“Samuel. I want to talk to Samuel.”
His eyes narrowed briefly before they traveled the length of me. “What do I get in return for allowing you to talk to him?”
“I’m not a whore,” I snapped. “I won’t give you that in return for a call.”
Remo approached slowly, like a predator. “You will give it to me for free?”
“Hell will freeze over before that happens.”
He backed me into the wall. The violent vibe he gave off was even stronger than usual, and it was starting to make me nervous. I wasn’t sure what had him on edge like that, but I knew to be wary.
“Isn’t your brother worth a kiss?” he taunted.
“My brother wouldn’t want me to give away a kiss for him.”
“You already gave away your first kiss, Angel. What do a few more matter?” His dark eyes raked over my face until they lingered on my lips.
I scowled. “One kiss and you’ll let me talk to my brother? Tomorrow?”
“One kiss,” he agreed with a dark smile.
I pushed to my tiptoes, gripped his neck to pull him further down, and smashed my lips against his for a second before drawing back. “There you go. One kiss.”
Remo shook his head, his face still close to mine. “That wasn’t a kiss.”
“You didn’t stipulate the details of the kiss. I kissed you. Now fulfill your part of the bargain.”
Remo cupped my face, caging me in with his body. “I showed you what I consider a kiss. I won’t settle for less.”
I glowered, but trying to stare Remo down was a ridiculous notion.
“Not brave enough?” he murmured.
I shivered at the low vibrato of his voice. Gripping his shirt, I tugged him down violently. Our mouth clashed but Remo held himself still, waiting for me to make the next move, daring me to do it. With a burst of indignation, my tongue nudged his lips and despite the heat rising into my cheeks, I held his dark gaze. My moment of control was ripped from me the second Remo deepened the kiss. He took the lead, demanded with his mouth and tongue for me to surrender. I had trouble keeping up. His scent and heat sucked me in, made my body spring to life in the most terrifying way possible.
Remo’s hand touched my waist and then it moved up, closer to my breast. My reaction was instinctual, instilled by defense training with Samuel; I jerked my knee up. Remo’s reaction was quick, his hand shooting down, but the momentum still made my knee graze his groin. He growled and I stilled, frozen with fear because of the look in his eyes. He breathed harshly, his gaze burning me with its intensity. Yet a flicker of relief filled me because I doubted I’d have found the strength to end the kiss.
“You shouldn’t touch someone without their explicit permission or they might try to defend themselves,” I said, because obviously I didn’t know when to shut up.
“I don’t ask permission for anything,” Remo said sharply.
Despite my hands trembling, I pressed my palms against Remo’s chest and pushed. He didn’t budge, cocking one dark eyebrow. I held his gaze, and he took a deliberate step back, finally letting me free. My eyes darted down to his hands, curled to white-knuckled fists at his side then back up to his face. I shivered at the harshness of his expression and without thinking about it, I looked away and walked toward the window, bringing space between us.
He followed and his breath fanned over my ear as he leaned down. “I’d better leave now. Tonight isn’t a good time to be around you. Goodnight, Angel.”
His fingers brushed my hair away, and he pressed a kiss to the side of my neck, the tender spot between my shoulder and throat, making me jump in surprise. I clapped a hand over the spot, stunned by the tingling.
The door closed with a soft click then the lock turned. I shuddered out a breath and braced myself against the windowsill. Would Remo allow me to talk to Sam now? I should have asked, but I had been too overwhelmed by Remo’s presence.
This game was getting dangerous in more than one sense. The only question was who would lose control of it first?
REMO
I stayed in front of Serafina’s door, fingers clutching the handle in a death grip. I had half a mind to walk back in and see how much else I could coerce from Serafina with her brother, but I resisted the urge. Taking a deep breath, I leaned my forehead against the wood. That was how Nino found me.
I saw his legs out of the corner of my eye, and even without looking up, I could imagine the analyzing expression he was giving me. “How did things go with Adamo and Harper?”
I straightened and as predicted, Nino was regarding me with that quiet scrutiny that drove me up the wall. “Dante called. He wants another word with you. He seems to be losing his patience,” he said.
“He won’t risk an attack, not if it means I could kill Serafina.”
Nino inclined his head. “Still ... we should start making demands.”
“Maybe you’re right. Think of some ridiculous demand he won’t possibly agree to; I’m not done playing yet. Ask him for Indianapolis or Minneapolis. I don’t care.”
A muscle in Nino’s jaw tightened, a clear sign of his annoyance with me. “Alright. I’ll send him a message.”
“Tell him that I’m allowing Serafina a video chat with her brother tomorrow. He better be ready at eight a.m.”
“You’re cutting it close. Adamo’s initiation starts at eleven.”
“Enough time,” I said then frowned. “You didn’t tell me what happened with Harper.”
“As expected, she used Adamo to supply her with drugs. The moment he told her he couldn’t give her anything, she dropped him and admitted to fucking around with that other guy. Adamo is crushed. He takes these things too personal.”
“Is he angry?”
“Angry at Mason, not at the girl.”
I smiled. “That’s enough. We still need someone Adamo can deal with tomorrow. Tell Fabiano I want him to bring Mason to the initiation.”
Nino looked thoughtful. “Maybe it’ll work. Jealousy and a broken heart are good motivators for brutal acts.”
“Where is he?”
“Outside, smoking. I allowed him one cigarette.”
“I’ll go talk to him.”
“I’m not sure he’s the best dialogue partner at the moment.”
“Nor am I.”
“That’s the problem,” Nino said with a twisted smile.
“Go fuck your wife and stop pissing me off.”
“You haven’t been to the Sugar Trap since you brought Serafina here.”
I sighed. “Maybe I’m not in the mood for whore pussy. I’m taking a few celibate days.”
“You haven’t done that since you started fucking.”
“Stop analyzing everything, Nino,” I growled and stalked off before I punched him.
I found Adamo on a lounge chair beside the pool, scowling into the dark, the cigarette dangling from his mouth giving his face an eerie glow. He didn’t look up when I sank down beside him.
He took a deep drag of his cigarette, and it took every ounce of my almost non-existent control to not rip the fucking thing out of his mouth.
“I hate it,” he muttered.
“Hate what?”
“Hate that with our last name people always want something from us.”
“You shouldn’t have tried to make friends by giving them drugs,” I said. “We’re not Santa Claus. We’re selling the shit, not handing it out for free, and we never fucking take the shit ourselves.”
“When will people ever like me for myself and not for what I can give them? They only see my name. That’s all they care about.”
“You’ve got people who care about you,” I said roughly.
Adamo glanced at me.
“You’ve cost me millions so far with the cars you crashed and the drugs you let disappear. What would I do to anyone who stole something from me?”
“You’d torture and kill them,” Adamo said quietly.
“I would and have.” I paused. “But here you are, safe and sound, and you know you will remain that way until the day I take my last fucking breath.”
Adamo lowered his head.
“Tomorrow you’re going to swear loyalty to the Camorra. You will take the oath and the tattoo,” I ordered.
“I don’t give a fuck about the Camorra,” Adamo whispered, and my anger rose, but then he spoke up again. “But I will swear loyalty to you because even if I hate what you, Nino, and Savio do, you are my family.”
I straightened up then looked down at my brother for another moment. “Don’t waste your energy on another thought of that girl. She’s worthless. There are many more girls out there. She used you. Maybe now you’ll start using them as well.”
Adamo frowned. “I can’t help how I feel.” He swallowed audibly. “She’s been fucking him the entire time.”
“So what? You fucked her. He fucked her. You move on.”
“I didn’t,” he said quietly. “We didn’t get that far.”
“Please tell me she at least gave you head,” I muttered.
Embarrassment flashed across Adamo’s face. I sank back down.
“Can I ask you a question?” he said quietly.
I had a feeling this was turning into the sex talk I’d avoided with Savio by throwing him a freebie with two whores; he gladly accepted.