Chapter 39

Michael

After calming down enough after the check that was made to look like it came from Sal, I went looking for Rainey to apologize. I rarely apologized to anyone, but I knew I’d fucked up. We’d had a great time together at dinner and dancing. If only I hadn’t gone off to Rachel to see about the donations. I should have stayed with Rainey and enjoyed the rest of the evening, but I hadn’t. And it wasn’t her fault that I was caught up in the drama around Sal.

I’d looked everywhere for her, and when I did find her, the single act of seeing her again had brought back the amazing memories from earlier. I didn’t want them to end. In a way, she distracted me from my life. And she looked beautiful in that dress I’d purchased for her. And I wanted to take it off of her. This was the perfect night to show her how I felt. And I knew she felt something for me too. She wasn’t the type of girl to make the first move, so I promised myself to take it slow until she was ready.

When we got into the limousine, Rainey barely gave me a chance to pop open the champagne before she kissed me. She surprised me with her gusto. I expected I’d have to woo her with champagne and sweet talk, which was all well and good but we’d been further than kissing before. It was as if she wanted to pick up where we left off as much as I did.

I reached for the panel on my door to lift the security screen to block Constantine. Even if Rainey didn’t care that we were in a car with a driver, I wanted to give her the privacy she deserved. I knew once we got started, I wouldn’t be able to stop touching her.

The movement of the limo shifted my body, and I pinned her to the seat. Her tongue shot into my mouth, and I moaned into hers. The taste of Rainey’s kisses made my dick hard. I wanted her so badly I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to wait until we got to our destination.

Her hand moved over mine, and she pulled it up to cup her breast. I gently squeezed it, and she sucked in a breath. Her nipple perked up under my touch. She fit perfectly in my hands. I cupped her ass and quickly twisted our bodies until she was on top of me. She let out a little squeak of surprise, but I muffled it with my mouth.

She ran her fingers through my hair, and the feeling was exquisite.

She rubbed herself against me, and I bucked my hips up so she could feel how ready I was for her.

She let out a little gasp when she felt the hardness between my legs. She stroked her hand over me, and my eyes fluttered open.

She trapped her bottom lip under her teeth as she stroked. My hands moved up her smooth legs, brushing the fabric away. My thumbs brushed over her lace panties. Had I bought those for her too? The thought made me even harder.

I brought her closer to me and moved her hips against me. My head fell back against the seat, and I felt a dampness between my thighs. I touched her again and realized how wet she was for me.

The overwhelming need to fuck her right then and there consumed me, but I was able to fight it off. I had to stop her before it went too far.

“Rainey,” I said, pulling away. “We can’t do this here.” Well, we could, but I wanted to properly fuck her somewhere other than a moving car.

She frowned and I quickly kissed it away. My lips lingered on hers for a moment before I drew back. “I want to do this. So badly. Just not in a car. Do you want to go home or to my place?”

“Your place,” she said quickly then kissed me again.

Never in my life was I happier to get home. We were dancing close to the line of no return, and I wanted to rip her dress off without my driver present.

As Constantine pulled the car to the curb, it took all my effort to tear myself away from Rainey.

I admired her face. Her lipstick was nonexistent, and I wondered how much of it was on my face. Her hair had come free from the style she had earlier in the night. But she looked positively radiant. I kissed her again before I opened the door.

Once I was on the curb, I reached down to take her hand, but movement in my peripheral caught my eye. I turned and came face to face with two burly men. One had a tight buzz cut, and the other was bald. The thugs that had question Natalia chose tonight of all nights to come after me.

“Mr. Carrington, we need to chat,” one of them said.

Of course, they did. I was at my most vulnerable moment. They must have been the ones to give me the warning at the party. I’d been a fool to think they would show their faces as such a populated event. And they had followed me home to confront me. The act was intrusive and extremely unwelcome. My hackles rose, and all thoughts of Rainey turned from erotic to protective.

“Stay in the car,” I said to Rainey and pressed down on the button for the security screen.

“What’s going on?” Rainey asked, trying to peer around me to see.

I ignored her question. Constantine turned around in his seat.

“Both of you are to stay in the car until I say so,” I said.

“Yes, sir,” he said with a nod.

“Michael—” Rainey protested.

“Please,” I said firmly. I didn’t have time for her fighting spirit. I didn’t want the thugs to know anything about her in case they needed leverage for whatever they planned on doing to exact their revenge on Sal’s death.

She rubbed her hand across her chest. “Be safe.”

“Always,” I said and then closed the door. The lock clicked, and I silently thanked Constantine for his forethought. I hoped the men wouldn’t try anything but preparation was critical in our situation. I had to have the upper hand somehow.

Even though it was a late hour, these thugs couldn’t be foolish enough to do anything. There were enough people around to witness whatever act might happen. And since they had been discreet so far, I didn’t want to give them a reason to change. I hoped it would be a quick conversation and they would move on. Though I doubted I’d be so lucky.

I walked closer to the front door of my building. I wouldn’t dare let them inside, but I also didn’t want Rainey to hear the conversation we were about to have. They slowly followed me, standing between the limo and me. Their bravado wasn’t getting them far. I’d dealt with far worse in the past. Granted, I wasn’t alone at the time.

“What can I do for you gentlemen?” I asked, wanting them to get to the point.

Baldy wiped at his nose with his thumb. “I think you know why we’re here.” His thick New York accent pronounced “think” as “tink.”

“Listen,” I said, digging my hands into my pockets. Rainey still had my coat, and I wasn’t going to show any weakness around these guys. “I think you have the wrong person. I’m a businessman and rarely come into contact with people like you.”

Buzz Cut snorted. “You’re a wise guy, eh? Well, we have evidence of you working with a pal of ours. Sal Rossi?”

“If this is about his death,” I said. “I’ve already spoken to the police about it. If you need closure, I suggest you take it up with them.”

“We’re taking this up with you,” Baldy said, thrusting his finger at me. “You have a lot of connections with the people we’ve been questioning. That chick, Natalie and her husband.”

I didn’t correct his mispronunciation of her name. I hoped they were done with her because they wouldn’t find her in the state anytime soon.

I stared at his finger and wished he’d hit me. It would give me a reason to knock his ass onto the ground. My hands fisted in my pockets.

“We want to know about your brother and his whereabouts,” Buzz Cut said.

“If you found me, you must be able to find him,” I said. Though with Frederick in Colorado, they wouldn’t be finding him anytime soon.

The two shared a look.

Frederick had enough staff to take these two down in seconds. I guessed that’s why they came to me in the middle of the night and Natalia when she was alone at home. They were bullies and cowards at best.

“I haven’t spoken to my brother in months,” I lied. If anything, I’d be able to confirm they were following me from Kadia that night. I knew I wasn’t paranoid. I only needed them to say the words.

“We know that’s not true,” Baldy said. “But I can also see that you’re not willing to cooperate.”

“If there were something to cooperate with, I would,” I said. “Like I said, I had nothing to do with Sal’s death. You’re fishing in the wrong pond.”

Buzz Cut stepped closer to me, and I lifted my chin. “Our boss isn’t very happy about being cut out of his investment. And he wants answers.”

“Gentlemen,” I said with a steady voice. “Sal Rossi was a client of mine. That’s all. Whatever business dealings he had elsewhere has nothing to do with me or my brother.”

“They do when Sal showed up dead right before the deal was to be signed,” Baldy said. “And with your brother as his biggest competitor, it seems a bit fishy.”

Damn it, Demetri. What the hell had he gotten us into? I kept my poker face, though. I wouldn’t give these guys anything to pounce on. I needed to protect my family.

“That’s what I thought,” Buzz Cut said.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t have to,” Baldy said. “You should tell your brother and Demetri we’ll be in touch soon.”

I had no idea why they were going from Natalia to me, instead of going right to the source. What was the bigger plan here?

“And, uh, nice building you got here,” Baldy said. “Too bad if something happened to it.”

I rolled my eyes at his threat, and Buzz Cut smirked. “Or that pretty lady you have in the car.”

I let out a sharp breath. He’d hit the wrong nerve with that comment. “Go ahead, threaten one more part of my life and see what happens.”

They made a show of putting their hands up in defense. “You’re awfully defensive for someone who has ties to a syndicate. We’ll be keeping an eye on you.”

They turned and started walking away. My breaths were coming out in big puffs of white steam around my head. I didn’t move until they rounded the corner. Those thugs had no idea who they were messing with. And once I got a name from Demetri about the other investor I promised myself I’d return the favor.

They had no right threatening Rainey. She was innocent in all of this. Apparently, they didn’t care as long as they got answers.

I fisted my shaking hands and took a steadying breath before going to the limo.

The top of the window was cracked, and I knew for a fact that she had heard everything.

I ground my teeth together. The thugs mentioned a lot of names to me, including confirming my ties with the syndicate. I had a feeling I had a lot to explain to Rainey. Or, I could continue what we started in the limo and fuck her so hard she’d forget all about this confrontation.