Diego: Leatherbacks MC (7 page)

“Hey, Ana?”

“Yeah?”

I stepped back out of the bedroom to find him standing shirtless in my living room.  I tried not to gawk but it was hard to miss his rippled abs and perfectly chiseled chest.  Unlike the many tattooed members of his club, Dio had only one tattoo.  It was a single dollar sign right above his left bicep.  I knew it was his only one from his arrest records I had reviewed.  It seemed like a shallow choice to me, but who was I to say anything when my lone tattoo was a stereotypical butterfly on my ankle.

“You care if I take a quick shower?”

“No.  Of course not.  I’m having a bit of trouble with the one in the hallway, but you can use the one in my room.”

“What kind of trouble are you having with the one in the hall?”

“Drain is clogged.  It fills with water and takes hours to drain.  Pipes need to be cleaned, but the landlord doesn’t seem to be concerned enough to get it fixed up for me.”

“I see.  Okay.  I won’t take long.”

“Take your time.  There are towels and a fresh bar of soap in the linen closet inside.”

“Thanks.”

I sat on the arm of the sofa for a few moments after he left, considering why he was really here.  There was no reason for him to have come in or have stayed.  I understood the bit about not driving after he had drunk so much whiskey, but it just all seemed more purposeful than happenstance.  I seriously doubt that Dio did anything without a reason.  If he had decided to stay over, he did so with a purpose. 

I had finally shaken myself from my perch on the sofa to retrieve a bottle of water from the kitchen when I heard the shower kick off and then, a few moments later, the sound of Dio’s footsteps into the living room.  I walked in to find him standing there in nothing more than a towel.  I felt a flush sweep through my body and quickly diverted my gaze.

“I’ll be right back.”

I watched as he walked out my front door, still only in a towel, and walked to his car, opening the trunk.  He sifted around in it for a moment and then brought a black duffle bag inside.  I wondered how many of my neighbors saw him and how many knew who he was.  It wasn’t the best neighborhood and I wasn’t sure if having the leader of the Leathernecks outside in a towel was good or bad for my tenancy here.

“You always just roam around outside in a towel?”

“No.  Sometimes I don’t have any clean ones.”

There was a smirk on his face as he looked me over.  I was pretty sure a small gasp escaped my lips as he dropped the one he was wearing and pulled some clean clothes from the bag to get dressed.  I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing.  I didn’t want to look offended and leave, but I couldn’t just stand there staring at his nakedness.  Instead, I picked up the remote and turned on the television, diverting my attention to the only thing I could think of.

“Did I embarrass you?”

“What?  No.  I just wasn’t expecting you to drop trowel in the living room is all.”

“Did you like what you saw?”

“I…I, um, I don’t know what to say to that.”

“Yes.  No…”

“Yes.”

“There.  That wasn’t difficult, was it?”

I started to say no, but before I could even get that one simple word out of my mouth, he was pulling me to him.  His mouth covered mine, his tongue parting my lips as he drew me into a heated kiss.  I found myself responding instantly, not wanting him to stop.  I knew that I shouldn’t be so attracted to him.  He was dangerous and he was, for all purposes, my enemy.  Still, I couldn’t resist.

His kiss was intense.  His hands drifted to the sides of my face, holding me in place for a moment before reaching around to tangle his fingers in my hair.  He tugged at it firmly, pulling my head back as his tongue continued to probe my hot, hungry mouth.  My mouth opened further, my eyes closed and I was transported to some place just outside my body, watching the way he aroused my every sense, my every passion.

My breathing grew faster until I felt dizzy and thought I might faint from the overwhelming sensations coursing through my body just from his kiss.  It was like being possessed, inhabited by another body.  I found myself melting into him, becoming one with him.  I lost all track of anything but what I felt in those moments while he was kissing me and I wanted more, so much more.

Dio’s cell phone rang, but he didn’t pull away.  Floating somewhere slightly above the floor, or so it felt, I thought we might take flight if he continued to kiss me like that.  His phone stopped ringing, but quickly began to ring again, finally causing him to pull away and reach for it, even though he never took his eyes off of me.  They were dark, full of passion.  I could tell he wanted me.

“Dio.”

His lustful look quickly changed to something darker as whoever was on the line spoke.  I could hear their voice and it sounded like Scouser, but I couldn’t quite make out what was being said.  Dio turned away, anger now taking over his expression.

“Tell me where he is and I’ll be right there.”

I could only assume they had found Backbone.  From the look on his face, he wasn’t pleased about wherever he was.  I heard him tell the caller he was on his way and then he was pulling a t-shirt over his head.  Jamming the cell phone in his pocket, he threw the rest of his things in his duffle and headed toward the door without so much as a goodbye.  I watched as he left, my heartrate beginning to slow and disappointment setting in.

I tried to shake it off as I locked the doors and then went to my room to go ahead and make my notes.  It was hard to focus with his kiss still tingling on my lips.  Sitting on the edge of the bed, I considered what it might mean to get involved with Dio.  I was very attracted to him and being closer to him could definitely help with what I needed to find out, but was he someone I really wanted to know too much about?  I was in very deep waters as it was.

I hadn’t heard one word from Dio since he had left my house the night before.  Looking around the casino the next night as I reported for work, I didn’t see him.  Instead, I was approached by Hannibal, the manager of the bar area.  He called me over to have a chat.  I was instantly on alert.

“You’ll be behind the bar until further notice.”

“What?  Why?”

“Because you’ve been reassigned.”

“By who?  I don’t want to be behind the bar.  No one even asked me about it.”

“Dio doesn’t ask his girls what they’d like to do.  He said you’re to be put behind the bar, so you are behind the bar.  If you have a problem with that, you can talk to him or go home.  I don’t really recommend either choice.”

“Fine.”

“Good answer.”

I wasn’t happy about the change at all.  It was going to severely limit me from mingling with members, which was the reason I had come there.  Not many people sat at the bar, and even if they did, it didn’t allow me the opportunity to pick who I wanted to get close to for conversation.  I was relegated to whoever sat down in front of me, which may or may not be of any use.  I wondered why Dio had gotten me put back here too.  First there was him making an excuse to stay at my house and now I was off the floor.

“Can I take a break, Hannibal?”

“You’ve got ten minutes, Ana.  No more.”

“Thanks.  I will be right back.”

I made a beeline for Dio, who I had spotted walking across the casino floor toward the private club area.  He was almost at the door when he heard me calling out to him and turned around.  I could see from the expression on his face that he didn’t want to talk to me, but I still didn’t know what I had done to be punished.

“Why did you put me behind the bar?”

“Because it is where I need you to be.”

“Why?”

“Really, Ana?  It’s been a shit day.  Do people have to question everything I say?”

“I think you owe me an explanation.”

“I don’t owe you anything, Ana.  You are my employee.  I needed someone behind the bar. I put you there.  End of discussion.”

“No, it isn’t.”

Dio suddenly reached out for my arm, yanking me into the doorway to the club area and hauling me over to a chair.  Pushing me down into it, he leaned down toward me, his face only inches from mine.  I suddenly felt frightened. Once again, I had forgotten who I was dealing with and was being reminded.  Both his tone and his proximity unnerved me.

“I put you behind the bar, Ana, because I didn’t want you out on the floor being manhandled by other men.  Happy?  Does that satisfy your curiosity?”

“I thought that is what I am here for, to serve drinks and entertain the men that frequent this casino.”

“Not anymore it isn’t.”

“Why?”

“Jesus Christ, Ana!  Just let it go and do the job you’ve been assigned to do!”

“Dio, I depend on the tips I make on the floor.  I can’t stay behind the bar.  They make half as much in tips.  I’ll go broke and won’t be able to pay my rent.  I mean, you pay the floor girls well, but the bar is different.”

It was an excuse I had been drumming up in my head all evening.  Money was the only thing I could think of that wouldn’t raise suspicion about why I wanted off the floor.  Most girls would love to be behind the bar instead of servicing the members in ways that made them feel a bit less than proud.

“I’ll make up the difference in pay, okay?”

“I’m not a charity case, Dio.”

“You don’t belong on the floor, Ana.  You aren’t like those girls and I can see that.  You are behind the bar.  I will make sure you are paid well to be there.  Nothing else to discuss.”

“You’re infuriating.  I’ve got to get back before Hannibal comes looking for me.  Thanks heaps.”

I walked out the door, mentally kicking myself for not finding a way to get away from the bar.  I was going to have to put some serious thought into how I was going to manage things stuck behind the bar.  It was going to mean spending hours outside of my work schedule at the bar in order to mingle, and that would have to be done very carefully.  I wasn’t exactly the party girl type, so it wouldn’t play well with Dio and that could cause even more issues.

By the end of my shift, I had come up with no better ideas about how to pursue things without looking suspect.  Perhaps sleeping on it would bring fresh ideas.  The main thing was that I had to be smarter than Dio, and that wasn’t an easy task.  Not only was he intelligent, but he was also street savvy and very intuitive about people’s behavior.  If I weren’t already anxious enough, I found myself being sent back to his office at his request once my shift was over.

“Hannibal said you wanted to see me.”

“Yes.  Sit down, Ana.”

The phone rang and he picked it up.  Suddenly his face was flushed red again and he was yelling into the phone.  I got up to leave, thinking that I shouldn’t be there for whatever was going on, but he instructed me to sit back down with a wave of his hand and a stern look.  I silently sank back into the chair and waited.

“You tell him that I want answers in the morning or his family is going to be collecting on his life insurance policy.  If you have to give him a bit of incentive to understand that I’m deadly serious, then do so.  No one takes out one of my guys without explanation and doesn’t pay the price.”

Dio slammed the phone down and glared at me for a moment.  My heart was racing as I waited to see why I was there again.

“Backbone is dead.”

“What?”

“I got a call a little while ago.  They found his body up in the canyon at one of our hideaways we use from time to time.  It wasn’t pretty, a message from the bangers down in central regarding something I haven’t quite sorted out yet.”

“Dear God.”

“God can’t help him now.”

He stared at the door behind me for a moment, not saying anything. I felt more antsy than ever.  After a few moments, he stood and walked around the desk, grabbing me by the arm and hauling me out to the elevators.

“Where are we going?”

He said nothing as we road up a few floors, despite my asking him a couple of times.  I was more frightened than ever.  Did he think I had something to do with Backbone?  I arrived out of nowhere and was with him and now he was dead.  I’m sure he had to think something of that.  Opening the door to a room, he pushed me inside and closed it behind us.  I looked around, noting that we were in his private room of the casino. 

He turned, rapidly closing the distance between us.  I found myself pressed firmly against him as he kissed me fiercely.  I felt myself melting into him again as his hands tangled in my hair and pulled at it once again, drinking me in ravenously as if I were the only woman who could satisfy his urgent need.  I welcomed it, kissing him back feverishly.

His blue-grey eyes were intense as he looked down at me and pulled me even more tightly against him.  I barely registered anything around us, consumed by him as his perfectly chiseled face loomed next to mine and kissed me with his soft lips, probing the inside of my mouth with his tongue as if it were his personal belonging, as if I was only his.

Though I knew I should push him away and tell him no after how cold he had been to me, knowing what trouble he might bring.  I just couldn’t will myself to actually do it.  Instead, I leaned into his kiss and returned his passion with my own.  His kisses stirred a longing in me that I felt all the way to my toes.  Even though I knew enough about the leader of the Leathernecks to know he wasn’t a one-woman kind of guy and the girls had plenty of gossip about his sexual prowess—I could not resist his touch.

Throwing all caution to the wind, I gave in to what I was feeling.  We stumbled toward the king-size bed behind him, still locked together in a scorching kiss.  Dio began unbuttoning my blouse as he continued to kiss me with renewed frenzy, pulling it away and dropping it on the floor behind me. His mouth drifted away from my lips as they found their way down my neck and along the edge of my considerable cleavage.  Even in the darkness of the room, the moonlight streaming in through the windows created a beautiful contrast of his lightly tanned skin against my pale ivory flesh.

I tangled my hands in his dark locks as he reached around me and unfastened my bra with deft hands, pulling it away lightly to free it from my arms and dropping it on the floor.  He stood there admiring my full breasts for a moment before kissing his way across them and sucking a single nipple into his mouth, teasing it with his teeth and his tongue. 

I felt shocks of electricity shoot out along my every nerve ending as he made contact in them most sensual and intimate way I could have ever imagine a man being.  None of this had been expected.  I was under the impression that he was done with me and that I had been hauled off for a reprimand or something far worse.  Still, I couldn’t say I wasn’t glad it was happening.  It felt amazing. Tonight, I wasn’t going to worry about what it all meant.  It was just to be enjoyed.

“God, you’re beautiful.  You don’t know how many times I’ve imagined you out of those skimpy outfits you wear around the club.  I can’t stay away from you,” he panted, reaching for the hook on my skirt. 

I could feel his excitement pressing into my leg as he reached around me.  His touch sent a little chill up my spine and a shudder went through my body.  I couldn’t believe this was happening.  I tried to tell myself that it was all about getting closer to him to find out what I could, but if I were being honest with myself, it was more about the fact that I just really wanted him.  I could barely focus on his words as he spoke.

“You’d be embarrassed to know about all the fantasies I’ve had about spreading you across the bar right in the middle of all those people downstairs.”

“Those sound like some naughty daydreams.”

“You have no idea how naughty.”

“Show me.”

I watched as he slowly undressed, quickly stripping down to nothing, his sizeable erection protruding as he pushed me across the bed.  His mouth found its way onto my skin, exploring me in the tenderest way imaginable.  He took his time kissing me all over, grazing my delicate skin with his lips as he traveled from one destination to the next, finding my center and parting my heated folds to expose the moist pink flesh within. 

Pushing my legs apart, he ate greedily at my center, teasing my clit with his teeth as a gasp escaped my lips, followed by low moans as he found my pleasure center with his tongue.  He was devouring me, lapping of all of my essence and diving in for more.  I knew somewhere deep down that I shouldn’t enjoy it, but I did.  I was enjoying it more than I knew how to express.

“Yes, my God.  That feels amazing.”

I was breathing heavily, completely absorbed in what an incredible lover he was already turning out to be.  It was if he already knew every nook and cranny of my body, knew exactly where to touch me and just how to do it.  I was putty in his hands, being molded as he saw fit.  The bad part was that I wasn’t really minding it at all.