Dangerous Beauty: Part Two: A Mafia Princess (29 page)

The sensations were nearly overwhelming. “God yes, Nathan!” Carter could barely catch her breath. “P-please don’t stop!” She was sure she was going to pass out from sensory overload. “Feels … so … good.”

Nathan tossed one of her legs over his shoulder and sped up the pace of his fingers. Carter’s mouth opened in a silent cry, and her fingers gripped his hair. She was coming! God yes, she was coming!

Her orgasm was long and hard, intensifying when Nathan thrust his fingers deeper. She could barely hear anything over the sound of their breathing. Her hand slammed against the wall above her head as she cried, “Nathan, please don’t stop!” over and over again.

He didn’t stop. He continued his torture until another orgasm slammed her, making her scream at the top of her lungs. Then Nathan removed his fingers, gripped her ass, pressed her against his mouth, and thrust his tongue inside her. Her third orgasm sent a violent jolt of electricity shooting through her body.

Carter’s heavy breathing filled the closet as she tried to catch her breath. Nathan placed a soft kiss on her sex then looked up at her with feral lust in his eyes. He gave her another slow, lingering kiss, never taking his eyes from hers. His hands moved over her body possessively until they came into contact with her full breasts. The gentle squeeze he delivered made her moan.

“You’re so fucking sexy, Carterina.” His voice was deep and husky. “Do you still want to go to bed?”

A smile slowly spread across Carter’s face. “No,” she said softly. “I wanna play.”

Tomorrow was going to be stressful as hell, and she knew it. She didn’t want to make it come any faster by sleeping the night away.

She arched her leg, rubbing her inner thigh against his face. She remembered the role play idea he’d had the day before. “Do you want to play Nathan with a little extra cash?”

Nathan chuckled softly then growled when his face brushed against her mound again. “I have a better idea.” He felt her move her hips again, and he laughed. It made Carter’s entire body shiver. “You’re greedy,” he said as he gave her another quick kiss.

Carter moaned with delight at the contact.

“How about I go into the bedroom while you go put on that sexy little red lingerie set and red pumps I bought you on your birthday?”

Carter nodded her head. “And then what?” she asked.

Her hips moved involuntarily against his face again, and this time he responded. Nathan pressed his lips against her. He parted the lips of her sex with his tongue and sucked her into his mouth. Carter gasped and moved with him until he released, giving one last lick on her sensitive bundle of nerves.

He grunted and licked his lips while Carter tried to catch her breath. “I’ll be Nathan, the sinner. And you will be my sexy little devil in red,” he said with a sly smile. “I’m going to make you scream until you can’t scream any more, Carterina.”

As soon as he released her, Carter didn’t hesitate. She scrambled to her dresser in the back of the closet and did as he said. When she came back to the bedroom, Nathan was sitting on the bed waiting for her, looking so incredibly sexy. His shirt was unbuttoned, revealing his perfectly sculpted chest and that tattoo that still made Carter’s knees weak. His hair was tousled and messy, falling into his eyes and brushing his face. Carter licked her lips as she sauntered slowly across the room in her skimpy red teddy and high-heeled red pumps.

Nathan watched her move, his eyes glued to the gentle sway of her hips. Once she stood in front of him, the last bit of control he had broke. He lifted her body and threw her onto the bed. He quickly removed both of their clothes, leaving on only Carter’s enticing red pumps.

True to his word, he made Carter scream until her voice gave out and she couldn’t scream anymore. She clawed desperately at the sheets when her final orgasm hit her hard, rocking her entire body.

Nathan drove into her hard and rough until he finally let himself come. He pressed his face in the crook of her neck and let the orgasm take over his body. Streams and streams of his seed burst free, filling his wife’s womb. A string of Russian curse words escaped his lips as he frantically pumped into her, and her walls clamped tightly around him. The orgasm seemed to last forever before it finally subsided.

He collapsed on top of her, his body totally spent, fighting to catch his breath. Carter wrapped her arms around him and held him close to her. After a moment longer, Nathan rolled them both until she was positioned on top of him.

Carter rested comfortably on his chest as she released a satisfied sigh.

He ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her forehead. “You’re amazing,
мое красивое Роуз.
”

Carter kissed his chest softly. “So are you, Bubby.”

“I love you so much…”

She looked up at him with a dazzling smile. “I love you, too, Nathan.”

For a moment they just stared at one another. Nathan pushed her damp hair back from her sweat slicked forehead. “I want to talk to you about something, baby.”

Carter nodded. “Anything,” she said.

“I want you to take the lead in the family meeting tomorrow.”

Carter immediately frowned and shook her head. “Nathan, I can’t. Your father said—”

“You let me worry about my father. I want you to finish this tomorrow, Carter. It was you who suffered the most with this whole Mitchell thing, and you deserve to have the last word.” Nathan sat up on the bed and moved them until his back was against the headboard and she was straddling his lap. “Carter, you’re my wife. I want our men to respect and fear you just as much as they respect and fear me. My father will be handing everything over to me one day, and I need to make sure I have someone I can trust by my side. I’ve already placed the guys in their respected positions. They’ve all chosen to take their father’s places. But I didn’t have anyone by my side. I didn’t have a second in command— until I met you.”

“Nathan, I can’t,” Carter whispered.

Nathan placed his finger against her lips then caressed her face. “Yes, you can, Carterina. It’s our responsibility to maintain and build this organization. This is our legacy. This is what we will leave our children, our children’s children, and so on. We’re a team, baby. We will groom our children for leadership together, you and me. I want you by my side. I don’t want you in the background. That’s not where you belong. You’re too smart, too valuable, and too much of a bad-ass to be in the background.” He took her hands in his as he stared deeply into her eyes. “I love you, and I need you. Everything that used to be difficult for me became easy when you came into my life. You help me grow, you help me learn, and you keep me focused. I can’t run this family without you. I know this isn’t a question that husbands normally ask their wives, but we’re not normal, so here it goes— Carterina Anastacia Salerno, when I become the boss of the Salerno crime family, will you be my underboss?”

A smile spread big and bright across Carter’s face, and she hugged her husband tightly and laughed. “I’ll be whatever you need me to be, my handsome husband.” She kissed his cheek and cupped his face. “I’ll do anything for you. I don’t need a title. The only title that I care about is being your wife, and when the time comes, a mother to our children. I will build this empire with you, and fight with you to protect it, Nathan Salerno. I love you.” She placed soft kiss on his lips.

“You’re more than I could have ever dreamed for…” he whispered against her skin.

They kissed, feeling hopeful for their future together. Tomorrow didn’t matter anymore. It could bring whatever it wanted. Carter and Nathan knew they’d be ready for it— or so they thought.

Nathan and Carter walked into the conference room hand in hand and were immediately greeted by the guys.

“Aww, look at them,” Mickey teased. “Nathan looks like he got laid—”

Lucca slapped Mickey in the back of the head. “Shut up, Mickey. Sorry, guys,” he said to them with an apologetic smile. “Mickey’s a dumb-ass. What he meant to say is it looks like everything’s back to normal with you two.”

“What makes you think things weren’t normal?” Nathan asked.

Lucca smirked. “For one, you two weren’t talking.”

“There were no not-so-subtle sexual flirtatious remarks from Nathan,” Dante said.

“And he was staring at you like a stalker while you were fighting not to look at him at all,” Kyle said with a smile.

“Nathan didn’t have his hands all over Carter,” Mickey said through a chuckle. “Plus we were betting that if Lucca had hugged Carter even an inch closer than he was, you’d have killed him.”

The guys all chuckled.

“We’re glad you two aren’t fighting anymore,” Lucca said with a smile.

“Yes, we are,” Mickey said with a crooked smile. “Nothing is right with the world unless Nathan’s feeling up a gorgeous, giggling Carterina.”

Carter laughed, and Nathan flipped his friends off.

He led Carter to their seats, pulling Carter’s seat as close as he could possibly get it to his own. Today, close just wasn’t close enough. He laced their fingers together, and Carter rested her head on his shoulder. Nathan ran his fingers through her soft hair and kissed her forehead. She looked up at him with love and a quiet vulnerability in her hazel eyes. Nathan brought her closer to him and whispered reassuring Russian words in her ear.

After about five more minutes of waiting, Anastacia and Angelo and the rest of the group Carter called the Originals walked into the room. Anastacia circled the table, passing out tan folders to each person seated there.

“All right, everyone,” Anastacia said. She sat in the seat next to Angelo and put on a pair of glasses. “Now that you’ve finished your business and schedule talk, we need to discuss my daughter.”

Nathan looked down at Carter, and she gave his hand a squeeze.

“We have about …” Anastacia looked at the watch on her wrist “ … an hour and a half until we have to be at the family meeting, so I’ll be quick. Pay attention and listen closely because I don’t have time to repeat …”

Nathan leaned forward in his seat, and the guys followed suit.

“Save your questions for when I’m finished. I’m about to share many things with you that may shock you, but please don’t interrupt. We have a lot of information for such little time,” she said, her accent becoming much thicker as nervousness showed in her features.

After a moment, Anastacia turned her gaze to Nathan. “Nathan, when we were at the hospital, I told you that Carterina would not be safe in the city … Do you remember?”

Nathan nodded and held Carter’s hand tighter.

“Well, it’s time for us to discuss who Carterina Anastacia Stone is and how much she’s worth. To all of us here, Carterina is priceless. This is because we love her. We want to keep her around for a very long time.” She cleared her throat and shifted in her seat. “I never had a chance to tell the five of you what you did for Carterina when you found her and took her from Hope Beach. I had searched for her for five years, fearing I’d find her dead— or that I wouldn’t find her at all. I thought she may have been taken by a man named Silas … but I’ll get to him soon. First, I want to talk about who she is. She is the combined product of two very dangerous families. This wouldn’t be a problem if she didn’t have parents like Robert and I. Neither of us associated with our families. The Stones hate me. My father was the keeper of the family’s fortune, and he took it from them and gave it to me. I had to become who I am to protect myself because of this. Carterina is my child. Had she not been born, my fortune, my lands, my castle— everything— would have gone back to my relatives in the event of my demise. But as you all can see, I have an heir. Even from his grave, my father is a very powerful man. He set it up so that if I had a child, my child would immediately become my heir. Her name was automatically added to the estates and finances when she was born. He was adamant about making the Stone family suffer for what they had done to him— and for what they had done to me.” She locked eyes with Carter. “This is why the Stone family is a threat to Carterina. They know where to find her, and they’ll think she’s weak because they are unaware of her … particular skill set. They will most likely present themselves as family members only interested in getting to know their long lost relative. They’re masters of deception. Everything they say is complete bullshit. I have no family. The Stones are dead to me. They want me dead, and they want Carterina dead. They are greedy, manipulative liars. My daughter and I have the billions that used to belong to them, and they want it back. I’m not telling you this because I don’t think Carterina can protect herself— I’m telling you because she needs us to watch her back.”

Anastacia opened her folder and motioned for everyone to do the same.

They all opened their folders. The first page featured a man standing in a stone room. He looked about 6’0. He had long, thick, jet black hair that cascaded down his back in waves. His skin was pale and his features, although manly, had a feminine beauty to them. He had soft and delicate features, but looked anything but that. The expression on his face was no-nonsense and terrifying. The look in his eyes was cold, twisted, sadistic. He had a broad, muscular build and an obvious chip on his shoulder.

Nathan studied the picture closer and suddenly realized something. Carter bared a striking resemblance to the man. The long, black hair, the soft and delicate yet striking beauty. She even had the same scowl. But then there was the identical resemblance. His eyes. The man had big, almond-shaped, hazel-green eyes, more like Carter’s than her mother’s.

Nathan looked over to check on Carter. She was looking down at the picture. Eventually she felt Nathan’s stare and looked up at him with empty eyes. A small smile appeared on her lips, but didn’t reach her normally expressive eyes.

“The man in this photo is my father, Alexis Stone,” Anastacia continued. “If you flip to the next photo, you’ll find his son— my brother— Adrien Stone. As you can see, the Stones resemble each other greatly. The only thing separating my daughter and me from the Stone family is our dark skin. Other than that, it’s easy to pick a Stone out of a crowd of people. They have pale skin, black hair, and eyes identical to Carterina’s and mine. You run into someone that looks like us, immediately be on guard. They’re pissed off, so if they threaten you, don’t hesitate or worry about consequences— kill them. That goes double for you, Carterina. Don’t ask questions, and don’t answer any. Don’t play games, and don’t let your curiosity and thirst for knowledge weaken you. Do you understand?”

Carter nodded.

“Carterina.”

She said Carter’s name more firmly, and Carter nodded and answered with words.

“Yes, Mama, I understand,” she replied softly.

“Good. Adrien is the leader of the family now, and he will come. Especially now that I’m here. This is for the best, though. It’s better he knows now who Carterina is and why he should think twice about fucking with her. Nathan, dear, when he does come, I need you to contain that temper of yours.”

Nathan’s jaw ticked, but he didn’t speak.

“There will be times when Carter needs to handle things herself, and there will be times when her husband needs to step in. All you have to do is read the situation. You know Carterina, and you know what she’s capable of. If she can handle it, then step back and let her do it. If she can’t, then it’s your job as her husband to protect her. I understand that now. If I didn’t think you could protect my daughter I wouldn’t have let you marry her, so this I am not worried about. You have not yet tapped into your full potential because you are still learning. But I do believe that this relationship …” She used her pen to point to both Nathan and Carter. “ … will get you there. Are there any questions?”

“Why did you wait so long to tell us this?” Nathan asked. He wasn’t particularly fond of the length of time it had taken Anastacia to share this information.

Anastacia turned to him, knowing the discussion would mostly be between the two of them. She and Angelo had already gone over all of this and more. “I had to get all of the information in order, Nathan. I know you may be upset, but this is reality, this is truth. This is one of the reasons Carter was kept hidden.”

“You’re positive Adrien will show up in New York? Or will he send someone else to try to harm my wife.”

“No, he will not send anyone. Stones fight their own battles. They detest the use of hit men. It’s too impersonal. And no, Adrien will not show up. He’s most likely already here,” she replied.

“Are fucking kidding me, Anastacia?” Nathan snapped

“This is what I meant about controlling your temper, Nathan …”

“Fuck controlling my temper!” Nathan shouted. “There will be no controlling my temper, so we all might as well rid our minds of the idea!”

“Calm yourself, Nathan,” Angelo said.

“Calm myself?”

Calm?
Nathan thought.
They wanted him to be calm? And control his temper? Were they out of their fucking minds?

Nathan’s actions from this point and beyond were not going to be under his control. They would be the actions of a man who dared any motherfucker to touch his wife. Carter didn’t have to handle shit. All she had to do is what she loved— be his wife, work at S.O., kick a few asses, and one day have his bambinos. If Anastacia thought for one second that Nathan was going to sit back and watch while Carter lived her life looking over her shoulder … Hell no. He’d talk to Carter about it later.

Nathan sat back in his seat and straightened his suit jacket. He nodded his head. “You’re right,
Уважаемый отец
. I apologize, Anastacia. That was no way for a man to speak to his mother-in-law. Forgive me.”

“Forgiven,” she said with a nod. “I’ll continue. The Stones can be handled in any way you want, Nathan. Its better we get them out of the way fast anyway.” Anastacia frowned and looked to the side uncomfortably before speaking again. “It’s time for us to talk about the Steele family. The Stone family is manageable, but the Steeles are not. They are very dangerous. The leader of the family was Dmitry Steele, Robert’s father, but he was killed. This is one of the reasons Robert parted from his family. It was his siblings that killed Dmitry. They tortured and killed their own father for reasons beyond my knowledge. The Steele family isn’t spoken of often because they are ghosts. They’re only seen when they want to be, very deep in the criminal underworld. They are a group of misfits, only a few related by blood. Their bond comes from similar life experiences and a lust for revenge. They make most of their money by capturing, training, and selling slaves. Robert broke away from them. He was sensitive when it came to human trafficking. The Steeles didn’t like that he left them, especially when he became ‘Spook Steele’. But Robert’s reputation isn’t what kept his family from killing him like they did his father. Silas was …” Anastacia paused for a moment and removed her glasses. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. “I need a minute …”

Angelo placed his hand on Anastacia’s back, and she looked at him and nodded.

Angelo nodded back. “Silas is Robert’s brother.” Angelo picked up where Anastacia left off. “I have come into contact with him on three different occasions, and not one went well. Silas is a very disturbed individual. Both he and Robert endured a series of very unfortunate events in their childhood, and Robert was the only one that made it out with most of his sanity still intact. Robert found ways of dealing with the anger he harbored from his childhood. When he became a hit-man, it angered Silas. Robert wanted Silas to be a part of his chosen lifestyle, but Silas disapproved of the life he’d chosen. But regardless of the anger Silas felt toward Robert, he still wanted him to come back to the family. Robert wouldn’t budge. He stayed away from his brother the best he could …”

“ … But things changed when Silas found out that I was pregnant with a Steele …” Anastacia lifted her head and continued the story. She locked eyes with Carter. “He found me on one of my father’s properties in France— my plan was to have you in France and then disappear forever. I wasn’t going to contact your father at all because I didn’t need him. I viewed my pregnancy as a gift— the only indicator I had that proved God still loved me. That’s what I told Silas when he found me … But he told me I didn’t deserve a family. He said he wanted to give you to Robert as a gift to mend their relationship. I told him no, and when I tried to run …” Anastacia cleared her throat. “He beat me until I went into labor. I was seven months pregnant and in no condition to defend myself against him. Carterina,” Anastacia’s voice was soft but firm. “Don’t do that … Don’t cry … If you cry, then I will cry. We don’t have time. I need to finish.”

Nathan could feel Carter battling with her emotions as she listened to her mother. He wanted to hold her and let her cry, but he knew he couldn’t. Carter would only get mad at him if he did.

Carter swallowed her emotions and straightened her back.

Anastacia continued. “He told me that if Robert didn’t take you, then he would. So I begged Robert to take you, and he did. After that, Silas told me to disappear. Robert convinced him to let me stay for a while to breastfeed you. You were tiny, and you needed the nourishment. Silas agreed, but stressed that in six months’ time, I must disappear, or he’d take you. I had no one, Carterina. I couldn’t go to anyone else for help. So I knew I had to distance myself from you until I could protect you— until you could protect yourself. Robert felt sorry for me when he saw what Silas had done to me, so he promised me that he wo—”

Anastacia paused, catching herself before saying something she didn’t want to say.

“He promised that you would be able to defend yourself, and he would never let you forget who had brought you into the world. Silas named you Cecilia Steele, but your father let me change your name legally in the United States to Carterina Anastacia Stone. We gave you my name knowing it would piss Silas off.” Anastacia smiled a little at the memory. “He let me leave my contact information so we could raise you together. While I was away from you, I decided it best to get back in touch with some of my father’s old contacts. I needed to become someone Silas feared. The army I built is what allowed me to sometimes see you. I could defend myself after that. This made Silas back off of me, but he still watched you. Protecting you, teaching you to defend yourself, educating you about the
real
world, was our main focus in life. You were right, Carterina. Your father and I were romantically involved all the way up until his death. But it didn’t start off that way. For a while, things were really bad between us. It was complicated. But after years and years of fighting, we fell in love because we shared something special. Our love for you brought us together. Our dream was to beat Silas and become a family. Robert died before we could live that dream. When I found out what had happened to you and your father, I was in Italy. I was supposed to be coming back to the states to keep an eye on you while your father went away for a while, but the attack happened before I got there. One of my men arrived at your home before me to do his nightly check of the property. When he didn’t see movement inside, he went to inspect. That’s when he found what had happened and called me. I came to the states to retrieve your and your father’s body. But you weren’t there, and Christina’s face had been cut off—”