Craving The Demon: A Standalone Enemies To Lovers Mafia Romance

by Rebel Hart

  I thought backwards, wanting desperately to prove her wrong, but nothing really came to mind. “I’ve done it, I’m just not thinking about those guys anymore.”

  “Sure,” she hummed.

  “You know what? I have to go.”

  “Sure. Wouldn’t wanna be late for your boyfriend.” I tossed her a quick glare before walking out of the room.

  I did not like Bryce Misterro.

  If anything, I found him difficult to swallow. Even after all the problems he’d run into back in his old home, he was still causing issues by deferring to me rather than his mother and his family. He was a little too stupid for me.

  Even if he was, other than that, a perfect guy.

  Walking out the front door of Nique’s house, Bryce was already parked on his bike and waiting. I’d been using her house as my cover house, which Nique was happy to do to feel like she was involved in my life, so it had been where Bryce was picking me up and dropping me off.

  He climbed off the motorcycle to greet me, kissing me and humming, “You look good,” in my ear.

  I smiled and nodded. “You do too.”

  “Come on. I’ve got something nice planned.” He took me by the hand to lead me down to his bike, then after we’d both pulled our helmets on, we climbed on and were roaring off moments later.

  I’d been instructed to dress comfortably, which I had, and it became clear why as Bryce drove us out of the city and towards Mt. Charleston. It was the nearest mountain that overlooked Vegas below and was a popular attraction for fans of camping and hiking. We passed most of the campground stops and continued well up into the mountains until it actually started to feel a little chilly, but before it was too bad, Bryce pulled off and parked. He opened the small cabinet on the back of his bike and swapped our helmets for a basket and blanket he had wrapped up inside.

  “A picnic?” I asked.

  He laughed. “Yeah. Is that okay?”

  “I just thought picnics in the mountains were the kind of thing that only happened in a rom-com.”

  Rather than responding, he just took my hand in his and led me out onto a flattened part of the mountainside. He unrolled the blanket and whipped it out to lay it down, then he set the basket down and motioned for me to sit. It was a perfect spot, with more of the mountain range in the distance and the sun preparing to set in front of us in just a couple of hours. It was the height of romance.

  “So,” he started, lifting the basket’s lid off. “I didn’t want to make anything hot because I knew it wouldn’t travel well and desert heat… you know. So I made…” He pulled out a container and popped the top off. “BLT wraps, because I know you like your bacon.” It brought a smile to my face before I could stop it. “Homemade chips. From potatoes. It’s apparently something I can do. Who knew?” He lifted the top from a bowl revealing dried, crispy slices of potato that, apart from their fresher look, were definitely chips. “A fruit bowl for dessert and…” He stuffed a hand into the basket and came back with two thermoses. “I put wine in a thermos. Actually… I put wine in two thermoses.”

  I couldn’t keep myself from laughing. “It’s so dumb, but also brilliant?”

  “That’s what I said.” He handed me a plate and I took one of the cut halves of the wraps and put it on my plate with a handful of chips. Bryce opened my thermos for me and propped it up in the basket so it wouldn’t spill, then loaded his own plate.

  “Okay,” I said. “You’ve outdone the boat.”

  “Yeah?” he said, looking legitimately excited.

  “This is pretty great. I don’t get to come up into the mountains a whole lot.”

  “I come pretty often,” he replied.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. Reminds me of Colorado.”

  I tilted my head to the side. “Do you miss it?”

  “Oh yeah. I loved it in Boulder. You know how there’s always two groups of people, those who want to get out of their hometown as soon as possible, and those who never want to leave? I was definitely the latter. I loved the mountains, the fresh air, the countryside. And, in Boulder, I was the most chaotic thing. Here, everywhere you turn there’s someone as insane as me.”

  “You like being the most erratic thing for miles?” I asked.

  He just laughed and shook his head. “It makes me unique.”

  “You’re insane,” I said laughing. “Do you think you’ll ever go back? You know, once all that shit has blown over. Or once your mom fires you for good?”

  “Yeah, maybe. Like half the guys I pissed off were over 60. It’s just a waiting game at this point.” He laughed as he said it, but I could see that there was a real fear there that he might never be able to go back. “I don’t know…”

  His voice trailed off and he stopped talking. The wind blew through his hair and pushed the scent of his cologne over towards me. I did enjoy the time we spent together, even if it was just a game we were playing. Beneath the layers of hard exterior he was putting out, Bryce was a pensive guy. I just wished that I knew what was really going on in his brain. Sometimes I felt like he was making so much more effort than me, and other times it felt like it just came naturally to him.

  Who was Bryce Misterro, really?

  “Hey,” I said. “You know, you’ve never really asked me anything.”

  He looked sideways at me. “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve always been honest with me about yourself, but you’ve never asked me.”

  “I assumed you wouldn’t be as honest with me as I am with you. You clearly think it’s stupid that I’m an open book. You know better,” he explained.

  “Maybe, but you’ve told me a lot so… Ask me something. Anything. And I’ll be honest.”

  “Okay.” He set down his mostly empty plate and turned to look at me. “Be honest. You didn’t like it the first time we had sex.”

  I violently recoiled at that question. I gave him a free pass to ask me anything and instead of asking about my family or my dad or something about our work, he chooses to ask me about that? “What?”

  “It’s okay if you weren’t into it. I know it’s a little weird. I thought you reacted to it well, but maybe you’re not into it. That’s fine, if you aren’t.”

  “My reaction is to that question, not to the sex,” I said. “What would make you think that?”

  He frowned a little, something he rarely did. “Because we haven’t done it again since then.”

  Suddenly, I was looking at a puppy who had just been scolded for getting into the trash. His eyes were as round and innocent as I’d ever seen them, and he looked so guilt-ridden it was borderline pathetic. I’d been striving for hard to get, not uninterested or turned off. The sex we had on the yacht that night was the best I’d ever had. I was desperate for more, but I had to keep him at bay so that I always had the upper hand.

  “Um… no. It wasn’t that I didn’t like it. It was that I liked it… too much?” He sat up a little straighter and looked not so sad. “It scared me a little. Not like I was afraid of what was going on, but because I was afraid of how quickly and how much I lost myself. It was good. I mean it was so good that sometimes I just lie awake at night thinking about it. It’s dangerous… to get so caught up in you, you know? Given our families and all that. I just. I’m trying to be careful.”

  “For how long?” he asked. “It’s been about three weeks since we first started dating. I’m a patient man, but it’d be nice to at least know how long I have to wait. I think it’s pretty clear by now that I’m not planning anything.”

  “Well, it’s not as if you haven’t been with any other women.”

  That statement earned me a deep frown. “What?”

  “Wha… I… I mean, surely I’m not the only woman you’re seeing.”

  His brows were tightly knit downwards. “Yeah. Who else would I be seeing? It’d just be me staring at them and being unsatisfied that they aren’t you.” Then he lifted a hand. “Have you been seeing other guys?”

  “
No,” I said. “I just… We’re just dating. We don’t call it… anything official.”

  “Yeah…” He nodded. “Yeah, I just assumed.”

  “When you talk about me to other people do you call me your…” I cleared my throat uncomfortably. “You know… your girlfriend?”

  “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t really talk about you to other people?” He bobbed his head. “I don’t really talk to people.”

  A silence fell between us and I hated it because it was thick with the exact opposite of what I’d been going for up to this point. It was both us trying so hard not to say that, in all honesty, we were worthy of that official title at this point.

  “Should we just accept that there’s no one else for now and not… address it more than that?” I asked.

  “Fine,” he said immediately, “but then that brings back my earlier question… How long are you gonna make me wait?”

  My heart was so overwhelmed with the moment and a surge of new emotions were bubbling up in me that I didn’t expect. The way Bryce was looking at me, like he honestly and truly just wanted to be with me—no one had ever looked at me that way before. Before that moment, I could think of a million reasons why I shouldn’t sleep with him again, but suddenly they were all gone, and I couldn’t find even one.

  If he wanted me and I wanted him, then what else was there to consider?

  I looked out at the horizon and the sun that had not yet begun to set. “I assume you meant for us to see the sunset,” I sighed, then I looked directly into his eyes. “Will you forgive me for cutting this part of the date short?”

  He took a deep breath and smiled. “There will be a million more sunsets. To my place?”

  I nodded, my body already heating up. “Yeah. To your place.”

  13

  Bryce

  My penthouse was a seven-figure spot at the top of a high-rise that overlooked the strip. Though I spent a lot of time at my family’s home, whenever I needed to entertain, get away, or have some privacy and time to myself, it was the perfect place to be. Notable features were the wrap-around deck overlooking the city, chef-ready kitchen, and outdoor hot tub, but Mari wouldn’t get to see any of those things right now.

  We were already charting a course for the bedroom.

  What little resistance we had to keep our hands off of one another snapped once we were on the private elevator that connected the lobby with my unit, and we made full use of the few minute ride up to my floor to begin making up for lost time making out. If I actually did believe before that Mari didn’t want to have sex with me again, that thought was gone now.

  She was behaving as needy and hungry for it as I felt.

  Tripping back to my bedroom, I dropped her on the bed and then went over to my closet to fish out the things that I needed. Having your sight removed from you was a basic go-to in sensory deprivation, but I’d be taking a new sense from Mari this time around.

  Actually I planned to take two.

  Along with a blindfold, I grabbed a new pair of spongy earplugs and brought them back over to the bed. The last thing I needed wasn’t in the bedroom, but I’d grab that after Mari was blindfolded. There was no need to rush, though, so I set the things off to the side and lifted my shirt up and over my head. Mari mimicked me, pulling her tank top over and off, then I ran my hand up her thigh until I could get to the button of her jeans.

  Mari tucked her head inwards until she was able to get her lips on mine, and our tongues tangled up with each other while I undid the button on her jeans and slowly worked them down her legs. The top layer now gone, I could see that Mari had been at least reasonably prepared, as evidenced by the sexy lace navy bra and thong she had on.

  I stood up and looked down at her, pinching my chin between my fingers.

  “What?” she said.

  “I’m trying to figure out if I keep the underwear on or off. It’s so sexy.”

  She licked her lips as she snickered. “Well, you know what they say about sexy underwear?” I furrowed my brow and she sat up so she could start playing with the button of my cargo shorts. “They aren’t made to be worn. They’re made to be peeled off.”

  The way she hummed the words crawled over my body and sent a shiver down my spine. It was a formal invitation to finish undressing her, and far be it for me to deny her that. I waited until she’d snapped the button on my shorts and pulled down the zipper, then I pushed her back down to her back. With a skill I was proud of, I was able to undo the clasp on the front of her strapless, lace bra, her breasts immediately bouncing free, then I hooked my hands into her thong and pulled it down and off. As I was throwing her clothes aside, I kicked off my own shorts and socks, then brought myself down to kiss her yet again. She was wearing an intoxicating floral perfume that was making me a little lightheaded.

  Someone being so sexy had got to be a violation of some code, somewhere.

  “I’ve got something new for you today. Well, a couple of new things.” I lifted the earplugs from where I’d set them and held them out to her. “No sound today.”

  Her expression perfectly read a slight fear blended with a lot of intrigue. “Should I put them in?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Remember, you tell me to stop or squeeze twice…”

  “Yeah.”

  She craned up to kiss me, then took the earplugs from my hand and popped them into each of her ears. I then grabbed the blindfold and wrapped it around her eyes, kissing along her cheek as I did so, and down the side of her neck once I was done.

  Then it was time for the real fun to begin.

  Part of the pull of sensory deprivation was not knowing where your partner was at any given time. When you can’t see, but can hear, you can still kind of tell where they are spatially, but now there was no way for her to know. My lower half was screaming at me for some attention, and I couldn’t blame it. The sight of Mari, totally naked, blindfolded and searching for me was one hell of a sight, but after how long it took to get her back here, I didn’t want to waste any opportunities.

  Gently, I pressed my hand to the side of her leg and she jumped and let out a whimper. I dragged my fingertips up to her hip and gave it a squeeze before pulling back. Her hands fished across the bed, looking for me, but she’d have to just keep searching.

  The next thing I needed wasn’t in that room at all.

  Taking one last look at her, I left the bedroom and walked down to the kitchen. I didn’t rush, wanting to let the anticipation build for her of how long I’d be away from her. Right now, she was weighing how long I’d left her without touching her last time, against how long it had already been and wondering how much longer she’d have to wait.

  It’ll be worth it, Mari. Trust me.

  After grabbing a bowl from one of my cabinets, I pushed it against the ice dispenser under my fridge and ice immediately started to drop and clatter into the bowl. My own length throbbed knowing what was coming next, but I took a deep breath to try and keep myself calm. Too much would end things too quickly and I wanted it to last.

  I returned to the room with my bowl in hand and intentionally set the bowl down on the bed with a little bit of force. Her head immediately turned in the direction of the bowl and she hummed out, “I thought you left me.”

  Because she wouldn’t hear anything I said in response, I propped myself over her, not touching her, and placed a chaste kiss on the center of her stomach. She let out a little moan that nearly snapped my resistance, but I used one of my own hands to give myself a rub below and keep myself calm. I’d be in her soon enough. Right now, I had to focus.

  Kneeling in front of the bed, I wrapped my arms around her legs and pulled her to the very edge of the bed. This was one of my favorite forms of deprivation, both to perform and experience. Ice numbed the skin vastly changing the way the skin read temperature. Hot tongue on cold skin?

  Mind-blowing.

  Scooping a couple pieces of the ice out of the bowl, I carefully touched them to Mari’s skin and sh
e jumped. On impulse she pulled back from me a little bit, but I leaned in and kissed the side of her thigh. I ran my free hand across her stomach to inspire comfort, and continued to drag the ice across the skin of her inner thigh.

  Eventually, her tension eased, so I worked the ice cubes down to her core. I massaged them over her folds and up the slit, before encircling the nub of nerves at the top. She let out hushed moans, and I continued to rub the ice as it melted against the heat of her skin. Once the cubes were gone, I leaned in and blew against the chilled area. A louder moan came out, one that got choked up when I dropped my head against her, leading with my tongue, and started to lick her.

  “Bryce,” she hummed. “F… fuck!”

  All of her nervous movement now was because she was bucking against my face and reveling in the pleasure. I curled my arms around her legs and held them open, and pushed on, working with more fervor. I could admit that I lost myself in it a bit, loving the taste of her mixed with the mewls of pleasure she was making.

  “I’m… I’m… fuck!”

  Her muscles started to contract and pulse against my mouth as more of her juices dribbled against my lips. Below my waist, my hardness was so strained that it was borderline painful. Experimenting with Mari was going to take some getting used to. Where I’d normally be able to last for hours on end with a woman, she rushed me to the edge.

  I could only hope there was plenty of time left to continue trying new things.

  Keeping a hand fastened between her legs, I stood and worked off my boxers, the last of my clothes. I was dizzy and ready to take my reward for depriving myself. My body had hung in there, and now it was time to satisfy my own needs.

  Flipping Mari over to her stomach, I pulled her backwards until she was standing on the floor bent over the bed, and I pushed up to her entrance. Before I could stop her, she threw herself backwards, pulling all of me up into her in one long, delightful motion. It was so sudden and unexpected that it very nearly dragged me over, but I clenched and took a breath, not wanting it to be over just yet. Mari was relentless though, bucking her hips, pushing herself forwards and backwards, and then I wasn’t in control at all. I could only sit there and enjoy the feeling as she used me to service herself.