Mafia's Devil part 12

I stare at Luciano from the bed for a long time. All he does is focus on that beloved phone of his to avoid me.

After some time of scanning the side of his face— a side that is unfortunately very good looking, I rise from the bed and enter the adjoined bathroom.

I make sure to leave the door adjoined to set Luciano’s frustration on fire. I know he would never come in, but I’m forcing him to think of what he’s missing out on.

Once I’m done washing the night away, I dry myself and put Luciano’s shirt on. He ripped three of the bottom buttons, so he made the situation worse for himself by making me show more skin.

When I walk out of the bathroom, he finally looks away from that phone and meets my eyes. He doesn’t give me enough time to analyze his expression because he’s gone that quickly. He hauls ass off the couch and leaves the suite— shirtless, and pissed.

I don’t know where he goes, but he disappears for hours. At two in the morning, I lose the fight to sleep. I lay on the corner of the bed closest to the door, and I sleep until late in the morning.

When I crack my eyes open, I immediately look at the couch. Luciano is there, but he’s not sleeping. I don’t think men like him ever display a state of vulnerability.

He’s dressed in fresh clothes and sitting with his hands palming his thighs. His sharp eyes are staring at mine, beckoning me into a staring competition I didn’t sign up for.

“Geez, looks like someone saw Twilight,” I grumble as I sit up.

“What nonsense are you spewing now?”

“You were staring at me.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. Change your clothes and get in a taxi. It’s time for you to go home.”

I purse my sassy lips, remembering that I’m supposed to be a gentle dove.

“Thank you again for taking care of me.”

“You’ve said that a million times already. Stop it,” he growls. The surly idiot acts like I’m insulting his mother by thanking him.

I raise an eyebrow. “Do you want me to say screw you, then?”

He actually looks relieved by the insult.

“Change and go home. I’ve paid for the suite already. Order food or whatever, and they’ll put it on my card. There’s cash on the nightstand. Goodbye.”

He stands and goes for the door. This time, I know I’ve kept him too long, so I don’t push my luck. He leaves after giving me a glance, but although I know that glance was final, things between us are far from over.

I change into the simple t-shirt, jeans, and underwear I find on a chair. Everything is the right size.

After brushing my teeth with a spare toothbrush, I pocket the three-hundred dollars Luciano left behind. It’s a small start. I will eventually have all of his money. All of his pride.

Outside of the hotel, there is no hint of Luciano. I haul a cab and head home. There’s a lot of planning I have to do, but first, I need to replace my lost cellphone.

When the taxi pulls up to my house, I enter it and look for my father. It’s not odd of me to sleep over at Manny’s or at another friend’s place, so I doubt my father found my absence strange.

“Dad?”

There’s no answer, so he’s not home.

After taking care of my cellphone, I jump into another shower and email Manny asking how she’s doing. She promptly replies with:

Email? Seriously, you weirdo? I think even the Pope knows what texting is these days.

P.S The Medieval times called and wants you back. 

I roll my eyes and reply:

I lost my phone. 

She emails back:

What happens when you lose your laptop? Are you sending me a messenger pigeon?

I chuckle and close my laptop. It looks like Manny is alive and well and still terrorising her friends with her teasing.

She would be over the moon if she knew I spent a night with Luciano, but I can’t tell her because it would raise too many questions. I will never reveal my background to her or the criminal connection I have with Luciano. She’s an innocent girl, and I can’t change her world with my truth. It’s hard for regular citizens to befriend daughters of gun traffickers.

Since my thoughts shift to Luciano, I think of how to approach him and toxically reel him in more. The only idea that comes is showing up at the club again. He won’t like that; not after what went down inside. It would be a good hook to drag him back to my side and activate those night-in-shining-armor reflexes.

I’ll roll the plan out in two days, so Luciano has some time to process what last happened.

As I wait, I follow up on some paperwork with my restaurant. The arson ruined most of the property, spreading so fast that the firefighters didn’t stand a chance. My seventeen employees are all out of a job, but I’ve worked with acquaintances that own other restaurants to get them hired. It hurts to see my staff work under a different restaurant’s roof, but I know it’s irrational to want them to wait for my restaurant to be rebuilt. The legal proceedings and the reconstruction will take long months.

I clean up my closet and discover a world of plain T-shirts and high-waisted pants. I’m so colourful in the kitchen, but dull in fashion. I need to bring this closet back from the dead to grab Luciano’s eye.

Two days later, I’m a thousand dollars poorer and ready to be a clown at a kid’s birthday party. My closet is bursting with so many colours that it looks like a Skittles factory.

After choosing a yellow sundress, I take my purse and head out.

“Where are you going, sweetheart?” My dad asks when we cross in the hallway.

To the Lion’s Den.

“To have some fun. I’ll be back later.”

“Okay. Be safe.”

My dad would blow a gasket if he knew I’m diving right into danger.

It’s evening now, so the club will probably be empty. I wonder what Luciano is up to now? Whatever it is, he’ll drop it to run to me.

I take a short ride to the club and walk inside.

“Hi,” I call out to a semi-important looking guy. “I need to speak with Luciano, please. I don’t have his phone number.”

“You can’t just request to meet the boss, lady. It doesn’t work that way.”

Another guy pulls up behind him. “You’re the girl from a few nights ago,” he assesses.

Guilty as charged.

“Yeah. I need to speak to Luciano urgently, please.”

“Call the boss for her.”

“But—“ the other guy protests.

“Now!”

Fifteen minutes later, I’m sitting in a restricted booth and sipping on a beer when wheels squeal outside. I look at the entrance and stand when Luciano charges inside.

“I told you to stay away!” He snarls, turning heads of his employees left and right. Something trickles by the leg of the janitor, but I’m not sure if that’s from the mop or because he pissed himself.

Luciano takes my upper arm and begins dragging me outside. I struggle to keep up with him, so he lifts me by the hips and carries me across the club, past the door, and outside. He sets my feet back on the pavement, but he doesn’t take his hands away. To meet me face-to-face, he bends at the waist.

“You’re always looking for trouble, Karine. You need to stop looking, because you know that you’ll fucking find it with me.”

I purposefully drop my eyes to his lips and stare at them before meeting his intense eyes again. It’s a little tease I know sets him on fire.

“I wanted the footage from that night in the club. I didn’t know how to reach you, so I had to come here.”

“Damn you,” he squeezes my hips, and I falter forward so our chests press against one another. “I was in the middle of an important fucking trade with the Mexicans, and had to rush here to deal with you. Give me your phone!”

I pull my hands from his chest and fuss with my purse to retrieve my cellphone. I unlock it and give it to him.

Luciano pounds a number in.

“Don’t show up in my territory uninvited or…” he stops.

Things are hot between us, and not only because my bra-less chest is pressed against his. There’s an undercurrent that’s brewing. He isn’t just feeling anger or annoyance anymore. There’s lust. I’m feeling the same lust take me, and I need to hop out of the pot before I’m boiled alive.

I’ll hop out later. I’ll deal with the consequences later, because my impulse always controls me.

That’s why I’m not surprised when I hear the words, “or what?” Leave my lips. “What will yo—“

He squeezes my hips tighter, and robs me of speech with brutal hard lips that seal my mouth shut but open my eyes wide. Luciano is kissing me in the middle of the sidewalk. There’s no tongue, no teeth, just a metallic press; a seal that shuts my rumbling emotions air-tight inside of me.

“I’ll ruin you, Kuznetsov. Don’t play with me.” He whispers those words softly against my lips, and I fall hard onto the pavement when he turns and releases me.

I remain sitting on the pavement, my pretty sundress rumbled around me and Luciano's number on my phone screen.

I think I’m in way over my head.