Chapter 3
Three weeks later…
THE ONLY WAY XAVIER thought he’d be able to get Cali out of his mind had been to take a business trip. After the awards ceremony, he sent her back in the limo, telling her something came up, and he had to cover a story. It wasn’t a total lie, but he didn’t trust himself around her, and after seeing her reaction to Thompson, going to bed with her seemed wrong.
No matter how much he wanted it.
He’d spent almost twenty days hiding out in the city, researching Thompson and finding a few things he didn’t like.
Specifically, more images of him and Cali. Only two, but one was too many.
Both pictures had been taken at the family restaurant. One was of her and her parents with Thompson and a man named Lewis Valle who also worked for the Costello’s in their legal department. That sparked a different kind of interest in Cali’s choice of careers and how she planned on using her degree as a criminal lawyer.
Or how the Costello’s planned on using her expertise.
One past employee of Infidelity, who had been terminated after the respective client had decided they weren’t compatible, had been Valle’s niece, who also had ties to the Costello family. Xavier had stumbled onto that information, but the ex-employee wouldn’t talk, and the client was in a relationship, which Xavier suspected had been his second chance with Infidelity.
It all came back to what the hell was a mob family using a dating service for?
And that was the hardest part. Infidelity was so exclusive that Xavier had a hard time finding anyone willing to discuss the ins and outs. Now that he was using the service himself, he saw why. It all worked because of the confidentiality.
And really, the story wasn’t the dating service, it was the current mob structure and taking down an organization that on the outside, seemed like a social club, not a gang of criminals.
Inserting the key into the house in Montauk, he stepped into the foyer. “Cali?” he called.
“In the kitchen.” Her voice floated across the room like hot fudge dripping off a spoon, all sweet and gooey. It made total sense to him for any person inside the mafia to become clients of Infidelity to find companionship. They could pick their companion and had total control, but he couldn’t figure out why they’d become employees since in that scenario, they couldn’t choose who they were paired with. So, what was their end game?
He inhaled, catching the thick scent of meat sizzling under the broiler. “Smells great in here.” He set his backpack on the breakfast bar.
“You said you’d be home at six, so I thought I’d cook you dinner.” She pointed to a carafe of red wine. “I hope you don’t mind, I’ve been helping myself.”
“Of course not. Did I leave you enough money while I was gone?”
“Plenty,” she said with a smile as wide as the sun.
“I hope you used the Jeep to get out of the house. The weather was unseasonably warm this last week.”
“I went to visit my parents for a day. Hope that was okay.”
“Of course,” he said with a frown. “We have an agreement for companionship, not for me to hold you hostage.”
“I didn’t mean to imply that you were.” She raised her glass, her rosy lips curling over the edge as the wine flowed into her mouth like the soft movement of the river on a still day.
He stepped around the counter, taking the glass from her hand, inhaling both her fresh, ocean-breeze scent mixed with the full-bodied cabernet. Staring deep into her almond-speckled, gold eyes, they held him captive in a world he had no idea existed. It was if she’d cast a spell on him, and he couldn’t turn away even if he wanted to.
Setting the glass on the counter, he tipped her chin with his thumb. “I missed you.”
“Really?”
He nodded, pressing his thumb over her lower lip. “I’m sorry I had to send you home alone. I was really looking forward to that limo ride.” Looping his free arm around her waist, he heaved her to his chest, pressing his knee between her legs. His thigh took the brunt of her heat, and it blinded him with lust.
“I thought about you every morning when I woke up and every night before I went to bed.” His body demanded her naked skin. His mind wanted to understand her dealings with a mob family. His heart wanted to turn his brain off and open up to something new and exciting. Something that went beyond companionship and waffled on true love.
He decided for this moment in time, his body would win, closing off the rest. They were two grown-ups, who’d entered an agreement knowing that sex, if they were indeed compatible, would most likely be part of the equation. If he wasn’t using her for a story, that would ease his conscience.
But it didn’t stop him from tracing a finger from her cute chin, down her soft neck, to the top button of her blouse.
“Your text messages made that clear,” she whispered, licking her lips.
Quickly, he unfastened the first three buttons, her chest heaving with every choppy breath she took. Her areola peeked out of the top of her bra. He traced a finger over the top, his muscles tightening as goosebumps lined her skin. The heat in the kitchen no longer belonged to the food in the oven, but the woman in his arms.
“Perfect,” he murmured, kneading her breasts until both nipples pushed out of the top of her lacy bra.
Her back arched, raising the tight nubs as he lowered his head, his tongue meeting her flesh cause an electric pulse.
She moaned as he sucked her into his mouth, his other finger toying, twisting, plucking, and pinching. Her body writhing underneath his, grinding against his thigh, burning him through the fabric of their clothes.
He inched back, making just enough room for him to rip open her jeans and yank them over her hips, cupping her, feeling her wet heat against his palm, his finger finding her hard nub.
“What about dinner?” she said behind a breathy moan.
“I want dessert first.” He lifted her, planting her bare ass on the counter as he tossed her jeans and panties across the kitchen. His gaze roamed between his fingers disappearing inside her and her sweet face as she bit down on her lip. Her eyelids lowered over her desire-filled gaze.
She rested her heels on his shoulders, letting her legs fall open, exposing her glistening womanhood. Her hands clasped her breasts, nipples between her forefingers and thumbs, her hips jaunting upward, catching the tip of his tongue, her sweet juices coating him like butter melting in a skillet.
Burying his head between her legs, he licked, kissed, and touched in a frenzy, anxious to make her climax with his mouth. Never before had a woman’s orgasm meant so much to him. Not that they didn’t, but he could never be satisfied unless she was first.
“Oh…yes…” she ran her hand over his buzzed head, pushing gently and spreading her legs wider.
He dove deeper.
Harder.
Faster.
His tongue circled over her, his teeth nipping. His mouth sucked, while his fingers glided in, twisting and curling inside her, finding that exact spot that made her heels push against him and her hips roll.
Her thighs crashed into his cheeks as her body jerked.
“Xavier,” she yelled, moaning and groaning as her body pitched back and forth, shuddering from the purest delight.
He couldn’t help but be proud of how she’d reacted to his touch. How she tasted on his tongue. How she continued to roll her hips, demanding more.
Sliding her off the counter, he turned her around, bending her over while he found his wallet, a condom, and kicked his pants to the side.
“Again,” she whispered, wiggling against him, her white blouse dangling off her shoulders. “Now.” She reached behind her, grabbing his hip with one hand, tugging him forward. “Please. Now.”
He groaned as he slowly entered her with one tight stroke, stretching her, watching her lure him deep inside.
“Cali,” he said as his eyes rolled to the back of his head, her body clenching over his lenght, and her hips rocking back into him.
She gripped the counter with one hand, while the other reached between them, gliding between his shaft and herself as he dove in and out with controlled motion, though he knew he wouldn’t be able to keep the pace deliberate much longer. His resolve was about to snap into a frenzy of blinding passion. He grit his teeth. His muscles tensed, and his toes curled.
Unable to restrain himself any longer, he slammed into her so hard their bodies smacked against the counter.
She groaned.
“Did I hurt you?”
“God, no,” she said with a throaty moan. “I’m right on the edge. Take me there.”
“I want to see your face when I do this time.” He also needed a few minutes to collect himself and maybe make it last a few seconds longer. Turning her, he lifted her off the floor and carried her to the kitchen table where he sat down, letting her straddle him.
She wasted no time taking him, squeezing her insides tight as she swayed back and forth on his lap. With her hands on his shoulders, she arched her back. “Oh…ahh….yes!” She jerked forward, dropping her head to his shoulder as he pumped himself inside her with no control at all.
“Yes, yes, yes,” she whispered in his ear, her hot juices coating him like warm suntan oil.
He stretched his legs out, his toes pointing down as he held her hips while he spilled out violently into her body, the chair shaking with their combined climax.
“Jesus,” he said, trying to catch his breath, but the air scorched his lungs. He blinked, but nothing in the room came into focus. “You’ve blinded me.”
She laughed into his neck. “I hope it’s temporary so maybe we can do this again.”
“Me too. On both accounts. I like watching your face when you call out my name.”
She relaxed into his body as he ran his hands up and down her back. Mind-blowing sex was one thing, but this had stolen his ability to think and he’d never want another woman again.
God, she was going to hate him when this was all said and done.