Seven
Piper
Vanni’s condo here on Marina del Rey, it isn’t what I expected. But then, neither was his estate in Nevada. I don’t know what I was expecting, what kind of home I expected someone like him to live in, how could I? His world is so very different to the one I grew up in. Or is it? Are they really that different? But to look at the places Vanni calls home, I just hadn’t expected them to be owned by an outlaw biker. They look more like something my own family would’ve – do – own. So, I should be used to this, then. This level of luxury, I should be used to it, right?
I slide open the French doors and step outside onto the terrace. The views across the beach and the ocean breathtaking as I stare out ahead of me, I really want to go down on that beach. I want to lie on the sand, feel it running between my fingers and toes; I want to swim in the ocean but that would mean leaving this condo, going out into the open, and I don’t want to do that, not without Vanni. Besides, he’s told me not to leave, not to go outside without him, under any circumstances, so I make do with this terrace and its stunning views, and I try not to think about anything else.
“Hey.”
I swing around at the sound of his voice, slightly startled by his appearance, even though Vanni told me he’d be sending someone over to stay with me, until he got back.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Where are Gunner and Ace?”
“Sent them back to the compound, as instructed by your husband.”
I don’t miss the way his eyes travel the length of my body from top to toe, and I walk back inside and reach for the T-shirt I’d thrown over the back of a nearby chair, quickly pulling it on over my white bikini.
He turns and follows me into the huge open-plan living room. “I’ve seen it all before, sweetheart.”
“Doesn’t grant you a license to see it again.”
He laughs quietly, sliding his hands into his pockets as he leans back against the wall. “So, I guess we’ve been here before, huh?”
“We wouldn’t be, if I didn’t need someone to be here.”
And I hate, that I need someone to be here, but I do. I can’t risk being alone, and if Vanni can’t be here I at least want someone I can talk to. Someone I feel mildly comfortable with. For some reason, I feel comfortable with Logan. And I still don’t know whether that’s a good thing or not, I’m trying not to dwell on it. In the grand scheme of things, I’ve got far more important things to worry about.
He smiles, and I cross my arms against myself in an almost defensive gesture.
“Vanni told me you’re in some kinda trouble.”
“Something like that, yeah.”
“A mafia princess, huh?”
“Don’t call me that.”
He raises an eyebrow, which irritates me slightly. “Daddy wants you dead, right?”
“Is that what Vanni told you?”
He looks at me, and he gives me a small nod, his eyes not leaving mine.
“What else did he tell you?”
“You overheard something, something bad, Vanni didn’t go into any great detail on that one. But your daddy wants you dead, so, it gotta be something real bad, right?”
I don’t say anything to that. I don’t think it requires an answer.
“He needed to keep you quiet… How did he do that, huh? How did he make sure you kept your mouth shut?”
I sit down on the arm of the couch and drop my head, breaking the stare. I don’t want to talk about this, but it’s only fair he has some kind of an idea as to what he’s dealing with here. What I’m dealing with. “He assigned one of his henchmen as some kind of glorified babysitter.”
He stays silent, and so do I, I really don’t want to go into this.
“But you got away. You escaped.”
I slowly look up, meeting his gaze. “You’ve got nice eyes, has anyone told you that? How nice your eyes are?” They’re a pale blue, an almost calming color. They’re quite beautiful, his eyes.
“What happened to you, Piper?”
“They were going to kill me, whether I kept my mouth shut or not… I threatened to talk to the police, I mean, what did I have to lose? They were going to kill me anyway, no matter what my father said. That bastard just wanted to play with me first…” I trail off, because I really don’t want to talk about this now.
“Who? Your dad?”
I shake my head and drop my gaze, clasping my hands together in my lap. “The man he put in charge of my silence. Marco Vierra. Mad Dog. My father’s right-hand man.”
“What did he do to you?”
I look up again, my eyes once more meeting his. “That’s not really important.”
“Bad enough to make you break free, huh?”
I nod slowly, dropping my gaze again.
“Weren’t you scared?”
I nod again. But I don’t say anything, I stay silent.
“And then you found Vanni.”
I stand up and cross my arms against myself as I walk into the kitchen. “It was just luck, I guess. That I ended up there, in Vanni’s bar.”
“Luck?”
His cynical laugh makes my head shoot around and I stare at him. “Vanni saved me, Logan. And I don’t expect you to understand…”
“We all need saving sometimes, Piper.”
I cock my head to one side, narrowing my eyes slightly. There was something there in his expression that I’m not sure he meant to put out there, but I saw it. “You talking from experience?”
He drops his sunglasses down over his eyes and follows me into the kitchen. “Why’d you want me to be your babysitter?”
“You’re not my babysitter.”
He opens the fridge and takes out two beers, handing one to me. “I think that’s exactly what I am. Your husband just isn’t all that keen on me using that term, but that’s what I’m doing. I’m looking after you. I’m keeping you safe, that’s my job now.” He takes a swig of beer, his eyes fixed on mine. “So, why me?”
“I had to pick someone, Vanni didn’t want me left on my own.” I lean back against the counter and pull the top off my beer. “And I liked you. After we talked, back in Nevada… I wanted someone I could at least talk to, y’know?”
He says nothing, just takes another swig of beer, and I do the same.
“You don’t look all that happy.”
He turns his head to look at me. “Don’t I?”
“I’m guessing ‘babysitting’ duties weren’t something you signed up for, when you became a Death Knight.”
“It wasn’t high on my list of shit I wanted to do, no.”
He turns his head away again and I feel my stomach dip a little, causing a sharp intake of breath to escape, which I try to hide by downing another mouthful of beer.
“I’m sorry, that Vanni asked you to do this.”
He shrugs, but he keeps his eyes straight ahead. “It’s fine. To be honest, I’m not really in the mood to be shot at, either.”
“Shot at?” I frown, and he looks at me, an almost withering expression on his face.
“You think Vanni’s come all the way here just to say hello? You know he’s come here to fight, Piper. And coming from the world you grew up in…”
He leaves that sentence hanging, and I walk back into the living room. “Maybe I’m just tired of living in worlds that involve violence and bloodshed and all kinds of shit that just…”
Now it’s my turn to leave a sentence hanging, and I drop my head and close my eyes and I know I never meant to say any of that out loud.
“Just what, Piper?”
I shake my head, and I know he’s behind me, I can feel him. “Nothing. It doesn’t matter.”
“Why did you really want me here?”
“You’ve already asked me that question.”
“Yeah, well, this time I’m looking for a more honest answer.”
I turn around and look at him, reaching out to push his sunglasses up onto his head, I want to see those eyes. “I think you know why.”
“And that’s every reason why I should get outta here.”
“You want to go, you go. But you’ll have to explain to Vanni why you walked out on me. Why you won’t do what he wants you to do. What I need you to do.”
“Oh, believe me, princess, he won’t want me to do what you need me to do.”
I smile slightly, letting my fingertips trail lightly over his rough cheek. “No. He’d kill you, if you did that.”
I should tell him to go, for his own good, for his own safety, and mine. I know why I wanted Logan Sandero to be the man my husband sent to watch over me; to keep me safe from my father and the men who want me dead. I know why I wanted him, and no-one else. But if Vanni knew the real reason why…
“He’d kill you, too.” Logan’s voice is almost a whisper as he moves a little closer to me, his hand gently grasping my wrist, pulling it away from his face. “So I’d take a step back if I were you, sweetheart.”
He lets go of my arm and I take that step back, crossing my arms defensively across my chest. And for a second he just stands there, his eyes once more looking me up and down, scanning my body, each glance he takes sending warning shivers up and down my spine.
“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.”
“No maybe about it, darlin’. It’s a fucking crazy idea.”
I don’t move as he takes a step toward me, but I feel my heart start to hammer painfully hard inside my chest.
“But I’ve never been the kind of man that takes the easy way out.”
He smiles, and I back up against the wall, my arms falling away from me, dropping to my sides.
“Where’s the fun in life if you don’t take risks, huh?”
He’s right in front of me now, so close I can feel his breath on my skin, and he smells of beer and cigarettes and a dark, heady cologne I’m not familiar with, but it’s filling my nostrils, making me slightly dizzy.
“You took a risk, running from your gangster daddy, right into the arms of another crazy-assed motherfucker. You took a risk, Piper.” He drops a hand to my thigh, his fingers playing with the tie-sides of my bikini panties. “And I think you really, really want to take another one.”
He tugs gently at those tie-sides until they come away in his hand, my bikini panties falling to the floor, and all I feel now is fear and excitement and a deep, deep longing to have this man. And I don’t know why, I love Vanni. I love my husband. Don’t I? I need my husband, I don’t need this. Nobody, needs this.
I close my eyes as his hand rests against my thigh, and he leans in to me, his breath now scorching my neck and the second his lips graze my skin that fear I felt a second ago intensifies, pulling my stomach into a tight, painful knot. But I don’t push him away, I don’t want to. I’ve wanted this ever since that day in Nevada, when Vanni left him to ‘look after’ me. I’ve wanted him, this…
He pushes his hands up over my hips, his thumb skirting the outer edges of my labia and I sigh quietly, even though I’m terrified now. We aren’t safe here, doing this, it’s crazy! It’s dangerous. And I still want him. And I still don’t know why…
Logan
She widens her stance as my fingers find her soft, smooth pussy, and my cock, man, it’s killing me. I need to be inside this woman like I’ve never needed anything before, I need that rush; that kick.
Cupping her ass I lift her up, ramming my cock inside her as her legs wrap around my hips, and I swear, I’ve never felt relief like it. She’s warm and wet and she’s gripping me tight, making each and every thrust harder and faster, her fingernails digging into my shoulders as she clings onto me. And the sounds she’s making as I pound into her, Jesus, they’re hot as hell, they’re driving me on, forcing that climax out of me until I’m spilling into her, my hand on the side of her neck keeping her face forward ‘cause I want to look at her, as I come inside her. Mrs. Vanni Colletti. I’ve just fucked the wife of one of the most dangerous bastards I’ve ever come across, and I’ve met a few. I’ve just shot my shit inside his girl, the woman I’m supposed to be keeping safe. And instead, I’ve just put both of us in more danger than either of us could ever imagine…