Among the Flames (Kisses and Crimes Book 3)

by Natalie E. Wrye

  “Giovanni.”

  He spoke over me, his words sliding smoothly over my own.

  “I can imagine you sitting there..” he said. “Blonde strands tickling the tip of your chin. A cool breeze hitting your ankles making a chill travel up the length of your deceptively long legs. And you have such beautiful legs, Sienna…

  My breathing grew uneven.

  “The skin on them is buttery gold… and smooth. Your delicate calves, your tiny pointed toes, your thighs. You sashay without knowing it. You walk as if you’ve got diamond between your very hips and when I watch you strut across a room, all I can think about is the many ways that I’d like to taste your buried treasure.”

  I blew my breath into the balmy night air as the wind whooshed right out of me. I could barely hold onto the railing on the patio, my fingertips pulsing as I dug them into the iron underneath.

  “And then your navel,” Gio kept going. “I’d like to lick that little dip. Trace my fingers around its edges and rub down your sides, taking my sweet ass time. I’d lay a path with my tongue, soaking the skin between your breasts as I circled each one. Rubbing, tonguing… loving…

  My chest was heaving now. I slid the shawl from my shoulders as the heat from my blush traveled across them, making the skin sensitive. Desire made me flush uncontrollably.

  Giovanni mused out loud.

  “I wondered what you’d do if I bit your body there, took your skin between my teeth and dug almost to the point of scraping. Left my indelible mark on your shoulders. Made you do the same to mine as I removed every bit of clothes from your figure, covered it with mine and slid the hardest parts of me into the recesses of yours. Every throbbing inch of me…sinking, steeping, soaking in every bit of your plump pussy.”

  I moaned out loud.

  I wasn’t just rubbing my thighs together now; I was squeezing them. Painfully. A shudder ran through me, and I let it linger as it ran a lap from the tip of my bitten lips to the points of my curled toes.

  His tone was low… but I heard every breath, every sigh. Every nuance and whispered word.

  I sucked in every bit like a starving woman, hissing heavily as he practically panted, softly—so very softly on the other line, the sound of his shallow breaths blowing between my ears.

  “Would you stop me?” Gio sighed. “Would you say no… when I couldn’t? Would you save me from the greatest suffering I have ever known? That fucked-up feeling of wanting something I shouldn’t? Someone I wouldn’t if I just stayed away…?”

  I started to feel the rise of an orgasm. The peak of pleasure reached the tips of my nipples, the crest of my clit. I touched the tip of my sex with two fingers and then I came, my body coming undone as a wetness spread between my legs, soaking the inner part of my pulsing thighs.

  I could barely catch my breath.

  “Sienna…” Gio breathed. Not Santiago. He said “Sienna.”

  And when he said my name, I knew he could have me. Wherever he was, whoever he was…

  In that moment, I didn’t care. I just wanted him. In every way I could have him. I tried to calm the calamity that was my beating heart when my cell phone rang, slicing the silence with its shrill cry.

  I reached in the confines of my little clutch, grabbing the glassy round square to shut it off when I saw Angie’s name on it, blinking back at me. Sudden dread inexplicably hit me like a dagger between the shoulder blades, and I picked up the phone, preparing to hear bad news of some sort.

  I didn’t know why…

  “Ang,” I inhaled, attempting to breathe.

  “Sienna.” Her saying my name just confirmed it. She never called me “Sienna” and when she did, there was usually a warning attached to the end of it. “Thank God you answered.”

  “Why? What’s going on?”

  “You need to leave. Leave right now.”

  “Leave?” I didn’t understand. “Leave what? Leave where? The city?”

  “No,” she stated simply. “You need to leave the party.” I could hear her swallow. “I’m here. Javi’s here. Sienna, I told Javi. Who your friend Jeff is… Parker. Salt. I couldn’t keep my big mouth shut.” She stopped, sniffing back tears. “He’s going to arrest him. He’s going to arrest Salt. Tonight.”

  Best Friends, Right?

  GIOVANNI

  The silence between us returned with a vengeance.

  After ducking into an abandoned corner of the seventh floor of the hotel, I’d said everything I wanted to, needed to say to Sienna. Every filthy fucking fantasy was laid bare, every damning desire I’d had for her put on the table.

  Unable to be contained a second longer, I let her in on the inner workings of my carnal mind, a daydream that was no longer imaginary but a reality… as I heard her moans through the speaker in my ear, the quickening breaths of a beautiful woman coming apart as I detailed the dirty things I wanted to do to her, the places I wanted to tongue, love…fuck.

  But as soon as the pants and gasps were done, as soon as I soaked in her last delicious sighs, there was nothing on her end but radio-silence. I searched the hallways, stalking them for her. Frantic, I fumbled around like a drunkard, high off my own horniness, scrambling to put my hands on all the places I’d just mentioned.

  Until I turned a final corner.

  And found myself staring into the dark, distinctive eyes of a Gafanelli.

  Giaimo, Don’s younger brother, was here. Clad in a dark suit that bordered on Godfather royalty, the younger Gafanelli looked calm and collected as he coolly assessed the room. His almost black irises seemed to be everywhere. They landed on me. Just as I turned, ducking behind a waiter, his oversized white jacket and tray.

  Snatching a drink from the tray’s surface, I circled back around, taking a swallow of the Scotch from the glass. I looked back. He’d lost me. His beady eyes darted around the edges of the room, and I sidestepped the tiny daggers from his stare, moving past another white wall when a familiar face, seemingly out of nowhere, slid into view.

  He would have remained unseen, if his features weren’t so damned specific.

  If his hair didn’t have that slight curl. If the grimace on his face were just a little less gritty. And if his blue eyes didn’t glow like the haunting glare of a centuries-old “White Walker”—menacing in that typical Game of Thrones fashion, full of ferocity and unchecked arrogance.

  I looked at the man on the border of the ballroom with a new respect.

  In another world, I imagined the dogged bastard and I could have been friends.

  Except it was hard to be friends with someone who was former-FBI, punched you in the face and tried to take your girl…

  Literally.

  But the fact remained…

  The more I saw of Javier Mondello, the more I understood him. He just wanted what I wanted. The same beautiful woman with the stubborn streak a mile long.

  I was shocked he was here and yet… I wasn’t. The man was as stubborn as he was high handed.

  I knew he’d shoot me just as soon as look at me, if he could get away with it, and even donning the appearance of Viktor Erikkson, I decided it best not to take my chances breaking every bone in his body. At least, not tonight.

  I’d save the well-deserved “dance” with Javi for another day. I avoided the heavy-handed prick by making a beeline for the stairs. The plush red carpet beneath the soles of my shoes gave way as I took the steps two at a time, tearing a path up the stairs when a blonde woman came rushing my way, tumbling down the opposite direction, going down. Our shoulders touched as we passed, and the second the smell of warm dark cherries reached my nose, I turned towards her. Without thinking, I reached out, snatching her by the wrist. Her high heel missed a step and as she stumbled, I wrapped the arm that reached for her around her waist, pulling, bringing her body in close to mine.

  Shock shone back at me from her wide irises as her face met mine, and though those irises weren’t the same color that I’d grown accustomed to—that earthy brown that brought many a man t
o his knees, I recognized them now like the back of my own hand.

  I recognized the look of terror sitting there. At that moment, I knew that I would do whatever it took to take it away, to erase the pain those expressive eyes couldn’t hide.

  And I couldn’t do it.

  God help me, I couldn’t hand over this girl, finish the job I was paid for—made for. I thought of Javi being here and realized that maybe we didn’t need to be…

  I grabbed Sienna’s hand, holding it tight.

  “We’re getting the fuck out of here. Now.”

  ***

  The second Sienna and I were back in the close quarters of my car, we fell into a deepened quiet, an unnerving reticence that lasted from the time we left the ball until the time we parked inside of my darkened garage. Despite the quiet, I keep my eye on her silently, never letting her out of my sight.

  I was still stealthily watching her by the time we entered my apartment lobby. I led her inside the lone elevator without another word.

  Until her voice sounded from directly beside me.

  “Where are we going?”

  I pretended not to understand. “To my apartment.”

  “I see that. And then?”

  I turned on her in the little lift as she stood there, her petite dress still sitting surprisingly elegant on her delicate frame. She looked indignant—incensed, and the blush on her face only added to the exasperation of her expression. Despite her anger, she looked beautiful… and her newly platinum locks only played off of the gold in her icy contact-covered eyes, making them seem brighter and more lively.

  I hated that I couldn’t help but look at her that way.

  My eyes narrowed into fortified slits.

  “Me? I’m getting out of town. The deal is off.”

  “Off?”

  She stepped forward, and I turned to face her. Her expression was hard.

  “And why is that exactly?”

  I didn’t look back at her. Couldn’t. If I saw the questions in her big, curious eyes, I might just fuck up and answer them. That was the last thing either of us needed.

  The elevator opened up at the last floor, and I stormed out. In typical, can’t-let-things-the-fuck-go fashion, Sienna was hot on my heels, mirroring my every movement as I stepped inside the penthouse, rummaging through the kitchen drawers.

  I threw a loaf of bread on the nearby table, then a spoon. I reached inside the pantry, removed a jar of mayonnaise, rolling it on the table. I grabbed a bag and then wrapped all of the items in it.

  I pushed it towards Sienna.

  “There,” I barked. “That should last you until we get to New York.”

  “New York?” Her brown eyebrows furrowed. I swept past her into my bedroom. Once there, I grabbed my emergency suitcase that was always packed. I turned my two-way earpiece back on, tapping just above my neck.

  I spoke low.

  “Heads up, guys. It’s a code green. Grimm, get the plane ready. Jess?” I asked out loud.

  “Yeah?” I heard in my ear.

  “Get the keys set up for my place outside of the city. Be quiet about it. Be discreet. If anybody so much as asks you a question, throw ten thousand dollars their way. That should shut them right the hell up.”

  I could imagine Jess nodding. “Will do.”

  “Sir…” Grimm’s voice was grimmer than it’d ever been, more serious. For a man who made Yoda from Star Wars seem chipper, he was reaching a new level of sullen, and for the first time I wondered if Grimm had had a family, a hometown to return to.

  I never thought to ask. Now, I wouldn’t get the chance to.

  If I were someone else, it might have been a shame. The man had saved my life more times than I could count, and I didn’t even know his last name.

  Names just complicated things, made your connections personal. The fact that I was dragging a suitcase out of my closet in the middle of the night was a testament to that. Anybody I’d ever cared about had done nothing but make me wish I fucking hadn’t… or they watched while those who I didn’t care about abused me or used me, crashed their fists into my face while they cried from the corner.

  I should have thanked them—my mother and stepfather. They were the catalyst for the life I lived; I never saw them again after the last time, and after tonight, I knew I’d never see Grimm or Jess either or this damned district.

  I’d never see the woman barging in my room behind me. Never speak to her again. I rotated slowly on my heel when I heard her footsteps, knowing it would be the one of the last, wanting to take my time looking at her so I could save the memory. Savor it.

  Whatever Grimm was getting ready to say was interrupted as Sienna strolled into my room without asking, looking every bit of the Spanish-speaking spitfire I’d met a year ago, her now-blonde hair wild, her fake blue eyes blazing as she stalked towards me.

  I knew if she came too close to me and the bed, I might throw her down on it. I snatched the suitcase into my hands, attempting to march out when she held out her hands to the door frame, blocking me.

  Defiance radiated from her stare and skin. She looked like she wanted to kill me. I would have laughed at the irony if I wasn’t in such a damned rush…

  Because she wasn’t the only one who wanted to…

  I towered over her, taking in the sight of her body, before moving up towards her face. No time for niceties. I sat the suitcase down, knowing how much I needed it. But not as much as I needed the woman in front of me.

  If it came down to it, I knew which one I would pick up first. I returned her stare.

  “Move,” I said simply.

  “No.”

  “If you don’t move, I’m going to pick you up and throw you over my shoulder. You’ll kick and scream, but I’ll outlast you. I always will. So, save us some time, Santiago. Leave your phone, grab the goddamn mayo, and follow me to the truck outside. I’ll explain everything in the vehicle.”

  “Not before you tell me what happened tonight.” She shook her head, letting wavy tendrils of hair twirl with it. I almost touched them. I dropped my hand.

  “The deal is off. And we’re leaving for New York. I’m taking you home. Now.”

  “I heard you,” Sienna snapped. “Don’t you think it’s a little late for that?”

  “Better to have your friend Javi arrest me, then you go back to New York, is that it?”

  She paled. Her golden skin went sallow, and Sienna looked at me with eyes that showed her shock. She swallowed thickly.

  “You saw him?”

  “Yeah, I fucking saw him.” I picked my suitcase back up. “But it doesn’t matter. Us, this? It’s done.” I barged past her as she slowly dropped her arm from the doorframe. “No need to pack. Just get in the car.”

  I headed past the kitchen. Soon as I opened the front door, I saw her there, standing in the same spot, her hands wringing as she twisted her fingers over and over.

  “I didn’t do it. I didn’t tell Javi,” she blurted.

  “Uh huh.”

  “I didn’t.” She shook her head. “I thought about it. I thought about all the things I should do, all the things I would do, if I really belonged in the FBI. But it’s clear I don’t. I wanted to be one of the good guys for so long, to have a home—some place to fit in. But mostly…” She sighed. “I just didn’t want to feel that I failed. Failed her. If I could just bring down the bastards who killed my mother. The FBI wouldn’t give me that chance. You have, Gio. Please let me do this…”

  Sienna looked up at me, piercing me with a stalactite stare, her gaze a combination of disjointed, jagged edges of blue-cold spikes that dug into my glare. She said nothing, choosing instead to simply glower at me.

  But then something happened…

  A polar shift—a crack in the ice.

  The glaciers in Sienna’s faux-blue eyes started to thaw, and I blinked—confused, because the ice caps in her irises weren’t just softening; they were disintegrating, melting into emotional puddles. But the emotional puddles wer
e real; they glistened over the whites of her eyes, pooling near the dark auburn hair of her lower lashes. They spilled over silently, glistening down the curve of her cheek until they finally fell, nearly dropping onto my outstretched hands.

  I was stunned.

  There wasn’t much that surprised me, if anything, and yet there I was, utterly fucking shocked—so much, in fact, that I felt that I could barely breathe. My chest started to heave heavily, aching to draw in air that seems to no longer be there. She looked so broken, so defeated—and whatever piece of me that had started to break the night when I finally saw her again is shattered at this sight of this Sienna.

  The sight of the what might be the strongest woman I have ever met, crumbling in front of me, falling into pieces that I don’t know how to put together.

  Sienna finally spoke, her voice surprisingly smooth and steady. She grits out words in what is barely a whisper, and what little breath I have left to give is crushed right out of me.

  “I really think I lost everything I have tonight…”

  Sienna broke out into a soft spontaneous sob, her voice cracking at last. Her pink lips part, and I am taken in by the quiver of her beautiful mouth. She sighed shakily, shrugging out of her shawl, letting it slide to the floor. She grabbed the wig off of her head, pulling. She bent over, flipping her head down to scoop the contact out of her eyes, and the second she held them in her palms, she threw them to the ground, adding them to the heap of her wig and discarded heels.

  She stood there, half-naked, her wrinkled dress barely reaching below her pair of silkened black panties that were peeking from the bottom of her now-disheveled dress.

  “My career with the Bureau is finished. Going back to join the sort of organization that lets men like the senator skate is not my idea of a home. I know stealing is wrong… but sometimes a little wrong is necessary to appreciate the ‘right.’ I want to finish what we started… even if it is little more than a game to you.” She exhaled hard. “Besides, nothing is waiting for me back in New York. I can barely afford my place. I have no true belongings to really save—and after tonight, I most likely have no friends.”