Franklin: A Boston Mafia Romance (The Boston Wolfes)

by Billie Lustig

  “Faster,” she begs, her eyes closed while she throws her head back, arching her back to bring more friction against her clit. I pick up the pace, my face tensing as I chase my release.

  “Oh God. Yes! Franklin, yes!”

  The feeling coursing through me gets more intense every second, even stronger as I feel her hands travel back up before she digs in her nails once more, dragging them down like she owns me, leaving her mark on me like she wants to make sure it will stay there forever. Finally, her nails reach the swell of my ass before she lets out a feral screech and her entire body goes rigid, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. I feel her walls tighten around me, pushing me over the edge while I explode inside her.

  “Fuck!” I roar while I thrust inside of her a few more times before I rest my head in her hair while we both heave in exhaustion.

  “Holy hell,” she croaks out.

  “Yeah,” I huff while I wrap my arms around her and lay her on top of me. My fingers slowly stroke her back while she buries her face against my neck, her breath warming my skin in a soothing way. We lay like this for a few minutes before I hear her breathing even out. I turn her a bit to get full access to her neck. While I gingerly brush the skin on her hips, I leave soft kisses against her collarbone, eventually migrating back to the skin beneath her ear.

  “Mmm, what are you doing, Franklin?”

  “I want more, pretty girl. A lot more,” I murmur against her skin, ready to do it all over again.

  Thirteen

  Kendall

  I suck in the fresh air, my heels tapping on the red cobblestone street as I make my way home. Franklin wanted to let his chauffeur—I didn’t even know he had one—drive me home, but I insisted I wanted to walk home. I wanted a minute to let last night sink in.

  Last night was fucking incredible. I can’t describe it in any other way.

  Once Emerson finally had his eyes set on someone new, I’d had no desire to expand my experience when it came to sex. Josie gave me a vibrator for my birthday last year, and even though it felt awkward at first, pleasuring myself like that … I was hooked the second I had my first orgasm. It felt so damn good. I’d never believed a man was capable of making me feel that good, so I sure as fuck never thought one would. Emerson hadn’t cared about my pleasure; he barely took the time to warm me up, shoving inside me like I was his to take whenever he wanted. Making me feel cheap, like a slut.

  But Franklin Wolfe … sweet mother of Jesus.

  He found nerves I didn’t know I had, pushed buttons I didn’t know were meant to be pushed, and licked places I didn’t know wanted to be licked. Franklin shattered my body, only to glue it back together and make me beg for more.

  Just like he’d said he would.

  Is this what I’ve been missing out on?

  Is this what everyone keeps talking about?

  A smile stretches my face the entire walk home. I feel light as a feather until I notice the familiar figure sitting on my doorstep, clearly waiting for me to get home.

  My heart practically stops when his glaring eyes meet mine, his mouth curling into an evil grin.

  “Hey, sweetheart,” he quips.

  “E-Emerson, good morning.” I offer him a tight smile, reaching into my bag to look for my keys while trying to avoid eye contact.

  I know what he said. It’s not like I’ve forgotten how he cornered me in that alley seven days ago, scaring the living shit out of me. But part of me had hoped that he would realize I’m not cut out for these kinds of things. I’m not some seductive con artist who can pull information out of the most dangerous crime lord in the city. Hell, up until last night, I could barely talk to him. But I should’ve known doing nothing wasn’t going to fly. When I saw Cary last night, creeping from a distance, I should’ve known Emerson would be right behind him.

  Emerson gets what he wants when he wants. Even if he has to risk my life to do it, not that it has ever been of value to him, anyway.

  “How was your night, sweetheart?”

  Before I can find my keys, he softly pulls my bag out of my hands and fishes out my keys himself, dangling them in front of my face.

  I can’t prevent the scowl tugging at my lips before I reach out to grab them, only to grab a bunch of air as he turns around and walks towards my front door. He pushes the key in the lock and opens it, not even waiting for me while he makes his way up the stairs, and I follow him like a beaten puppy.

  I’m no match for Emerson.

  I’m well aware of that.

  “Em, Josie is home.” I can hear the plea in my voice. I certainly don’t want him in our house either, but Josie will definitely throw a fit if he’s the first face she sees on a Saturday morning.

  “So?” He shrugs as he leans against the doorpost, watching me as I take the last steps until I’m right in front of him.

  “Please.”

  He folds his arms in front of his body as his eyes roam my face, traveling all the way down to my feet before he brings them back up.

  “I heard you had fun last night, sweetheart. Did he find your special spot?” Before I can respond, he grabs the back of my neck and tugs me into his body, then his tongue starts licking the skin below my ears.

  Goosebumps scatter across my body while a stone forms in my stomach. He has always used that small piece of skin as an easy way to turn me on, making me wet even when I wasn’t in the mood. But right now, I feel nothing but disgust, hating how his mouth is on the very same spot where Franklin’s lips were less than an hour ago.

  I roughly push away from him, giving him a dirty look while my heart thrashes in my chest. I hate that he can still make me feel like I’m his little toy he can touch whenever he wants. A damn broken toy.

  “Stop it, Em.”

  “Why?” There’s a hint of annoyance visible in his eyes, making me think he’s jealous, even though he is the one who dumped me for the next best thing.

  “What do you want?” I counter boldly, as if I wasn’t impacted by the threats he made against my brother yesterday.

  “Do you have anything for me?”

  “What does that even mean?” I roll my eyes.

  Within a split second, he morphs into the vicious man I remember him to be, and in one fast move, he grabs my throat, making it hard for me to breathe. He spins us both then throws me against the door. When his smoky breath fans my face, instantly regretting my gutsy remark.

  I could push my knee up and kick him in the balls, but my muscles always feel paralyzed when it comes to defending myself against Emerson, scared of what will happen if I actually defy him. Never have I been able to stand up for myself, always freezing under his touch, just hoping it will pass if I comply with what he says.

  I thought I’d grown in the last year, feeling more confident, better able to stick up for myself.

  But today is no exception. Like always, I still cower under the wrath of Emerson Jones.

  “You should know by now, sweetheart. I don’t play games. When I said I wanted information, I meant right now. Not tomorrow, not yesterday. Now.” He softly bites my lower lip, causing bile to form in the back of my throat.

  “I don’t have anything. He doesn’t share that part of the business with me. I’ve only been working there for a week, and he wasn’t even in town the last two days.”

  “Is it true he’s been in Montana? I heard some shit about the Carrillo brothers.”

  “I don’t know. I swear.” I shake my head while a single tear escapes the corner of my eye.

  He examines my face as if he’s looking for the truth.

  “Are you falling for him?” He frowns.

  Fuck.

  “No,” I lie, frantically shaking my head again. “He’s just a job. If I knew more, I would’ve told you. You know that, Emerson. I would never betray you.”

  Sadly, it’s true. I would never betray him. Not because I don’t want to or haven’t thought about it, but because I simply don’t know how. No matter how many times I’ve tried
to cut ties with him, he holds me in his grasp like I’m his pet rabbit. A pet for him to play with or torture whenever and however he pleases.

  “I believe you, sweetheart,” he coos as he brushes his lips over my cheek, then squeezes my neck in a dominating way, knowing he can do whatever he wants with me. “But Cary told me Mr. Wolfe was pretty fond of you last night. So I have a new plan. Gain his trust. Make him fall in love with you. You got it?”

  I nod my head, willing to comply with anything in this moment just to be able to get to the safety of my home. To escape his grasp and wash his scent off my body.

  “Good girl,” he says, while the back of his hand strokes my cheek. “Just seduce him like you seduced me, and you’ll be fine.”

  He places another kiss on my cheek before he releases my neck and pushes off, shooting me a wink.

  “Do that, and your brother will be safe. Oh, and there’s a package coming tonight. Keep it safe, someone will pick it up tomorrow. Bye, sweetheart.”

  My mouth is so dry it’s hard to swallow as I watch him walk down the stairs, feeling like it takes forever. Carefully, I take two steps to peek over the railing, letting out a sigh of relief when I see that the hallway’s empty.

  “What are you doing?” I jump, grabbing my heart as I turn around to find Josie staring at me with a puzzled look. “Did I hear Emerson?” She stretches her neck to glance at the stairs.

  I take a deep breath and shake my nerves away before I put on a straight face.

  “No, it was just the guy living on the fourth floor,” I lie, walking right past her, giving her no time to ask me anything else.

  Fourteen

  Franklin

  I let out a deep yawn, feeling it flowing through my entire body, stretching the muscles in my back while I lift my arms in the air. I haven’t slept much in a few days. Staying out late, dealing with business, but not sleeping last night, was worth it. My feet bring me to the kitchen of my apartment in Beacon Hill, looking out over the public garden through my kitchen window. I reach up to grab a cup out of the cabinet, then I hear the front door open as I place the cup under the machine and press the button. My nose is greeted with the sweet aroma of fresh coffee when I hear the heavy footsteps of one of my brothers walking over the hardwood floor. All three of them have keys, but at this time of day, there’s only one possible option since the other two are not early birds.

  “Morning, Kill,” I grunt, still watching my cup fill.

  “Morning.”

  When the machine stops, I pick up my cup and turn around, greeted by the troubled face of my brother. Resting my back against the counter, I take a sip of my coffee while I look at him over the rim of my cup.

  Something is on his mind.

  I know my brothers better than anyone. I know how they act; I know how they think, and I know when something is eating them inside. Reign is the one who doesn’t like to talk about his feelings, Connor is the one you have to drag it out of, but Killian? He’s an open book. He’s also the one who has no trouble calling me out on my bullshit, expressing his doubts about business choices, or letting me know when he flat-out doesn’t agree with what I’m doing. He’s my partner in the biggest decisions I make for our businesses because he challenges me, and he knows what the fuck he’s talking about 90 percent of the time.

  He keeps me sharp when the whole world wants to kiss the feet I walk on.

  Right now, he’s looking at me with suspicious eyes, like he’s worried and insecure even though he’s never been afraid to blurt out whatever is on his mind.

  “What is it?” I growl, wondering what it is that’s bothering him this morning.

  His lips flatten in displeasure, as if he’s picking his words wisely, making me even more curious.

  “Did she sleep over?”

  “Why are you asking?” My brother never interferes with my choices of women, so why he has a sudden interest in my latest sleepover makes no sense.

  “I don’t know, Franky.” He shrugs.

  I straighten my back, and my jaw tenses in annoyance.

  “You know, or you wouldn’t be here at ten in the morning on a Saturday to see if there is a girl in my bed.”

  “Not a girl. That girl. I have a feeling.”

  “You have a feeling?” I keep a straight face, but there’s no doubt he can hear the irritation in my tone. He shakes his head slightly, obviously uncomfortable with this conversation. Seeing him like this should give me a reason to take his feelings seriously, but to be honest, he’s just pissing me off. Making me feel like I have to defend her, even though I’ve known her for two minutes.

  “I don’t trust her,” he states with finality, as if he knows more about her than I do.

  “Why?” I clench my teeth as my eyes demand that he spill whatever information he has that I don’t.

  “Like I said, it’s just a feeling. What do we even know about her? Why is she around all of a sudden?”

  I huff in response, amazed by his ridiculous reasoning.

  “Kill, you do realize I pursued her, right? I forced her to work for me. I took her out for drinks. I took her to my bed last night.”

  “So? She could’ve set it all up. Who knows?”

  I look at him, examining his face. I must be missing something here. I’ve always thought I could read people pretty well, yet not once did I have the feeling Kendall wasn’t genuine. If anything, she needs convincing to spend time with me, which gets on my nerves most of the time.

  “What do you know that I don’t?” I scrutinize my brother as he drags his hand over his face, looking tired as fuck. He’s the one we use to manipulate people; he has the skill to get people to trust him and can read body language like no other. I’ve always trusted his judgment, but something inside me doesn’t want to believe him this time.

  “Nothing.” He rolls his eyes. “I can’t explain it, okay? I just have a feeling she isn’t really who she says she is. That she’s hiding something. Let me do some background checks. If I can’t find anything, I’ll shut up about her.” He throws his hands up in the air in surrender, giving me a look that is washed with sympathy.

  I know he wouldn’t bring this to me if it was just a hunch, but everything I’ve learned about Kendall Ryan so far tells me she’s the good girl she claims to be. That the girl intriguing me with her insecure yet defiant stance who gives me nervous glances that are quickly replaced by bold glares is genuine. She is the perfect contradiction, and she’s fucking with my head.

  In the best possible way.

  I don’t believe she’s not who she says she is, but I have to give my brother the trust that he needs. The trust that makes our bond the strong one that it is.

  “Fine, look into her. But if you come up empty-handed, I don’t want to hear anything about it again. You got it?” I point my finger at him, showing him I’m serious.

  If his feelings are right, we have to know. But if Kendall turns out to be the girl I think she is, I want her to stick around.

  “I got it.” He grabs his phone and keys from the counter before he knocks his knuckles on the marble, looking at me as if there’s still something on the tip of his tongue.

  “You really like this girl, don’t you?” he finally asks.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know. You’re different with her.”

  His words have me reminiscing about last night. I can’t deny she’s stirring something to life in my body that was never there before, and I have no clue what it is.

  “We’ll see, Kill,” I respond, not answering his question.

  “Fine. I’ll see you at the races. Is she coming?”

  The races have always been a great way to gain new business connections and an even better way to maintain the ones we already have. Not to mention the fact that we own half of the horses that are racing, winning us a shit ton of money. Many of our associates bring their spouses or their girlfriends, but I’ve never brought anyone. For some reason, the thought of Kendall beside m
e seems like a damn good idea.

  “Yeah, she’s coming.”

  Fifteen

  Kendall

  The door slams shut behind us, then I speed walk to my bedroom, trying to avoid Josie. I know she’ll want to know where I was last night. It’s not that I don’t want to tell her, but after having my ex up in my personal space thirty seconds ago, I want to shower.

  “Where the hell are you going, missy?” she bellows behind me, her footsteps telling me she is following in my tracks. “You can’t stay out all night and not even bring me food.”

  “To shower.” Before she can walk into my bedroom, I slam the door shut and lock it before letting out a relieved sigh.

  “What the hell, Kenny! Are you seriously going to deny me whatever hot shit happened to you last night? I know you’ve been with Franklin. I’ve heard the whispers going around town.”

  I roll my eyes to the empty room, my back pressed against the door.

  This damn town.

  “I’ll tell you, just let me shower first,” I reply, hoping she’ll let me be for five minutes.

  She stays quiet for a while, as if she’s contemplating if she is going to push some more or wait until I’m ready.

  “Please,” I call out, waiting for her answer.

  “Fine. But if you’re not out in the next hour, I’m using my key.”

  “Thank you.” I chuckle before I hear her footsteps move away from the door.

  I take a deep breath and rub my face in desperation, then I pull my phone out of my pocket.

  My brother is a soldier, so I know he can hold his own. In fact, I wish I had his strength and confidence.

  Still, I shouldn’t have doubted Emerson when he said he’d hurt my family if I don’t give him what he wants. He’s threatened me with that many times, and knowing his track record of hurting people who don’t comply with his wishes, I believe him.