Gangster

by Sapphire Knight

  “Oh, they were, and that was the whole point of coming when it’s so packed. But it wasn’t me they were so curious about; it was you. My crew’s been spreading rumors that I’ve taken a wife, then we show up, ring on your finger. I’m sure there’s plenty of gossip going on at the moment.”

  “You want them to talk about us?”

  “Yes, cara. The faster it gets around, the safer you’ll be from any lingering threats out there.”

  “Oh. And here I was hoping you just wanted to have dinner with me.”

  “I do, above all, I do. But I would’ve taken you someplace quiet, someplace that if I wanted, I could lay you over the table and feast on that sweet pussy between your legs.” His declaration has me clenching my legs together, already feeling him there. He’s the most experienced man I’ve been with when it comes to sex. I don’t mean that in a bad way either. The man knows how to please me over and over and I’m grateful for it.

  “So, you’re saying that if I wanted your tongue on me right now, you wouldn’t do it in front of all these people?” I issue the small challenge; I love keeping him on his toes.

  A low noise leaves his throat, something close to a growl as his eyes grow darker, “Don’t tempt me, because I would. People be damned, I’d give them one hell of a show. Just say the word.”

  I know what he says is true and it has me growing warm all over. His hand finds my thigh, sliding up under my dress until his fingers lightly graze over the black lace thong I’d worn especially for him to discover later.

  The server takes our order, leaving glasses of water behind and Thaddaeus never skipped a beat stroking me the entire time. Ordering for us both while his fingers kept gently grazing my lips. I was growing wetter by the minute and couldn’t contain the soft moan from leaving me when he pushed the fabric to the side and barely dipped his fingers inside me. I contracted instantly, grabbing for his fingers, begging for more.

  It was like an igniter to a flame. He scooted closer, pushing his finger inside me fully. One at first and then he added a second digit to the sweet torture, rhythmically pumping them in and out. I couldn’t do anything but go with it. I wasn’t about to tell him to stop. It felt too good.

  I squirmed through the server dropping off my wine and Thaddaeus’ Scotch. He was smart enough to act like he didn’t notice me quietly panting as my orgasm started to build. The refreshing, chilled glass of wine did nothing to cool me off, just complemented the amazing feelings perfectly.

  Reaching out to treat Thaddaeus to the same bit of bliss, he captures my wrist with his other hand. He holds me still until I finally stop trying, my hips rolling each time his palm presses against my clit. He watches me closely, waiting on bated breath for me to crest the top of the spiraling mountain of my orgasm.

  A soft mewl spills from my lips as I bite down on the inside of my cheek, attempting to tamper down the need to moan. It’s like he can read it, his mouth slamming down on mine. His free hand finds the back of my neck, holding me to him so he can kiss me like a man dying from thirst.

  Mimicking his fingers with his tongue, it pushes me over. The entire restaurant would hear me call out in wonderment if it wasn’t for his mouth drowning the sound. I lose myself as he pumps his fingers into me with more force, finishing me off.

  After a few moments, his hand leaves my private area. He fixes my panties back into place and my lids part, still panting, my dazed irises meet his amused gaze. My entire body’s scorching overcome with heat, humming in a postorgasmic state.

  “Do you believe me now when I say that I’ll tongue fuck you, right here if you wanted?”

  My head bobs, imagining that scene in my mind. “We should go home.”

  “Indeed, amore; we should. I’ll get our entrees to go. I’m sure we’ve made enough of a lasting impression here tonight.”

  My stare breaks, quickly glancing around to see everyone watching us. They just saw me come—an entire restaurant. The crazy part is that I couldn’t care less; I thoroughly enjoyed myself and would do it again.

  “I think they’re just jealous.” I shrug, a naughty grin overtaking me and making him smirk in return.

  “Ah, Grace, you’re already making the Morelli name proud.” He winks and I laugh. This city has no idea what’s about to hit them, because now Thaddaeus has a wife to be bad with him.

  Opening the door, I’m surprised to be faced with my uncle himself. He smiles wolfishly as I step out of the way for him to enter.

  “Uncle.”

  “Nephew,” he greets. “It’s coming down out there, huh?” He gestures behind him toward the blanketing rain. It’ll no doubt turn to snow at some point during the night. There’s nothing enjoyable about Chicago weather this time of year; it’s miserable, plain and simple.

  “Thaddaeus?” I hear Grace behind me obviously checking to make sure I’m okay. It’s sweet, but I need to have a chat with her about coming downstairs when uninvited guests show up. If he wasn’t familia, he never would’ve been automatically buzzed through my gate.

  “Come here, amore. I want to introduce you.”

  She’s by my side immediately, and my arm circles her protectively. It’s late, and I’m in a T-shirt and pajama pants while she’s in a silk nightgown wrapped up in a matching robe—a gift I ordered for her the other day. It was worth every penny I spent on it too. She looks phenomenal. After our little show at the restaurant, we came home and I made love to her on the kitchen counter while we ate our dinner. It brought new meaning to the term, ‘eating out’ for us both.

  “This darling creature must be your new wife that I’ve heard so much about.” My uncle holds out a small ice chest to me and I take it. Freeing his hands, he grabs for Grace’s hands, holding them carefully to bring them to his mouth. He pecks the top of each hand, charming her with his smile. “It’s a true pleasure, my dear.”

  “Oh.” Her cheeks flush slightly. My uncle knows what he’s doing when it comes to women and business. He’s not always so friendly, but I appreciate it being the first time she’s ever met him. The last thing I want is for my familia to frighten her.

  “Bella, this is my uncle, Sammi Morelli. Uncle, this is my Grace.”

  “Molto bella, indeed,” he purrs. If he wasn’t so powerful I’d knock him down a peg. “My apologies for missing the ceremony.”

  “Thank you, but I’m afraid that’s our fault. We wanted something immediate, but we’ll have a ceremony for family to come and celebrate in six months or so.” Grace smiles, glancing at me and I nod. She’s doing the right thing, inviting him. He is after all, the head of the familia. She just has no idea of the fact. Our wedding ceremony will be overrun with so many Morellis she’ll never keep up with who’s who.

  “Wonderful, I’d love to come. Consider this as my RSVP.” I nearly chuckle at his response. Normally, my familia has to practically beg to get him in attendance, but he was close to my grandfather, as was I at a time.

  “Great!”

  “Regardless of the formal ceremony, it’s custom to give the newlyweds a gift, as I’ve brought one that pertains to you both.” He gestures to the ice chest I’m holding. “Open it, Nephew. I know you’ll be pleased.”

  I don’t know why I turn away from Grace, call it gut intuition from being in this type of lifestyle for so long, but I’m glad I do.

  Inside rests six severed hands and three hearts. It’s a bloody mess, and if Grace saw it, I have a feeling my new wife would be passing out on us.

  My gaze meets his. “How thoughtful Uncle, may I ask?” I don’t finish the sentence. He knows what I mean. I may not be in the mob, but I know what a gift like this means—respect and loyalty. It comes from part of my familia’s motto, from the Mafia side.

  “Of course.” He turns to Grace. “Kitten, be a gem and get me some coffee. That rain mixed with the wind wasn’t pleasant.”

  Instantly, I can see Grace feels guilty for not already offering. She’s new to playing hostess though so my uncle will forgive her. “Oh my
gosh, I’m so sorry for not checking sooner. Of course, I’ll be right back with it, and some snacks.”

  He sends her another predatory grin and she practically jogs toward the kitchen. Once she’s out of sight his stern gaze meets mine again. “Nephew. These belong to the three men who killed Roberto. I understand this will also benefit you and your wife. Consider it a gift, retribution, and an end to what could have turned into a citywide war for you.”

  “Grazie.” I respond immediately and he accepts my gratitude by holding his hand out to me. I don’t even blink, immediately bending to kiss the familia ring adorning his middle finger.

  He is the head of the familia and the fact that he came to my home with this is a great honor. It’s showing me that I’m in his favor, and I’m no longer cast out from not joining the ranks.

  By the time Grace returns, my uncle’s already left. He didn’t really want anything to drink; he asked her so that he could tell me what was needed without frightening my wife. That means a lot to me as well. He could’ve been the ruthless mob Boss he normally is to everyone else and not cared about her well-being.

  “He’s gone, already?” my sweet woman asks, setting the tray of coffee, sugar, and Baileys Irish Cream liquor on the sitting room table. She brought a box of thin mints along with it, her favorites.

  “Yes. He got a call and had to leave. I see you brought the Baileys with the coffee.”

  She nods, watching me curiously as I set the cooler at my feet. I’ll have one of the guys dispose of it.

  “You’ll fit in with this familia just fine.”

  “I hope so. I thought it might help warm him up with the coffee.” She shrugs.

  “You’re smart baby, one of the many things I respect about you.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  I nod.

  “What did he bring us?” Her eyes fall to the cooler again.

  “Just some fresh lobsters from Maine. Dillion’s going to take care of them for us.” There’s no way in hell I’m telling her it’s full of body parts. Not until she’s accustomed to this life a bit longer anyway.

  “I can do it, it’s no problem. I don’t want to bother him again today.”

  “No worries, amore, I’ve already spoken to him. He wants to use a special season so I told him to go ahead.”

  “Okay. If he changes his mind, I can do it for us.”

  “I’ll let him know.”

  “So, he was your uncle. He’s younger than Robbie, were they brothers?”

  “Yes.”

  “How many uncles do you have?”

  “My grandfather had six sons.”

  Her eyes widen as she fixes the coffee for herself. “So there are four others I haven’t met yet?”

  “Yes, but it doesn’t matter.”

  “What do you mean?” She peers at me, confused, and I take the spot on the sofa next to where she stands.

  “Because you just met the most powerful one. That, Grace, was the head of the Italian Mob.”

  Her face turns white, as she sinks down to the couch, perching on the edge. “But, he-he was so nice.”

  “Yes, cara. It appears you have a way with really bad men.”

  “There’s nothing evil about you, Thaddaeus.”

  A laugh breaks free. “You have no idea how wicked I really am baby, but that’s okay. I love that fact.” I kiss her forehead. What started out as an obsession, the insatiable need to have her has evolved into love. “And I love you.”

  She doesn’t need to know that I hired the men who put out a hit on her so that I could be the one to protect her. No one does. Jimmy did but my uncle took care of that problem for me. Familia always sticks together, especially when you’re Italian.

  Grace is mine and that’s all that matters. I told you I’d do anything to get what I wanted. If it makes me crazy, then so be it. They call me the Joker for a reason.

  He said it. He loves me. That’s all I wanted when we exchanged our vows to each other and he’s given it to me. And everyone thinks he’s so bad. Not a chance.

  Or so she believes!

  The End.

  Hope you enjoyed meeting Grace and Thaddaeus ‘Joker’ Morelli! These two hit me one day and I couldn’t get them out of my head. I quickly fell in love with how stubborn they both were and had to share their story with you all. One song inspired this entire book and my muses. If you’d like to check it out and see who these characters were to me, look up, ‘You Don’t Own Me’ by Grace ft. G-Eazy. So much hotness!

  Watch for more Italians in the future! XOXO –Sapphire

  Strawberry Cheesecake Streusel Muffins

  Streusel Topping

  3 tablespoons White Sugar

  3 tablespoons Dark Brown Sugar

  ½ cup + 3 tablespoons Flour

  Pinch Coarse Kosher Salt

  5 tablespoons butter, melted

  Cream Cheese Filling

  4 ounces cream cheese

  ⅓ cup white sugar

  2 teaspoons beaten egg

  1 tsp vanilla extract

  Muffin Batter

  2 cups all purpose flour

  ½ cup granulated sugar

  2 tsp baking powder

  ½ tsp salt

  1 egg

  ¼ cup canola oil

  1 cup whole milk (original recipe used ¾ cup)

  1 tsp vanilla extract

  1½ cups strawberries, cut into small pieces

  Instructions cont…

  Preheat oven to 400. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and spray each liner with non-stick spray. Set aside.

  To make the streusel topping, mix together sugars, flour and salt. Drizzle warm butter over mixture and toss with fork to form pea size pieces. Set aside.

  To make cream cheese filling, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla extract together with an electric mixer in a medium bowl until smooth. Set aside.

  To make the muffins.

  Whisk flour, sugar baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

  In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, oil, milk and vanilla extract.

  Add the dry ingredients into the milk mixture. Stir until just incorporated. Do not over mix or you will get a tough muffin.

  Fold in the strawberries.

  Scoop a heaping tablespoon of the muffin batter into each cupcake liner. Add a heaping tablespoon of the cream cheese filling. Add another heaping tablespoon on batter onto of the cream cheese filling. I was able to fill the muffin tins full. Sprinkle the streusel topping on the tops.

  Bake for 25 minutes.

  Allow to cool in muffin tin for 10 minutes.

  Remove and chow down.

  Also by Sapphire

  Oath Keepers MC Series

  Secrets

  Exposed

  Relinquish

  Forsaken Control

  Friction

  Princess

  Sweet Surrender

  Russkaya Mafiya Series

  Secrets

  Corrupted

  Unwanted Sacrifices

  Russian Roulette

  Standalones

  Unexpected Forfeit

  1st Time Love

  Gangster

  Stay up to date with Sapphire

  Email: authorsapphireknight@yahoo.com

  Website: www.authorsapphireknight.com

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorSapphireKnight

  BONUS READING

  A small taste of my Russians ☺

  Corrupted RevelationsBy: International Bestselling AuthorSapphire Knight

  Chapter 1

  I Will Find You

  5 Years Ago

  Spartak

  If another guest asks me to hold their drink, I may just tie them up. I’m security; it doesn’t automatically make me a waiter or man candy. My Boss, the groom, is nowhere to be found at the moment, and that’s stressful enough.

  A feminine voice from my side interrupts my perusal. “Excuse me, sir.”

  I shift, turning away from the latest cougar attempting to have me do
something for them and spot Tate. He’s standing next to an enormous white tent-like structure, set up behind the cabin. It’s perfect weather for the outdoor, beach wedding ceremony, and guests are fluttering around like they’ve never been to such an event before. Finally, someone who I can ask.

  Quickly, I make my way over to him, weaving between random people. Tate nods when he notices me approach him. “Spartak.”

  “Mr. Masterson.” Clearing my throat, I continue, “Sir, I’m attempting to locate your brother.”

  Tate chuckles. “Knowing Viktor, he’s probably bothering his fiancée. Those two seem glued to each other at this point.”

  “Right. Thank you.”

  He nods hurriedly, greeting the next guest approaching him.

  I head toward the massive barn that’s closer to the beach. The women deemed this building theirs since it has much more room to make preparations than the cabin does. This intimate wedding is turning into way more than what was originally planned.

  Knocking on the old door, I wait and get nothing.

  Rap.

  Rap.

  Rap.

  I knock a little harder against the giant door. The wood scrapes into my knuckles and pisses me off before the door slides open about three inches.

  Elaina peeks her sweet little face between the opening. “Hi Spar, is everything okay?” She peers at me worriedly with her sapphire-colored irises.“Yes, Miss Elaina, just checking if the Boss is in here.”

  “No, he’s actually behaved and hasn’t tried to lock me in any of the safe rooms yet.” She grins, sliding the door open a little more, and I step closer, blocking the opening to keep others from seeing her.

  “Wow, ma’am; he is going to be floored when he sees you.”

  “You like it?”

  I hear women laughing behind her; they must know how silly the question is. Elaina’s beyond beautiful. I nod, not sure what to say to her, without Viktor sinking me in the lake if he hears.

  “This is that new Vera Wang dress he had you and Lexei go pick up.”

  I swallow roughly as I skate over her in the delicate white lace, formfitting gown. It’s understated class and Elaina knows how to pull off every stitch of it.