KON (Trassato Crime Family Book 2)

by Lisa Cardiff

  “Have a good week.” I jogged down his front steps like the building was on fire, cursing myself and my inability to stand up to my family. Undoubtedly, I looked crazy, rubbing my hands across my lips and nearly tripping on the uneven sidewalk. When the door to Nico’s building banged shut, my shoulders relaxed, and I closed my eyes to absorb everything that had happened.

  “Carmela.”

  A hand cupped my elbow, and my eyes popped open, landing on Kon. The drawn down brim of his baseball cap didn’t conceal his eyes, and they looked as cold as ice. The muscle in his lower jaw ticked like a time bomb ready to explode. His lips were firm, the skin between his brows pinched.

  “Are you crazy? What are you doing here?” I hissed, unwinding his fingers one by one.

  “Looking for you.”

  “That’s stupid.” My eyes darted around. “Nico would lose his mind if he saw you here.”

  “You kissed him.”

  He edged closer to me, his broad shoulders hindering my view. Without hesitating, he brushed two roughened fingers across my mouth and goose bumps spiraled down my arms. Damn him for evoking more in me with a brush of his fingers than Nico could with a press of his lips.

  I studied him, trying to uncover a tiny hint of what he was thinking. I couldn’t. He was like a statue, dark, impenetrable, and hard.

  “You’re spying on me?”

  “Apparently with good reason.”

  I grabbed his arm and guided him down the street, stopping only when we were out of view of Nico’s building. “Listen, I bought us a month. You should be happy. I followed your advice. There won’t be an engagement party until sometime after that.”

  “So you’re engaged. You’re really going to marry him?” He looked at me, wounded and a little confused. “You don’t even like him.”

  “I don’t see you on bended knee offering me a better deal so shut the hell up. I’ll take care of my decidedly unromantic love life, and you can do whatever it is you do.” I stomped my foot like a child. God, he pissed me off and made me act like an eight-year-old instead of a twenty-eight year old. “Given everything you said in the past, you should be overjoyed. I’ve bought you time to wrap up whatever shady thing you’re working on, and you won’t end up being chained to me indefinitely.”

  He stared at me for a second, the fire in his gaze raking down my frame, then up again. The look on his face turned my stomach upside down. I could smell the woody scent I associated with him. His eyes were like a riptide in the ocean, pulling me deeper and deeper into choppy depths the longer I looked. I swayed toward him, and the corner of one side of his mouth hooked up.

  His hand landed on my hip, and he tugged me closer to him. One second he was looking at me and the next he was kissing me, all open mouth and soft tongue. A few wicked flicks of his tongue, and I forgot what we were talking about. When he finally pulled his mouth from mine, we were both out of breath.

  “Come back to my house with me.”

  “What?” I didn’t think I heard him correctly over the untamed pounding of my heart.

  “Come home with me,” he repeated, his voice low and gruff. His warm, minty breath floated across the side of my neck and a tingle shot down my back. Images from two nights ago banged around in my head like an invitation to sin rather than a warning.

  “Why would I do that?”

  “Because you want to.”

  “You’re a little too cocky for your own good.”

  Butterflies exploded inside of my stomach, and I reeled them in as quickly as possible. Kon was a lot of things. He was my enemy. He was my ally. A couple of nights ago, he was my lover, but he could never be my future. I promised my father I’d consider marrying Nico. I promised Nico I would marry him in spite of knowing deep in my bones I’d never be happy.

  It didn’t matter, though. I was my father’s daughter, a mafia princess, bred to obey my family and fulfill their wishes. As much as I willed it, an alternative future wasn’t available to me. And Kon…well, we could never be anything except star-crossed lovers unless I was willing to walk away from my family, and I wasn’t. They were my foundation, my life. It didn’t matter anyway. Kon had told me more than once he didn’t want a future with me.

  “Just come back to my place for a little bit and we can talk and have a drink.” He ran his hand through his already disheveled hair and a quiet self-deprecating laugh escaped his mouth. “Look, Carmela, we only have a month to get whatever this is out of our system. I can’t explain it. I know you feel it too. I can tell by the way you look at me, how you respond when I touch you. The way I see it, we can either ignore this or see where this takes us. I’d prefer the latter, but it’s up to you. I won’t push you.”

  His hands skimmed the sides of my waist, barely touching the silky fabric of my dress, and like magic, my body came to life.

  Crackle. Sizzle. Pop.

  He pressed his lips against my neck and inhaled. They were warm, smooth, and unrelenting. My hips arched without permission, seeking more contact. More friction.

  Kon was right. I did feel drawn to him. He occupied more of my thoughts than I’d ever confess out loud, and I couldn’t motivate my conscience to object. My need for him debilitated my common sense. Holy shit, I was going to do this even knowing it was the absolute last thing I should be doing five seconds after agreeing to marry Nico.

  “Okay,” I whispered, tilting toward him, dizzy with his nearness. Dizzy with possibilities. Dizzy with the idea of pressing the pause button on my future and embracing the present. I wanted to be like any other woman, seeking solace in a warm body for a night without complications or expectations. “Promise me you’ll drop me off at my car before midnight. I don’t want my mom to worry about me.”

  His lips trailed up the column of my throat, and all I could think was that I had been seduced by the devil.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Konstantin

  The entire drive to my place was a form of medieval torture. The way Carmela’s nipples pebbled against the silky material of her dress tempted me to the point of distraction. More than once I forcibly trained my eyes on the road in front of me so we didn’t end up wrapped around a stop sign and kill a half-dozen pedestrians in the process. Then the way she licked her lips like she wanted to tackle me and have her way with me. Fuck, I couldn’t go there.

  The ride on the elevator was another exercise in control. I studied the lit panel, counting the floors in my head instead of glancing at her because one glimpse was all it would take for me to rip her little dress over her head. While elevator sex may sound enticing on any other day, I thought it might send her running in the opposite direction.

  The minute we crossed the threshold of my apartment, all bets were off. I flipped the lock and flattened Carmela against the door. Her breath rushed out of her lungs and the picture on the wall rattled. The steady beep of my alarm chimed. Punching in the code with one hand, I pinned her arms above her head with the other, taking my time to drink in the sight in front of me.

  Her pupils nearly eclipsed her golden irises. Her chest rose and fell like she’d run up the ten flights of stairs instead of taking the elevator. Her nearly black hair curled around her shoulders, and the kicker was, she had no clue how sexy she was.

  My mouth crashed against hers, our tongues lashing like weapons. The possessive side of me I didn’t know existed until I saw Nico kiss her raged with the need to wipe any trace of him away. My blood roared through my ears, and all I could think about was ripping Nico’s lips from his smug face.

  Gasping, she broke our connection, her fingernails clawing into the tops of my shoulders. My lips traced the graceful arch of her neck, biting her right beneath her ear and sucking on the smooth skin until I left a mark.

  I curved my splayed hands around her round backside, and one of her bare legs curled around me, which was a green light in my mind, one I didn’t intend to let go to waste. My hands skimmed up her body, taking her sexy little dress on the journey with me.


  I palmed her between her legs, rubbing in a circular pattern and getting drunk and hard as fuck with every moan and roll of her hips. On instinct, my other hand circled the front of her throat, forcing her to look at me and only me. Not breaking eye contact with her, I slid her white lace panties to the side, hunting for the lips of her pussy. The second I found her slick entrance I drove two fingers inside, anchoring my thumb on her clit.

  I moved slowly at first, watching her face twist with a combination and pleasure and pain.

  “Kon, oh hell, like that. Exactly like that,” she mumbled, her words slurred and thick with lust.

  I slammed my lips against hers, my finger picking up speed and curving with the exact angle to bring her to a fever pitch. She tugged at my pants until she had them over my hips. As much as I wanted to drag this out, I couldn’t. I’d wanted to slide inside her for too many months to wait another second.

  When I pulled out my fingers, her eyes went wide. I ripped her panties from her body and her lips tipped up. Damn, this woman. She was naughty and nice wrapped up in one helluva sultry package.

  I tilted up her hips, and in a single thrust, I was inside of her. She was tight, yet wet enough that I didn’t meet much resistance. Her walls squeezed around me and all I could think was this woman was made for me. A lengthy moan echoed through my apartment, and I couldn’t be sure if it came from her or me. Maybe both of us.

  She circled her legs around my waist, and her hips started undulating. I couldn’t go slow or attempt to be gentle. My dick hammered in and out of her. Flesh slapped against flesh. The picture banged against the wall repeatedly, only stopping when it fell to the floor and the glass shattered around our feet.

  I pulled one lace covered nipple into my mouth, then the other. Her hips moved faster, matching my punishing pace.

  Her eyes fluttered shut. Sweat curved down my spine. My shirt clung to my skin. Her fingers dug into my biceps.

  “Oh God, Kon. I’m…”

  My teeth graze her ear, and I groaned. “I know, solnyshka, I know.” And I did know. I could feel her hot, wet pussy gripping me in waves. I kept pumping, my fingers digging into her thighs.

  Her sex drunk eyes popped open and she licked her bottom lip. I couldn’t hold back for another second. I exploded, releasing my lust for this woman that had been building for years.

  Burying my head into the crook of her neck, I inhaled her familiar lemon scent now mixed with the smell of sex. It had to be the best smell in the world.

  Her legs slid to the floor, and it felt as if New York City had conspired against us, deciding to go completely silent. No cars honked, the elevator didn’t ding, the air conditioning unit didn’t kick on, my crazy neighbor didn’t crank up his TV. Enough time passed that the sweat cooled on my skin.

  I opened my mouth to break the awkward silence hanging over us like an invisible shroud. Before I could get any words out, she forced me away from her, glass from the now broken picture crunching under the soles of my boots.

  “I need to go home,” she whispered, her voice shaky and unsure. She reached for her dress, aborting the action when she saw the glass from the picture sprinkled over the soft material. What a fucking mess. She couldn’t wear it home.

  I scrutinized her for any hints of her state of mind. I didn’t see anything except a slight tremor in her hands, which could be good or bad. “Stay. We’ll have dinner.”

  She swallowed hard. “Where’s the bathroom? I need to put myself together.”

  “Down the hall on the right. There’s a robe on the back of the door if you want to…” This didn’t need to be so uncomfortable. We enjoyed the hell out of each other. We were both willing participants. I liked her more than any other woman that had flitted through my life lately, and I think she felt the same. Unfortunately, I had no idea how to ease the sudden tension.

  Nodding a little too vigorously, she skirted around the shattered picture, her dress, and me.

  Seconds later, the bathroom door slammed and I heard the distinct sound of crying.

  Fuck.

  This was the reason I stayed clear of anything resembling a relationship since Laney. I couldn’t stand the tears, the fighting, and the constant yo-yoing of emotions.

  I fastened my pants and made my way down the hall, knowing in all likelihood, she didn’t want to talk to me.

  “Hey.” I cracked open the door and leaned my shoulder into the doorjamb. “Is everything okay?”

  Clearly, she wasn’t. I didn’t know why I asked such an asinine question. She sat on the edge of the tub deck clothed in my too big robe with her face in her hands and her shoulders shaking.

  “Can you leave me alone?” she mumbled through her fingers, her sobs intensifying with each syllable out of her mouth.

  I knelt in front of her and peeled her hands from her face. Mascara streaked her cheeks. Her eyes were swollen and her skin was splotchy. “You’re all right, Carmela. Just breathe, and talk to me about what’s going on in that head of yours.”

  “No, I’m really not.” Her legs bounced up and down. “And it doesn’t matter. I’m not your problem. Just give me something to wear and I’ll get out of your way and cry somewhere else.”

  “Tell me what’s wrong.”

  “I hate you. I hate that I did that with you. I hate that I feel anything for you. I hate that my family is pushing me to marry Nico. I hate, well, everything. ”

  My lips twitched. “That’s a lot of hate.”

  “Ugh.” She punched me in the shoulder. “Why are you smiling? You’re so annoying. Have you always been a pain in the ass?”

  “According to Evie…yes.”

  “You probably tortured her when you were kids.”

  “There was that one time when I gave her favorite doll to the dog as a chew toy. If you tell her I admitted it, though, I will deny it.”

  She barked out a laugh and my lungs tightened. Damn, I liked making this girl laugh.

  “You forgot who you’re talking to. I’m a Trassato. I probably got the confession on tape and I’m going to use it against you as leverage.”

  I ran my hand down her cheek to her jaw, erasing the last evidence of her tears. “Is that right?”

  “You’ll have to wait and see.”

  “So are you going to tell me why you were crying?”

  “I don’t want to. You’ll think it’s trivial.”

  “Try me.”

  “Ugh. Fine.” Her eyes flickered up and down like she couldn’t stand to look at me. I didn’t like it. I wanted all of her attention. “I’ve only done that with Rocco, and not very often either. Okay? Now go ahead and make fun of me.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, though I had a damn good idea what she meant. For reasons I refused to examine, I wanted her to clarify. “You and Rocco dated for a long time.”

  “Yeah, well, we never spent much time alone once we hit puberty, and my parents made it known that we shouldn’t go there. Once we got engaged, we snuck around a few times, but Rocco gave me this whole speech about not wanting to disappoint our parents and having our whole life in front of us.”

  For several seconds, I didn’t say a single thing until I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I burst out laughing.

  “You jerk!” She smacked me on the side of my head. “I can’t believe you’re laughing at me right now. I told you something extremely personal and private, and you think it’s a joke?”

  “No, solnyshka, I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing at Rocco.”

  “Huh?” She blinked a few times. “What do you mean?”

  “Let’s just say, if you were my girlfriend, my fiancée, or my whatever, I wouldn’t let anything stop me from kissing you. Touching you. In fact, I’d spend a considerable amount of my waking hours plotting to get you in my bed.”

  A million dollar smile spread across her face, and my heart stopped momentarily. She was insanely beautiful. “Really?”

  “Really. Now tell me what you want for dinner. I’m starv
ing.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Carmela

  When I woke up at Kon’s place this morning, my phone was dead. Without question, my mom was coming out of her skin with worry, and in all likelihood, she had called Gian. This knowledge didn’t compel me to run home and fall into line with a pile of apologies on my lips. It actually motivated me to embrace my freedom and linger in bed with Kon, taking pleasure in my first sleepover with a man. Taking pleasure in the momentary disconnect from the expectations of my family.

  By the time I pulled into the garage of my childhood home, I’d been gone for over thirty hours. My stomach dropped along with all hope no one noticed my absence when I passed Gian’s black SUV in the driveway.

  Deciding to face the firing squad, I went into the house rather than using the stairway to the apartment over the garage. It would be futile to hide. The confrontation would happen either way, but if I met it head on, it gave me more power…or at least that was what I told myself as my sneakers squeaked over the marble tiled floor. Thankfully I’d had the forethought to change into my gym clothes in the trunk of my car before I drove home.

  “Where have you been?” my brother said the minute I entered the great room. The familiar tang of garlic and tomato sauce hit my nose.

  Sunday dinner. Crap.

  I paused for a beat, taking in the scene in front of me. My brother stood in front of the fireplace with an elbow on top of the old world precast fireplace mantle. Evie sat on one of the gray armchairs, picking at the hem of her shirt. My mom was curled up on the cream colored sectional with her head in her hands. I didn’t see Nico anywhere, which was a good thing. My mom must have covered for me.

  “I went out with a friend,” I replied, tossing my purse onto the glass coffee table and dropping onto the arm of the sofa. “What is everyone doing here?”

  “Dammit, Carmela.” Gian slapped his hand against the top of the mantle. “You know exactly why we’re here. You didn’t come home last night. You didn’t answer your phone. No one had any idea where to find you. Nico said you left his place around three yesterday. That was over twenty-four hours ago.”