LORIK
It was nine forty-five, and I was sitting at the bar in Vertigo and staring at the whiskey in my glass. There was no doubt in my mind they would show up tonight. It was Dante Valenti’s birthday, and everyone knew Dante was notorious for his partying, being the wild one of the Valenti brothers. I also happened to know this was one of his favorite spots. Vertigo was known for its upper-class clientele.
It was a two-story club with a bar on the lower level where luxurious leather couches surrounded the black and white checkered dance floor. The top floor was more like a gallery that overlooked the rest of the club. That was where all the big VIP fuckers sat, pretending they were watching over their own little kingdom of drunken souls. There they were served by waitresses dressed in nothing but shiny gold miniskirts and matching bikini tops. I was also pretty sure one of the qualifying criteria for the waitressing job was you had to have a bra size of at least a double D.
The music was pumping, and the club was slowly starting to fill up as the night came alive. By now, the waiting line outside was probably stretched around the block. Lucky for me, the bouncer working at the door owed me a favor, which I decided to collect tonight, giving me quick and easy entrance.
I was glancing around the club when I heard a familiar voice next to me. I turned in my seat. “Gio?”
When Gio saw me, he rolled his eyes. “Oh, fuck me.”
“Sorry, dude. That’s not how I roll.”
“Fuck you.”
I snorted. “Why isn’t your ass in jail?”
Gio grabbed his beer from the bartender before turning to face me. He smiled that damn fugly gold-filled smile. “I have ways, my man.”
I scoffed. “I’m sure you do.”
“Have a good evening, Detective.” He tapped his beer against my glass and sauntered off into the crowd.
How the fuck that guy managed to get his ass out of jail since I arrested him that morning, I had no clue. But I was willing to bet it had something to do with the Valentis—or if Anderson was correct, the Mancusos.
A commotion started on the other side of the club, and the entire crowd seemed to come to a standstill. Ladies and gentlemen, the Valentis have arrived.
First to enter were the brothers. I knew both their faces. I’d studied them, followed them, watched them. I’d fucking stalked them over the last few months. I could recognize these guys with my damn eyes closed, if that were even possible.
Antonio walked up front while buttoning his suit jacket. With squared shoulders and his chin lifted high, he looked like the epitome of success and power. The man screamed control and supremacy. It didn’t take an idiot to figure out he was the underboss, the son to take over his father’s empire one day.
Dante, the party animal, was on the left, pulling his hands through his hair and winking at all the ladies. Can someone say man-whore?
But it was the girl next to Dante who fully caught my attention—the girl with the killer legs and curvy hips that had the potential to turn me into a raging, horny fucking animal.
Karina Valenti.
I shook my head when I noticed how her two brothers tried to box her between them, trying to shield her from the rest of the crowd. If only they knew there was no way they could hide such a beauty from everyone forever. Karina had a way about her, demanding every man’s attention without even knowing it.
I tried to move a little to the right so I could see more of her, but the elder of her guard dogs blocked my view.
Amazing how one family could hold so much power they made an entire crowd come to a complete standstill with only a simple fucking entrance.
Only when they walked past me did I get a good look at Karina, and fuck me, she looked amazing in a black mini dress, flaunting those toned calves and the silky-smooth skin of her thighs. Her long, curly hair draped perfectly over her shoulders, and I couldn’t help but wonder how it would feel to fist those beautiful locks while her entire vocabulary consisted of my name as my cock filled her to the brim.
I shifted in my seat, trying to get a more comfortable position for my now rock-hard cock. Looking like that, I was surprised Daddy Dearest let her out of the house—not that I was complaining.
Okay, Stone. Focus. You did not come here to perv over the enemy’s daughter. Although I could see it as a career perk, couldn’t I? Yeah, that was how I would justify my raging hard-on currently pushing painfully against my zipper.
I shot back the last mouthful of whiskey before ordering a new one, hoping the sting of the alcohol would tame my inner beast that craved sex, sweat, and heady moans.
While the Valenti siblings made their way up the stairs to the top floor, I sipped at my newly refilled glass and watched their every move. Naturally, they were treated like fucking royalty. The waitresses all swarmed around them, shoving drinks into their hands. And, of course, they got the best table in the club, right at the front of the balcony, which definitely worked in my favor since I now had a clear view of them from where I was sitting.
Unfortunately, my gaze was glued to one specific Valenti the entire time. I simply couldn’t ignore how that damn dress accentuated every curve of her perfect body. That little black number teased me, taunted me, willing me to forget all about why I was really here—to watch and observe all of them, hoping to get some clue where everyone fit into this giant puzzle of crime.
Karina took a seat, and my eyes zeroed in on her thighs as she crossed her legs. Good God, that woman had killer legs—legs I’d love to have folded over my shoulders. I’d bet they felt like fucking silk, all luxurious, soft, and sleek.
I’m such a pervert.
I’m going to hell.
I don’t care.
Dante and Antonio boxed her in as they took seats on either side of her. It was pathetic how they acted like she didn’t have a will of her own. I was willing to bet she was busy having a cursing fest inside her mind right about now.
In the back of my mind, I knew I should have been on the lookout for anything and everything suspicious, but deep down, I was painfully aware I was actually here because of her. I was here to see her. What the fuck was that about?
A waitress with a tray full of shots walked past them and leaned down while Antonio and Dante each took a glass. When Karina tried to reach for one, Antonio waved the waitress away, leaving Karina emptyhanded. By the way she pouted and crossed her arms, I knew she was pissed off. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. She was cute when she was pissed off. She was cute when she smiled too. Basically, she was always cute, no matter what she did. I’m such a fucking weirdo.
For the next hour and a half, I sat there and watched the lot of them. Dante had three girls draped over him like Sunday morning’s laundry. Antonio was watching a woman dance on the table in front of him, giving him his own personal show. Lucky son of a bitch.
What I did notice was Karina had been going to the ladies’ room quite a lot during the last hour. Something else I noticed too—which her brothers didn’t—was she had been sneaking in shots en route to or from the ladies’ room. Clever girl.
The bartender placed another drink in front of me, and I thanked him without looking his way. I was too busy watching Karina looking as hot as fuck in her black dress.
She leaned toward Dante and said something to him. He nodded, and she walked to the stairs down to the bottom floor.
The way she looked and the way she walked was like she owned everyone and everything around her. Men strained their necks to get a better look at her, yet she was completely oblivious. She didn’t notice all the inconspicuous glances her way, but I did. I noticed all the fucking assholes drooling after her like slobbering dogs, and it made me wish I had the right to punch each and every one of them in the balls.
With every step she took down the stairs, I felt the excitement brewing inside my chest. Or is it in my pants? I didn’t know. But what I did know was I wanted to get closer to her, which was why I jumped out of my seat and started pushing and shoving my way through the crowd toward her.
The second she took that final step, I was right in front of her, and the way her eyes widened when she saw me made me smile like the Cheshire Cat.
“Miss Valenti. What a surprise seeing you here.”
She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Is it?”
“Is it what?”
“A surprise?”
I stepped closer, the now short distance between us causing me to tower over her. “I guess you’ll never know.”
She looked up at me, and our gazes locked. Suddenly I was hyperaware we were surrounded by the smell of alcohol, sweat, and sex. The lights, the music, the atmosphere all played perfectly together like the entire night existed with one goal in mind—ecstasy.
The way her brown eyes darkened, her lips slightly parted, I knew she was aware of it too.
Her throat moved as she swallowed hard, her chest rising and falling, and I was wondering—no, hoping—it was because of me, because of how close I was to her.
“What are you doing here, Detective?”
“This is a club, Miss Valenti. I’m here to have some fun.” I didn’t inch away. I loved that we were this close, that I could see the faint shimmer of perspiration on her chest running down between her breasts. The way the yellow lights caught the side of her face and made her eyes seem like they had stripes of gold swirling around in them—almost magical. With her long, dark hair hanging down her naked shoulders, her smooth olive skin begging to be touched, Karina looked like a fucking exotic goddess—a goddess I’d like to be buried in balls deep.
She flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Somehow, I doubt that.”
“Don’t tell me I don’t look like the fun type.”
“You don’t look like the nightclub type,” she replied, her eyes never leaving mine.
I stepped closer. “What type do I look like?”
She glanced down to my mouth then up again. There was a hunger in her eyes. A hunger I was very familiar with since I was fucking ravenous—for her.
“The dangerous type,” she replied hesitantly.
The way her lips moved demanded all my attention. Her full, red lips practically begged me to take them, suck them, and kiss them until they were swollen.
“What do you want, Detective?”
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her sinfully delicious-looking mouth. “What if I’m not exactly sure what I want?”
“Then I’d say it’s about time you grow up and figure out what you want.” She leaned closer, bringing her lips mere inches from mine. “And then take it.”
Fuck me. The challenge in her voice and the seduction swirling around in her dark irises sent all my blood straight to my cock. My balls instantly retracted, and I already felt that desire for release starting to barrel up and down my spine.
Unable to control my desire for this woman any longer, I reached out and pushed my hand behind her head, grabbing a fistful of her thick, long hair. Her breath came out in a huff, and her lips parted, making me want to thrust my tongue deep down her throat, to tongue-fuck her until we both were unable to breathe.
I leaned closer to her ear. “Do not tempt me, Miss Valenti. I might be a detective, but I’m also a man who wouldn’t think twice before ripping that dress off you, bending you over, and making that hot little body of yours my fucking playground.”
To my surprise, she didn’t back down, but took a tiny step forward, putting her body almost flush against mine.
“Unlike you, Detective, I know what I want, and I’m not afraid to take it.”
I was still trying to control the waves of electricity that shot up my spine when she lifted herself and brushed her lips against mine, making those damn waves even more intense. It wasn’t a kiss; it was more like an invitation, a dare for me to take what she was offering.
Every male instinct inside me raged, rumbling with the need to hear her scream my name, to feel her walls tighten around me while I gave her the most powerful orgasm she had ever had in her entire life. Giving this woman pleasure had now become my one and only goal. I wanted to pound multiple goddamn releases into her while the sound of my name on her lips rang through my ears like a fucking cheerleading song.
I wrapped my other arm around her waist and jerked her harder against me, letting her feel how hard I was for her. “If I’m correct, there’s a rule somewhere in the Criminal Mafia Handbook for Dummies that says you’re not allowed to fraternize with cops.”
The seductive smile that spread across her face made my cock twitch.
“I already told you, I have no idea about this mafia thing you’re talking about, Detective.”
I moved closer and put my lips against the side of her cheek, and I was pretty sure I felt her shiver. “Oh, that’s right,” I started. “You’re innocent, aren’t you, Miss Valenti?”
“Well, I don’t know about innocent. But let’s assume you’re right, and the Criminal Mafia Handbook for Dummies does apply to me.” Her hand was on my hip, and I swore to God it felt like my skin burst into fucking flames. Her other hand moved slowly up my arm, and she weaved her fingers through my hair, pulling my lips closer to hers. “What makes you think I give a fuck about rules?”
Well, that does it, then. I wanted this woman, and I wanted her now. I wanted her under me, on me, in front of me, and I wanted to be inside her in every way humanly fucking possible—pun intended. To have this woman’s pleasure gushing down my thighs was my life’s new mission. Fuck the job, fuck the mafia, and fuck every goddamn rule that said I wasn’t allowed to bury myself so deep inside this woman that there would be no way to determine where she began and I ended.
Just as I was about to claim her lips, preparing to taste her, wanting to ravish that seductive mouth of hers, she glanced over my shoulder and cursed. “Shit.”
Ah, fuck. Really? This close. I was this fucking close.
Wanting to know what in the name of God-Almighty just interrupted what was probably going to be the best kiss of my entire fucking life, I turned around and immediately saw what had Karina cussing in my ear—or rather, whom.
“The Mancusos.” The name left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth. I stared at the two brothers walking into the club like they owned the place, straightening the lapels of their gray suits. There were two guys behind them, which I presumed were part of their entourage of muscle and ammo.
For a second, I glanced up at the Valenti brothers. Both of them were standing against the rail glaring down toward the entrance with a few other brutes behind them. It was like the mighty stare-off between good and evil, Heaven and Hell. The only problem was, I had no idea who the good guys and bad guys were in this equation. But something told me there was a tad more evil lurking behind the Mancusos, especially the older brother, Enzio. With his dark hair tied at the back of his neck, and that disgusting smirk that always seemed to be plastered on his arrogant face, Enzio Mancuso was one class-A son of a bitch douchebag. His younger brother, Matteo, was nothing more than a fucking sidekick. What big bro did, little bro did. Matteo always lurked in the shadow of his big brother, trying to be a bad ass. Meanwhile, he was nothing but a pussy pretending to be a cock in a big man’s world.
I noticed Enzio was staring straight at Karina, and Karina was looking back at him. It would take a real special kind of idiot to not have detected the tension between the two of them. The only difference was Enzio had this creepy, victorious smirk on his face, while Karina seemed like she was going to throw up.
I brushed my hand against her elbow. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” She straightened and took a deep breath before turning and looking up at her brothers.
I leaned closer. “So, on a scale from one to ten, how much shit is about to go down?”
When she looked back at me, there was absolutely nothing reassuring in her expression. In fact, she looked pretty grim.
She glanced at Enzio. “I’d say you should get a bigger scale.”
Well, shit.