Chapter Twenty
“Three…two…one…”
I blink groggily at the large flat-screen TV while the distant sound of fireworks booms through the ground. West looks down at me with a soft, indulgent smile. “Happy New Year.”
My sleep schedule was messed up after working at the Grand every night and then abruptly stopping. Instead of staying up late, I’ve taken to falling asleep early. “I’m sorry,” I murmur. “I wanted to stay up with you.”
West kisses my nose. “You need rest.”
It’s been a couple of days since a man was killed outside the door of this loft. Self-defense, everyone assured the cops who came to take the body away. They kept the story short and sweet.
West made sure that Jeb left town—possibly with his fists—and Maisie went with him, of course. Empty handed. This is one time they didn’t trade up.
I already know they’ll never come back.
I would never help them again, and there’s nothing worthwhile about a daughter you can’t con.
The first night, West took me into the shower with him, carefully washing me, checking my skin for any marks or bruises. He touched me so tenderly, as if I was made of glass. And maybe I was. It felt like I might shatter.
Although he was hard and slick, he didn’t have sex with me. Even when I touched him, he pushed my hand aside. He held me all night, his body tense and protective around mine.
Maybe we both needed a little time to recover, to heal.
It’s a new year now. A new beginning. And though I’m sleepy, I drape my leg over his and straddle him. His eyes immediately turn black. He’s been hard every time we’ve touched.
His face is drawn with intense arousal—but there’s worry too.
“I need this more,” I whisper.
He swallows audibly, and I know he’s fighting himself. A week ago he tied my wrists to a chair and pressed his lips between my legs. He treated me like a woman, and that’s what I need from him now.
I take his wrists in my hands and press them down on the cushions. Then I meet his gaze, a challenge arcing from me to him. He could overpower me in a second. If I hold him captive, it’s only because he wants me to.
Acceptance curves his lips.
Then I’m working at the placket of his jeans, opening the zipper and pulling him out. He’s already hard beyond anything I’d seen before. His cock stands straight up, straining for me. A bead of liquid shines at the tip. I lick it off.
He groans. “Baby.”
“I need you,” I murmur, lips moving against the soft crown. Then I take him deep, gratified by his pained groan. His legs shake beneath my palms. I don’t let up. The more he shudders, the more I suck. Out of the corner of my eyes, I see his hands tighten into fists against the cushion—but he doesn’t lift them. He doesn’t push my head down, and I appreciate that. But I also miss his touch, the way he would stroke my hair or caress me. I miss his tenderness. I even miss his control.
I pull back with a pop sound, and he grunts.
His voice is like gravel. “You’re killing me.”
That makes me grin. “Just returning the favor.”
He’s up in a flash, slipping a hand under my arms and lifting me into the air. I’m over his shoulder before I can blink, and I writhe, trying to break free, laughing. “Let me down.”
He slaps my ass. “I’m not letting you go, Bianca. You have a bad habit of running.”
Guilty as charged. I remember him pressing me against the brick wall in the alley. I remember his hands holding down my thighs as he brought me to ecstasy in the basement of the Grand. It feels like a lifetime ago—a lifetime without love, without hope. A whole lifetime without family. I couldn’t believe that he could really want me. I couldn’t believe that he would really stay.
He didn’t give up on me. And I have a lifetime to thank him.
He tosses me on his bed, and I bounce. He’s on me in a second, his legs between mine. His broad shoulders block the light, and I look up at him in shadow—this powerful, beautiful man.
Trade up. I traded in everything, everything that I used to be, everything that I never wanted to be, for the most honorable man I’ve ever met. Ironic that the first time I ever follow my mother’s advice is when she’s left for good.
West may be physically stronger than me, but he’d never force me. He’d never hurt me.
Which is why he doesn’t fight when I turn the tables.
It’s the quick work of my leg hooked around his, taking him by surprise—and then he’s on his back on the bed. What can I say? My parents knew some unsavory people. I learned how to protect myself.
West huffs a laugh, sounding reluctantly impressed. “So that’s how it’s gonna be.”
“That’s exactly how it’s gonna be.” With a small flourish I pull out the package I’d hidden under the bed. It’s only wrapped in newspaper since I hadn’t had the chance to buy wrapping paper. I hold it out for him, feeling unaccountably shy.
His expression turns bemused as he accepts the small, padded square. Then he rips open the paper. First there’s tenderness as he fingers the soft, red rope. Then a dark awareness lights his eyes. “Is this for…?”
“Yes,” I say, taking the rope from his hands. And then I do more than tell him—I show him, binding his wrists with the stretchy, knitted rope. The red is vibrant against his dark brown skin, a vivid contrast of constrained power. He’s a contradiction—the Boy Scout and the warrior, the gentle lover and the fierce man who tied me to a chair.
He caught me in the basement of the Grand, and I’ve caught him right back.
The con of a lifetime.
* * *
Thank you for reading Caught for Christmas. I hope you loved West and Bianca’s story!
The next book in the Stripped series is , which includes the series prequel novella Tough Love. You can click through and read Giovanni and Clara’s story now…
“Hold You Against Me quite literally grabs a hold and refuses to let go until the end. Truly one of the first Mafia books I’ve read that sucked me in with a completely original and brilliant storyline that had me guessing the entire time!”
~ #1 NYT Bestselling Author Rachel Van Dyken
Once upon a time the daughter of a mafia king fell in love with a foot soldier.
This fairy tale didn’t have a happy ending.
My sister and I barely managed to escape alive, and we’ve lived in relative hiding ever since. I’m safe now, but I can never forget the boy who gave his life to save mine.
Except there’s a chance that he’s still alive. And he’s fighting a war.
Even knowing the risks, I have to find him. I have to find some way to protect him, the way he protected me. But he isn’t the boy I left behind. He’s a violent man. A criminal. And he’s been waiting for me—the final pawn in a dark game of survival and love.
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Turn the page to read a short excerpt from Hold You Against Me…