The Claim (14 page)

Nonna frowned. “For what? As far as I can see he’s gone out of his way to keep you out of what can be a very, very dark way of life. No, young lady, don’t misunderstand me, it’s not good. There were days when I was a little girl that I didn’t know from day to day if I’d see the men in my family ever again. And that was nothing to do with the war. Rocco’s mother, you know she has that worried little tone in her voice, that’s not from finding out my son couldn’t keep it in his trousers, that’s from threats—the police, other families, like that little cunt Vitale. The father, not the bed wetter who’s causing me problems. It’s a dark way of life, and to have one foot in the daylight can only be a good thing. Rocky’s only careful because he’s seen the worst. It’s all very well and good defending those people who get into trouble, but you know where the heartache is? With their wives, their partners, their children. If you can trust him for one thing, it’s that he will do his best not to let you get hurt. And what’s wrong with that?”

“It’s not a relationship, Nonna, it’s a form of imprisonment. I don’t need protecting, I can handle myself. What I need him to do is let me in. When he stops keeping me at a distance at the pretence that he’s protecting me, then I’ll trust him.”

“With all due respect, Annie, that’s crap.”

“Nice.”

“You want it all, but you won’t when you have it all on your doorstep, needing a bucket, a sponge and some Pledge. If you know everything, you risk the police coming for you. If you know nothing, then you can’t risk him or yourself.”

Anna felt a stabbing pain behind her eyeball. “He’s my client now. Everything he tells me is privileged. I can’t talk about it even if I wanted to. And I don’t like that he thinks I value my career above everything else.”

“You said it yourself, you worked hard for it.”

“The client part was Rocco’s idea,” Anna admitted, fiddling with her cutlery.

Nonna rolled her eyes. “Urgh, then what are you whining about? He’s a very good boy who loves his family, he’s a clever, clever boy and a snappy dresser. Like me.” Anna lifted her brows at the declaration. Nonna was looking rather Jackie O today.

“You wouldn’t understand, Nonna, because you’re on the inside.”

“So are you! You know it all now, what’s your problem?”

Anna opened her mouth and then closed it again. Damn, the old bag was right again. What else did she need? Something, maybe, a gesture would prove it to her. For all their history, she needed the reassurance that she had no reason not to trust him. “Never mind, Nonna, we’ll work it out. Anyway, I wanted to ask you, what’s Enzo’s Vitale’s problem?”

Nonna rolled her eyes. “Jumped up little shit, just like his father. Abele. Everyone in that whole family is a leech. Do nothing and take all the credit and live off what their ancestor did before dinosaurs walked the earth.”

As their food was placed before them, Anna listened, making mental notes. The last thing she needed was a Solicitors Regulation Authority review on that file and for her to be up before the Disciplinary Tribunal.

“Don’t worry about him too much, he’s got a good setup. Other businesses that he can trade off to pay up. He’s not poor. I’m angry because he doesn’t need any more fucking money. Has he written anything back to you?”

Anna looked up from the carcass that was the remains of her pigeon. That was divine. “No, he hasn’t. And we’ve given him long enough, so I’ll file your claim today.”

Nonna sighed. “I know my son would be disappointed, but sometimes you need a sledgehammer to crack the nut. The law’s my sledgehammer.”

“Good,” Anna announced, “that’s what it’s there for.”

Nonna looked distinctly crystal eyed. “I need to feel useful, Annie. That way, I don’t feel so fucking old.”

Anna caught her hand and squeezed it. “We’ll sort it. He’s got nothing to stand on.”

Nonna released a breath. “I’ll make your cake if you marry him.”

“Enzo?” Anna spluttered.

“No! Silly girl! Rocky.”

“Nonna, stop it. Rocky and I will sort out Rocky and I when I don’t feel like I’m treading on quicksand with him.” Nonna gave an acquiescing nod. “Would you be cross if I had dessert?”

Nonna grinned. “I was just waiting for you to say it first.”

Chapter Fifteen

Making up for lost time didn’t really involve many words, for the first week at least. How could talking be a high priority, when instead, Anna could spend the majority of her time with her legs around Rocco’s waist, her tongue in his mouth, her nails in his shoulders while she licked the salt from his corded neck and pushed her hips into his to take his cock even more deeply? Her whole body seemed to crave him, and one hit was never quite enough for her body to be satisfied. The wave of an orgasm would keep her need at a muted throb for long enough to either sleep or eat, only for the burn to flare once again. Not that Rocco altogether minded her crawling over him.

She only wished her mind was as easily quieted. Distracting Rocco with a flash of thigh or cleavage worked for a little bit, but she’d chosen a man with a sharp mind, and she knew he’d twigged straight away that she was holding back. He instead waited for her to speak up. For about a week, he used the ample talents of his body to gain her complete submission. With the underside of his cock, he stroked over her clit until she had no idea just what she’d promised or said. Hell, she thought she was speaking in tongues at one point, before he slammed into her, over and over until she felt worn out from the pleasure, and her throat sore from screaming.

She held up a hand to her face as Rocco disposed of the condom. Her fingers were trembling. At the very least, that part of them hadn’t changed a bit. She could only be grateful for that. He lay next to her, just the light tease of his breath over her skin sending tremors over her sensitised flesh.

“Where are you?” Rocco asked on a whisper, his hand pressed to her cheek. His arm felt heavy between her breasts. Even with the weight of him, she pressed him closer.

“What?”

“Where are you? And don’t fib, you just promised to tell me everything.”

“What?” she repeated. God, he’d turned her mind into mush.

“Talk to me, Annie,” he pressed. “Where are you? With you and me?”

“On doubt mountain,” she answered with a shrug. “The ‘but’ is still there.”

He nodded and sat up. “I understand.” Naked, he rose from the bed and retrieved a notepad and pen. “These are all my passwords. E-mails and phone. Work and personal. The work one is already set up so you have access to it.”

She blinked. “Are you serious?”

With a rip of paper, he handed her the passwords. “Just do me a favour and memorise them so you can destroy that.”

“You...you...wow.” She looked down, in a haze of shock that he had just opened that door to her.

“I’ve got nothing to hide from you. If this will help with the doubt thing, then I’ll do it.” He disappeared shortly and returned with two mobile phones. “Give it a try.”

Anna felt slightly ill as she picked up one phone. She kept glancing at him, waiting for him to leap on her and tell her that he couldn’t do it, it was too close to what he had to deal with, family, business. She was scared that she was going to see things from other women that would dropkick her forty thousand steps backwards.

“That’s the personal one,” he said, sitting on the side of the bed. “And you use that code for it.”

Releasing a breath, she did as he asked and the phone made a clicking noise. Rocco reached out a hand and stroked his palm over her arm. “I’ve nothing to hide with you.”

That may be the case for him, but this was singularly the most difficult thing she’d ever done. A touch on the message folder and it opened up in a list. Updates from the Law Society, a conference on fraud he was due to attend next week, promotional e-mails from a gift company that specialised in teddy bears, pharmaceutical companies, lots from Beppe and someone who was apparently managing an apartment in Palermo.

Her stomach was churning, the fear of finding something making her head spin. She closed the phone and handed it back. “Here.”

“You didn’t look at the texts?”

Fuck’s sake.
“No, Rocco, I do
not
want to look at the texts. I do
not
want to see a billion and one messages from skanks asking if they can come over and suck your dick.”

She risked a glance at him and irritatingly enough, saw the light of amusement in his eyes. “No one asks that anymore. There’s no decorum for hook-ups.”

“So you want to see e-mails from guys asking me for sex?”

His smile was feral. “I could do. But you should understand that I have the resources to trace where those men are and have them killed.” Anna almost laughed, but then saw he was quite serious. “I don’t like the idea of men walking around free and happy on this planet who’ve touched you.”

All right, he was utterly mental. “How did this turn around onto me? We’re talking about you.”

“And you. It’s about the two of us.” He caught her around the waist and pulled her into his lap. A shudder chased over her at the skin-to-skin contact. Her cheeks started to heat and she squirmed a little. “I’m trying to have a conversation with you—stop bouncing on me.”

“I’m not. You could have put something on at least. It’s like the princess and the pea.”

“No, no, no, you do not get to call this,” he nudged her with his hips, “a
pea
.”

“You know what I mean. Look, you can’t rush this. I know you want things to go back where I don’t have any issues with you and I trust you completely. But I can’t help it. I appreciate the e-mail thing, I really do, but it’s...” She breathed out slowly. “I don’t think it’s the answer.”

He nodded, placing a kiss to her collarbone. “Okay. Let’s try some ground rules, then. One, you need to talk to me.”

“Easy,” she snorted, “I’m good at talking.”

“No, Annie. You’re good at cussing. Talking as in we have a conversation.”

Pouting wasn’t going to help, so she gave a sigh. “Fair enough. Two, you have to be honest with me. We’ve got a retainer now. You can trust me.”

He breathed out in exasperation, dropping his head to her shoulder. “I never not trusted you—I tried to protect you.”

“What I mean,” she clarified, trying to ignore the effect of his warm breath flowing over her nipples, “is that you need to trust me that not everything comes second to my career. I have a heart. Just look after the fucking thing.”

A grin brightened his face. “You look after mine, I’ll look after yours. Anything else?”

“Yes, we keep this out of the office.”

“What? After all our good times?”

“You won’t get any grief. I will get grief. The woman always gets grief. So no office business. Knowing our luck, we were caught on camera in the lift and it’s floating around on the Internet.” The thought all at once repulsed her and turned her on, the idea of people touching themselves watching her with Rocco.

“Fine. Four, you meet my family and I meet yours.”

Holy crap, the man was serious.
“Er...”

“It was all a youthful misunderstanding,” he advised. How did he know that she hadn’t really explained to anyone that she was making a nice dent for herself in Rocco’s bed? Youthful misunderstanding would have to do. It wouldn’t be fair to perpetuate the cheating myth, not on Imogen’s lies. Rocco’s hand smoothed over her stomach to gently cup her breast. “Agreed?”

No wonder the man was a smooth negotiator.

“I suppose so,” she sighed. Rocco’s thumb spanned to the nipple of her other breast and grazed.

“Try to sound a little more enthusiastic.”

He gently removed his hand and allowed his mouth to take its place. She moaned, her fingers drifting through his hair. “That sounds amazing.” She tried to inject her voice with a lilt, but it sounded like a plea for more.

“Good. This will work. Because I will not let anything or anyone take you away from me again.”

“Keep calm and carry on what you were doing,” she ordered. “I’m not going anywhere.” And for now, it was nothing but the truth.