End Game (29 page)

Joe’s grip around my shoulders is bruising. “Shut the fuck up!”

The underboss stands from the table, his features thickened with rage. “You should leave while you still can.”

We’re already halfway out the door before the last words falls from his lips. Joe shoves me as soon as we enter the rainy outdoors. “What the fuck were you thinking? You’re going to get us both killed!”

My heart pounds as I stumble from his shove, my shoes slipping in the rain. I feel like I’m going to burst. All of it’s so goddamn unfair. “I was trying to save our asses by giving him something to fear from us. Also, yeah, it matters to me that the whole world thinks I’m some kind of drunken embezzler!”

“Why the fuck would you antagonize him like that? Oh, what the fuck—let’s just get the hell out of here before I get shot.”

He grips my arm and pulls me down the street. Anger rustles in my chest when he grabs the keys from my hand and opens the passenger side door. Fucking control freak. I slide into the seat and glare at him as he takes the driver’s side.

Joe yanks on the parking brake and we peel out of there. “Do you want to tell me what you were trying to achieve there? Because you just royally pissed him off, and now he’s out for blood. You do realize that, right?”

I clench my hands into fists. How can he not see this as a victory?

“Now he has something to fear from
me
, and that’s leagues better than being someone who can get screwed over whenever he decides.”

“I don’t know, Marisa.”

He looks out the window despondently.

I don’t know either. I’m not sure of anything, except that allowing them to fuck with me was too much for me to handle. We drive back to Brooklyn and my nerves settle down like a pot of boiling water. The danger recedes and I feel removed from it all, back in the safety of New York. Joe parks the car and closes his eyes as if he’s had a long day.

He unbuckles himself and turns towards me, his brown eyes unsure. My chest swells as he leans forward, his cologne breezing around his neck as he kisses my cheek. It’s like a hot seal against my skin, and a fluttering rises in my stomach. Then it disappears, the cold pricking my skin as he pulls away and puts his hand on the door.

My hand catches his before he slides out of the car.

“Thank you for coming with me.”

A small smile cracks over his face and he raises my hand to his lips, kissing it.

JOE

I eye the smashed TV screen suspiciously. A crack splits through the brilliant display of a blue genie dancing across the screen.

Marisa shrugs at me. “I was angry.”

We’re holed up in her apartment, which is a lot nicer than mine. She has coasters on her coffee table, for Christ’s sake. I don’t know anyone who uses them. I’ve watched enough Disney movies in the past few hours to make me want to scream, but they make her happy. I haven’t seen her smile in a long time, and just seeing her laugh makes me feel good.

It’s been hell, dealing with Jack and the others. First, I almost got killed when I told them I didn’t take care of her. Then I had to shirk my duties to watch over her, and Vince showed up at her apartment, all pissed off.

“What the fuck are you still doing here?”

“I’m not letting her go through this alone.”

Vince looked at me with a half-frustrated, half-amused look. “This is my fucking fault for telling you that story about my wife.”

Yeah, probably.

“Can you at least tell me where her brother is?”

“I’m sure he’s in hiding.”

I refused to go to the deli. Jack wanted to talk. Fuck Jack. He wanted me to kill someone who was innocent. I won’t apologize for what I did. I don’t regret it.
Whatever, they can get someone else to do their fucking collections. One thing I know for sure—I’m done doing that shit.

Marisa finally turns off the movie and leaves the TV on the news. I heave a sigh of relief and she gives me a guilty smile. The couch makes a creaking sound as she crawls onto my lap. My heart squeezes and releases when her face nestles in my neck. When I question myself and wonder if I’m losing my goddamn mind to be risking so much for her, all I have to do is remind myself of this feeling. I love holding her, touching her soft skin, feeling her warm breath on my neck.

Why? Why her?

She got under my skin from the beginning, when she looked at me with those deep blue eyes, which were swimming in tears at the funeral. I felt a connection with her. And then I got to know her. Couldn’t get enough of her body. The sex was always hot as hell, and having her trapped at my apartment for a week was like a fantasy come to life. Having her whenever I wanted: in the shower, on the kitchen table, handcuffed to my bed. She wanted me just as badly as I wanted her.

Then when Jack told me what needed to be done, I felt like my life was over. That’s when I knew I loved her, because I never cared so much for another girl. I couldn’t stand her being hurt. Even now, it makes my throat close into a pin-sized hole.

She’s got me wrapped around her little finger, but I don’t dare let her know that.

“I wish we could leave this apartment.”

“We can if you want.”

Marisa shakes her head. I don’t blame her for not wanting to leave. A horde of paparazzi camp outside her apartment every day, waiting for her to come out so they can ask shitty questions like whether it’s true if she snorted lines of coke on her father’s desk.

“Where would you go, if you could go anywhere?”

“The zoo—or maybe Papabubble. It’s a candy store.”

My skin shivers when her lips move over my neck. She shifts herself on my lap and I stifle a groan, feeling my cock coming to life. Her hands smooth my chest, and I take her gorgeous head in my hands. I want to feel her lips against mine. I want to swallow every moan she makes, but she looks troubled.

“There’s something that’s still bothering me,” she admits. Her eyes tremble as she meets my gaze. “All of this—dating me and sleeping with me, was it just to get close to me? So you could have more control over me?”

She flinches from the anger burning in my eyes. “Sorry—”

“I don’t fuck women because someone tells me too,” I hiss, angrily. “Yeah, I wanted to get close to you. I wanted to fuck you the moment I met you, and it wasn’t because you owned a casino.”

“All right, I’m sorry.”

Marisa’s cheeks are pink, just like they always are whenever I whisper filthy things in her ears. Still angry, my hands lift her shirt and she raises her arms. Her shirt flies off and her unmarked, beautiful skin shines under the light. I reach around her back and she leans into me, her soft hair against the side of my face. A quick swipe of my hand, and her bra falls down her arms, exposing her perfect tits. Her chest blushes as I grab one of her creamy-white tits to squeeze. Marisa’s lips part as she sucks in breath.

“You are right about one thing, though. I wanted control over you.”

Her eyelashes flutter right before I pin her against the couch. I kiss her pretty little mouth, anxious to see how it would look wrapped around my cock, which protests against the stiff fabric of my jeans. My tongue slides in between her yielding lips and with my hands, I tug her jeans down her legs. Fucking skinny jeans. They’re always so hard to take off.

I bite her lip and grab both legs of her jeans, yanking them off finally. She sits up, and the way she plants her hands on the couch makes her tits stick out.

Control
.

I sit down next to her and grab a handful of her blonde hair, pulling her across my lap until my hand grazes over her lace panties. My finger trails down her spine, my palm smoothing her silky skin. I stop just above the two globes. The blue lace panties are semi-transparent. My mouth waters as I grab ahold of her ass and squeeze.

God-fucking-dammit.

I pull the panties down and stroke her smooth skin. It’s been way too long. The need to mark her as mine rises inside me. My blood churns inside my own head as I raise my hand and spank that soft ass. Her legs twitch and she lets out a small yelp. I smooth the red burn that blossoms and then I spank her again. The sound cuts through the air. My hand tingles as it connects with her body, her ass a rosy, pink color. Each time, her back quivers, she gasps, and blood rushes to her skin. The shape of my hand burns on the warm, quivering round flesh. I smooth my hand over the mark.

This was what I wanted from her. I wanted the rich, uptight girl naked across my lap, begging for my cock. A spasm of anger moves through my limbs, and I clench my fist over her raw skin. It bothers me that she thought I would fuck her on command, as if I’m some kind of robot.

Without preamble, I unbuckle my belt and she turns her head around at the noise. She moans when she catches a glimpse of the leather strip.

“No, please.”

I lean over her until my cock digs into her ass and she winces at my weight pinning her down. “Are you the one in charge? Did I imagine it when you said you wanted me to take complete control?”

“No.”

I barely catch her response. “I can’t fucking hear you.”

She frowns. “No.” More resolute.

“That’s right. So keep that pretty mouth shut while I punish you for suggesting that I’m some kind of man whore.”

THWACK!

The leather belt snaps on her beautiful ass, an angry red streak searing across her backside almost immediately. She yelps loudly and squirms under me. My low laugh washes over her ears and she aims a look that could kill in my direction.

Insolence.

SMACK!

Another scream lifts to my ears as the belt lands on her other cheek. I’m really not hitting her that hard, but I rub the spot to soothe her anyway.

A smile twitches on my face. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I’m sorry.”

My hand gouges her raw ass. “Do you mean it?”

“Yes! I’m sorry!”

“All right.”

I pull her up so that she sits on my lap and wrap my arms around her, kissing her red face until she sighs with relief. My cock stirs as her tits rustle against my chest and I feel a sudden, overwhelming need to take her into her bedroom and fuck her senseless.

“I’m sorry, Joe.”

She wraps her legs around my waist and I stand up with her in my arms. She wears a thoughtful expression that confuses me. The wall groans as I pin her back against it. Marisa makes a small “oh!” as her back hits the wall. Heavily lidded eyes look at me. It’s like a fire blazing inside my chest when she looks at me with desire smoldering in her eyes.

There was always a barrier with other women. One girl was never enough, but she wants me just as often as I want her. It’s more than that, though. I actually—I get nervous when I’m around her. That’s never happened before.

I never gave a fuck about what anyone thought of me before. My heart hammers like I’ve just taken a hit when she tugs my tie. It beats faster and faster, like a loud drum in my head when her lips burn against mine. Then this strange, weak feeling spreads through my limbs. It’s like booze—warm and dizzying, but immensely satisfying.

Damn it,
I love her. I don’t know why, I just feel so fucking weak when I’m around her.

My hands run over her thighs as her fingers loosen my tie and shirt. She pulls back and wets her lips, looking just as dazed as I feel. Then I one-handedly yank my trousers down and my cock bounces free, a bead of precum glistening on the head.

“Fuck me.”

She breathes into my neck and blood rushes to my brain. I lift her up and guide my cock into her pussy, which slides around the head. A shudder runs up my legs as I slowly push into her. Marisa gasps, the sound like adrenaline through my veins as she wraps her arms around my head. I feel her pussy widening for me as my cock slides into her. I slam into her, gripping her waist as my face is buried in her tits. I grab a mouthful and bite down. She lets out a long hiss that ends in a yelp when my cock stabs into her.

Her warmth glides all around me, squeezing my length as I pulse inside her. Pleasure spikes into my brain and the urge to fuck her harder focuses into one solitary purpose: to fill her with my cum. My mouth kisses her beautiful, soft skin. Those amazing tits. I grab the other, tongue swirling around her slightly salty skin, sucking down hard as she throws back her head and moans. Then I kiss her throat, and she grunts with every thrust.

I fuck her so hard she screams, her voice lifting and echoing. “Joe! Joe!” It’s a frantic chant that makes my blood pressure rise. My arm is a vice around her waist and I bend my legs, thrusting so hard I can feel her body shake. It feels so amazing. I slam her back against the wall with the force of my legs. Then I gather her in my arms, bringing her into her bedroom.

She falls onto the bed and I pull out of her, her back a red color. I climb up behind her as she rests on all fours, pussy glistening. Her knees tuck inside mine as I grab her waist and guide my cock inside. The warm wetness swallows me once against, deeper than before. She lets out high-pitched yells as my cock digs into her. My hips slam against her bouncing ass and my hand rips over her cheek, the beautiful pink color rising to her skin again. I lean forward grabbing her tits which sway in my rhythm. I spank her again and fresh moans lift to my ears.

She sways her hips to meet mine, and I lean on her back. Her body falls on the bed, and I rip off my shirt and tie, slamming into that gorgeous ass. The pressure builds around my cock and she squeezes me. I slide my hand under her chest and grab one of her tits. Everything inside me screams to fuck her faster. She feels amazing and my balls tingle with a sensation that means my orgasm is imminent. Then I let out a growl as my cock twitches inside her. I ram it home and come hard, my hips jerking into her. I kiss her slightly damp shoulder, alternating between affectionate kisses and hard, passionate bites. Pleasure spreads all over my limbs in a warm glow like sunbathing.

“I love you, Marisa.”

I whisper it into her ear and she turns around, eyes blazing. She kisses me long and hard, but doesn’t say it back. My heart clenches as a painful sting eats away at it. I can’t expect her to feel the same way after what happened.