CHAPTER EIGHT
Ariana
“I MISS MY mom,” I admitted after the third time Bones asked me what was wrong since we’d left his mom’s.
He stared at me, his mouth opening, and then closing. And then opening again.
“I can tell you get annoyed with her, but my God, Bones, I’d give anything to have my mom fuss over my job or send me home with food.” My eyes burned with unshed tears. I looked out the window and blinked them away as his Jeep ate up the distance between his mom’s house and our building.
“How old were you?” he asked. “When you lost your parents?”
“Twelve. They went to work one day and never came home.”
He nodded. “Markie said it was a car crash… some sort of cover up.”
Cover up? Wondering what he was talking about, I snapped my head around. “What cover up?”
“Shit.” He drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. “Maybe you should talk to your sister about that.”
My parents had both been cops, and my mind immediately began racing through potential ideas for a cover up. Yes, I would be talking to Markie about it. And about why she’d threatened to call the cops on Matt, but never told me he came to visit while I was in the hospital.
No doubt, Markie would say it was all to protect me, but I’d had enough protection to last me a lifetime. I was ready for the truth.
We pulled into the building’s driveway, and Bones grabbed the lasagna and handed off the keys to a valet. He walked me to my door, and then handed over the pan. “You should probably put this in your fridge.”
“You’re not taking it home?” I asked, surprised.
“No.” He looked over my body. “You can use it more than I can.”
“I still have pizza and cake,” I replied, unlocking my door and stepping inside. “And I’m not hungry.”
“You told Ma you were. You lied to my mother?” Bones asked, sounding appalled.
I gave him my best innocent smile. “I was hungry, but those cookies were surprisingly filling.”
He chuckled. “Sure.”
“And I wanted an excuse to stay and talk to her,” I admitted. “You have an incredible mom.”
He nodded, his eyes softening. “She’s a good woman.”
I stood in my doorway, knowing I should turn and go into my condo, but I couldn’t seem to make myself move. Even though I’d worked eight hours in a crowded restaurant and spent the evening with Bones and his mom and brother, I wasn’t ready to be alone yet.
No, I wasn’t ready to be away from Bones yet.
“You want to come in?” I asked. “I’ll warm some of this up for you. I’ll even pretend like I made it and impress you with my mad kitchen skills.”
“Your mad pretend kitchen skills.” He eyed the pan, and then his gaze locked with mine before drifting down to the pan. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had Ma’s lasagna.”
Still, he stayed in the hallway. Frustrated with his indecision, I plucked Matt’s new number from my pocket and held it between us. Bones took the number and pocketed it.
“Thanks,” he said.
Having given him what he wanted, I expected him to leave, but he didn’t. Taking it as a sign that he wanted to stay, I grabbed hold of his shirt and pulled him toward me. Bones had to weigh at least twice as much as I did. Had he wanted to stay in the hallway, I wouldn’t have been able to move him. But as his feet crested the threshold, I knew I had him.
Hoping he’d be staying for much more than lasagna, I went into the kitchen and started the oven. Bones leaned against the bar and let out a big yawn, wincing at the pull on his stitches.
“Why didn’t your mom say anything about your cut?” I asked. Marcella had asked about his job, about Angel, and about his car, but hadn’t mentioned a word about his cut. That seemed strange to me.
He shrugged. “I’ve been fighting for a long ass time, Ari. She used to ask, but I couldn’t ever answer her questions, so she stopped asking. Hell, she probably wouldn’t recognize me without some cuts and bruises.”
I frowned. “That makes me sad, Bones. She’s your mom. You should—”
“I’m protecting her. If she knew any of the shit I did, she’d be in danger. So would you.”
“But—”
“Let me explain something about Italian mothers and their sons. Every Italian mother tries to turn their boys into mammoni, into mamma’s boys. Ma’s no different. Trust me, if she thought she could get away with it, she’d move all three of us back in with her. She’d cook and clean and take care of us like we were still children.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” I said, pouring myself a glass of water.
“She worked two jobs after my dad disappeared, taking on any and all extra shifts they offered her, so we wouldn’t go without. Ma has done plenty for the three of us, and I take care of her, now. I protect her. You feel me?”
Yes, and I had a feeling he’d been taking care of—and protecting—his mom for a long time. “Is that why you got involved with Angel’s family in the first place? To help her out?”
Bones nodded. “They offered me a job right after Pops disappeared.”
This was the most I’d gotten him to open up to me. Determined to capitalize on his willingness to answer my questions, I asked, “How old were you?”
“Ten.”
He’d been working for the most powerful crime family in Vegas since he was ten. “Jesus. Didn’t your family step in and help your mom?”
“Her parents are on the east coast and she hasn’t spoken to them in years. She doesn’t talk about what happened between them, and she refused to ask them for help. Ma’s a forgiving woman, so whatever they did must have been bad.”
“And your father’s side of the family?”
“Pops was an orphan. But I’m sick of talking about this shit. Come here. I promised to teach you some self-defense moves, and I’d rather do that than blab about myself.”
Personally, I’d rather listen to him blab than learn self-defense moves, but the look on his face told me arguing was pointless. I followed him into the living room and watched as he pushed my coffee table and sofa out of the way.
“Pull out your phone and look at it like you were doing when I found you this morning,” he said.
I did as I was told.
“You need to pay attention, Ari,” he said.
“You just told me to look at my phone. Would you make up your mind?”
“I mean pay attention to your surroundings. You can’t be so caught up in whatever you’re reading that you leave yourself vulnerable. Nobody should ever be able to sneak up on you.” He circled me. “Like I did today.”
“I was aware of your presence, I was just trying to ignore you,” I replied.
“Sure, babe, but humor me. Get in the habit of holding your phone up more, so if someone approaches you from behind, you’ll have more room to drop an elbow into his gut, like this.” He closed the distance between us, pressing his front against my back. Then he grabbed my arm and tugged it down hard, stopping about an inch away from his stomach as he shifted my stance. “Now, you try.”
I mimicked his motion and he corrected my stance and had me try again.
“Better. We need to get you in the weight room, so you’ll have more muscle behind your swing. You elbow someone in the gut hard enough, they’re gonna double over. When they do, you put your hands together and hit them square in the back right here.” He pressed a spot in my back. “Put all your weight into it. Then run like hell. They should be disabled long enough for you to get away. How fast can you run a mile?”
“Uh… I don’t run any miles at any speeds.”
“Okay. We’ll add cardio to your weight training.”
“I never even said yes to the weight training,” I objected, heading toward the kitchen. “All this talk about working out is making me want to drink. I have another flavor of Boone’s Farm to try out. You want a glass?”
Bones was hot on my heels. “No. And you don’t want one either. We’re hitting the gym bright and early in the morning and I’ve already seen what that shit does to you.”
I didn’t want to go to the gym in the morning. I wanted to get Bones drunk and possibly take advantage of him. Or get him to take advantage of me. But also, to make my plans sound less lecherous.
I opened the fridge, but he closed it and moved to block me.
“I will keep you safe, Ari, but you’re right. I can’t always be around. I need you to know how to handle yourself.”
“Do you insist on protecting everyone you know?” I asked, annoyed.
His gaze met mine and he squared his shoulders. “Only the people I care about.”
My pulse sped up as my stomach did a little flip.
“You wouldn’t believe some of the fucked-up shit people are capable of,” Bones continued. “I saw the way that asshole at the bus stop was looking at you. I see the way most men look at you. You’re gorgeous, and you need to know how to defend yourself in case some pervert stops thinking about what he wants to do to you and actually tries to do it.”
There’d been a guy checking me out at the bus stop? Bones was right, I did need to pay more attention to my surroundings. But I couldn’t focus on that right now because he’d called me gorgeous, and neither my brain nor my body could get past that fact. He was sending me all sorts of signals, and my engine was roaring and I was ready to go. Time to find out how gorgeous he really thought I was.
I closed the distance between us, pressing myself against his body. “What happens if they attack me from the front?”
His eyes dilated, and I could feel him growing against my stomach. He cleared his throat, then answered, “Eyes, throat, nose, anything soft. Use your phone as a weapon and jam the corner into their eye as hard as you can.” He grabbed my hand and showed me how to do it. “Don’t hesitate. Don’t worry about hurting anyone. You do what you have to do to make sure you don’t become a fuckin’ statistic.”
The combination of lust and fierce determination in his eyes was wreaking havoc on my stomach. He was still touching me. His fingers felt rough against my hand as we stared at each other. His gaze darted to my lips and he leaned forward, his breathing growing heavy. I inched closer, until less than an inch separated my mouth from his. We breathed the same air, neither of us moving. Then, he released my hand and grabbed my shoulders as his lips landed on mine.
His kiss was gentle at first, his tongue exploring the seam of my lips, asking for permission. I opened up to him, and he plunged in, pulling me against him as he backed me up. My chest felt heavy and my head felt light as he kissed the oxygen from my lungs and pressed me against the wall, trapping me. His hands roamed down the sides of my body, ripping a moan from my throat. I nipped at his lip and unbuttoned the top button of his jeans.
His hands grabbed mine, stopping me as he pulled away to look at me. “You sure you want this, babe?”
I bucked my hips away from the wall, so our lower bodies were touching again, then slid my hands up his shirt. “Positive.”
His eyes flared with lust, but his frown told me he was torn. “I don’t date, Ari. I don’t have the time for that shit, and the family is my priority. I can’t promise you… Fuck. I can’t promise you anything.”
“Cool, because I’m not asking for anything more than temporary use of your body.”
“We shouldn’t do this.”
“Why? We’re two consenting adults who are attracted to each other and want to get laid.” Not only did I want his body, but I wanted his protective nature, and the way he looked at me. If it was only for a night, so be it. But I fully intended to rock the hell out of his body and make sure he came back for more. I tugged at the hem of his shirt, but he grabbed my hands.
“Wait.”
Before I could object, he removed his jacket and shoulder holster, settling both against the back of my sofa. I glanced at the gun, unsurprised to see it. Everything about the way Bones carried himself made it clear that he was packing, both in his holster and in his pants.
He stood in front of me once again, and I pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside. His chest was nothing but muscles and scars, speaking volumes about his dangerous lifestyle, and his stomach was wrapped.
“What’s this about?” I asked, gesturing at the wrap.
“Think I cracked one of my ribs.”
I arched my eyebrows at him.
“It’s healing. No big deal.”
Right. Careful not to touch his wrapped ribs, I settled my hands on his pecs, and traced a scar from his shoulder to just above his nipple. “Knife wound?”
He nodded, still watching me. But for once, he didn’t push me away.
I unzipped the back of my one-piece work uniform and tugged the shoulders down over my arms. Bones watched as I shimmied out of the outfit, until I stood before him wearing nothing but my bra and panties. His gaze gobbled up my body as his hands drifted to my waist.
“You’re so fuckin’ gorgeous,” he breathed. “I’m gonna ask again; are you sure, Ari?”
I was sure I wanted him to stop talking and get down to business. I unhooked my bra and let the straps fall over my shoulders as I slowly tugged it off. “If I didn’t want you to fuck me, I’d shove my phone into your eye like I’ve been trained to do.”
A smile ghosted his lips as he cupped my breasts, his thumbs running over my nipples. “Your body’s fuckin’ perfect.”
“And I’m horny,” I said, unzipping his pants and sliding them over his hips. I wanted him naked and in my bed before he changed his mind and friend-zoned me again.
He stepped out of his jeans, and I grabbed his hand, towing him toward my bedroom.
“Ari—”
“You can go ahead and eat whatever objection you’re about to feed me.” Once we stood beside the bed, I kissed his lips, his jaw, his neck, all while sliding his boxers down to grip his long, hard cock. He sucked in a breath and his eyes darkened. “You want this as much as I do. Let it happen.”
His expression was still torn, so I dropped to my knees and took him in my mouth.
“Holy shit,” he breathed as his cock hit the back of my throat, practically gagging me. Sucking in my cheeks and opening my throat, I grabbed his ass and pulled him deeper.
He threw his head back, tangling his fingers in my hair. “Fuck! That feels so damn good.”
He hadn’t felt anything yet. My mouth slid up and down his dick as I alternated between playing with his balls and grabbing his ass. I wanted him to take control and fuck my mouth, but he seemed content to let me set the pace. Determined to make him lose control, I sucked him harder and faster until he yanked himself out of my mouth and stepped back.
Eyes feral, he picked me up and tossed me onto the bed. He started to say something, but I held up a hand to cut him off.
“I swear, Bones, if you ask me if I’m sure one more time, I will sit on your mouth to shut you up.”
Chuckling, he hooked his fingers in my panties and slid them down my legs. Then his mouth landed on my core and I realized he was the one rocking my body, making me desperate for more.
If this was just a one-night stand, I was in serious trouble.