The Tempted Series: Collectors Edition

by Janine Infante Bosco

  “Yeah I know, Reese’s.”

  His hand closed around his cock, stroking his hardened length before rubbing the head over the same path his fingers had taken. My body arched, thrusting upward against his erection desperate for the friction. It didn’t matter he fucked me three hours ago, twice, I was like a frayed wire craving the currents he evoked in me.

  “Anthony, don’t make me beg,” I said, dragging my nails across his chest. “Fuck me.”

  “Later,” he ground out, giving his dick one last pull. He slid down my body until he positioned himself between my legs, his fingers spreading my pussy and his tongue diving in. I laced my fingers into his hair and pressed against the back of his head, pushing his mouth harder against me. He hadn’t shaved in a few days so the scruff lining his face added the perfect amount of friction as he lapped at me.

  “Fuck,” I hissed, lifting my hips.

  “So fucking good,” he moaned, nipping at my clit.

  I covered my mouth with my hand to muffle my frantic cries as I rode his face.

  “Thatta girl, give it to me baby,” he commanded, his tongue pressing against the swollen bud sending me skyrocketing over the edge and falling to my orgasm. I felt myself tighten and convulse against his tongue. He gently licked me but I was so sensitive I couldn’t stand it anymore, feeling like I was falling apart against his mouth.

  He slowly lifted his head from between my legs, his chin resting against my knee as his hand drew circles over my inner thigh.

  “I love watching you come,” he said, kissing my kneecap. “I used to dream of that face, the one you make when you’re screaming my name.”

  I took a deep breath, pushing away the hair that fell over my eyes and stared at him lazily. “Tell me what it was like,” I whispered breathlessly.

  “Prison?” he asked, looking down at his hand that drew on my skin.

  “I would rather fuck you than talk about the three years I couldn’t.” His eyes lifted, seeking permission as he dropped his hand and moved between my legs positioning his cock at my entrance.

  Anthony barely spoke of what his time inside was like making me even more anxious to know what his life had been like. I know what I had gone through and that was without my freedom being ripped away from me. I couldn’t imagine what his life had been like.

  “I love you, Anthony,” I said, reaching for him. “I love you so fucking much it scares me.” I whispered.

  “Don’t be scared,” he responded as he bent down closer to me so that his lips met mine in a gentle kiss. “All the ugly shit is over.”

  I wish I could believe his words and allow myself to be happy. “For now.”

  “Forever,” he whispered. “Stick with me, Reese’s and I’ll show you just how good life can be for us.”

  “Forever?” I whispered.

  “Yeah,” he said.

  “I’m going to give you everything I ever promised you I would,” he stated pushing into me, filling me with his cock. “Starting with this.”

  I closed my eyes, welcoming the sensations he brought with each thrust. He pushed deeper. I opened wider. Together, we created a rhythm of our own bringing us to the depths of ecstasy only we knew. His mouth found mine, fucking my mouth the way his dick was fucking my pussy. My head was a total fog as he drove my body into another earth-shattering orgasm. My walls clamped down around him, pulsating as he charged deeper inside of me, milking him of his own orgasm. His body shuddered against me as he rocked his pelvis against mine and groaned.

  I was panting, sweating, writhing with pleasure when his body stilled and he murmured my name. I held onto him, accepted his weight as he dropped onto me, and nuzzled my neck.

  “Fuck Reese’s,” he hissed.

  “That cunt of yours is going to be the death of me.” I smiled faintly, remembering a time when I was shy about the dirty talk, but not now, now, I craved it.

  He pulled out of me rolling onto his side and glanced down at me, his fingertips gliding over my breasts. “I barely paid any attention to your tits,” he said eagerly, bending down to take my nipple into his mouth.

  “You’re a beast,” I panted as I wrapped my arm around his neck, watching his mouth suck my nipple into a hard peak.

  “You complaining?”

  “No, but you’re avoiding,” I said pointedly.

  He pulled his mouth off my breast and rolled over onto his back with a sigh. I sat up, turned my body to his and leaned over him, my finger tipping his chin so we were eye to eye.

  “You never talk about it.”

  “You really want to talk about this? Now?” he asked me, shaking his head when I silently stared at him.

  “Fine, why now? Why are you being so persistent now?”

  I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat and looked down at my hands.

  “What if I go to jail?” I asked lifting my head to see confusion flood his eyes. “Don’t look so surprised Anthony. My father might elude the law but I’m not him. Don’t you think we should face that?”

  “You’re not going to jail,” he said, reaching up to cup my face in the palms of his hand. “Listen to me, what you did? It was self-defense. Rico shot up that club, held a gun to you and to me.”

  “What if that’s not good enough?” I asked.

  “I’m only going to say this once, so pay close attention. No one is going to press charges against you, you won’t be convicted of any crime, and you sure as hell won’t be doing time.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “If it came down to anyone doing time for Rico’s death it will be me, you understand? You confess to nothing. Adrianna, I’m not fucking kidding. You can talk about this shit with me but that’s where it ends.”

  I pushed his hands away, held onto his wrists and stared at him. “No way. I’m not letting you take the fall for what I did. There is no way I will let you leave me again.”

  “Stop,” he shouted his voice changing, full of aggression. “Neither one of us are going anywhere okay? It’s not going to happen but if by some chance it did, you would not leave that little boy without a mother. I promise you it’s not going to happen.”

  I let go of his hands and laid down beside him, rolling onto my side, my back facing him. I hated the fact that he was so quick to throw away his freedom, even if it was for me. I was starting to believe Anthony’s acts of selflessness held no bounds.

  He lifted off the mattress and moved around the room before appearing at my side of the bed. He knelt down taking one hand in mine and caressing my cheek with the other.

  “I love you Reese’s. I finally have you right where I want you and I’m not letting go. I got big plans for us, plans that won’t work without the both of us participating in them.”

  “Swear you won’t leave me,” I pleaded.

  “I swear,” he leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine before taking my hand and placing something hard inside of it. I glanced down at the cell phone he had placed in my hand and lifted my eyes to his.

  “I meant to give it to you before but I got distracted. It’s a prepaid phone,” he explained.

  “The last number dialed is the phone number to Mike’s prepaid. Call your sister.”

  “Really?” I questioned my voice catching.

  He winked at me and I threw my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

  “Mommy?” Luca called out from the room next to the one we were sharing. “Mommy?”

  “I’ll get him,” he said, rising to his full height. He grabbed a pair of sweats from the floor and stepped into them before calling out to Luca. “Hey bud, I’m coming.”

  “Thank you,” I whispered.

  “You can thank me later,” he grunted, pulling away from me pressing a quick kiss against my lips before slapping my ass playfully. “Go ahead and call,” he said, walking out of the bedroom.

  I took a breath and dialed my sister. As the phone rang, my heart raced. I didn’t even know if she was aware what had happened or if she woul
d even want to speak to me. Mike’s voice boomed over the phone.

  “Vic, I swear to Christ you better be calling me to say you found a way to rescue us from Shady Fucking Pines.”

  “Mike its Adrianna.”

  “Oh, hey…you’re not calling on behalf of your old man, are you?” He asked hopefully.

  “No, I’m sorry,” I said softly, chewing on my lip. “Are Aunt Gina and Nana giving you hell?”

  “Your Aunt keeps trying to seduce me and your grandma has me smuggling cigarettes for her. What do you think?”

  I muffled a laugh, picturing Mike with my aunt and grandma was comical. “How’s Nikki?”

  “She’s good. She’s teaching all the old broads Zumba and shit.”

  “Are you with her? Can I speak to her?”

  “Yeah, she’s downstairs. Give me a second I was hiding in the bathroom from your aunt. Did you know they make lingerie for the elderly? It’s so foul but I suppose when I’m seventy I’d appreciate a garter belt on my woman. Hold on,” he said, and I heard the phone rustle about as he called out for Nikki.

  “A!” she exclaimed into the phone.

  I closed my eyes and relished in her voice for just a moment.

  “Hi Nik,” I whispered into the phone.

  “It’s so good to hear your voice. I was so worried about you and Luca. After the shoot-out, some bikers took me and Mikey to a safe house in Pennsylvania, dad came and said you were with Anthony. I knew you would be okay. He’s taking care of you, isn’t he?”

  “He’s been amazing,” I said, standing up and sliding my arms through one of his shirts, buttoning a few of the buttons so I was decent. There was a pause on both ends of the phone call before she spoke again.

  “You sound happy A,” she said, my heart tightening at her genuine words.

  “Nikki…” I started, hoarsely.

  “Stop,” she whispered. “It’s okay to be happy you know? Don’t look for some reason not to be. I know you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop but maybe it won’t this time.”

  “Nicole, there’s something I have to tell you.”

  “Rico’s dead,” she said, interrupting me. “I saw the newspaper when dad came to the safe house. You would’ve been so proud of me Adrianna. I called him out on his shit and of course he didn’t admit to anything but he didn’t deny it either. I know he did it but he had no choice. I overheard Rico talking with a guy I had never seen before and some girl I saw a few times in random clubs. He was plotting something this whole time.”

  I couldn’t speak, my words lost somewhere between my mind and my lips. Nikki knew that Rico had been killed, but she thought my dad was behind it. He let her believe that he had shot her boyfriend. I couldn’t process the revelation before she slammed me with another one.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked.

  “He was using me to get to dad. It was all a fucking lie, the whole relationship. I guess the joke is on me and to think I had felt guilty because of my feelings for Mikey.”

  “Are you saying Rico was responsible for what happened that night?” I hadn’t given much thought to Rico’s involvement in the shooting. After, seeing him holding a gun to Anthony everything else sort of faded away. It didn’t matter why he was aiming his gun at the man I loved, all that mattered was that he didn’t get a chance to use it. I hadn’t pondered what his involvement was or even cared.

  “Well, he didn’t order the whole thing, but he was working with whoever did. I feel like the biggest fool to ever walk the face of the earth.”

  “Don’t you dare,” I said, my voice rising an octave higher. “He put on a good show, he fooled everyone not just you.”

  “I was the closest to him though. I should’ve realized,” she said, sounding defeated. “It’s strange, I have so much hate for him, but I still can’t believe he’s dead. I think it’s because I haven’t had a chance to process him as my enemy and not some guy I was in a relationship with for a year,” she declared, pausing for a moment. “I slept with Mikey,” she whispered, then laughed. “I guess I’m not that broken up by it huh?”

  “You’ve had feelings for Mike for a long time now, long before Rico and all this shit.”

  “I know but I keep telling myself there is something wrong with me. I mean my boyfriend or whatever the hell you want to call him was shot and killed, let’s not even get into dad being the one responsible, but the fact that Rico is dead, it should make me feel some kind of way and it doesn’t. I don’t even think about it and that’s because of Mikey but I’m not sorry for it either.” She remained quiet for a beat. “I think I’m falling in love with him, A. I’ve been in love with him since I was ten years old.”

  I smiled slightly.

  “It’s nice to hear you say it.”

  “Yeah, you should probably try it sometime,” she added in a snarky tone and I laughed. “I know what you’re going to say so I’ll spare you the trouble and me the agony of hearing you say ‘It’s complicated.’

  “Actually, I’m starting to think it doesn’t have to be complicated anymore,” I said as I stood in the doorway of the other bedroom, watching Anthony lay in bed with Luca tucked against his side. “I love him and I don’t want to live without him anymore.”

  “Then don’t,” she said simply.

  “Life is short A, too short not to grab it by the balls and take it for all it’s worth.”

  “Listen to you,” I said with a smile. I decided not to tell Nikki that I was the one responsible for Rico’ death. I would, but when the time was right, when I could look her in the eye and say the words.

  “I’m glad you called. I’ve been worried about you guys,” she admitted.

  “How’s my nephew?”

  I wanted to tell her how we took him to the falls yesterday and how much Luca loved every minute. I wasn’t sure, if he cared much about the waterfalls or if he was just so happy to be around Anthony. It was one of the best days of his life, which made it easily the best day of mine. In the end, I didn’t know whether it was safe to disclose where I was so I didn’t say anything about our little family excursion.

  “He’s fine. He’s having a blast with Anthony. Every morning he teaches him how to box after they have breakfast. Luca doesn’t get it, he’s still too young, but Anthony thinks if he starts him young he’ll be the next Muhamed Ali.”

  “Aww. I miss my little monkey. Will you give him a kiss for me and tell him his Aunt Nikki loves him?”

  “Of course,” I promised. “Nikki? Be careful okay? Just lie low and listen to Mikey until this whole thing is over.”

  “You do the same,” she said. “And when I see you I’m not settling for vague bullshit answers about you and Anthony. No, this time I want all the dirty details.”

  “Goodbye Nicole,” I laughed.

  “Yeah, yeah…Love you.”

  “Love you too,” I whispered, holding the phone until the call ended. I stepped into the bedroom and walked towards the bed, taking a seat at the foot of the bed and stared at my boys. Anthony opened one eye, glancing at me before patting the other side of the bed.

  “You feel better?”

  “Yes,” I whispered, climbing over him and tucking myself into the crook of his arm. I reached across Anthony’s chest and brushed Luca’s hair from his forehead.

  “We okay?” he asked.

  I lifted my eyes from my son to Anthony and nodded. “We’re okay.”

  He stared at me for a moment before tightening his hold on both me and my baby, hanging on as if he’d never let go.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  2015

  A few days had passed since Adrianna last spoke to her sister. I had no reason to assume the worst but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. I tried calling Victor a few times but nothing; it was like he sent us off the grid without any contact from anyone. It drove me nuts, not being in control, being left completely in the dark about the war that imploded but I learned to embrace it. This would-be life wi
thout the mob.

  I played Victors words over and over in my head, wanting so badly to trust him, but I learned a long time ago that Victor wasn’t a generous man. He wasn’t the type to sacrifice his own needs for the sake of others. He didn’t give two fucks about my needs or my wants. He proved that countless times but still there was something different this time. Aside from the strands of sincerity that reflected in his eyes there also had been a shred of desperation, a plea for mercy, begging for redemption.

  It would be nice to live the life Vic painted for me, a life free of all the dirty deeds and angst, one that revolved around a family. These past few days I’ve gotten a taste of that life, a simple life, but one I wanted more of. I used to sit in my cell, dreaming of the day I’d walk away from those iron bars that bound me, thinking I’d finally be emancipated. But when the day came, all I did was trade one prison for another. I used to think I was made for a life of crime but I started to realize I had been put on this earth to take Adrianna away from the life she was born into. If Vic set me free, he’d be setting us both free and giving us the most selfless gift. They say a leopard doesn’t change his spots but what about the devil? Can he rise above the flames and do the right thing?

  The ringing of my phone pulled me away from my thoughts and I lifted myself off the front porch steps and slid my phone from my back pocket. The only people who had the number of this line were the people I had called which were Mikey and Victor. The number on the caller ID came up as unavailable causing me to hesitate for a moment before accepting the call.

  “Yeah,” I answered.

  “It’s me,” Vic said his voice hoarse.

  “I’ve been trying to call you. Vic how much longer do we have to stay here?”

  “It’s over,” he said.

  “It’s all over.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I can’t get into over the phone but everything is taken care of. There was a complication, Michael was shot.”

  I swiped my hand over my face, closing my eyes and pushed back the guilt that started to surface. I tried to steer Mike clear of this shit, warned him he would get burnt but never thought he’d be caught in the crossfire. I figured I’d be able to intervene if the time ever came. He may have been Val’s son but Mike wasn’t cut for this life.