Captivated by the deadly mafia boss

Nicole sits back in her chair and rubs her stomach. She’s still wearing the white blouse and black slacks she wore to work. Her hair is pulled up into a high ponytail, and two silver rings dangle from her earlobes. Quite the professional, she appears to be.

But nothing entering my mind has anything to do with work.

“Eat enough?” I ask, sweeping my gaze over her empty plate. She ordered a large chicken pad Thai and has devoured everything but the cilantro decoration.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

“Oh, my God, yes.” She grabs the glass of water in front of her plate and takes a large gulp. “That was so good. I missed this place.”

“They don’t have good Thai food in New York?” I ask.

“Oh, they do, but not like this place.” She grins. “You didn’t eat very much.” She gives a pointed look at my own pad Thai dish. I’ve eaten the shrimp from it but left the noodles.

“Wasn’t all that hungry. We’ll take it home and you can have it for lunch tomorrow.” I wave over the waiter and ask for takeout containers. “You know, instead of those nachos.”

She grins. “I like the nachos. But yes, this would be better.”

“I spoke with the foreman this afternoon and it looks like they’ll be wrapped up in a few weeks.”

“Yeah, Bobby told me.”

My ears perk. Bobby told her?

“I didn’t realize you knew him.” How close are they? And when did she meet him? Nicole is beautiful and approachable. It doesn’t surprise me she’s spoken with him, but what does surprise me is how much I don’t like it. Hate it, in fact.

“We’ve talked a little here and there. He’s usually around when I get in.” She sips her water. It’s innocent, their chats, but still my chest tightens.

“You’ve been coming in with me this past week,” I remind her.

She blinks a few times. “Are you jealous?”

“I’m just curious as to when you have these chats.” I roll my shoulders, trying to ease the tension out of my muscles.

“Well, today I talked with him while he was waiting to talk with you. Yesterday, I bumped into him when I went out for coffee.” She leans over the table toward me. A twinkle dances in her eyes. “The day before that I saw him when I was walking in, you hadn’t driven in with me, so you weren’t there. It was really hot and humid that day, so he had taken off his shirt. I could see all of his muscles and man, does that guy have a set of abs on him.” She’s teasing me. In the middle of this restaurant, she’s trying to get me all riled up.

“Nicole, if I were you, I’d stop now.” It’s a warning I know she won’t take. She’ll see it as a challenge. How far can she push me before I reach the line? And once I’m on that line, and only then, will she decide if she should push me over it or not.

“But really, you should have seen him, Jakub.” Her grin creeps wider. “All that manly muscle, the bulging biceps, the strong forearms. And the tattoos. You know how much a girl loves a man with tattoos.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Thin ice, Nicole.”

“What? It’s not like I can’t still window shop. I mean this is all temporary after all.” Even though her tone is still light, the edge of her smile falters.

I stop the waiter as he passes our table and hand him enough cash to cover the bill and tip.

“Window shop?” I ask her, pushing my chair back and getting to my feet.

“Sure. Man candy.” She tilts her head back to keep her eyes on me. I round the intimate table and grab hold of her hand.

“Time to go home, Nicole,” I say, grabbing her purse from the back of her chair and helping her to her feet.

“You really are jealous.” She laughs as I open the passenger side door for her when we get to the car. I deposit her in her seat then get in my side. Traffic is light since it’s later in the evening, but the humidity has barely lessened. As soon as I turn the car on, the air conditioner rushes cool air through the vents.

“I didn’t pick you for the envious type.” She adjusts herself in her seat, getting more comfortable as I maneuver the car through the city streets.

“Envy would imply I want what someone else has,” I correct her. The softness of her perfume fills the car. I’ve already memorized the scent, and my body reacts to it immediately. “And since you’re mine, I can’t really feel envious.”

“Yours for now,” she says, but again there’s a tinge of bitterness in her tone. It’s a subject I’ve stayed away from. Letting her think this is all just for show; that she’ll be married to me only until the danger has passed. It was a mistake. One I’ll have to rectify soon.

I park the car behind the warehouse in my usual spot. She’s quiet when I open her door, but I can see the playfulness is still alive in her eyes. Sliding my fingers through hers, I lead her through the back entrance of the warehouse to the elevator leading us up to our apartment.

It’s quiet at this time of night. The workers have all gone home and other than the extra security I’ve ordered, it’s empty.

Once we step off the elevator into the apartment, I take the takeout container from Nicole and place it on the first end table we come to.

“Now that we’re home, maybe you can tell me again about this window shopping you’ve been doing?” I ask, holding her hand tightly so she can’t take off running. She likes being chased. It’s a little game we’ve played, but I’m not chasing tonight.

Tonight, I’m taking.

Tonight, I’m teaching.

Her dark eyes take their time meeting mine and when they finally do, they’re wide. There’s a fresh blush on her cheeks, and her pupils have overtaken the brown of her eyes. But it’s the little bite of the corner of her lip that makes my cock push harder against my zipper.

“You were saying?” I bring my free hand up to her face, cradling her cheek in my palm. She’s so warm, so gentle yet so fierce.

“I was only teasing, Jakub.” The lightness is gone, replaced by arousal.

“Were you?” I move my hand along her jaw, to the back of her neck and wrap her ponytail around my hand. Yanking her head back, I’m rewarded with a sharp gasp. It’s like music to my fucking ears. “I believe you called it: Man candy?” I release her hand and move to unbuckle my belt. The blush intensifies on her cheeks, spreading up to her ears.

“I would never cheat on you, Jakub.” It’s meant to be reassuring, but I already know she won’t. Nicole has a fierce loyalty built into her, probably taught to her by her father.

“Even though this isn’t real?” I ask. I’m taunting her now.

She stammers a bit, not sure how to answer. “It’s real for now,” she says with a firm resolve. For now. Two words I’m going to erase from her fucking vocabulary soon.

“You thought teasing me was a good idea at the restaurant. But now that we’re home, you’re not so brave.” I lead her to the couch by her hair, and like the good girl she is, she doesn’t fight me.

Once we’re at the couch, I shove her over the back of it until her ass is high in the air. She scrambles to touch the floor, but the back of the couch is too high to allow her to do anything other than dangle over the end.

“Ah, this won’t do.” I move behind her, pinning her with my pelvis as I reach beneath her body. After I work the button and zipper open of her pants, I grab the waistline, being sure to hook my fingers around the elastic of her panties at the same time. With one quick tug, I have her ass bared to me.

“Such a sweet sight.” I trail my fingertips along the top of her ass cheeks, where two deep dimples reside on either side of her spine. Nicole has never been one of those girls who skips meals to fit into the latest fashion trend, and her plump ass cheeks show it. I cup one, feeling the weight, enjoying the curvature and smoothness of it in my palm.

“Jakub.” Her voice is muffled from dangling halfway upside down and the back of the couch digging into her stomach.

“Quiet.” I smack her ass. My eyes roll upward at the delicious wave of her ass bouncing from the impact. “I’m teaching you a lesson about teasing.”

“I don’t want a lesson.” She wiggles her hands in front of each other and pushes off the cushions enough to look over her shoulder back at me. “I just want you.”

“Ah, but you were all about teasing at the restaurant.” I tsk my tongue. “Lesson first.” I move to her side, wrapping my arm around her hip and pulling her against my body. Between my weight on her back and pinning her to my hip, she’s completely immobilized.