Riccardo (18 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY- THREE

LORENA

I was desperate to see Riccardo.

I couldn't wait to be with him. Since my father and I had talked, I no longer had all that guilt sitting on my shoulders. I knew Daddy still wasn't a hundred percent happy with the relationship, but he was willing to accept it and I was more than happy with that. Not seeing Riccardo over the last few days, after my father almost beating him to death, was killing me.

I asked Paulie to follow me to Riccardo’s house, because if it were up to Stefano, I wouldn't be going at all. The bastard refused to take me. He insisted Riccardo needed to rest, and didn't need any distractions. However, Riccardo’s text messages and voicemail indicated he wanted more than a distraction.

As I pulled into Riccardo’s driveway, I sat in the car for a moment, looking at the house. Paulie was still waiting for me to get out of the car and go in. He was probably wondering what was taking me so long to get out of the car. Truth was, I was nervous. I was scared of seeing his injuries, and for some stupid reason, I was scared of being with him again.

I eventually exited the car and made my way towards the house. As I rang the doorbell, I turned to wave goodbye to Paulie, but I barely had time to wave because Riccardo yanked the door wide open and pulled me inside, slamming the door shut behind us.

He stood in his foyer wearing next to nothing, only a pair of shorts, which were hanging precariously low on his hips. Even with bandages wrapped and strapped to his body, I could still make out his tattoos and six-pack. God, he looked a sight though. He was black and blue all over.

That V of muscle was on clear display, and with the light silhouetting his profile, the muscles on his big body were pronounced.

I wanted to touch him. I missed him so much. I longed for his mouth on mine, on my body. I and couldn’t stop staring at him, his face, his chest…even his legs were bruised. The bandage covering his cut was weeping blood and I felt sick knowing my father had done this to the man I loved. His face and right eye was so swollen I barely recognised him. In fact, after what he went through, I couldn’t believe he was actually standing.

He stepped aside, and I brushed past him as I went into the sitting room, being careful not to bump into him. He looked so sore. I instinctively wanted to cry at the memory of it all.

“Don't look so worried. It looks worse than what it actually is, baby doll.” Bolting the door, he sealed us in. I stared at him for several seconds before I could respond.

“You don’t look so well, Riccardo. Actually, you look downright awful!” My throat tightened as I visualised my father doing this to him.

“I told you I'm fine, Lorena,” he assured me with a smile. “I'm just happy to see you. I really couldn't wait any fucking longer. I wanted to wait until your dad calmed down a little more, but I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. When he stormed into my office at the club earlier, he was anything but calm.”

“Shit, so he came to speak with you already?” I asked.

“Yeah, he did. Actually he was fine by the time he left. He told me he spoke with you.”

“We did. Yes. I'm still so emotional over it all, Riccardo.” I didn’t even think about what I was doing or if I was going to hurt his bruises some more, but I had to feel his skin next to mine. I wanted to do more than touch him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and hungrily pressed my mouth over his. I kissed him like my life depended on it, like I was never going to see him again and I was gasping for my next breath.

Riccardo took control and flipped me around and backed me up against the wall. He pressed his body to mine, and I felt his hard cock pressing into my midriff. He cupped my arse with one hand, and he tugged on my hair with his bandaged fist. He kissed me raw and hard, sweeping his tongue inside my mouth, claiming me.

I moaned when he sucked my tongue into his mouth and gently dragged his teeth along it. His hand pulled on my hair, sending a sting of pleasurable pain through me, directly to the centre of my pussy.

Breathing heavily, I broke the kiss and stared into his dark eyes. “My father said he was going to talk to you, after he spoke to me. I didn't think he'd do it that soon.” I breathed out roughly. Riccardo had me so worked up and on edge with just one kiss that I could barely speak, but I knew it was vital to discuss my father.

“My dad may not be entirely happy with all of this, but he is willing to accept that you make me happy and that I love you.”

“Baby doll…” Cupping the side of my face, he stared into my eyes “I want to be with you, too. I
need
to be with you.” He kissed me again, possessing me. Although he hadn't told me he loved me directly, he admitted as much to my father. Even if he hadn’t, his actions alone would have been proof.

He lifted me into his arms and I panicked, thinking I'd hurt him. “Put me down, Riccardo. You'll hurt yourself!” He ignored me and deepened our kiss. The kiss told me it wasn’t going to be soft and slow, but fast and fierce. But, I was scared for him. Scared I'd do more damage than good if we had sex. “Please, Riccardo, you need to stop. We can't do this.”

“I told you, I'm fine. I'm not in that much pain. I can still fuck you even though I'm injured.”

“Yeah, well I'm sure it wouldn't be a first for you!”

As soon as I said the words, I knew I had crossed over some invisible line. Riccardo’s eyes narrowed and a dangerous smile spread across his face.

“You have some fucking mouth on you. Sometimes it really pisses me off, but the majority of the time, it makes me want to fuck your brains out.”

Still carrying me, he walked to his bedroom and threw me on the bed. I quickly sat up, but he shoved me back down. I watched as he went to his nightstand and pulled out the red sash. My heart filled with dread, and at the same time my stomach leaped with excitement.

I scrambled away from him on the bed. “No.”

“Now, baby doll, you know those are not the magic words.” He grinned.

Grabbing my ankle, he yanked me closer to the edge of the bed and stripped me of my clothes. When his fingers touched my skin, it felt like a furnace burning to the centre of my core. A delirious hunger consumed my body as he touched my breasts, fondling them as he kissed me so hard. I was sure I was going to pass out. He kissed my stomach as he removed my G-string and then he wrapped the red sash around my throat. He pulled hard, tightening it with his hand so it was uncomfortably snug.

Damn it! For someone who was injured, he sure had strength. I was still angry with him, at his comment, but I was also a little afraid. Perhaps I pushed him too far with my remark. I should have known better than to push my luck with Riccardo. I should have realised there would be consequences.

But I knew they would be intended to give me pleasure. He would never intentionally hurt me, no matter how hard I prodded and pushed him. He tugged off his shorts and sat with his knees straddling me. Without meaning to, I reached out and touched him, feeling his hardness behind the thin material of his briefs. He closed his eyes and sighed as I pulled his cock out. He then positioned himself over my face, his hand still holding the red sash.

Lowering his cock to my lips, he tightened the sash around my throat as I sucked him, my tongue dancing around the piercings. His pelvis ground against my mouth as he pushed further down my throat, causing me to gag. It was even more intensified because of the sash around my throat.

Fuck, why did this arouse me so much? I could tell it was turning him on as I heard his groan echo through the bedroom, burrowing in my ears as he continued to stuff his cock in my mouth. Finally, he pulled out and I was left gasping for air, but it was short lived as he pulled on the sash and I was breathless once again.

Dispensing with his underwear, he moved down towards the ache of my wet pussy. I hooked my legs around his waist, careful not to squeeze him too tightly. Rocking against him, his coarse bandages grazed my inner thighs. We both released deep moans as he buried himself inside me. Urging him on with my thighs, I dug my nails down his back. I was beyond caring about his current injuries any more.

For a brief moment, he released the sash to move my legs over his shoulders, and I let out a painful gasp as he slammed into me really hard. God, it felt amazing to have him so deep in me. I felt every graze of the piercings against my inner walls. But it was short lived when he pulled out and moved back to straddle my head, his cock aiming towards my face. I opened my mouth and tasted my own juices on the tip of his cock. I was in ecstasy, even when he pulled firmly on the sash and my eyes watered.

“Fuck, baby, you look so sexy with my cock in your mouth. You like tasting your own juices, don't you?” He stopped and pulled out of my throat, slapping his cock across my cheek, mimicking a slap. “Tell me you love it.”

“Yes.”

Riccardo was enjoying every minute of this. He smiled evilly at me as he buried himself back inside my mouth while his other hand gripped my hair as he fucked my face. When he finally pulled out, I had a brief moment to gasp for air before he moved down the bed and parted my legs. He entered me with one quick, slick move that had me clutching and clawing at his shoulders. He moved his body over mine with a desperate urgency, even his breathing harried as he lowered his body over mine and groaned in my ear, almost as if he were in agony. I knew his groan wasn't from him being sore; instead, it was bathed in arousal. At times, he was like a beast when he fucked me. But tonight was different. He was completely losing control.

“Damn you, Lorena. Damn you for bewitching me!” he growled.

He drove into me again, my walls tightening around him. I dug my fingers into his scalp and he pounded even harder, his tempo increasing. Teetering over the edge, I groaned. “Riccardo!” I cried out his name as my orgasm ripped through my body. He collapsed over me, breathing heavily and wincing as I ran my hands over his bare back and up and down his bandages as if to soothe him. Even if he was in pain, he'd never admit it.

“I didn't mean what I said before. I’m sorry,” I told him, my throat thick with tears. “I’m still so emotional over everything that's happened, that I don't want to picture you with another woman or hear you ever insinuate you being with one.” He smirked at me, the bastard. I playfully slapped him on the shoulder. “And I don't want you and my father to have a strained relationship because of me.”

With extreme gentleness, he kissed my neck in response. “I know, baby doll. It won’t be this strained forever. I promise.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

JOEY

I stood back in the dining room watching Sebastiano pummel Riccardo. The Don beating the living daylights out of The Capo, seeing them at war with one another put a huge smile on my face. I couldn’t have planned it any better. Lorena was the only thing that would ever get between these two and I made it happen. Pitting Sebastiano against Riccardo weakened the
famiglia
; it weakened Sebastiano, which endangered his position.

Everyone was so focused on Sebastiano and Riccardo that they didn’t even notice as I shoved Aldo out the door. I knew my time was limited. Once this all blew over and their aggression calmed down, they would turn on me. Who wouldn't after dropping a bomb like that? It was time to move onto the next stage of my grand plan.

Remove Matias.

My son had always been soft. He was a fucking wimp. If I wanted him to take control over the
famiglia
and be head of the Mafia under my command, I needed to have his complete faith and trust. If I killed an innocent child, like Matias, I would lose Aldo’s respect. I had to dispose of the kid without harming him.

We drove home and barely made it through the front door as my wife accosted Aldo, “Oh, my darling boy, I’ve missed seeing your handsome face,” Maria said, kissing Aldo on both cheeks.

Having phone calls to make, I headed straight to my office leaving Aldo to visit with his mother. My first call was to an old friend in Melbourne, who I’d known most of my life. He hated Sebastiano just as much as I did. I called him a few nights earlier, informing him of his job in the mix of my plan. He had the right connections in the Melbourne underworld and could carry out exactly what I wanted done. I listened to the ringing tone and I almost hung up, thinking he wasn’t going to answer.

“Merico,” he answered, stating his surname.

“Merico, it’s time,” I greeted him.

“Well, well, well, if it isn't Joey Morassi, finally getting his shit together. I never thought you’d manage it. I’m still organising the family for the young child, but I still need a couple more weeks to finalise things at this end.”

“For fuck’s sake, I need this to happen now, while everyone is distracted. Why the hell is it taking so long?” I snapped into the phone.

“I need to find someone who wants a child enough, so they don't question where he is coming from. It’s not an easy task.”

So, it wasn't the fact that we needed to get Matias out of the country and to Italy that was the problem. It was finding a suitable family. One that wouldn't talk or cause unnecessary trouble.

“Just hurry the fuck up and notify me when it’s done.” I slammed the phone down on my desk. I couldn’t believe he was throwing this spanner in the works. Getting out of my seat, I paced my office and stopped before the window. I watched as Aldo’s four-year-old daughter, Maria, named after her grandmother, tottered around the pool. Her grandmother picked her up before she could fall in and drown. It was then, that Plan B came to form in my mind.

***

After lying low for a couple of days, I needed to try and build a bridge between myself and Sebastiano. In order for my new plan to work, I needed him to accept me and my family. His men came looking for me immediately, which I knew would happen. I went to Sebastiano without fighting, feigning innocence over the whole episode. It seemed that he'd taken my word and believed the story I gave him about his daughter and his Capo. I pushed the fact that I believed Riccardo and Lorena’s relationship was common knowledge.

It was a risk going back to Sebastiano, because I never thought the anger inside him would calm. Initially, when Stefano brought me to him, I thought he was going to kill me. But instead, he was grateful I had mentioned it and it was now out in the open. I could tell Stefano and some of the other guys hadn’t agreed, but because he was The Don, his word was gospel. I was sure once Riccardo healed, he would surely have something to say about it. But at this point in time, Riccardo wasn’t fit enough to do anything. So much for trying to get Riccardo on my side. The bastard was too loyal to The Don.

After my discussion with Sebastiano, I’d talked my wife into hosting a barbecue for the
famiglia
. It wasn’t unusual for another family member to host a get-together every once in a while. I thought this would be a clever plan and no one would even suspect I had another agenda.

The barbecue was in full swing when my opportunity arrived. Matias and my precious granddaughter, Maria, were playing around the garden. Everyone seemed to be distracted in conversation. I kept watching as Sierra would glance over at Matias every once in a while, before turning back to the other women as they chatted. The men were all drinking around the barbecue, fighting over who was in charge of the tongs. I gradually made my way towards the pool gate. Nobody even noticed me, being the most hated member of the family, paid off sometimes.

I stopped, unlatched the pool gate and bent down to use my beer bottle as a stopper, holding it open just enough to let Matias crawl through. I knew my plan had a flaw; and that anyone could look across and see the gate open and go close it. But it had a chance of working. I picked up little Maria, not wanting her to toddle through the gate, and stood back to watch my plan unfold.

Maria started to cry and struggled in my hold.

“Joey, put her down. She wants to run around,” my wife said, marching over to me. I reluctantly released Maria, making sure she went off in the opposite direction of the pool. It was at that precise moment we all heard a splash.