He put his head in his hands, trying to breathe through the pain and anger he was feeling with a million negative thoughts swirling in his mind. Cynthia sat back down and looked at him. “I’m sorry that this is happening," she said, her voice softening slightly.
She sighed heavily before continuing. "I do really care about you and keeping your secret. If it helps, I'll come back to work on Monday, and even continue to try and be a part of the club. But as far as anything else right now, between us, I'm not sure. I really want to be with someone who can put their trust in me, who isn’t going to doubt me at every turn when something goes wrong.”
Dante saw the sad look on her face and could tell she was hurting as much as he was, so he couldn’t push her into something she wasn't ready for. He knew he had screwed up. It was up to him, now, to make it up to her and prove his trust for her whenever he had the chance to win her back. Whatever happened, he wasn't going to sit back and just let shit happen. He knew what he wanted, and he was prepared to fight for it.
Chapter 19
Dante scratched out Billy’s name on a piece of paper in front of him. He had been trying to figure out who could be in the faction growing against him in the club. He had laid low for a week, waiting for something to come out, but it never did. He was ready to deal a blow, to come out swinging and regain his throne as pirate king among this group of twisted devils. But he had thrown himself into the task of solving the mystery the entire time he had been in hiding, and he still hadn’t gotten any more out of it other than his usual suspicions about Bryant.
He looked around at his living room and grimaced. He hated working at home, especially while Cynthia was spending half the day at the office to meet with clients while he sat there alone on his laptop. He looked to the clock on the wall and was glad to see it was almost time for her to show up to help him out, but unfortunately it had nothing to do with his MC. Although he would have loved her opinion on the matter, she had stayed pretty distant from him whenever possible.
He knew for a fact she had been hanging out with Barbie and some of the rest of the MC in his absence, bonding with the people he once called family. But he knew she was mostly keeping a promise to him and trying not to raise any more suspicions about his double life.
At work she had been a machine, even bringing in new clients from overseas. Their profit had grown since hiring her, but she was being sure to keep all personal matters out of the conversation. He kept buying her flowers, sending her apology notes and poems, and even talking to her about the club, trusting her to tell him everything she knew. What else did a guy have to do to be forgiven?
A knock came at the door and he went to answer, not even caring that he was still in his pajamas. He had to get some pleasure out of working at home. Cynthia came strutting in, looking all work and no play with her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail like she had her first day working for him, and a loose fitting pant suit. He greatly missed her tight clothes and wavy hair down her back that teased him in the best way possible. His body yearned for those naughty encounters they had in the office.
He watched her eyes survey him up and down as she pursed her lips. He couldn’t tell if she was trying to avoid jumping his bones or if she was disapproving of his lack of suit and tie. Either way she resembled a sexy teacher or librarian; making his head automatically jump to where his fantasies were hidden away. He wiped the sly smile off his face as they sat down at his coffee table to discuss what was on the agenda for the day.
“So, how is the business? I’m sure with you at the helm it’s running like a young race horse or a finely tuned motorcycle.” He couldn’t help but flirt for a second, trying to catch her attention. He was so desperate for it.
She tapped her fingers impatiently before responding. “Mr. Kutatchi, the one with the shop in Japan, would like a full contract with us now that the 90 days are up. I told him I’d have a contract drafted for him by tomorrow afternoon. Mr. Buzby came in with another complaint about supply as well as the product itself. I assured him that there was nothing wrong with the product and had a mechanic demonstrate it to him this morning. We actually drove out to his plant. He fired his mechanics and asked if he could take one of ours.” A small smile was creeping up on her face. She looked happy to be victorious with the clients.
“Well, it sounds like a fulfilling day. Are you sure you don’t want to just go home and take the rest of the day off?” He was sincere when he asked it, though he secretly hoped she’d stay. He had a plan to cook her dinner to try and wear her down a bit more.
“I’m pretty sure you need me to run reports and make up contracts and answer your emails. Though I don’t necessarily need to be in your home to do that, I am YOUR personal assistant. So I think I’ll take my chances with the levels of stress sitting in a luxury apartment at a designer dining table filling out paperwork for you.” She nodded matter-of-factly, not giving away anything about whether there might be any other reason than duty to stay there.
She went about setting up her laptop when another knock came at the door, one he wasn’t expecting. He saw the fear in Cynthia’s eyes at the sound, and felt a twinge of hope as well as guilt. She must have thought she was about to witness a rendezvous with another woman or something, little did she know that he had no intention of being with anyone but her. The thought actually made him sick to his stomach.
It turned out to be Billy who came in and immediately made himself at home. Then he remembered that he’d asked Billy to come over and help him figure out what he could about this faction against him. “Oh, hey Sin!” he said enthusiastically, which made Dante glare at him. He was weary of the contact between the two of them now that he had swept Barbie off her feet and away from a stud like Bryant. He wasn’t about to let Cynthia cream her panties over him too.
“Oh, hi Billy. Does he have you working for him now, too?” Her lips looked serious, but Dante could see the playfulness in her eyes.
“Sort of. It’s MC business, not business-business.” They were talking as if they were good friends. She really had made some big progress with the club while he was holed up in his apartment avoiding everyone. It was impressive even though he couldn’t help but feel a hint of jealousy.
Cynthia went back to work as he sat down on the couch with Billy and showed him the piece of paper he had been trying to work out the whole thing on all day to no avail. Billy looked at it while rubbing his scruffy chin. “Well, I think you’re on the right track with Bryant, but I can’t say for sure. It just seemed that day that he would have done more if he was truly on your side. If nothing else, he seems to be on his own side more than anything.” Dante grunted in agreement, hoping that his absence had revealed more members who were against him.
“Of course Barbie and I, as well as Ax, are all on your side. There’s no way any of them could be in this stupid faction shit. But I get this creepy feeling that Liz and that new boy toy of hers are involved. I mean, her and Ax were connected at the genitals until recently.” Dante nodded, accepting the fact that a woman that had always seemed his friend was really against him. He knew she did a lot of illegal things and did not at all like going legit with the club. It was a sad realization.
Pete, Jaz, and Milo have pretty much stayed neutral, so I don’t feel they’re in this faction against you, but they aren’t here to help, either. Nato, though, man, he’s talked about you from the beginning. He hates your fucking guts, and he loved the drug business. You know that.”
“Yeah, but do you really think he could lead this whole group and figure out my secret. He’s not exactly the brightest asshole?” Dante asked, trying to keep quiet as not to disturb Cynthia. He looked over his shoulder at her and caught her listening in. “Do you have any input, Sin?” He pleaded with his eyes, trying to get any sort of genuine communication out of her. She placed her finger in the air to tell him she had to finish up something first. Her fingers flew over the keys at 90 miles an hour before she closed her laptop and walked over to them.<
br />
Cynthia leaned over the back of the couch, popping her head in between Billy and Dante. For a moment her and Dante locked eyes, and he could feel her breath on his face. It took everything in him not to close the gap between their lips. It was so hard being near her and not being allowed to touch her gorgeous body or kiss her luscious lips.
She pointed her finger to a name on the page, and Dante’s eyes followed to see she was pointing at a girl named Phoebe; well an older woman actually. She had come in as someone’s old lady, but he hadn’t made it through initiation. She dumped him and stayed to become the old lady of the last president before him. The last president hadn’t been that much of a hard ass, but he didn't turn his back on the illegal shit. Phoebe seemed to enjoy the easy dough and the bling. It was a good place to start.
“That’s brilliant, Sin!” Billy called out, patting her arm. Dante shot daggers at him again and caught a glimpse of Cynthia’s face turning red and her eyes getting wide. It was a tense moment to say the least.
“No problem,” she whispered before heading back to her laptop in silence. She merged herself right back into her work and stayed that way until Billy took off and Dante headed to the kitchen to cook up some enchiladas. He was going to win his girlfriend back with food, and then he was going to haul it over to The Blue Pig and wring Bryant’s neck.
Chapter 20
Billy: Diesel is here. He’s telling off Bryant. Just thought you’d want to know.
Cynthia looked down at her phone and sighed. Billy had been texting her a lot lately, keeping her in the know with regards to the MC. She had somehow become an accepted member even with all the drama that was going on with Dante, and Billy had been helping her to fit in and keep up while she tried to help Dante out at work. He had decided to lie low for a couple of weeks and work at home in case something leaked, and his CEO had been apprised of a possible media issue but nothing more. Working with him after the breakup, though, had been awkward.
She could see the jealousy in his eyes at her friendship with Billy as well as the way he still looked at her. She knew that neither of them could just snap their fingers and stop caring for each other, but it was just hard. It made her wonder if she had been too harsh on him. She hated that he had automatically blamed her for the threats to his business, that he didn’t trust her, but it did seem like a logical conclusion. Plus, she had to admit that seeing him in his pajamas every day for the last week had been a challenge. She had wanted to snake her hand down his loose pants and see if he was even wearing boxers under there.
But then she remembered how she’d spent two nights crying herself to sleep over him, and she never wanted to feel that way again. In the time they’d been apart, she’d gotten hit on by three of the MC members and was continuing to get random phone calls from a number she was pretty sure was Winslow. She had been smart enough not to answer, though.
Billy: He just told him to start his own club or back off. Bryant seems pretty upset, but he’s not saying anything. I think everyone’s kind of calmed down now that he’s been gone and is stepping up again. You should come down.
Cynthia rolled her eyes at the new message. She got the feeling that he was trying to get them back together or something. Shouldn’t he be more concerned about his budding relationship with Barbie?
She sighed and went to her closet, looking for something to wear. As much as she tried to resist Dante’s advances, deep down she knew they were going to make up. Why should she wait any longer?
She ran her fingers against all the fabrics in her closet including the new biker clothes that Barbie had helped her pick out a few days earlier. Barbie had told her she needed to look the part more.
Cynthia grabbed a leather studded skirt and a white tank with AC DC printed on the front with a drawing of an electric guitar. She also had her own leather jacket in a deep violet color. Barbie had suggested she still look feminine because she hated the butch biker chicks. Barbie had even talked Cynthia into buying three pairs of heels; ones that matched the jacket, a black pair, and a red pair with rhinestones all over them. Underneath her brown curls was a layer of bright red hair color as well so that it could only be seen when she put her hair up just right.
After she was dressed, she lined her eyes thick with eyeliner and topped it all off with some crimson lipstick. She actually looked surprisingly good, much younger than her age. She would have to remember to thank Barbie for the tips.
She headed out the door and decided to grab a taxi, hoping that Dante might offer her a ride home. She always felt silly showing up to The Blue Pig in a car anyway, and she wasn’t about to go out and buy herself a motorcycle. She’d stick to riding on the back of one.
She tried to work out what she was going to say in her head before she got there, but it seemed useless. Everything kept coming back to the lack of trust, and that wasn’t really the right way to make up with someone. It would only start another argument, create a bigger rift. She thought it might just be best to keep her mouth shut and make up with her body language alone.
As she jumped into the cab, she texted Billy back.
Cynthia: Agreed. I’m on my way. Is he still there? I think it’s time to solve more than one problem.
He texted back almost immediately.
Billy: Thank goodness. Barbie and I were getting sick of it. No offense. Yes, he’s still here. I’ll try and keep him here until you arrive. Barbie says hurry up!
Cynthia laughed to herself at how high-schoolish they sounded, but it was cute. They really made a surprisingly good couple, though she never would have pegged it before. They were both awfully sweet and friendly for members of a motorcycle gang. But then again, so was Dante when he wasn’t playing leader.
She pulled up to the glass divider and paid the cabbie, telling him she didn’t need him to come back. It was a bold move, but she was determined at that point to leave there with her stepbrother.
She could see his back as she walked in. He was standing at the bar, sipping on his typical jack and coke as she approached. Half the club got silent as they watched her walk up behind him, but he didn’t even seem to notice. “Hi Diesel,” she said shyly, causing him to turn around and give her a confused look.
He had let his facial hair grow out a little, and he had a bit of his drink running down into it as his mouth hung open while he stared at her. Had she really been so cold to him lately that he was so shocked to see her he couldn't even muster a proper hello?
She decided to just go for it, walking up to him and planting a kiss right on his lips. She heard his drink fall to the ground and the glass shatter as his arms flew around her, exploring her curves and her back as her tongue parted his lips. She could hear cheering coming from all around them; an official approval of their relationship.
Diesel picked her up in his arms and cradled her, carrying her out the door to the continuing cheers and clapping and placed her on his bike. “That’s better. I think you belong right there,” he said with a sly smile across his face. She couldn’t help but react the same. It was like they had never left each other as they looked into each other’s eyes in the bright, cool afternoon.
“So, I hear you’re standing your ground pretty well,” she commented.
“I think I need to have a little talk with Billy about getting a little too close to my old lady.” Her boss approached her, putting one leg on either side of her so that his belly button was about at eye level. She couldn’t resist reaching her hands up under his shirt and feeling his warm skin underneath.
“Nah, I’m pretty sure he’s got his own old lady to worry about now.” She lifted his shirt up and kissed his stomach. “I missed this,” she commented, closing her eyes.
“How about we take this home?” he proposed, climbing onto the bike.
“Agreed,” she responded, throwing her leg over the other side of the bike.
* * *
Cynthia threw her jacket and heels off and fell back onto Dante’s king size bed. He fell on top of her,
his shirt off, and began kissing her cleavage hanging over the white tank she was wearing. They were wasting no time making up the right way, and Cynthia was enjoying the view of his tattoos and muscles. She let her hands trace the patterns all over him, slipping her hand down into his pants where the tattoos continued.
She grinned up at him as her pinkie slid across the soft skin of his cock, making it grow and push back against her hand. She wrapped it around his hardening shaft and used her other hand to pull his face up to hers for a passionate kiss.
Within moments, the rest of their garments were flying across the large bedroom, scattering everywhere. They quickly became a tangle of hot flesh, breathing in each other scents and getting re-acquainted with the contours of each other's bodies. Feeling a little out of control, Cynthia climbed on top of Dante, letting him set her wet center on top of his manhood.
Billionaire Stepbrother - Secret Lives Page 11
