Relentless: A Bad Boy Romance (Bertoli Crime Family #1) (11 page)

“He got you,” I whispered, watching as the door to my room finished closing from the momentum of Daniel's throwing it open to come in my room. “He killed you, then was going to kill me.”

“I'm still here,” Daniel promised me. “And I won't die without knowing you're safe.”

I clung to him, his strength and now familiar scent giving me comfort. My terror changed, my desire for comfort becoming an overwhelming desire for reassurance, for human contact. Nuzzling against him, I lifted my lips up, brushing them over the warm skin of his throat. “Ade.”

“Shut up,” I said, tasting his skin for the first time. “I need a man tonight, not a bodyguard.”

He stiffened for a moment, then pushed me back, the hunger in his eyes matching the fire that was building inside me. For so long, we'd flirted with each other, both aware of the other but not doing anything about it other than some words, and we were at the point of no return. He pushed me onto my back, pausing above to look at me with an expression on his face I'd never seen a man give me before. It was like he knew what he was about to do was suicide, but he didn't care. I needed him, he needed me, and the rest of the world didn't matter.

His lips were soft but strong as we kissed for the first time, our tongues immediately coming into contact and tasting each other. I'd never been kissed with such fierce passion before, all consuming and powerful. His tongue caressed mine as his hands found the hem of my t-shirt, pushing it up and grabbing my breast, his fingers squeezing and kneading the skin until I was gasping. My nipple was teased and tweaked with every movement of his hand, and he let go of my lips to run the tip of his tongue around the curve of my ear and inside, sending sparks of pleasure down my body. “Daniel . . .”

He stopped for a second to look me in my eyes. “Don't worry, I won't hurt you.”

“I want you to hurt me. Hurt me in a good way.”

Reaching down, I ran my left hand over the bulge in his pants, and it was intimidating. “Ade.”

“I know,” I said simply, looking him in the eye. “I didn't tell you before, but you talked in your sleep during your nap.”

He nodded, accepting my statement, and reached into the pocket of his pants. He took out his wallet and set it on the nightstand next to me. Climbing off, he opened up the billfold and took out a foil packet. “For later,” he said, showing me the condom. I was shocked. The diameter was huge. “Safety first.”

Daniel's grin broadened, and he peeled off his shirt. He folded it up carefully, setting in on the floor before pushing his shoes off with his toes and taking off his pants. I wasn't sure what to think. I just lay there with a sense of destiny as I undid the drawstring on my pajamas and pushed them down my hips. I still had my panties on when Daniel reached forward, taking my wrists in his iron grip, and froze me. “What?”

“Not so fast. I want to take those off myself.”

He climbed onto the bed, still wearing his boxer briefs that bulged out obscenely, barely hiding what was contained inside. His chest was chiseled in the dim light of the bedside lamp he'd flipped on when he came in to comfort me, and I reached forward, tracing the muscles under my fingertips. “You're amazing.”

“No,” he replied, kissing me again before working his way down, his mouth finding my nipple and sucking on it strongly. “You're amazing.”

He kissed his way down to the waistband of my panties, and with agonizing slowness, started rolling them down. I could feel the anticipation build as he kissed each fraction of an inch of freshly exposed skin, smiling all the while.

I reached down and ran my hand over his scalp, lifting my hips slightly to let him finish pulling my panties off, where he set them down on the mattress next to my hip. I was nearly begging him to use that amazing tongue on me, and he hadn't even touched me yet.

Daniel grinned up at me as he opened his mouth and let his tongue hang out wolfishly. “You're never going to be the same.”

“Good,” I whispered back. “I don't want to be.”

He lowered his tongue, and the first trace of him up the lips of my pussy left me paralyzed in pure pleasure. I'd never felt anything like it before, like every nerve in my body was lit up at the same time, all of them screaming in joy. When he reached the top, Daniel looked in my face and smiled, this time not with arrogance but with happiness. “I think you like it.”

“More. Please, more.” I couldn't help it. Normally, I was the forceful one in bed, but Daniel had me asking and practically begging.

He smiled at me, lowering his head once again. All thought other than pleasure was driven from my mind by the first touch of his tongue on my pussy again. Energy and light flooded my body, my thighs trembling and wanting more of his amazing, electric tongue. My spine shivered as he kept going, my hips quivering as I started to grind upward into his hungry mouth and tongue, unable to control myself. I'd never felt this much pleasure before, such a pure ball of sexual excitement building within me, and I wanted more and more.

Dimly, in the back of my mind, I was aware that Daniel had slipped his fingers inside me, working them back and forth both to open me up for his cock and to add to whatever voodoo his tongue was doing to me. All I knew was that I was in heaven and that I didn't think it would ever stop.

Suddenly, his tongue moved directly to my clit, and what I thought was heaven before increased tenfold. I clutched at my sheets, balling them in my hands as something exploded inside me, silent and joyful and amazing all at the same time. My heels drummed into his strong back, uncontrolled and desperate. Daniel held my hips tight, pushing with his hand on my pussy as I rode whatever the hell it was out, until I collapsed into the bed, spent. “What the hell was that?”

“Don't tell me you've never had an orgasm before,” Daniel said in disbelief as he crawled up between my legs, kissing my lips. The musk of my juices stained his mouth, and I loved it. It meant nothing would ever be the same between us again, and I was glad for it.

“Of course, dummy. But nothing like that before,” I said, thinking back. After experiencing that, no wonder some women became nymphomaniacs. “Never in my life.”

“It gets better,” he promised, kissing me softly. “Want to help me with the condom?”

“What I want is to forget the damn thing and totally feel you inside me,” I said while reaching over to grab the packet.

He got to his knees and pulled down his shorts. His cock jumped out, bobbing in the soft light, and I gasped at its perfection. Long, thick, with a flared head that I knew would thrill every nerve inside me. I was suddenly struck with the urge to bend over and suck it, even though I had my doubts I could even get it all the way into my mouth. He was power and sex personified, a deity in the flesh.

Hesitantly, I reached out with my hand, wrapping it around his shaft, or at least trying to. It was hot, steely hard but silky, like he knew the impressive tool was too much for a lot of women to accept, so it did its best to ease the penetration. And that is what this was for, there was no doubt. Daniel, from his bubble butt to his ripped abs to the thick cock, was a man built for sex. “Dan . . .”

“I know,” he reassured me. “Don't worry.”

I looked up at him, and suddenly I didn't. I trusted him with my life, and I was ready to trust him with more. Instead, I gently stroked his cock and handed him the condom packet. “Take it out, and I'll put it on.”

Even with the obvious larger size, Daniel's cock was nearly too large for the condom, and he grimaced slightly as I rolled it down to the base. I gasped, kissing his chest and nuzzling under his jawline.

He ran his hands up and down my back and kissed my neck. We were on our knees, his cock trapped between us, hot and throbbing and demanding my attention.

I adjusted myself and laid back, spreading my legs as far as I could, accepting him in between and on top of me. “Change me. Make me yours.”

There was a moment of fear as his cock slid inside me, spreading me open. I thought he was in, but I felt myself being opened wider, wider than I'd ever thought I could be, and still I didn't think the head of his cock was fully inside me. My body rebelled, pushing back at the too-large intruder, when somehow, he slipped inside, all the resistance disappearing in a rush of fullness.

“Just know one thing, Ade.”

“What?”

Daniel paused his hips and looked me in the eye. “I've wanted this my whole life.”

I pulled him to me, our lips meeting to seal our bond. I moaned into his mouth as he began thrusting, filling me slowly, making me his. I realized the truth as he filled me more and more, that his words were absolutely true. He may have been with other women, he may have fucked them raw and left them begging for more, but I was the one he
really
wanted.

I cried out when Daniel's hips met mine for the first time, and he grimaced, his face tight. “No!” he whispered urgently, bringing his fingers to my lips and shushing me. “Your uncle is sleeping upstairs, remember?”

“I can't help it,” I groaned as he pulled back, biting my lip as he pushed forward again. I tried with all my might, but I cried out again, a little less loudly this time, but still loud enough that Daniel looked away, panicked. Not wanting to lose him, to lose the moment, I looked wildly to my left and right, seeing my night shirt still on the bed. I grabbed it. “Here. Use this.”

Daniel considered it for a moment, then nodded. “Only if I have to.”

Lowering his lips to mine, he kissed me again while he thrust, his mouth swallowing my moans and adding to the sensation. I'd never been stretched this way, and I wanted it again and again. My hips tried to rise up to meet his thrusts as his cock slid in and out, but he was so powerful, I was hammered down to the mattress even before I had a chance to move.

I held on desperately, my body racked with feeling as Daniel pounded me. I knew he was unleashing years, perhaps even as he said, a lifetime's worth of pent up passion and desire, and I wanted it all. I wanted to be his, to give myself to him every night of my life, if only he'd make me feel this way again.

“Daniel . . .” I groaned in his ear. “I'm going to come.”

“Me too,” he grunted back, taking the wadded up cotton of my shirt and shoving it in my mouth. He had to, pulling back so that he could get the great gulps of air he needed to thrust into me, his body shimmering in sweat and his face intent on mine. His arms were planted in my pillow on each side of my head, and he stared into my eyes as we crashed over the edge.

I had thought the sensation of his tongue had been the most ecstasy a woman could feel and not die, but I was wrong. My second climax crushed the first like it was just a small tickle, my scream muffled by the cotton I bit down on even as my hands clawed at his back. I felt his flesh give way under my short fingernails, and I watched as he shuddered, his cock expanding before twitching, his climax crashing over him and leaving me feeling more of a woman than ever. I had caused this wonderful man to lose that much control. I had drawn it out of him, and I was proud of the fact.

Daniel took the cloth from my mouth, kissing me tenderly, completing the act of making love. What we'd done left one thought in my mind as I was chased down into my sleep and my dreams. “I'm yours . . . be mine . . .”

I
awoke
after my doze with my damnation in my arms, and for the moment, I couldn't have been happier. If I was to be damned, there were a lot worse ways to go than to wake up with Adriana Bertoli nestled in my arms, her fiery hair cascading over my left arm and chest, the soft weight of her right breast resting in my palm, her hips snuggled up against me. In the soft glow of her bedside lamp, she was an angel, even with her eyes closed.

I sighed and kissed her forehead, knowing how much had changed for me, even with just that one time. First, I was damned, a dead man walking. The reason was simple. There was no way in the world I could even think of not wanting her again. Her final whispered words as she fell asleep captured me more than her body had, as perfect as it was.

If I couldn't resist her, then I knew it was only a matter of time before Don Bertoli found out. We could be together on only the third Tuesday of each month in a random hotel a thousand miles from Seattle, and still, somehow, he would find out. That's just the way things happened with him, and part of the reason he was such a good boss. And once the Don found out I'd been with Adriana, regardless of whether Margaret approved of it, I'd be found dead within twenty-four hours.

The second thing that surprised me as I held her in the quiet hours of the night was that I didn't feel the immediate need to wake her for another round. My cock wanted it. I could feel it hardening against her ass. It was rip, roaring, and ready to go. It wanted this moment for as long as I could remember, and just once wouldn't do. Even still, I didn't feel the emotional need. Normally, I was a sexual-timed all-you-can-eat buffet, seeing just how much I could get done in the amount of time before the woman's body gave out into utter exhaustion. With Adriana, though, I felt differently. Let her rest, my heart said. She's special. There will be more to come.

With a start, I wondered what time it was. Twisting my neck painfully to look behind me, I saw that it was nearly three thirty in the morning. I'd been out for a while. The staff would start to wake in an hour or so, but more importantly to me was that the outdoor patrols hadn't come back in yet. They were under strict orders. Once the doors were locked and the security system was armed, nobody went in or came out until the morning staff went on duty at five. There were even outdoor bathrooms if someone had to take a piss. Still, I couldn't be sure someone didn't have a case of insomnia.

With regret, I eased myself away from Adriana, my heart breaking when she mumbled in her sleep. “No . . .”

“Shh, I'm just going to stretch a bit,” I whispered softly, kissing her hair. I found the edge of the blanket and folded it over her, confident that nobody would disturb her sleep and find her gloriously naked underneath the blanket. Easing my way around the room, I was glad I'd taken the time to fold up my clothes neatly, even finding my socks still stuffed inside my shoes. I looked around after I finished dressing and nearly smacked my head as I saw two pieces of incriminating evidence: the condom wrapper and the condom itself. I gathered both of them and reminded myself to dispose of them.

Slipping out of Adriana's room, I paused at the door, sparing a look back at her sleeping figure on the bed. Memories flashed through my head, and I couldn't help but smile.

I heard footsteps coming down the corridor, and I nearly jumped out of the room, closing her door behind me. I had only a second to slide down into the chair when one of the morning staff, a cook named Kathy who I'd once hooked up with, came down the hallway. “Good morning, Daniel. Still awake?”

“Of course,” I said, pulling my laptop in front of me and hoping she didn't notice I was just turning it on now. “What's got you up so early? Trying to get a sunrise yoga session in or something?”

“Indigestion, actually,” she said. “Since all this stuff kicked off with Princess Firecrotch in there, I can't get a full night's sleep. Someone told me you were staying outside in the hall recently, and I was thinking that seeing if you were up would be a better use of my time than tossing back and forth, debating if I wanted to try and chew on a Rolaid before faking another hour and a half of sleep or not.”

Kathy's mouth was one of the main reasons I'd both fucked her and hated dealing with her. While she was a talented cook, she was disrespectful of nearly everyone else besides the Don, especially Adriana. She never missed an opportunity to talk down about her, with a list of nicknames that ranged from merely disrespectful to downright disgusting. Princess Firecrotch was one of the milder ones.

“Kathy, you know I hate it when you disrespect the Bertolis,” I admonished. “Seriously.” I figured she wasn't as careless with her tongue around anyone else, and that she thought since I slept with her in the past, I could be trusted.

“Well, what does she have that I don't have, besides a last name and some bigger tits?” Kathy said with a sneer. “She's an art student with some double Ds. At least I went to culinary school before going to work.”

I didn't want to be drawn into an argument. My lovemaking with Adriana was so near at hand that I wasn't sure I'd maintain my objectivity. “Kathy, I know your feelings. But I'm a Bertoli man, you know that. I'm asking you to cut the comments around me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do.”

She crossed her arms and gave me a dirty look. “She's got you whipped, and she hasn't even given you any pussy yet. And to think, you could have been having me this whole time.”

“I've had better,” I said evenly, looking her in the eye. “Much better. Is there anything else?”

“Fuck off, Oliver,” Kathy hissed back, turning and stomping away. I chuckled under my breath and wondered if she knew that her attempt at giving me a nickname hadn't gone over my head. While I had stopped at a high school education, I'd read
Oliver Twist
back when I was in junior high. I mean, come on, orphan boy gets involved with criminals before making good? What kid in my position in life wouldn't want to read it? Between that and
Great Expectations,
I was fully educated in Dickenson’s ideas on what could happen to orphans. So far, reality was far different from fiction.

I shook my head, thanking my luck that I had gotten out of Adriana's room when I did, and turned my attention to the laptop. I hadn't been totally lying. I did want to complete some work, mainly on analysis of the photos that Vincent Drake had sent in his most recent harassing email. There was something about them that tickled my brain, and I wanted to see if my sleep-induced theory was right.

Pulling up the message, I made sure my volume was turned off and started to dissect the email. The slide show had been pretty basic, what you could put together with a typical office suite program, and by doing a little splicing of code, I was able to pull out the actual slide show itself from the surrounding programming. It surprised me somewhat that a man who had the programming skills to do a desktop hack would be so lazy as to use just an office suite for the video itself, but it was a bit of good luck for me. Perhaps he wasn't as skilled as I thought, but just knew how to use ready-made code you could pull off the right websites if you knew what they were.

Once I had the slides isolated, I took a look at the pictures that were taken with me in them. I soon saw that all of them were taken from the same area of the campus, although they'd been taken on different days. With that hint, I looked at Google Maps, using the satellite overhead shot to identify the areas of campus that he had most likely taken the photographs from. I hoped that it would be something easy, like a single apartment building or something equally stupid. In fact, the most likely area was a narrow band of woods that bordered one edge of campus, planted about forty years ago to help separate the campus from the busy street on the other side. It stretched for nearly a half-mile, and on the other side was a major street. While it helped me in that it eased my fears of Drake bringing a rifle to the same spot in order to take a shot, I still wasn't totally at ease.

I shrugged and sent the information to Adam in an email. He said in his last message that he had some feelers out on Drake's cyber trail, going through the photography equipment he'd used. Apparently, the market for such items is pretty small, and Adam had some ideas.

The gray light of pre-dawn started lighting up the sky, and I sighed, stretching in my chair. There were still at least two hours before I had to wake Adriana up, and until then, I couldn't even go get coffee, which I desperately needed. Sure, I was damned, but even the damned could protect an angel, and that was what I was going to do.