The Tempted Series: Collectors Edition

by Janine Infante Bosco

  “Mike’s not a pushover. I may not have seen a lot of him since he’s been back but what I have seen is that man detests our father.”

  “Yeah and so does that one,” Nikki said, pointing across the gym. My curiosity getting the best of me, I turned my attention in the direction my sister pointed, and my eyes met Anthony’s.

  “Shit,” I whisper, looking away from him and back at my sister who was smiling at him, giving him a friendly wave. “What’re you doing?” I hiss.

  She glanced at me confused.

  “Saying hello to Anthony?”

  “No! Don’t look at him or else he’ll come over here,” I say sternly, turning back towards my machine to busy myself so he would think twice about interrupting my strenuous work out. I increased the incline to the max and start running as fast I can.

  “Um…A…you might not want to,” Nikki queries sounding worried. “Slow down you’re going to have a heart attack!” She reached over just as I started to pant and played with the settings of the treadmill, suddenly everything slowed down. “What the hell is going on with the two of you?”

  “Nothing, absolutely nothing,” I respond breathless.

  “Yeah, that’s believable,” she replies. I could feel her eyes boring into me. “Oh my God!” She said slowly, a grin spreading across her face. “You’re screwing him again, aren’t you?”

  My head snapped around to face her.

  “What? No!”

  “No? Why the hell not?” she glanced back across the gym to Anthony who was hitting the heavy bag.

  “He’s fucking hot.”

  I reluctantly follow my sister’s gaze, watching Anthony as his fists pummel the bag. If you stared at him long enough he’d likely put you in a trance by the grace in which he moved. It was almost like a form of art, the way his feet danced around, while his fists delivered the perfect punch.

  “Close your mouth, Adrianna,” Nikki whispered as she leaned next to me.

  “He is isn’t he?” I mumbled, watching him sweat like that, the muscles in his back flexing reminding me of sex. I would love running my hands down the ridges of his back as he fucked me, his flexed arms high above my head as he pins me down. He took a break to grab his water bottle, guzzling it until it was depleted before licking the droplets from his lips and going back to his workout. My whole body ached, my panties soaked and ruined, when his tongue sneaked out and traced his lip. Some relationships the sex fizzles out, Anthony’s and mine it keeps getting better and better. I mean the sex we had last, compared to the sex we had when we were a couple, well, it blows it away. I don’t know if it’s because we’re not together and it’s all so forbidden but it’s amazing. Even after my big speech the other day, I want him to take me into the locker room and fuck me.

  I was so involved in my own dirty thoughts I didn’t even notice Nikki leave my side until I saw her walk straight up to Anthony.

  I’m going to kill her.

  Anthony stopped hitting the bag, turned to Nikki for a moment before diverting his eyes back to mine. Shit! I look away and started on the treadmill, staring at them out of the corner of my eye. Nikki was doing all the talking while Anthony kept his eyes steady on me. Oh, I was going to make Nikki pay for this one.

  They remained like that for a few seconds before the both of them started walking towards me. Normally I could handle Anthony, handle the hot and cold thing we had become, but it was getting harder and harder. In my current state, cheeks flushed, wet, and horny, I was no fucking match for him.

  “So, this big guy is the best!” Nikki said, standing on tiptoe as she slung an arm around Anthony.

  Yeah, you have no idea.

  “I was telling him how bored you are of the treadmill.”

  “I never said I was bored!”

  “Um…you didn’t have to,” she swatted her hand in the air dismissing my claim. “Anyway, Anthony offered to show us some boxing moves!” She juggled her weight from one foot to another as she punched the air.

  I raised an eyebrow at my sister, even Anthony looked at her funny, before we both looked at one another, a small smile teasing his lips.

  “Fine,” I said softly.

  “Good, let’s go get the two of you some gloves,” he said, staring at me.

  Nikki smiled widely at me, wiggling her eyebrows as she took a step back giving me the go ahead to walk ahead of her and follow Anthony. I leaned close to her and whispered. “You’re dead.”

  “You can thank me later,” she whispered back, slapping my ass and walking alongside of me. When did my little sister become so spunky?

  We followed Anthony to the front desk where he got each of us a pair of boxing gloves. Our hands were small enough to fit into the children’s sized gloves. He started to tape my hands expertly, when Nikki spoke up from behind me.

  “Oh, dammit! I’m going to take a rain check,” she huffed, not sounding the least bit remorseful. I snatched my hands from Anthony after he slid the gloves onto them and turned abruptly to Nikki.

  “What? Where are you going?”

  “Rico’s outside waiting for me,” she explained, giving me a shrug and then pretending to punch the air again. “Knock ‘em dead sis!”

  “I hate you,” I growled as she reached up and kissed Anthony on the cheek before heading towards the front door.

  Now what?

  “We don’t have to do this,” Anthony leaned close and whispered against my ear. The hair on the back of my neck prickling at the husky tone of his voice.

  Like hell we didn’t.

  I punch one gloved fist into the palm of my other gloved hand and turn around, my eyes meeting his.

  “Show me what you got, Bianci.”

  He bit the inside of his cheek, holding back a smile as his eyes traveled down my body. I cleared my throat when they focused on my chest. He lifted his eyes back to mine, a cocky grin firmly in place on his mouth and gave me a slight nod.

  He walked me to the heavy bag, got down on one knee, his hands skimming down my legs until he closed his hands around my ankles and shoved them apart. His touch had me throbbing with need, his words were lost to me.

  “Footwork is the key in boxing,” he explained in a whisper. Slowly rising to his full height, he moved behind me, positioning my arms correctly. Anthony walked to the bag next to the one I was going to use and began to teach me the different combination punches. I desperately tried to focus but all I could concentrate on was the way his body moved so fluidly and how turned on I was getting. At one point, I lost my stance and crossed one leg over the other to relieve the tension between them. I kept looking away from him because he knew my body better than anyone. He could read me better than anyone, one look at me and he’d know I was ready to combust.

  “Jab, cross, upper cut, cross!” he ground out, demonstrating the moves as he spoke of them.

  I tried to mimic him, to keep his pace, but I looked ridiculous. My footing was all wrong, and I punched the bag too hard and it spun around in circles from the chain it was suspended from.

  “Double jab, cross, step hook to the right,” he barked, his feet light as he swung hard distracting me, confusing my left with my right, I collided with his hard body.

  “Shit, you okay?” He asked, turning me around to face him. Sweat dripped from his face making him look so much more rugged. I swallowed, unable to speak and nodded my head.

  “More,” I croaked.

  “You sure? You look beat,” he stated, brushing away the hair that was sticking to my face from perspiration.

  “I said more,” I pulled back my hand and punched his chest urging him to continue.

  His gaze traveled to my mouth, so I spoke, dragging out each word.

  “Give. Me. More,” his eyes piercing mine. I could see it, the struggle, the desire, the burning. Everything I was feeling he was too, it was comforting to know that a workout regime could make him as crazy as it made me.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  2015

  I was in
my bathroom giving my face one last drag of the razor when I spotted Mikey walk up behind me in the mirror. I rinsed the blade under the water before glancing back up to find him standing still as a statue as he stared at the tattoo that covered my back. I sometimes forgot about the ink that marked my skin and wished I had placed it somewhere more visible. I had designed the tattoo as a reminder of how much I had lost by the foolish decisions I made in my life. The tattoo was more than just that though, when I was away it was a piece of Adrianna on my skin, just a little slice of her I could never lose. I should’ve had the tattoo put over my heart since she forever owned that piece of me.

  “Holy shit man!” his eye lifted from the tattoo and met mine. “How did I never see that before?”

  “I don’t really walk around shirtless for you,” I said purposely. “It’s just a tattoo,” I slowly turn the water off hoping Mikey wasn’t about to ask questions.

  “You know…,” he says as he leans against the bathroom door and crosses his arms against his chest. So much for avoiding his questions. “You avoid talking about her any chance you can and I try, being the fantastic friend, I am, to cut you some slack because I’ve put it in my head that pretty little Adrianna drove a bulldozer over your heart, but it’s so much more than that, isn’t it?”

  I didn’t answer him because he was right and I didn’t even know where to begin to explain.

  “She wasn’t the one driving the bulldozer, was she?” he asked.

  “No, she wasn’t,” I replied. I didn’t elaborate that he had hit the nail on the head and used the perfect analogy to describe how everything had fallen apart. I was the one who broke her heart and while I didn’t drive a bulldozer over it, I had been the one driving the car the night of the accident.

  “You two suck you know that?” He blurted out, causing me to turn around and face him, raising an eyebrow at his little outburst.

  “You want to rephrase that?” I asked.

  “No, not really,” he rolled his eyes.

  “I’m not scared of big, bad, Anthony. You forget I knew you long before you became Gotti in training or whatever the fuck …,” he motioned with his hand towards me. “…you are.”

  He took a step closer and poked me in the chest with his index finger. “You know back in the day, I put a lot of work into getting the two of you together.”

  “You got to date a different girl every weekend. Such a hardship for a teenage boy,” I said pushing his hand away.

  “Dude, I had a paper route at the time. The fucking movies were expensive and then half those chicks wanted popcorn! I had to smuggle drinks inside my jacket. Like I said, I put a lot of work into you and Adrianna. Now I don’t know what the fuck happened, which is getting a little ridiculous. I mean I’m home a couple of weeks now and everybody is so hush hush when it comes to Anthony and Adrianna, like you two are secret service agents or some bullshit.”

  Mike continued to ramble on as I pushed him out the bathroom door and slammed the door in his face. I had to give him credit though the little fucker was relentless and pounded on the door.

  “You’re lucky I have to go meet with Al Capone at his fucking night club but this conversation isn’t over, Anthony!” He shouted against the door. He managed a chuckle out of me when he compared Vic to Al Capone. Mike was still a sarcastic little punk but I was realizing I was happy he was back home. I hope he stayed on the straight and narrow.

  I heard the front door close and decided it was safe to come out of the bathroom, to pour myself a cup of coffee in the kitchen. I was just about to take the first sip when someone pounded on the door. I grumbled, mumbling a stream of curses under my breath and vowed to get Mike his own apartment as I headed to answer it. I was certain the guy lived to torment my life, probably forgot his keys, he did that at least three times a week.

  “What’d you forget this time?” I said as I pulled the door open. I didn’t register that it wasn’t Mike on the other end because a fist came swinging at me. My reflexes were lightning fast, and I ducked just before the little fist collided with my freshly shaved jaw.

  “What the fuck was that for?” I growled, backing away out of Adrianna’s reach as she tried to swing at me again.

  “That’s for yesterday!” she spoke through gritted teeth, and then whimpered as she reached across herself to hold her shoulder.

  I squinted, trying to think about what the fuck I could’ve possibly done to her yesterday that earned me a visit from Mohamad Ali.

  She took a step closer, splaying her palms against my bare chest, shoving me once, twice, before I grabbed hold of her wrists.

  “All right, tiger what’s going on?” I questioned, holding her at arm’s length as she tried to struggle to free herself from my hold. My dick stirred to life, watching the fire ignite in her eyes as she wrestled with me.

  “You could’ve warned me that every single part of my body would hurt me today! I couldn’t even lift Luca, my arms feel like Jell-O, and my legs. Forget it. I should kick you in the balls for living on the second floor and making me have to climb the stairs in my condition!”

  I bit my cheek so I wouldn’t laugh but it was hard to hide the smile that creeped across my mouth.

  “Oh baby, are you sore, is that what this about?”

  “Sore?!” she asked outraged.

  “My body is broken!”

  My eyes dipped, taking her in from head to toe. “Mmm, don’t look broken to me.” I let go of one of her hands and cupped my dick, adjusting the beast through my basketball shorts. Adrianna’s eyes zeroed in on my crotch and her lips parted slightly as she hissed.

  I took advantage of her silence and let my eyes wander over her. She was dressed in loose sweat pants, different from the outfit she wore yesterday and she had on a tight fitted zippered hoody. I wanted to tug the zipper down the front of her shirt with my fucking teeth and devour her. If she came here for a fight I’d give her one, as long she was naked and on top of my bed, spread out and ready for it.

  I pulled her inside my apartment and kicked the door close before pulling her by the hand towards my bathroom.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked.

  “I’m going to make you feel better.”

  “I didn’t come here for that.”

  “Like hell you didn’t, Reese’s.”

  I glanced over my shoulder at her for the first time since I led her away from my front door. “Take your clothes off,” I ordered, before I turned away from her and bent down to twist the knobs on the bath tub and drew her a warm bath. I reached underneath the sink and grabbed a box of Epsom salt to add to the tub. Once the tub was full, I turned around and found her leaning against the bathroom door naked, a gleam in her eye. She padded towards me, her eyes never leaving mine as she dipped one foot into the tub and then the next.

  She slowly sank into the tub, wincing as her body folded into it, all aches and pains from her work out yesterday. The water was crystal clear and my eyes couldn’t help but watch as she straightened her legs in the water slowly. She was settled into the tub, as comfortable as she would get, before she lifted her eyes back to mine. Her breasts sitting just above water level.

  “Soak in there for about forty minutes,” I said gruffly, her nipples hardening under my stare.

  “Don’t leave,” she whispered.

  “Five minutes ago, you were punching me now you want me to stay?” I asked, as she completely stripped me of my resistance and pulled the clip out of her hair, letting the brown waves fall around her shoulders just shy of covering her tits.

  “You make it sound like it’s something new with us,” she questioned cocking her head to the side, pausing for a moment before she softly continued. “No one plays this game better than you and I. I push, you pull, I push a little harder, you give in and then it’s your turn to push and you keep pushing until you think I’m done pushing you back,” she continued shrugging her shoulders as she spoke. “And then we start all over again.”

 
I gave in just like she knew I would and put the toilet seat down, sat down and rubbed my hands over my face.

  “We’re pretty predictable.”

  “Yeah,” she whispered, slipping further under the water her hands were all over her own body, making me fucking jealous that they weren’t mine.

  “You always give in eventually,” she persisted before pausing for a beat. “Even back then when I was just a girl, you still gave into me, how come?”

  “You’re easy on the eyes,” I explained, winking at her then straightening up and staring into her eyes.

  “Yeah but I was younger than you, so much less experienced than you…I often wondered why you even bothered.”

  “You’re confident,” I started. “Whether you were younger or less experienced never mattered because I knew a confident woman could be taught all the things she wasn’t experienced in. You weren’t insecure which made you easy to mold, easy for you to learn all the things you hadn’t yet tried.”

  She laughed slightly.

  “So you’re taking credit for how good I am in bed?”

  “Abso-fucking-lutely,” I grinned.

  “I suppose you may have taught me a thing or two,” she countered, her hand traveling between her breasts, down her stomach and pausing right at her navel.

  “Like what?” I asked, knowing I was a goner.

  “Well you taught me not to be shy about touching myself for one thing,” Her knees bent and her legs spread just as her fingers moved towards her bare pussy. “And that I can get off with you watching as I stick my fingers inside of me as well as if it was your cock in me.”

  “Not the same thing, Reese’s,” I said roughly, my eyes hooded as they focused on her fingers that slid between her folds, finding her clit. She closed her eyes as she applied pressure with her thumb to her sensitive spot.

  “No, but when you weren’t here I spent many nights pretending my fingers were you driving me to my orgasm.” Her eyes flutter open and pierce me with a look. “I used to picture your face with each push of my fingers and when I finally came I called your name every time.” She slipped one of her fingers inside of her.