Chapter Five

  Ari turned his head behind the steering wheel of his car as he sat patiently in the dark in front of Celina’s building. He shrugged his shoulders, trying to work out the kinks in his muscular frame from sitting in one position for too long. 
 Goddamn, this is boring work, he realized, glancing at his cell phone to ensure that Celina’s car hadn’t moved.
 Everything was as it should be, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had missed some movement.
 The past couple days had been a rollercoaster with Celina, mostly chasing her around, trying to keep himself from striding up to her when he found her and shaking the life out of her for being so damned evasive.
 Other times she would simply stay put in her penthouse for hours on end, which also made him nervous because he felt like she was planning some great escape at his expense.
 For the most part, he managed to stay one step ahead of her, but it was taking its toll on him and he wondered already how much longer he could deal with it.
 You will deal with it, he told himself again.
 He was reluctant to admit it, but on some level, he was enjoying the job.
 Perhaps it was the fact that he had such a gorgeous subject. No matter how crazy Celina drove him, she was easier on the eyes than any of the assholes he could have been running with.
 Alex is stuck collecting and doing runs with the sweaty stronzos in the middle of the night. I’m left relatively to my own devices watching her in the comfort of my air-conditioned car.
 But he had to wonder if it wasn’t more than that, if he was beginning to develop a strange attachment to Celina.
 Shut up, he scolded himself. That woman is just a spoiled mafia princess. Although that was probably true, Alex had caught glimpses of the intelligent and thoughtful woman she occasionally seemed to be under the surface. 
 And without warning, he would catch a glimpse of her in his mind, the sunlight touching her surreal mane of hair as she sat in Vizcaya Gardens, alone, reading serenely. She seemed to have been at peace there, all alone, yet comfortable.
 He felt like he had seen something in her that morning, something he was not meant to see and Ariano couldn’t shake it from his memory.
 He glanced up at the condo building, blinking against the streetlights to see if her condo was illuminated.
 Not that I will be able to tell a damn thing if it is or isn’t; it’s the middle of the fucking night after all.
 As he craned his neck, he tensed as a figure stole toward his car, his hand reaching for his firearm instinctively. But as the shadow came closer, he grunted in frustration.
 Any fleeting moment of warm affection he’d been basking in, dissipated instantly.
 “What are you doing out here, Celina?” he grumbled, rolling down the window as she opened the door, her light blue eyes studying him. “It’s three o’clock in the morning.”
 “I’m hungry,” she replied, her hand slipping onto the handle of the door.
 “What the – ?”
 She slid on top of him, her long legs straddling his body as she mounted his lap, full mouth curved into a teasing smile.
 “Celina – “
 “What?” she purred. “Are you going to deny that you haven’t been checking me out since you first got assigned my detail?”
 He tried to draw back but she leaned forward, crushing her lips against him, her tongue licking the seam of his lips.
 She smelled like vanilla and spice, something he had noticed many times over the past two days.
 Her aroma filled his nostrils in the most obscure locations; when he was grabbing a coffee, inside his car – as if she was always with him in spirit even when she was nowhere around.
 Except she was around – her long legs pressed against his as they locked into a kiss.
 He had nowhere to move, the tautness in his crotch uncomfortable and impossible to hide as she rocked her hips against him.
 Suddenly the seat fell back and she was fully on him, her nightie riding high against her hips as the heat of her center seemed to burn into him, the material between them the only thing stopping him from sliding inside her.
 He fisted a handful of her hair, pulling her head away from his sharply. 
 “Don’t pretend that you don’t want this,” she whispered. “You’d be lying to both of us if you deny it.”
 She grasped his free hand, placing it over her full breast. Ariano fought with himself, his body wanting desperately to sink deeply into hers, but his brain simultaneously shouting at him to toss her off of him.
 The danger he faced at being caught seemed so insignificant in comparison to the unadulterated pleasure he knew they would have if they ever gave in to the chemistry that burned between them.
 He lunged forward, knocking her back onto the steering wheel, the horn exploding into the otherwise still night.
 It was enough to sober him up from whatever hold she seemed to have over him and he shook his head.
 “Get out of my car, Celina,” he growled, trying to clear his head of the headiness which had overtaken him.
 She was intoxicating, alluring and so dangerous.
 Celina pouted, crossing her arms over her breasts, shaking her blonde head.
 “You can only deny this chemistry between us for so long,” she sighed. “Inevitably, it’s going to happen. Why not now, when no one’s around?”
 She pouted and Ariano’s jaw locked.
 “It’s not right to toy with people,” he told her gruffly and a bemused smile formed on her mouth.
 “Me?” she cried, outraged. “I’m the one toying with people?”
 As quickly as she had mounted him, she was outside the car again, her blue eyes flashing with anger.
 “You follow me around constantly, never giving me a moment of freedom even though I’m a grown woman, and I’m the bad guy here?” she asked coldly.
 “Celina, it’s for your own protection,” he sighed, but for the first time he realized that there was a deep frustration in her.
 She’s furious because she has no control over her own life, he thought, a twinge of sympathy flooding him.
 He forced himself to remain stoic, despite the blood rushing to his cock as she stood staring defiantly at him.
 “My protection,” she scoffed, whirling to leave him alone. “What the hell do you bastards know about protecting me? I’ve gotten away from each and every one of you since I was ten years old.” She looked so angry, Ariano thought she just might spit on the ground. 
 Before he could answer, she stormed away, leaving Ari wanting to run after her and comfort her somehow.
 At the same time, he wanted to grab her, throw her over the hood of his Audi and pound into her until she begged for mercy.
 This woman is going to be the death of me, he thought, dropping his head against the steering wheel in defeat.
 He wondered why it filled him with a delicious feeling of challenge.
 Stop it! He growled to himself. You have a job to do and she’s just trying to manipulate you.
 But no amount of reasoning could stop him from envisioning the boss’ daughter naked and bent over his knee, while he paddled her ass for making him feel this way.
 

**********

  “What are you doing here?” Ari demanded sharply, as he entered his own apartment later that evening.
 Charlotte smiled at him, her eyes shining with promise.
 “You don’t look happy to see me,” the exotic dancer purred, her legs falling apart slightly as Ariano studied her face, a combination of annoyance and frustrated heat lighting his blue-grey irises.
 “How did you even know where I lived?” he demanded, tossing his gun, keys and wallet onto the table by the door.
 She laughed and Ariano felt a familiar tug in his groin.
 “I know people who…know people,” she replied smoothly. “It’s not hard to learn your address, baby.”
 She shouldn’t be here, he thought, his mind racing. She knows she’s not supposed to be here.
 “I could have killed you when I walked in,” he said nonchalantly, strolling toward the living room where she was sprawled on his sofa, naked.
 “That would be a waste, wouldn’t it? Anyway, how would you explain a dead body in your apartment?” she replied easily, sitting up.
 Her dark hair spilled along her shoulders and he was still torn between being irritated and the pull in his pants.
 Ariano smirked slightly.
 She really has no idea what I do for a living, he thought, striding toward the brass and glass bar cart.
 “You’re really not happy to see me?” she whined as he poured himself a bourbon, taking a swig of his drink.
 He wasn’t sure what he was other than exhausted to his core.
 For more than a week, he had been following Celina DiMarco around, and each day seemed progressively worse than the last.
 At first, the GPS tracker had worked to keep her close, but soon she had realized that he had a way to keep eyes on her, and so she had forsaken the Alfa, favoring a rental car instead.
 He had resorted to tracing her phone but she had enabled a block and Ariano quickly learned that if he wanted to do his job successfully, he was going to have to physically situate himself in Celina’s line of sight.
 When that started, things had really begun to go south.
 “What’s the matter, baby?” Charlotte asked, rising to join him. “If you’re really mad that I’m here, I can go.”
 She pouted at him.
 “How did you get in here?” he demanded, trying to strike his beautiful blonde charge from his mind.
 She’s taken up enough of your time and energy for a lifetime. Fuck Celina.
 Ariano didn’t want to admit it but that was exactly what he wanted to do.
 It was becoming a special kind of torture knowing she was just a few feet away from him at any given time.
 He tried to tell himself that whatever attraction he was feeling toward her was going to diminish, especially knowing what he knew about her.
 Even if she wasn’t Giovanni’s daughter, she is not your type, he tried to reason with himself. You like them sweet and spicy, not cold and vicious.
 But no amount of logic worked, and in the end, Ari knew that his connection to Celina was more real than he had realized. She was driving him crazy and he was sure she was doing it on purpose. He wanted to tie her to his bed and teach her a lesson. Fuck, just picturing that little scenario had his cock jerking in anticipation.
 The more she drove him crazy, the more he wanted to pin her against the wall of her condo hallway with a hand around her creamy, pale throat.
 You only want what you can’t have, he reminded himself. And don’t forget what happened the last time you went after something you weren’t supposed to have.
 But Celina was not making it easy to resist.
 In fact, she seemed to be going out of her way to make not-so-subtle advances toward him.
 It’s a trick, Ariano told himself. She doesn’t want you; she wants to get you by the balls. He knew damn well that Celina was trying to manipulate him by convincing him to fuck her. It was an ingenious plan, really. She was right in assuming that any member of her detail that screwed her would be, well…. screwed.
 But his balls had been blue for so long, he didn’t think they’d ever go back to normal. The girl had serious assets, and she knew how to use them. Even if he was simply following in the car behind hers, she would do something ultra sexy, like apply lipstick in her mirror, licking her lips seductively so he could see it. His cock was in a permanent state of solid steel.
 “Fine!” Charlotte hissed, breaking his thoughts away from the source of all evil. “I thought you wanted me to come over. I’m soooo sorry, ” she sneered, turning and preparing to flounce away.  “I’ll –
 Ariano didn’t give her a chance to finish her sentence, grabbing her arm firmly as she passed by him. He spun her forcefully back towards him.
 She gasped and squealed at the unexpected action, falling forward over the armrest of the sofa, her full rear spreading slightly as he pinned himself against her.
 “Are you sorry?” he growled, his hand snaking into her waves, yanking her head back for him to brush his lips against her ears. “I don’t think you are.”
 She whimpered slightly, wiggling her ass invitingly, but as Ariano’s bulging hardness found its way between her cheeks, the heat there was unmistakable.
 His left hand slipped between her legs around the front, rubbing at the cleft in her thighs and Charlotte sighed, her ass pressing backward to wriggle against him.
 “You don’t get to come to my house, uninvited,” he snarled, sliding a finger inside her. “Do I really have to tell you that?”
 “No,” she breathed. “No, I’m sorry.”
 Ariano’s fist clenched firmly against her head, the pressure pulling her back against him further.
 “No, you’re not,” he sighed. “But you will be.”
 His hips thrust angrily into her, and another digit found its way inside her tight opening.
 Charlotte mewled as his strokes grew harder inside her, stimulating her clitoris at the same time.
 He relished the cries of pleasure which filled his ears, his jaw locking.
 Shoving Charlotte forward, he released her hair, his fingers finding the buckle of his belt.
 His cock was already rock solid and he grunted slightly, yanking the boxers over his raging hard-on as it sprung back almost painfully.
 But he was far too horny to notice, stepping out of his trousers and kicking them aside without interrupting the rhythm he had created in her core. 
 Her breaths were escaping in short gasps and when he came back to her and added his middle finger to the mix, Charlotte screamed out, a hot gush of juices spilling over his hand.
 “Oh, fuck!” she moaned, her body tensing and quivering beneath him. “Fuck, Ariano!”
 Without warning, he spun her around, her back arching over the back of the couch as she stared at him with hazy eyes, her mouth parted in satisfaction as the quivers continued to rip through her.
 Ariano leaned forward, pinning her against the sofa so hard, he was sure she might break.
 Her legs slid up against his hips, trying to lock him to her but Ariano had other ideas.
 “Oh no,” he said sternly. “What kind of punishment is that for breaking into my place?”
 She gaped at him, her dark eyes uncomprehending.
 He leaned down over her, twisting until his back rolled against the cushions of the suede couch.
 Charlotte fell onto him, her sensuous form straddling him as she landed.
 Their eyes locked again and Ariano smiled at her, his fingers undoing the buttons of his shirt.
 “Suck me,” he ordered and Charlotte didn’t need to be told twice.
 Instantly, her dark head nuzzled its way between his legs, her hand reaching up to caress his throbbing sack before leading his full, erect member into her mouth.
 Ariano groaned and closed his eyes, fingers ensnaring her hair once more.
 He plunged himself deeply inside her throat, his shaft growing harder with each long swipe of her tongue.
 “Faster,” he ordered but his voice was already coming out in a strangled grunt.
 He willed himself not to explode yet, but Charlotte’s skilled mouth was causing him to fight against the rising orgasm.
 Grunting, he jutted himself fully into her throat.
 He didn’t open his eyes once.
 Because he was not in his living room in that moment.
 He was laying on Celina’s couch, dipping his thickness into her mouth as she gasped for breath.
 “Deeper!” he demanded. “Take it all inside.”
 Charlotte whimpered, her fingers closing in around his tightening balls and Ariano groaned loudly, knowing he was close to blowing. But then he realized the futility of imagining himself sinking deeply into Celina’s body. Goddamn it! Get that idea out of your head! You have a willing woman here to take your mind off of that vixen, so just enjoy it.

  That thought made him even angrier than before. First, there was Celina who was determined to drive him insane with wanting her just so she could manipulate him into giving her as much freedom as she wanted. And then there was this conniving bitch who knew damn well that his place was off limits to her, but she had broken in anyways.
 Abruptly, he pulled himself away, his shaft quivering in protest.
 “Wait a second – “Charlotte started to say but Ariano had already pushed her back, once more flipping her onto her stomach. He reached blindly into the pocket of his pants to retrieve a condom. He used his hips to hold her in place as he rolled it down his aching shaft.
 He spread her full cheeks apart, positioning himself against her.
 “Oh yeah, baby,” she begged. “Fuck me.”
 But when he placed the head of his cock at her entrance, he vacillated between the two options. He slowly started to push into her rear, deciding this was a punishment, after all. She stiffened immediately. “Wait, what are you – “ she began, as another couple of inches entered her backside.
 “This is what happens to bad girls who break and enter, cara,” he growled into her ear. “Now, are you going to take your punishment?”
 She moaned and pushed her ass back towards him, letting him in all the way. Her breathing picked up as he reached around her to start fondling her breasts, squeezing the nipples in rhythm to his thrusts as he filled her ass. The stimulation caused her body to start climbing toward climax again. 
 Charlotte’s cries filled his ears as Ariano gripped her shoulder, holding her in place as he penetrated her with full force until he could take no more.
 He came then, the orgasm causing his jaw to clench as the release ripped through him.

  He barely finished before he pulled out and walked into the bathroom. He returned a moment later, a pair of sweats pulled up over his lean hips. 
 “Get out,” Ariano snapped, “And if you know what’s good for you, you won’t return. Ever.”
 Charlotte gaped at him in shock.
 “What?” she demanded. “After that, you’re just gonna throw me out?”
 “You’re lucky that’s all I’m doing,” he retorted.
 “Baby, why are you – “
 “Charlotte, don’t make me tell you again,” he snarled, reaching for his glass. “And don’t do anything like this again. To anyone. You could get hurt.”

********

   Later the following week, he came home to his apartment, even more exhausted than he had been before. His plan was to blackout drink that night, his first one off since beginning his detail with Celina. If there was ever an occasion to do such a thing, this was it.
 In spite of the raw, hardcore sex he had had with Charlotte what felt like ages ago, he felt strongly unsatisfied. And the reason why just pissed him off.
 How could he be so hung up on this woman? What the hell was it about her? Sure, she was beautiful, but Ari had bedded dozens of beauties before. But Celina was smart too. And tough. She tried hard to hide her softer feelings and her frustration for the type of life she was forced to live because of her father’s occupation. 
 But he was starting to see through her mask. They even talked once in a while. And when she wasn’t trying to entice him into sleeping with her, they had meaningful conversations. Who would have ever thought?
 
 Only five months and change to go, he reminded himself, plopping onto the cushions, his mind whirling. With one night off a week. Your body will get used to the hours. You’ve done worse shit for longer times.
 He wondered what Giovanni would say if he asked for two days off and he grinned to himself at the thought.
 He would say, “You’re too weak to be caporegime. I am promoting Alex.”
 In fact, that night, Alex was on Celina’s protection detail and the idea filled Ari with uneasiness.
 What if he finds a way to weasel his way into her detail permanently, instead of just covering for my night off? It’s no secret that the old man likes that little snake.
 Earlier in the week, Ari had overheard the other soldier begging Giovanni to reconsider him for his daughter’s detail.
 “I bet that Celina isn’t even comfortable with the outsider watching her every move,” Alex whined. “You should ask her who she wants on her detail!”
 “I don’t run my business based on what my daughter wants, Alex,” Giovanni snapped back. “If I did, we would have been out of the running a long time ago.”
 “Still, boss, you have to admit, no one knows anything about this stronzo,” Alex pushed. “For all you know, he could be working for another family or a cop – “
 “Are you questioning my decisions? You think I’m too fucking stupid to notice if I let a fox into my house?”
 Alex fell silent.
 “I may not know him as well as I know you, Alessandro but I know he was not the one ogling my daughter’s tits right in front of me.”
 “Boss, I swear – “
 “Fuck off, Alessandro. I have work to do, and so do you.”
 The conversation had given Ariano a bittersweet feeling.
 He knew he wasn’t easily replaced, but it showed that Alex would stop at nothing to undermine him.
 But there was more than just that worrying Ari.
 The idea of Alex being so close to Celina made him nervous for some other reason.
 There was something about the man, something lecherous and slimy.
 I wouldn’t want any woman left alone with him, Ariano tried to tell himself. It’s not just Celina.
 As the bourbon began to take effect and the muscles in his shoulders relaxed, Ariano knew he was lying to himself.
 He wasn’t worried about every woman.
 In his mind’s eye, he could not shake the picture of the beauty in the gardens, the sexy, almost mischievous blonde who did her best to drive him crazy with the subtlest moves or gestures.
   Even in such a short time, he was filled with the sense that the maddening woman was not the spoiled brat whom everyone believed her to be.
 There was something beneath that hard, taunting exterior which was fragile and sweet, traits which he caught by accident, when she inadvertently let her guard down.
 They were things that most men wouldn’t notice; a thoughtful look in her vibrant eyes or the way she gnawed on her lower lip when she was thinking. Ariano had gotten to know her quite well in the days since they had been forced together twenty-four seven.
 There is something more to her than meets the eye, he thought.
 Ari grunted to himself and gulped back the rest of his drink.
 Just like there was something more to Lucia? You just want what you can’t have. Get your head on straight and keep your eye on the job, not on the beautiful woman that IS your job.
 Yet no matter how much Ariano tried to distract himself, he couldn’t stop worrying about Celina under Alex’s watch.