Page 38 of Lies like Rubies, Part One

I closed my eyes, and a choked sob escaped me. “Yes, Dante, please, fuck me. Let me come, please.” The words came out incoherently as he flexed his fingers inside me and lapped at my folds.

“That’s my good little slut,” he said, and I clenched around his fingers as his words inflamed the burning ache inside my core.

He stood between my legs and slapped me hard on one breast, the pain morphing into intense pleasure as he plunged into me.

I cried out with pleasure, with the pain of being stretched, the bliss of being filled. He lifted my legs and draped them over his arms, pushing deeper into me, drawing out a guttural moan.

He withdrew and then slammed back into me, adjusting my legs and my hips until he was satisfied with the angle, then pistoned in and out of me like a man possessed. I chanted Dante’s name over and over again, as he moved, like a prayer, losing all capacity for coherent thought until I couldn’t fight the hard edge of pleasure that exploded through me like a lightning storm. My vision darkened, my limbs seized, and I came harder than I ever had before, screaming his name as pleasure jolted through me, fading into aftershocks of overwhelming bliss as he took his release. He collapsed beside me, still fully clothed, breathing hard.

Deep, wracking sobs ripped my soul in two as emotion poured out of me. I twisted my body, pulling against the ropes that restrained my arms, until I could lie on my side and bring my knees up to my chest, crying and sniffling, unable to stop the flood of tears. I couldn’t name the feelings that coursed through me as I lay there on the bed, wishing I could hide my face. I regretted giving Dante exactly what he’d hoped for—my tears.

He sighed deeply and untied my hands. I kept my eyes closed and only curled more deeply into myself. A blanket dropped over me. “More trouble than you’re fucking worth, kitten,” he muttered.

When the light flicked out, I cried myself to sleep.

15

NICK

“Hey there, stranger.”

I turned to say hello, and my breath caught in my throat. Sofia wore jeans that hugged every curve of her sweet body. The neckline of her loose sweater opened over her collarbones, revealing the straps of her tank top and the gentle curve of her breasts. She’d braided her long blonde hair out of her face, and her eyes gleamed in the dim light of the bar.

“Hey there, beautiful,” I rasped. She kissed me on the cheek, and then signaled to the bartender.

“A Manhattan, please,” she said, knocking her hip into mine. “How was work?”

“Do you mind if we move to a table?” I asked her instead of answering.

I wrapped my fingers in hers, and we found ourselves a quiet table away from the hubbub and bustle of the bar area. I wanted to kiss her again, run my thumbs over her sharp cheekbones and tell her how beautiful she was. I ached to take her into my arms and soothe the pain clouding her stormy blue eyes. But this was a first date. I was pretending to be a gentleman, and none of those things would endear me to her in the long run.

“Work was fine. Kids are cute, even when they’re screaming about vaccinations,” I told her.

She smiled her Mona Lisa smile, and I wondered what was happening inside her head. “Do you want kids?” she asked me.

Oh.I opened my mouth and then closed it again, feeling like a fish, knowing this was a test, even if she didn’t mean it like one. “I’d love kids, one day, with the right woman, at the right place and time. But I’m not—”

I stopped. I needed her to know, to have unshakable confidence, that I’d love Lizzie and any biological child we might have.Jesus.First date conversations. “Is this question about Lizzie, or is it about my future plans?”

She leaned back, swirling her cocktail in her long, elegant fingers. “Lizzie’s everything to me. Raising her while going to school and managing my family’s been a lot.” She met my eyes, and I laid my hand on the table, palm up.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t realize that Lizzie has to come first, that a future with you means a future with her.”

She flushed and then smiled sweetly as she laid her hand in mine, warmth traveling up my spine at the soft touch. “It’s so weird, going on a first date with a man who already knows I’m a single mom and doesn’t care.”

I flipped her hand up to stroke her wrist with my thumb. “I care. I care about you, and I care about Lizzie, and I admire how hard you’ve worked to raise her and go to school at the same time. Your family’s scary as hell, but I think that’s a bridge we can cross at a later date.”

Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, even as she squeezed my fingers in hers. She was right to worry. I’d fought long and hard to escape the clutches of the mob, and diving back in by dating a Russo was a bad fucking idea. I couldn’t seem to stop myself, though. Thoughts of Sofia plagued my waking moments and my dreams.

We paused our conversation to order food. “Are you okay, Sofia?” She seemed about to jump out of her skin.

Sofia closed her eyes and tightened her fingers around mine. “It’s been a tough week, and I had a lonely and emotional experience last night. It has nothing to do with you.”

My heart broke for this beautiful woman who seemed so terribly alone. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Her eyes shot to mine, and one side of her lips turned up in a crooked smile. “Definitely not. Tell me why you became a doctor.”

“I didn’t want to go into the family business,” I told her bluntly. I still didn’t, and as wrapped up as I already was in Sofia’s gorgeous blue eyes, we didn’t have a future if she wanted to plunge headlong into her family’s illegal enterprises. “We’re not a big family with territory or anything like that—”

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