LORIK
That certainly went well. Not. Clearly, this entire night did not go according to plan. My plan was to sit at the far end of the bar and quietly observe the Valentis. All I wanted was to try to get a new piece to the puzzle of what the fuck was happening in this town.
Ending up watching Karina—and only her—for bulk of the evening was not part of the plan. And neither was talking to her, or almost kissing her in the middle of a damn nightclub filled with hundreds of people. But I couldn’t help myself. She demanded all my attention the second she walked through those goddamn doors.
There was something about her that made me want to be close to her. And that something left me no choice but to approach her. The moment I was near her, feeling her breath on my skin, I fell under her spell.
And her scent? Dear Lord, that sweet smell of honey and vanilla made me crave to taste her. Fuck a nibble, and fuck just a sample of her full lips and sensual body, I wanted to completely devour her until there was nothing left. All I could think about when I stared into her dark eyes was how badly I wanted to take everything she had to offer and make it mine by marking her, by fucking her until my name was engraved into her goddamn soul. And something told me that was exactly what she wanted too—to be claimed. Until that jackass Enzio decided to show his ugly face.
What I really didn’t plan on doing was shoving Enzio Mancuso’s face into a damn wall. But the son of a bitch pressed all the wrong damn buttons. And what really got to me was seeing the effect his assholery had on Karina. It was clear as fucking daylight every word that came out of Enzio’s mouth rattled her, and for that reason alone I wanted to tear the fucker apart.
The question was, why would I feel the need to do that? Why did it bother me so much that Karina seemed to have a history with Enzio? Obviously, something happened between them. It didn’t take a detective’s intuition to figure that one out. But whatever happened caused some pretty deep scars for Karina, that was for sure.
And because I had to act all chivalrous like a knight in shining fucking armor, I managed to get my ass right in the middle of this mess. A cop associated with a mafia princess might as well walk around with a big, red flashing sign over his head saying, “Here I am. Kick my ass, fuckers.”
And why the hell had she acted that way? Like I was the one who did something to piss her off?
“Fuck!” I almost knocked a tray of shooters out of a waitress’s hands. “Shit, sorry.” I helped steady her and ignored the stare of death she shot me.
My sweeping gaze found Karina on the top floor. Antonio and Dante were already descending the stairs, and it was painfully obvious Antonio was extremely pissed off. And why wouldn’t he be? The first thing you learned in Mafia 101 was never to fraternize with the enemy, which in this case was Enzio Mancuso. And then there was that shitty rule of not having any kind of relations with a cop, and after what went down, I was pretty sure Antonio and Dante were under the impression there was something going on between me and Karina. Which there wasn’t…was there?
My gaze was glued to Karina as she made her way down the stairs. I knew I should let her leave, that I should back the hell off. But there was a very insistent idiot inside me who kept pushing me, gnawing at my goddamn spine to pursue her until I was buried balls deep inside her.
Everything about her triggered an uncontrollable animalistic urge in me to spread her legs and feel her pleasure gushing down my thighs. I wanted to make her shudder and scream. I wanted her clawing at my back as my cock forced her to come violently, until all she could see was fucking stars.
I pushed my hand through my hair and took a deep breath, trying to convey the message to my cock that now was not the time to stand at fucking attention. There was more important shit right now than creaming some Italian princess’s pussy.
I continued to watch Karina, my gaze moving to the exposed insides of her thighs as she took each step. The closer she got, the harder I got.
Seriously, I needed to focus. I needed to forget about this woman and the raging lust she managed to stir in my pants whenever she was near me. I needed to ignore this crazy, intense sexual attraction I had for her. But as she came within two feet of me, our eyes met, her dark irises telling me everything I was feeling was mutual.
Fuck this shit. I couldn’t let her go. I needed more of her.
I reached out and grabbed her wrist. It all happened so damn fast there was no time for her to fight the hold I had on her.
She yelped, and I dragged her behind me through the crowd, thinking I loved the way her hand felt in mine. Finally, we were around the corner out of sight, and the second her back hit the wall, her wild gaze locked onto mine. With one hand planted firmly against the wall above her shoulder, and the other hand gripping her elbow, I leaned in and brought my lips mere inches from hers.
“Mind telling me what’s going on between you and Mancuso?”
“There’s nothing to tell.”
“Judging by what just happened, I’d say that’s one hell of a lie.”
Her delicious-looking mouth turned up into a tiny grin. “Detective Stone, are you jealous?”
“No.” Yes.
She bit her bottom lip, and I was about three seconds away from losing my shit and fucking her right there against the damn concrete wall, giving a whole new meaning to kinky exhibitionism.
Karina arched her back, bringing her chest closer to me, and not even God himself could stop my gaze from dropping to her cleavage. Two full, round, beautiful pieces of flesh pushed up from her dress, giving me a glimpse of what lay hidden beneath. Now I was the one biting my lip, since I couldn’t help thinking what it would feel like to push my cock through that slit between her tits.
“You’re staring.” She stated the obvious.
“I am.”
“At my breasts.”
“Yes.” I didn’t even try to deny it. She could have punched me in the face for my brutal honesty, but I didn’t care. It would so be worth it.
“Lorik?”
I tore my gaze away from those glorious globes of perfection, and her dark chocolate eyes locked onto mine. “What are you doing, Lorik?”
“You know what I’m doing.”
“You should stop.”
“Why?”
She let out a breath. “Because it’s wrong.”
“Says who?”
“Says me.”
I dropped my hand to her hip and squeezed slightly. “Karina, you can’t tell me you don’t feel it too.”
She lifted her chin. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I tightened my grip some more. “So, your pulse isn’t racing right now with me standing this close to you?”
“No.” She swallowed. Liar.
I slowly dragged my hand from the curve of her hip, up the side of her body. I felt the way she trembled under my touch. “Tell me your body isn’t screaming for me to touch you right now.”
“You are touching me,” she replied softly.
“I am. But you and I both know this isn’t the only way you want me to touch you.” I pressed my cheek against hers as I brought my lips to her ear. The sound of her labored breathing filled my ears, the warmth flitting across my neck. “Tell me, Karina. Tell me how you want to be touched.”
Her entire body shuddered against mine, and I wished we weren’t surrounded by people, because I’d make her scream and moan along with all that shuddering.
Karina moved her cheek against mine, and it was my turn to shudder as the soft feel of her skin made me want to lose all control.
“Why don’t you tell me how you want to touch me, Detective?” Her lips brushed against my ear. Good God, it was like a hurricane collided with a tornado, storming through my insides as I envisioned myself touching her exactly the way I wanted to, the way I needed to.
Without giving it a second’s thought, I grabbed her hands and pinned them harshly against the wall above her head. The music was pulsing, people dancing and singing, the smell of sweat and sex swirling around us, causing the sexual desire between us to skyrocket.
She looked up at me, and I swore to God I felt her hips move. It was the slightest of movements, but I felt it nonetheless, and it was enough to make me groan in the back of my throat.
I rolled my hips, giving her the smallest feel of what I knew her body craved. “Once I start, there’s not an inch of this perfect body of yours that will remain untouched.” And that was the God’s honest truth. I wanted to experience every bit of her, feel every part of her body against mine.
Taking both her wrists in one hand, I glided the other down her side until I felt the curve of her hip. “I want to touch you until you beg me to stop because your body can’t handle the burn anymore.”
The softest of moans rolled over her lips and across my earlobe. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Karina? For me to set your body on fire?”
She pushed her chest harder against mine, her breasts firmly pressed against me. Her lips moved against my cheek as she said, “My body is already on fire, Detective.”
Jesus Christ. My hand slipped over her hip and down her ass. A deep, guttural moan escaped me when I dug my fingers into her flesh, pushing her harder against my now raging hard-on.
“Let me have you, Karina.” It was a goddamn plea. I’d happily go on my fucking knees if it meant I could spread her goddamn legs.
I let go of her wrists, wanting to cup her other firm ass cheek, needing to push her harder against me. Her hands fell to my shoulders, and she slowly weaved her fingers through my hair at the back of my neck. Every inch of my body was electrified, ready to consume this woman in every way imaginable.
Both of us were breathing rapidly, and I almost lifted her off her feet as I gripped her ass harder, tighter between my fingers. We were both already lost—lost in the moment, lost in each other. The harder I pressed against her, the tighter she gripped my hair. I couldn’t stop myself from moving my hips, grinding my cock against her, wishing we were naked. Dry humping was never my style.
“Lorik,” she said softly against my cheek, but it sounded more like a moan.
“I want you, Karina. I want you so bad it’s almost impossible to fucking breathe right now.” I leaned back, ready to finally taste her. To feel her lips against mine as I claimed her mouth with vehement strokes of my tongue. I didn’t even care that Enzio and Antonio were nearby. All I cared about was her, feeling her, having her, claiming her—fucking caging her.
I wanted her.
I needed her.
I craved her.
And I would fucking have her.
She lifted her chin, and I leaned down, ready to have my first taste of Karina Valenti. So close, I could feel her warm breath against my wet lips.
She paused, our lips barely touching. “We can’t do this,” she whispered, and I suddenly had an overwhelming urge to throw her over my shoulder, spank her, and kidnap her to a place where I could be buried inside her twenty-four-seven.
Karina placed her hands on my chest and looked down. “I can’t do this with you, Lorik. Not with you.”
Motherfucker! Goddammit!
Shit!
“Karina.”
She nudged lightly against my chest. “I’m sorry. I have to go.” Then she slipped away, leaving me to rest my head against the cold, hard wall.
Jesus Christ. I could hardly catch my goddamn breath, leaning like a loser against the wall with an aching cock the size of fucking Japan. What in the name of ever-loving fuck just happened? I totally lost it. I completely lost myself…in her. It was insane, it was stupid, it was reckless…and it sure as hell needed to happen again.
When I finally managed to grab a shred of control, I turned and took a deep breath. That was when I saw him—Enzio Mancuso standing a few feet away, looking freaky as shit while he stared at me. Did he see what happened between Karina and me? How long had he been standing there in the shadows like a fucking vampire?
An epic stare-off took place between us for what seemed like ages before he finally shot me an arrogant grin and walked off.
Whatever the fuck that was, it sure as shit wasn’t good.