Page 24 of Rise of Temptation

I grit my teeth. “Yes.”

“Great.” He stands up and starts to walk toward the stairs.

“Not right now, asshole. It’s guys’ night,” I remind him. This whole night was their idea, so I’m sure as shit not going to sit here while they take turns getting blowjobs.

“But since you’re up, grab us more beers,” Joey says.

Sal grumbles to himself as he stomps off to the kitchen.

Frankie turns to me. “You sure about this, boss?”

“No.” I shrug. “But the nice thing about being the boss is I can change my mind whenever I want.”

“It’s okay that you liked what you saw, you know. We all did.”

I pick up the video game controller to get out of the conversation. “Shut up and play the game.”

Elise

The top of the stairs is hidden from the view of anyone in the living room, but I can hear what they’re saying perfectly. And I’m shocked. Enzo is seriously going to let me have some fun with his friends? Sure, they can’t fuck me, but that still leaves so many options.

I didn’t think he’d even find out about Sal coming on me, much less enjoy it. But he must have enjoyed it even more than he’d hinted at in my room. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be offering to share me.

Part of me can’t help but be offended by the fact that he’s treating me like a piece of property, but mostly I’m excited. I’ve been craving another round with Frankie, Sal, and Joey, and our little masturbation circle wasn’t nearly enough.

When Sal starts to move toward the stairs, I panic. Luckily, Enzo stops him. When he changes direction and goes to the kitchen, I quietly get up from my hiding spot and make my way to my room.

I consider going downstairs to see if I can tempt any or all of them into practicing our new rules, but I ultimately decide that I should take advantage of the rare evening without any interruptions. Even though there’s a gym right downstairs, I haven’t been getting very much use out of it. I slip into some leggings—without panties, of course—and a sports bra and thencrack my door open.

They’ve been playing video games all night, and it doesn’t sound like anything has changed in the last few minutes. I sneak down the stairs and down the hall to the gym. I was hoping they’d hear me and tell me to come join them, but either I succeeded in keeping my presence unknown or they’re really set on their guys’ night. Either way, I take advantage of my night off and quickly get into a rhythm with the different machines.

I needed this. I need to stay strong, and I need exercise to help my mind focus on the puzzle facing me. I spend the rest of the evening running through all the bits and pieces of information that we have about the trafficking ring while my muscles scream in a combination of pain and pleasure.Lucky muscles.

Chapter 19

Elise

The next day, I walk down the stairs and round the end of the banister on my way to the kitchen, only to run straight into a hard, muscular chest. Frankie’s arms come up to steady me, but he quickly lowers them and takes a step back. We stand there and stare at each other for a minute. It’s somewhat awkward, like we both know the rules have changed but we aren’t sure what to do about it.

As much as I would like to test out those new boundaries, my mind is more focused on my investigation. I’ve been doing what I can to look for a link between either the Irish and the trafficking ring or the Irish and the Russians, but I can’t find anything. It seems like Enzo’s right. They’re too small of an organization to be able to pull off something of this magnitude. I need to talk to Lydia and find out where she got her information and if she’s found anything else.

Frankie opens his mouth to say something, and I jump in, interrupting him before he has a chance to start. I assume he’s going to say something suggestive regarding the new rules—or lack thereof—and I want to make sure that the Family is lookinginto the Irish. They have different sources than me, so we need to be working together. Especially since mine aren’t panning out.

“Learn anything new about that trafficking issue?” I ask.

His face screws up in surprise, followed quickly by suspicion and anger.

I don’t give him a chance to answer before I ask a follow-up question. “How do you know it’s the Russians?”

“Why do you care? How about you do your job, and I’ll do mine.”

Little does he know, this is my job. But since I can’t tell him that, I ignore him and keep pushing. “I’m just thinking that there have to be other groups out there that it could be. What makes you so sure you’re looking in the right place?”

“Who did you have in mind?”

I can tell he’s asking sarcastically, but he hasn’t left yet, so I’m hoping it means he’s at least curious. Or desperate enough to see if I accidentally throw out a good idea. “How would I know? Like you said, it’s not my job. Isn’t there an Irish mafia? What about them?”

Immediately, he rolls his eyes and turns to leave. Apparently the idea of it being the Irish really is laughable. But then where did Lydia get it? I really need a chance to talk to her. Hopefully, the seed is planted in Frankie’s mind now, and he’s smart enough to not tell Enzo that I said something. I’m sure he doesn’t want me talking business with his men. I’m just his whore, after all. This whole thing would be so much easier if they knew the truth about me. Not all of them, but the three that matter.

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