by Shanna Bell
“It’s Carmen. I haven’t seen her in weeks and can’t get a hold of her. Other than a few texts now and then, that is. I know something’s up with her. In fact, I think”—it wasn’t easy to say this—“that she’s being abused by her husband. A husband who I caught with another woman on my wedding day.”
Tommie winced. “Sounds like a classy guy.”
“I just don’t understand why she stays with him. Why any woman would stay with a man that abuses her.”
“Sometimes people don’t really have a choice.”
“There’s always a choice,” she argued.
He shrugged, not meeting her eyes. “Maybe she doesn’t feel like she deserves anything better.”
She looked up at the strange tone of his voice. He was staring at his computer screen.
“Um, it seems as if you’re speaking from experience,” she said carefully.
Another shrug. “It was a long time ago.” When she gave him a look, he huffed. “Okay, not that long ago. Five years, to be exact. I had just come out of the closet and my family basically ostracized me. All I had was my boyfriend. My ex had loose hands after he had a few drinks. Abuse doesn’t start on the first day, you know. It’s like a disease, a parasite, that takes more of a hold of you every day. First, you tell yourself that it was an incident, that it will never happen again. Then, the second time, when he begs you for forgiveness, you convince yourself that forgiveness is a part of love. Aren’t we taught that love conquers all?
“By the time things escalated, I had no one to fall back on. I actually believed him when he told me that he was the only one who would ever want me. When your own parents don’t speak to you anymore, the two people in the world who are supposed to love you unconditionally, it makes you think about if you even deserve to be loved. Either way”—he took a deep breath—“it took me two broken ribs and a visit to the emergency room before I dumped his ass. Took me a long time to recover from that.”
Jazzy was speechless. She’d had no idea. Five years ago, they hadn’t even met, and she liked to think that if they had, she would have been there for him. Now, she felt like shit for judging her sister for staying with her husband. “I’m truly sorry to hear that.” She kissed his cheek and put her head on his shoulder. “I wish I could have been there for you.”
He sighed and hugged her back. “You are now.”
After Tommie left, Jazzy started feeling restless. She was still horny, and no Gio to be found. Determined to take care of her little problem herself, she went to their bedroom, in search of her favorite toy.
“Looking for this?”
Startled, she jumped up. Her eyes narrowed as she saw Gio wave her bullet vibrator at her.
“What did I say, bella? You can have my cock after dinner. Seems someone is in for more punishment. Or perhaps”—he eyed her vibrator—“for a different lesson.”
Now what did that mean? And why did it get her all hot and bothered?
He sat on the edge of the bed and patted his thigh. “Get over my lap.”
“I’m kind of sore already,” she complained.
“I’m not going to pinken your ass any further. I have something else in mind.”
Apparently, he did have a heart after all. She skipped over to him and bent over his lap.
“Are you going to make me come this time?” She jumped up when something cold drizzled over her butthole. Her breath hitched when his finger slid over her crack a few times, teasing the rim. She never had anal sex before and though she was curious about it, now that the moment seemed to be there, she was a bit nervous. Okay, she was a lot nervous.
“No.”
What? Right, he was answering her question. “That’s not nice,” was all she managed to say when another finger slid inside her pussy. Finally. “Please, Gio, fill me up. Fill me everywhere.” She knew he liked it when she was vocal, voicing her desires.
“Tell me what else you like.”
“This. Right this here.” She tried to push her ass back, to gain some leverage and fuck herself on his finger, but he drew his finger away. How was this fair?
“I can’t fill all your holes at the same time, baby. No one man can.”
Why did it have to be one man? When he stiffened underneath her, she realized she had spoken out loud. Oh no. “I didn’t mean…”
“I think you did.”
Tension grabbed her by the throat and slowly killed her desire. Never before had she voiced her fantasy of being dominated by more than one man. It seemed silly; something she only read about in books. Suddenly, she felt the atmosphere in the room change and she tried to get up, but he kept her down over his lap.
“I’m sorry.” She hated the thought of him thinking that he wasn’t enough. When she had that fantasy, she saw Gio in it. Any other man was just a faceless blur.
“Don’t be. It’s normal to have sexual fantasies.” Judging by his voice and his gentle strokes over her ass, he wasn’t just saying that to save the mood.
“So, do you have them too?” It made her a huge hypocrite, but she hated the thought of him with another woman. In fact, it made her want to murder someone. Starting with him.
His lips burned on her ear when he bent over closer to her. “I’ve already had a threesome and foursome,” he whispered.
“I hate you.” The words just popped out of her mouth.
“No, you don’t. But to answer your question, yes, I have fantasies too. They’re just different from yours, as I have more experience.”
Meaning that he’d had a lot of time to already explore his fantasies. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the scoop on them. What she did know was how to get a rise out of him.
“Since you have so much more experience, you mind answering a few questions to ease my curiosity?”
He kept stroking her hair as he said, “Ask whatever you want.”
“Did you ever have sex with a man?”
“No.”
“With a goat?”
This earned her a swat on her thighs.
“Hey, that hurt!”
“You don’t know what pain is yet, but continue like that, and you will.”
Um okay. No more bestiality jokes then. “Do you ever think about having sex with multiple women again?” Even though the idea killed her, she had to ask.
“No, I don’t. But I do have other fantasies I will introduce to you soon.”
She couldn’t stop a sigh of relief. She wiggled her butt to get his attention back at the task in hand. “I’m all ears.”
“Good. Take a deep breath.”
“Why do I—”
Oh… No sooner had she voiced that, when he started pushing something hard and unyielding inside her ass.
“Remember when you called me an asshole, and I told you not to use the words anal and asshole in the same sentence with me?”
“Yes,” she bit out.
“This is when I collect on those words, bella. Your ass is mine, just like your pussy. Every morning, for the next few weeks, you will give me a morning blowjob, followed by me filling your beautiful ass with a plug.”
“Will I now?” she asked with clenched hands. It was starting to burn now.
“Yes, you will.” He sounded his ever-confident self. How aggravating. “Because at the end, I will reward you.”
Reward her? That, she could live with.
CHAPTER 18
GIO
Gio found out that married life wasn’t all that much different from being single, with the exception of having Jazzy’s body in his bed every night. A month into his marriage, and he still hadn’t sated his lust toward her. In fact, it had gotten worse. Fueled by the fact that she enjoyed sex—a lot—and could actually keep up with him, it had gotten to a point that he wanted to try new things. He wondered if she would like his surprise for her.
“So, do you want me to continue keeping a tab on Green, or is the file enough?”
“Gio?”
He looked up at his brothers and Hecto
r staring at him. They gave him a knowing smirk; well, Jackson and Vince did—Hector rarely smiled.
“Jazzy’s starting a business.” Right from their mansion. Guess he should be thankful he didn’t find her starting out from the garage or basement, like some of her tech idols.
“So, how do you feel about that?” As always, Jackson got straight to the core.
Gio had been surprised to discover his wife actually wanted to work. The women he used to sleep with had been mostly in the business of finding a rich husband. He’d always figured that after he’d taken down the man who murdered his parents, he’d eventually take a wife. When he was in his forties. He would provide for her, never have her want for a thing in her life. That’s the way a man should be. Taking care of his family. Her wanting to work, earning money, did that mean she didn’t trust him to take care of her? To always provide for her?
“I find it... surprising.”
“You know, it is a new millennium,” Jackson said, while obviously trying to keep his face straight. “Women have jobs now.”
“Asshole.”
His thoughts trailed back to Jazzy. Which was an oddity in itself. He’d never given his mistresses another thought outside of the bedroom. So why was it that the little hellcat occupied his mind in the middle of a meeting? It must be because she was his wife. That made her different, he supposed. And that she waited up for him. He liked coming home to a sleepy-eyed Jazzy waiting up for him, no matter how late it was.
Gio looked over the file on Tom Green. The kid with the blue hair and set of piercings in one eyebrow. He reminded him of Vince back in the day. His brother had always been the most rebellious of them, going through various teenage stages. Vince would probably like the kid. Gio wasn’t sure yet.
“He’s harmless,” Hector continued, further briefing him about Green. “Graduated cum laude, having his pick of companies who’d want to hire him. Yet the kid works at a computer store. He doesn’t seem to have any contact with any relatives, other then with a grandmother in a nursing home. His bank account is practically empty, most of his earnings going to the nursing home. The grandmother is probably the reason he hasn’t taken any jobs out of San Francisco. He has no priors. There is, however, a case of him filing a report against his ex-boyfriend for assault.”
“How did that end?” If the abusive ex was still in the picture, he could be a risk. And a risk to Tommie, was a potential risk to Jazzy.
“The idiot attacked the cops when they wanted to question him, so the charges went up. He’s serving a six-year sentence right now.”
He closed the file on Green and put it next to the ones for the employees of the women’s shelter, and that of her brother-in-law, Franco Caruso. All potential dangers to his wife. The biggest one, however, was Caruso. According to the report, his finances were even worse than he’d believed, which would make a man of his disposition all the more dangerous. What especially concerned him was that, according to Vince, Caruso was responsible for the disappearance of one of his mistresses. He didn’t want Jazzy anywhere near the man.
He took out his phone when he felt it vibrate. He downloaded the photo Jazzy had sent him, and instantly his dick turned into solid steel. The woman was insane. He couldn’t look away from a close-up of her lovely ass, the tip of a pink butt plug poking out from between her rosy cheeks.
“Fuck.”
He realized he’d been wrong. The real reason why he couldn’t get her out of his mind was because the damn woman was always up to something.
He pressed the intercom and asked to be connected to the tech guy. “Jones, my wife just sent me a picture on my work phone. Erase it. And make sure it stays erased.”
A few ticks on a keyboard, then a whistle followed, making Gio grit his teeth. He’d never considered himself a possessive man, yet here he was, feeling all caveman over his own wife.
“Jones?”
“Yes, Mr. Detta.”
“While I’m sure my wife would appreciate the compliment, don’t ever make that sound again while regarding my wife.”
The tech guy immediately fell over his tongue, apologizing profusely.
Gio hung up, once again looking into three pairs of eyes.
“So, she sent you a picture, huh?” Vince said, trying to sound innocent. “I knew she wasn’t boring the second I met her. You two exclusive?”
That he even had to ask was a testament to a lifestyle Gio didn’t want to know about.
When Gio didn’t answer his ridiculous question, Vince said, “I see. You should bring Jazzy to the club one night. We have a Mask and Mystery Night this Friday. I’m sure she’ll look gorgeous in fetwear. You can get her a beautiful corset, and—”
“Stop thinking about my wife in a corset,” Gio snapped.
Vince snickered. “So, should I put you two on the list?”
“Fuck you, Vince. Just, fuck you.”
***
Gio had one more stop before he could go home. He gave Raoul the address to the computer store where Tommie Green worked. It was a small shop in Soma between an art gallery and a Chinese takeout. The boy seemed surprised when Gio walked inside the store.
He waited until the only other customer in the store finished his business and the place was abandoned.
“Mr. Detta,” Tommie greeted him. “What can I do for you?”
“You are going to accept an office in the Detta Tower, Mr. Green.”
“I am?”
“Yes, you are, because I’m not going to let my wife work at one of those shitty offices you are looking at. She’s a Detta, which makes her a target in the eyes of certain people. I can’t have her exposed to any threats like that, especially not if she’d be perfectly safe in my building. So, you are going to swallow your pride and accept my offer. It’s the only way Jazzy will go along with it.”
Tommie’s eyes narrowed. He raked a hand through his blue hair, showing his nervousness. “Are you going to make me an offer I can’t refuse?”
If the matter hadn’t been so important to him, Gio would have smiled. The kid had guts. He was also right about the kind of offer Gio was going to make.
“Yes, Tommie, I’m going to make you an offer you can’t refuse.”
CHAPTER 19
JAZZY
Jazzy had been married for about a month now. A month spent in some sort of strange honeymoon bliss. Gio treated her well. Most evenings, he spent at home, having dinner with her like a normal couple. She’d been busy doing her own stuff, developing her business plan and software. They didn’t see much of each other during the day but at night, oh, the nights were amazing. Gio was an enigma. The closed-off looking man was like a chameleon in between the sheets. Though sometimes, he omitted the sheets altogether, taking her on the couch, in the shower, even once on his desk in the library. For an outsider, they would probably seem like a regular couple of newlyweds. Not once had he tried to write down the law to her, so far. The only thing he was adamant about was her security. He didn’t budge on that. She didn’t get to go anywhere without Hector. As head of security, and the owner of the security company, she believed the former Marine was a bit overqualified for the job, but he didn’t seem to mind.
Still, she kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Powerful men like Giovanni Detta had a certain way they dealt with people. He had shown that by practically butchering the asshole that had hit her. Justified? Perhaps. She didn’t feel sorry for that prick. Still, sooner or later, Gio was going to find out he’d married the wrong Rossi girl and then all this bliss would disappear. But until that moment, she would make the most of it; bringing every fantasy she’d ever had to life; most recently, this morning.
She grinned when she thought about the picture she had sent him. It was the biggest of the butt plugs so far. The elephant plug, and she was supposed to keep it in for a few hours. Which she did, right up until the moment she decided to visit her sister.
Her patience was over. It was time for another come to Jesus moment with Carmen. To he
r surprise, this time when Jazzy sent her a text, Carmen immediately responded by saying she wanted to meet up.
Jazzy took two taxis and a ferry to reach North Bay. The first thing she noticed when arriving at Casa Caruso, was the absence of guards around the perimeter. It had been a while since she’d visited this place, on the outskirts of Marin County. The place looked different somehow. More abandoned.
She rang the bell and it was opened by Carmen instead of the housekeeper. Her sister looked gaunt, her clothes big around her body.
“Finally,” Jazzy greeted her, as she gave her a hug. “Where have you been all these weeks?”
There was a tight smile on Carmen’s face. “Please, come in. Let’s go into the kitchen. I have freshly made tea.”
Jazzy scrunched her nose as she followed her inside. “Never understood your love for tea.”
“Don’t worry. There’s also coffee for you.”
When they sat at the kitchen table, overlooking an empty backyard, Jazzy noticed the eerie silence. “So, where is everyone?”
Carmen handed her a mug. “Franco has fired the staff and doesn’t allow anyone inside the house anymore. Ever since the rest of his family got locked up and killed, he’s been paranoid, thinking everyone’s after him. A few days ago, he had a meeting with his lawyer. I think he’s under investigation.”
Good. I hope they lock him up. Jazzy nodded while taking a sip from her coffee.
“He’s become more… unstable lately.”
“So, now what?” Please let me help you. What every woman needed was a man that lifted her up instead of tearing her down. She wished she could make Carmen see that.
“I’m… I’m going to leave him, Jaz.”
“You are? I mean, finally.”
“I—I’m pregnant,” Carmen said, with a catch in her voice.
Oh, crap. “That’s um...” Jazzy had no idea what that was. “Is that good or bad?” Either way, she would support her sister, but she obviously wasn’t going to congratulate her if she decided to not keep the baby.
