by Hamel, B. B.
Where there should be anger, all I feel is a roiling, tense need for his touch.
He let my face go and smirked as that hand moved down over my breasts, along my hips, down between my legs.
“I thought so,” he said, and kissed me again.
I melted into that kiss and hated myself for it. I felt pathetic and weak, but my heart was aching and my body pulsed for his touch. Every time his lips pressed against mine I let out a little gasp like I couldn’t believe how good it felt to be kissed by a gangster and a killer and a bastard.
His hand pressed up between my legs, over my pussy, rolling along my yoga pants and my panties. I purred into his mouth and moved my hips, riding his hand as pleasure began to bloom. He kissed my chest, my neck and collar bone, then released my hair and reached down to peel the yoga pants down over my ass.
I watched him drop to his knees, my eyes wide. I looked around, feeling a surge of panic, and I realized there was nobody around. We were penned in by big trees and far enough back on the deck that nobody could see from the street.
And Steven didn’t seem to give a damn. He kissed my inner thighs and teased my pussy with his fingers, spreading my legs wide. I let out an involuntary moan as he found my clit and began to circle it with his thumb, a smirk on his lips as he looked up at me. I grabbed his hair as he pushed my panties aside and licked me top to bottom.
“Oh fuck,” I groaned, gripping his hair tighter. “Oh my god. Someone might see this. Do you even care?”
He licked me faster, sucking my clit, then pulled my panties down. The metal railing was cold against my bare ass and he looked up with a smirk on his lips as he pressed his fingers deep inside me.
“Not at all,” he said. “Let them fucking wat.”
“Oh my god,” I said. “Oh my god. What are we doing?”
“I’m going to taste you,” he said. “That’s what we’re doing. You’re finally admitting what you really want, and that’s my tongue on your clit, my fingers buried deep inside of you. This is what you need, Colleen. Just close your eyes and let me make you feel good.”
I leaned my head back and stared up into the sky as his tongue found my clit again. I gasped and my back arched. I’d never felt like this before, never felt so taken, so exposed, so needy. That kept coming back, over and over again, that intense and overwhelming need for his touch. I’d never felt that way with a man before, but as soon as Steven’s fingers touched my skin I just knew I couldn’t let him stop.
I felt insane, I felt stupid. But I felt too good to stop as his tongue did its dirty work, his fingers sliding in and out of my slick spot. I gasped, grabbing his hair tight, pressing my breasts together and curling my back around him. He growled softly and continued licking me, sucking me, tasting me, drinking me deep. He went faster, slick fingers sliding in and out, tongue lapping and sucking and rolling around my clit, and I knew I couldn’t take much more.
“Fuck,” I whispered. “Oh fuck. I’m going to come. Oh fuck Steven, I’m going to come. Someone’s going to see.”
He didn’t stop to answer. He only licked me faster, tongue rolling in perfect little circles all around my hard bud. My back arched and pleasure flared all along my legs, and a stupid smile came to my face. I let out a laugh, unable to help myself, as pleasure pulsed and writhed along my skin. I gripped his hair hard, hard enough to hurt, but he didn’t seem to mind.
I said his name, I don’t know how many times. I said it over and over, letting it roll off my tongue, an invocation for him, pleading for him. He gave me whatever I wanted, that tongue, those hands, and a bead of sweat dripped down my back as I threw back my head.
I came on his tongue. My body twitched, completely out of control. I groaned and said his name, a stupid smile still plastered on my lips, and I knew this was what I wanted, this was what I needed. From the second he took me and I woke up in a strange bed, I knew I wanted this man between my legs, knew this man could make me feel so good it would drive me crazy.
But slowly the orgasm finished. I released his hair and leaned back on the railing. He slipped his fingers out from my pussy and licked them, cleaning them off as he stood. He touched my face with his other hand and kissed me, and I could taste my pussy on his lips. I kissed him with a hunger that surprised me, and I was breathing hard when he pulled away.
“I’m going to take care of this,” he said, staring into my eyes. “Do you hear me, Colleen? I’m going to take care of it.”
I nodded once. “I believe you’ll try.”
“I’m not going to try. I’m going to do it.”
I bit my lip and laughed, shaking my head. “What makes you so confident? The Club isn’t just going to roll over and let you take them, you know. And my uncle isn’t going to be kind to my father for long.”
He stared at me with this longing expression on his face.
“You don’t know me well enough yet, but you will,” he said. He leaned in and kissed me, biting my lower lip. “When I say I’m going to do something, I always do it.”
He turned away and walked back to the house. I watched him step through the door and disappear back inside before I slowly slid down along the railing and sat on the wood floor.
I stared at the cracked and painted wooden roof deck boards, my heart still hammering, my head still swimming with pleasure. I still felt that deep, dark hole in my chest, and the fear that my father would never come home again, and the Club would take away both my parents.
But Steven’s words rang in my ears and I have to believe him. I knew I had no other choice.
9
Steven
I woke Colleen early the next morning. She slept in her little yoga outfit, and her hair was a mess when she lifted it up from under the covers.
“What time is it?” she asked, groggy and annoyed.
“Just after seven,” I said.
“Too early.” She flopped back down.
“Your uncle wants to meet.”
She sat back up and blinked away some of the sleep. The gray sheet she had wrapped around her shoulders fell away, and my eyes moved down to her chest then back up again.
“When?” she asked.
“Ten this morning,” I said. “Somewhere neutral.”
“I want to come.”
I laughed. “That’s why I’m waking you up.”
“Good.” She sat up and the sheet fell away. Extra pillows were thrown on the floor beside the bed and the heavier blanket was a mess at her feet. She took a deep breath like she was steeling herself for something. “Where’s the meeting?”
“Barnes and Noble.”
She stared at me for a second then tilted her head, her hair spilling down her shoulders. “The bookstore?”
“The one right downtown in Rittenhouse,” I said.
“Why?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “It’s a public place, probably won’t be too crowded. Or maybe he just likes books.”
She let out a little laugh. “Definitely doesn’t like to read,” she said. “All right. Let me shower and get dressed.”
“We’re leaving in a couple hours.” I turned and walked to her door. I was tempted to say more, but I decided to leave and make coffee instead. I left her door open and the padlock hanging from the hook.
I could still taste her on my lips as I filled up the coffee maker and got it started. I leaned against the stove, arms crossed over my chest, waiting for it to brew.
She looked so innocent, waking up from sleep. She looked like an angel, like she’d never been touched before in her life.
But as soon as my fingers were on her skin, she changed into something else. I saw it come over her, the desire and the need. When I licked that delicious little pussy again and again, making her moan, making her whisper and pant my name, I knew she’d been thinking about what it would be like to get fucked by the mobster ever since I picked her up.
She played innocent so well. I could almost believe it when she glared at me for making some
comment. But as soon as I kissed her, as soon as I touched her, all that innocence was gone, and there was just my Colleen.
Fucking hell, my Colleen.
Taking her had complicated everything. But I don’t regret it one bit.
The coffee finished brewing so I poured myself a mug. I had some calls to make to get shit set for the meeting, and by the time I was finished, Colleen came down wearing a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt, her hair up in a tight bun. She poured herself some coffee and sipped it before sitting at the table.
I hung up with Luca and looked at her from the kitchen. She leaned over and picked up a pen, clicking it open and closed before spinning it around her fingers.
“You’re nervous,” I said.
“You’re not?”
“No,” I said. “These things don’t usually go bad.”
“Why not?”
“Mobsters are violent and dangerous, but not stupid.”
She laughed and dropped the pen trying to spin it. “I think they’re definitely stupid. But maybe they’re smart enough to know not to kill people in a public place.”
“Fair enough,” I said.
“What does my uncle want?”
“I don’t know.” I picked up my coffee mug and sipped it, but it had gone cold. I stuck it in the microwave and nuked it for forty-five seconds. “This is how these things go. He’ll make some threats, tell me he’s going to cut your father’s throat, all that bullshit. In the end, he’ll offer concessions.”
“And what are you going to do?” She sat very still, staring at me as she held her mug between her hands.
The microwave beeped and I took my coffee out. It was steaming again and I took a long sip before letting out a breath.
“I don’t know,” I said.
“You don’t know.” Her voice was flat. “Come on, Steven. You’re not the kind of guy that doesn’t know.”
I smiled a little and inclined my head. “I appreciate you saying that about me.”
“What’s your plan?”
“My plan is to take the Club,” I said. “So whatever he offers, it won’t be enough. But I’ll string him along and say I’m thinking about it. Meanwhile, I’m going to come up with some way to get your father back.”
She nodded a little and looked down at the table. She ran her fingernails along the wood grain.
“That’s a good plan.”
“It’s the only plan for now,” I said. “It all hinges on what your uncle wants going forward.”
She picked up the pen again and chewed on the end for a second before looking at it and dropping it down on the table. I got the sense that chewing on pens was an old habit, and she didn’t want to pick it up again, but maybe I was reading into it too much.
“I don’t know Uncle Mathis very well,” she said. “But I do know that all the guys are scared of him. Even my father was a little scared, and my dad’s the older brother. I think Mathis is a little bit…”
“Unhinged,” I said.
“Something like that,” she said. “I’m just saying, don’t be surprised if he doesn’t play by the rules.”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I won’t be.”
I sipped my microwaved coffee and walked through the house to the front window. I peeked through the blinds and saw an SUV idling by the curb with Dino sitting behind the wheel.
I closed the blinds and checked my watch. It was a little early, but it couldn’t hurt to get there first. I drank some more coffee, walked into the kitchen, and dumped the rest. She watched me the whole time, not speaking, not spinning her pen. She barely moved, just enough to take little sips of her drink like a baby bird. I could feel her anxiety rolling off her in waves.
There was nothing I could say to make her feel better, so I said nothing. Even though this was a routine meeting, she was right, I had to take precautions. I didn’t know Mathis well enough to say if he’d do something reckless or not, but I had to be sure at least.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s get moving. We’ll be early, but that’s fine.”
She nodded and stood without speaking. I walked past her and she followed me to the door. I opened it, let her out first, and followed out behind. She stopped at the bottom of the stoop while I locked the door, then let me open the back door of Dino’s car. She climbed in, then I got into the front
“Hey, boss,” Dino said. “I’m your driver today. Great day for it, right?”
I gave him a look then glanced out the window. He was right, it was a beautiful day, low humidity, lots of sunshine. Philly didn’t get many nice days in the summer, normally it was either too hot, too humid, or both at the same time.
“Great day for it,” I said, nodding.
He beamed and pulled the car out into traffic.
I glanced back at Colleen. She was chewing on the pen from the table, and I smiled to myself a little. She must’ve brought it with her without even realizing it, and now she was too nervous to stop herself. I didn’t say anything about it as I looked up front again and watched as the more rundown and spacious south Philly streets turned into the greener, more densely packed Rittenhouse area.
Rittenhouse was one of the more expensive parts of the city. There were a few large, high-rise exclusive condo buildings right around the edge of Rittenhouse park, and more than a few expensive restaurants were in the surroundings neighborhoods. I didn’t get up around this area much, since my crew worked a little bit further south, but it was nice to be reminded that there were still genuinely beautiful parts of the city.
Tourists were out, and people were sitting outside of restaurants on padded chairs and stools around metal and wood tables. There were people in the park, sitting on blankets and walking dogs and sitting on the benches that lined the concrete pathways. Buskers sang, did dances, played instruments. There was a group of three guys kicking a soccer ball on the grass, away from everyone else.
It felt like any other beautiful Philadelphia day.
“Drop us over there,” I said to Dino, pointing to the curb across the street from Parc. It was a classic French-style restaurant with a red awning, lots of glass, and lots of gold accents. People were packed around the little tables, and the restaurant itself was packed inside. A waitress with black pants and a white shirt scrambled between the tables, taking orders, carrying empty glasses.
Dino pulled to the side and I got out. Colleen followed, and we stood on the sidewalk together. Dino pulled out and drove around the block, heading to the pick up point.
“Come on,” I said.
Colleen hurried to keep up. I led her down the block, heading north. The bookstore was just across the street in a large sandstone building right on the corner. We crossed at the light and I opened the doors for her as we stepped into the downstairs lobby.
The cashiers were to the right, and the escalators to the upper floors were to the left. The building was broken up into three floors, and the bottom most floor was crammed with tables and merchandise but not many people. I spotted Simon over in the corner looking at a display of calendars, and he nodded at me as I walked to the escalators.
“Is that… your guy?” Colleen whispered as we stepped on together. “I saw him give you a look.”
“That’s Simon,” I said.
“How many do you have in here?”
“My whole crew.”
She stared at me in surprise. “Wait, really?”
I shrugged. “Sure. They’re all here, scattered around, except for Dino. Luca’s upstairs in the cafe with Lorenzo and Davide, and he’s coordinating everything.”
The escalator reached the top and I got off. We stepped out into the main book selling area. The kid section was straight ahead, and to our left was the fiction section, the sci-fi section, the poetry section, and a few of the other smaller genres. I walked over to sci-fi and stepped in the aisle.
“What’s the plan then?” she asked.
“The plan is, we browse and wait for your uncle to show up.”
; “Wait— I’m just staying here?” She looked surprised as I reached up and pulled down a copy of Dune.
“That’s the plan,” I said.
“Does he know I’ll be here?”
“No,” I said. “Definitely not.” I flipped through the book with a little smile. I remembered reading Dune when I was a kid a long time ago. It was one of the books that made me decide reading wasn’t totally stupid.
She stared at me for another second then her face hardened. “So you’re using me,” she said. “You’re just trying to piss him off.”
“He’s not going to know you’re here,” I said. “You’re going to hide in the kid’s section and listen to what he says.”
She glared at me for a moment longer then shook her head. “Come on. That’s insane.”
“The deal was, we’d both show up alone. Now, of course that isn’t going to happen. But we have to at least pretend we’re honoring the deal.”
She snorted and snatched the book from my hands as I tried to flip through it again. She shoved it back into the shelf and stared at me, her hands on her hips.
“Listen,” she said. “If you do something to get my father hurt, I’m going to kill you.”
I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head. An old woman wandered past the aisle and shot Colleen an odd look. I tried not to laugh, but I couldn’t quite keep the smile from my lips, which only pissed Colleen off even more.
“I won’t,” I said. “I just want you to hear what your uncle says, that’s all. The guys are here to make sure we’re safe. I’m not going to break any rules.”
She sucked in a deep breath and nodded. “Fine,” she said.
“Good.” I reached out and pulled Dune out again. “So can I read for a while, or are you going to take it away from me again?”
She glared at me then threw up her hands. “You’re impossible. You’re acting like this is no big deal.”
“It’s not,” I said. “But if you’re so frustrated, go hide over there.” I gestured toward the kid’s section. “If you stand right on the other side of that shelf there, you’ll hear us just fine.”
