow spider. She gets them caught in the net, making them vulnerable - they think I’m stupid. They’re about to find out that I’m nothing like that.

  Chapter Five

  Laura

  Fuck me, that man makes me hot. Having him look down on me, watching me. His trimmed beard brushes against my cheek, as I whisper into his ear. The intense look in his eyes... makes a shiver run all over my body, from my head right the way down to my toes.

  I know my brothers probably think I’m still a virgin. Of course, they do, I’m their baby sister, but I’m not. Believe me the next man I have sex with will be Stefano Di Marco. I watch him stride towards the door, nodding his head once at his bouncer. When he’s disappeared from sight, I turn back to the bar, narrowing my eyes at the slut who had her hands all over him. She doesn’t notice me; she’s flirting with the bar staff instead.

  “Laura. Come on, we need to
dance.” Jennah links my arm with hers, pulling me with her. “Come on birthday girl.”

  Smiling at my friends excitement, I follow them to the dance floor.

  It’s packed, the beat from the music thrumming through my body as I let it take over. We’ve had three bottles of champagne and a cocktail each too. If Angelo sees me, he will go mad. I’m already feeling the effects of the alcohol, so I’m a little tipsy.

  My hands fly up into the air as a familiar tune comes on. NeYo and Pitbull's, Give Me Everything, blasts out from the speakers. Jennah comes to stand behind me, her body grinding against mine - I know it’s her because she always does this. Her slim, tanned forearm slides across my collar bone. While her small hand cups my shoulder holding me in place. We grind and wind down to the floor, then back up again to the rhythm of the music as we laugh and sing. Throwing my head back it rests on her shoulder, making us look sultry to anyone else. My hand reaching up to hold the back of her hair, as I close my eyes.

  They slowly open as the song dies down and Jennah is laughing and pointing. Two lads, who I’d say are nineteen or twenty are watching us. Jen winks at them to give them the come on. Me - not so much, I don’t have a death wish. If Stefano saw me deliberately egging them on, he would soon make his annoyance known.

  They begin to walk toward us, pushing their way through the crowded floor. I swing around so my back is to them, but Jennah uses her seductive smile to reel them in.

  “Jennah. Don’t. If they come over here and Angelo or Stefano sees, I’m dead.”

  I'm sure that nothing got past the wise Jennah, when I was talking to Stef earlier. I also know that Angelo will also kill me if he sees me.

  “Oh, don’t be so dramatic.” she says with a wave of her hand. “They can’t stop people talking to you.”

  Don’t you believe it, I think, but keep it to myself. The lads are good looking from what I can see, one blond hair and one brown haired. The other two girls join us when they see we’ve pulled, but I’m not interested.

  “Hey, does your friend not talk?”

  I look back at him. “Yes, just not to you.”

  “Why not to me?” Looking over his shoulder, another of their friends approach. I can tell from his shy persona; he isn’t like these two nob heads. “So, do you gorgeous ladies have names or what. He’s Joe, I’m Jason,” he looks back at the lad who caught my eye. “That’s Rhys, he’s shy.” I lift my chin in answer. Jennah steps up and answers Jason.

  “Well, I’m Jennah, she’s Laura, the birthday girl, shhh.” Her finger rests against her full puckered lips. “These three are Denny, Maria and Susie.”

  My gaze steers away from the cocksure boys in front of me, until I feel eyes looking at me from the side. Looking in that direction, I notice Rhys watching me, giving him a small smile, he soon returns it.

  “Happy birthday.”

  “Thank you.” I smile, a genuine one though. He seems nice.

  “Can I get you a drink?”

  “No, I’m good thank you. If I have any more, I’ll be stuck with my head in the toilet for the next foreseeable hours.”

  “Come on, just a shot,” his eyes teasing, manipulating. I smirk and not being able to refuse a sweet smile, I head to the bar with my new friend, Rhys. We push into a gap at the overcrowded bar, not waiting long before we’re getting served.

  “Two Jager bombs.” He holds up two fingers as he speaks to let the pretty barmaid know, in case she couldn’t hear. She brings over the small glasses with the shot glass sitting at the bottom. Rhys hands over the money and turns to me.

  “Happy birthday.”

  I smile at him as he leans into my ear. He smells good. Not as good as Stefano though.

  “I didn’t get your name, sorry.”

  “Laura.” I tell him grinning.

  “So, eighteen? How did you get in here?”

  “I have contacts.”

  “You should be careful, a pretty girl like you in a place like this…”

  “I’m fine.” I cut him off, “I can look after myself.”

  “Good. I’m glad to hear it. You ready?”

  I nod as we touch glasses, hit the bar and tip them back. The sweet taste of red bull mixes with the strong, putrid taste of Jägermeister. It burns as it hits the back of my throat and travels down. I hit my chest thinking it will help it, but it doesn’t, and my champagne is sitting upstairs on the table. Grabbing Rhys’s bottle, I swig down his beer, ridding the taste in my mouth, cringing. I don’t know what’s worse.

  “Ugh, that was disgusting.”

  “Did you not like it?” Rhys asks, his eyes searching mine, smirking mischievously.

  “No, I didn’t.” I try to smile, but I’m not sure I succeed. “I better go back to the girls; they’ll wonder where I’ve gone.”

  We leave the glasses on the bar and head back through the crowd to the others. For some reason, my gaze raises upwards and I notice Stefano standing at the window looking down on us. His eyes are fixed totally on me... His forearms from what I can see are leaning on the rail, his body hunched forward. I hold his stare, he seems cool and collected from here, but I can only bet he’s like a raging bull.

  I turn from his overpowering presence and back to my friends.

  “Girls, I’m heading upstairs.”

  “But it’s only VIP up there, you have to be invited,” Rhys says to me, rather than the others.

  “How do you think we got in here?” I give a knowing smile with an arched brow and wait for the penny to drop.

  “Ohhh. You got VIP?”

  “Mmm, I may have…”

  “Get us up there.” Jason asks butting in. I’m not sure though, I don’t think Stefano will be happy with that arrangement.

  I don’t even know him.

  “I need to speak to my brother. I’ll be back.”

  “Wait your brother owns this place?”

  “No,” I swing my head back to answer him, “But he works here.”

  Leaving Rhys and his inquisitiveness, I navigate my way through the crowd and up the side stairs, until I reach the double doors of the VIP area. Before I can push open the doors of the room, I’m pulled off to the side. His scent hits me first as he backs me into a corner. Looking around the ceiling, I spot we’re out of view of the CCTV cameras. Which I know is why he’s done it.

  “Who’s your friend Laura? You looked very cosy with him.”

  His heat is radiating through me. The sweet smell on his breath as he breathes against me - the smell of brandy.

  “Are you jealous, Stefano? You know you only have to tell Angelo and I could be yours; all yours.” I smirk tracing my lips with my tongue. “While we’re on the subject of others, who was that woman?”

  If he can play the martyr, then so can I.

  “No-one for you to worry about.”

  “Well then neither is Rhys. He’s nice.”

  Stefano’s head dips making our foreheads touch. His breath softly blowing in my face, making my thighs clench together. Brushing his lips over my cheek, he works his way to my ear, sucking my lobe between his lips and biting down.

  “Stefano, stop. You can’t…”

  “Who says?” His voice is deep, hoarse. “I want you to remember when you go back down there, what my mouth feels like on you.”

  Feeling like a complete mess, I stand upright, our eyes meeting as he takes a step back from me. He pulls some keys on a ring from his pocket and unlocks the door, holding it open for me as I hesitantly step inside.

  Walking up to the oak desk, I run my palm across the shiny wood as I hear the door click shut. I feel his presence behind me; it fills the air like smoke. Slowly, I turn, he’s prowls towards me like a jungle cat, until he’s standing before me. His fingers pushing roughly into the back of my hair. His thumbs holding my cheeks in place and tipping my head back to look at him.

  My stomach does little flips with him touching me and the way he’s looking at me. Swallowing hard, I lick my lips and his mouth is on mine. M
y breaths ragged with desire, his body pushing against mine as I fist his jacket. His tongue slips through my lips tasting me. I take full advantage of the position I’m in and kiss him back. An arm hooks around me as he lifts and places me on the desk, his mouth devouring mine. Sucking on my lips one last time, he breaks away from me.

  “Now do you remember?”

  “I never forgot…” I breathe licking my lips.

  “I shouldn’t be doing this, but I can’t help it. You fucking confuse me and I can’t afford to take my eye off the ball, not right now.” His voice is low, husky. Which makes me want to pull him back to me and start all over again.

  A shocked gasp escapes me, his tone is threatening almost, but fuck it, it makes me so hot for him. The feeling of my nipples hardening, makes my thighs clench together. His eyes turn black, as his hand tightens in my hair, pulling my head back further causing a slight sting. I gasp as his lips cover mine again, before I can answer him. He pulls away an inch as he speaks, his soft gasps blowing in my face.

  “Go back to your friends, Laura. If he touches you though, I will kill him.” His lips slam against mine in a hard kiss, “Oh and straighten yourself up.” Stefano orders.

  Leaning up on my tiptoes, I brush my lips across his cheek, before grabbing my clutch and heading into the bathroom that’s connected to the office. Shutting the door and sliding the lock across, I stand in front of the mirror, blow out a relieved sigh, then reapply my gloss. My chin is red and blotchy from the stubble on his chin, where it’s deliciously rubbed against mine.

  Straightening my hair and my dress until I look respectable again, I walk out of the door. “

  You’re so fucking frustrating, Stefano.” I grind out. Cupping my jaw in his palm, he leans into me.

  “You have such a fucking dirty mouth.” His nose nudges mine. His teeth clasp onto my lip, scraping his teeth along it and releasing me. Smirking, I decide to poke the bear a little.