Fall (Romanian Mob Chronicles Book 2) (7 page)

E
sther

T
he next night
, I couldn’t even pretend not to be happy to see Sorin when he knocked on the door. I opened it and he swept in, putting one arm around my waist and the other under my ass as I wrapped my legs around him almost automatically. After his passionate kiss, one that I’d come to look forward to and that still, even though he’d done it so many times, had the power to turn me into a puddle of desire with the first touch.

He carried me toward the bedroom as he kissed my neck. It was silly, but Sorin holding me like this, carrying me as if I were as light as a feather, as if I were important to him, gave me an unreasonably giddy feeling like I was being protected, cared for, something I hadn’t ever experienced.

“It was hard for you, eh?” he said, his breath blowing against my skin raising goose bumps.

“What’s that?” I asked, distracted by his actions.

“Being without me all day,” he said as he pulled me tighter to him, his stiffness pressing against my sex.

“You’ve been somewhere?” I said, but I broke off on a moan when he sucked the skin of my collarbone between his lips.

“Thought so,” he said smugly as he tossed me onto the bed and then peeled his shirt off.

I sat up and watched the play of his muscles as he stalked toward me, leering at him openly and unabashedly. A slow smile spread across his face as he closed his hands around my ankles and then pulled my pants off by the hem and tossed them over his shoulder before he grabbed my ankles again and tugged my legs apart.

“I’ve been thinking—”

The trill of my phone cut him off, and he looked at my nightstand and then back at me.

“Who’s calling you at this hour?” he asked as he stood and grabbed the phone, the playfulness of just seconds ago gone as if it had never existed, his face set in an intractable mask as he stared down at the screen. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought he was jealous. The independent woman in me recoiled, but the rest of me found the thought of dangerous, sexy Sorin being jealous an undeniable turn-on.

“This isn’t Fawn’s number. Another of your friends?” he said, eyes flat, mouth turned down as he assessed me.

I gulped, heart fluttering as he stared at me, coldly, silently daring me to contradict him.

Sexy or not though, I wouldn’t just roll over and let him steamroll me. So, finding some of the bluster that had momentarily fled, I stood and said, “None of your business, Dad.”

He stepped closer, eyes not leaving mine. “I don’t share, Esther,” he said, voice low.

My stupid phone chose that time to ring again. “Fuck,” I mumbled under my breath, looking away from his searing gaze.

He grabbed my chin and turned my head until I faced him again.

“Ladies shouldn’t swear,” he said.

“Who said I was a fucking lady?”

His expression darkened further, his jaw clenching with a tick I’d recognized as a sure sign of his anger, though I’d never seen it quite this intense. The phone buzzed yet again, and I reached for it, but he again held it out of my reach.

Sorin swiped the screen and lifted the phone to his ear. “It would be good if you never called this number again,” he said and then he hung up.

I reached for the phone, tried to pry it from his hand, but the effort was futile.

“Sorin, you have no right—”

“Shut up, Esther,” he said.

I slammed my mouth closed before I had even processed his words. And for the first time in a very long while, I felt a tingle of fear.

Desire, too, like always.

But I tried to focus on the fear as he turned me and pushed me down on the bed, gripped my hips and pulled me to me knees. I tried even harder when I heard the
snick
of his zipper lowering, but when he stood behind me, the hot hardness of his cock pressing against my ass, doing so got more difficult and then completely impossible at the first touch of his satin-smooth skin against my pussy.

And my body completely betrayed when he stroked inside me, his hardness spreading me, his hands tight on my hips, his strong, sure thrusts bending my body to his will.

He possessed me, almost without effort, it seemed, the indescribable pleasure of his hardness as he moved, his fingers tight on my hips sending me to heights only he had been able to.

I could feel the anger nearly vibrating off him, but I risked a glance over my shoulder. My heart stuttered when I saw the expression on his face. He was angry, but more, he was determined, face set with resolve as if he were trying to prove something to me, maybe himself, with each viciously passionate thrust.

My eyes drifted closed.

“No!” he said. “Look at me.”

I complied, met his gaze again, not looking away even when the intensity of his stare threatened to overwhelm. The awkward position of my body, the vulnerability I felt as I looked into his eyes, all of it faded as he pushed inside me, claiming more of me with each stroke.

I was almost light-headed with the pleasure, and when the first splash of his scorching seed filled me, I lost what control I had and let the soul-shaking climax take me. He stayed inside me, his cock pulsing with his own pleasure, his hand against my back, caressing me with a tenderness that hadn’t been apparent on his face.

“Sorin, I—”

I broke off on a low moan of protest when he pulled out of me. Before I could speak, he’d turned me over, expression less intense but unreadable. I stood, somehow hoping that doing so would put us on even footing, or at least make me feel less exposed. It didn’t work, not really, but I hoped I seemed stronger than I felt.

He looked at me, eyes reflective.

“What?” I said.

“Who was it?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Sorin, I—”

“Who, Esther?” he said quietly.

“My brother. He’s in Hawaii, so his calls come late. Happy now?” I added.

He had the nerve to smile. “Yeah.”

I pushed his shoulder, smiling myself when he barely moved. His smile dropped as he glanced past me.

“You should quit your job. I don’t like you working there.”

“Yeah, well, somebody has to pay the bills,” I replied, following his gaze to the dresser where I’d haphazardly tossed the lanyard that held my employee ID card.

“I can pay the bills,” he said.

My gaze snapped back to him. “I’m not for sale, Sorin.”

“Good, because I don’t buy pussy,” he replied.

“That’s what I am to you?”

I wanted to take the words back the instant I had said them. They sounded needy, desperate, but Sorin just shrugged.

“No, because I don’t talk to pussy either.”

I laughed. “I know that’s not true,” I said.

He pulled me into a rough embrace. “Special exception for you.” He pressed a hard kiss against my lips before pulling back. “Fine, keep your little job. For now.”

“So gracious,” I said sarcastically, but he just pressed his lips against my forehead.

“I can be. And as to the other…” He locked his eyes with mine, his intention clear.

“Sorin, don’t do that again. You can’t do that, answer my phone, try to tell me who I can see and talk to,” I said, voice serious but not strong.

“Of course I can. You’re my girl.”

“What gave you that idea?” I asked, mind rejecting the words even though my heart soared.

“My cum inside you. That’s what gave me that idea,” he replied.

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s a first. Like lucky me is the first to be blessed with Sorin’s seed,” I said with an eye roll and a dismissive snort.

He didn’t respond, and the expression on his face was one that I hadn’t seen before. He looked almost…hurt. I shook my head, surprised as it dawned on me that I’d been wrong. It was always like that with me though. I could see the train wreck unfolding before my very eyes, but I couldn’t stop my mouth from running off the tracks.

“Well, whether you make it a habit or not, we should not have had sex without a condom. It was nice, but very stupid,” I said.

He stiffened, glared down at me and then turned, and I watched his powerful body as he dressed. And after a moment, I did the same, desperate to do something, anything, to tamp down the longing for contact, his skin against mine, his body inside mine that had sparked the instant he’d left me.

“So that’s what I am to you? Some fun?” he said, voice accusatory.

“Sorin, you set the rules, remember? This was scratching an itch. Nothing more.”

“And nothing changed? I’m still just a cock,” he asked, his voice going deeper, scorn and anger clear even through his accented words.

“No, not just cock, Sorin. But I’m not like Fawn and you’re not like Vasile, so let’s not pretend,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

I waited for rage, for some semblance of the Sorin I’d come to know, but instead of speaking he turned and walked toward the door. I followed, hot on his heels. “Sorin don’t be upset. I want us to be—”

He stopped short, turned to face me. “Friends?” he said.

I nodded, and in flash, he ripped open the door.

“Sorin, please—”

I cut off short because he was gone and I was alone.

E
sther

I
’d put
on
a brave face, pretended I hadn’t spent the night debating whether to call the number Sorin had so recently given me, and gone to work, even though habit bade me to stay home, maybe find someone else to distract me.

It would have utterly failed, and besides, I’d tried to remind myself Sorin was just a thing, not worth altering my life over. And certainly not worth ripping my guts apart with guilt, nor feeling the searing burn of regret in the back of my throat.

But worth it or not, I’d felt all of that and more, moved through the day, more than half my mind occupied replaying last night and then re-creating it so that I’d kept my mouth closed and gotten to spend it with Sorin.

I sighed and headed toward the paint mixer, thoughts weighed by how I’d managed to let things go so wrong. I’d thought I had him figured out, figured he was in it for the sex and once that bored him, he would move on.

But his unexpected tenderness had surprised me. I wouldn’t have seen it in him, but then again, that may have been because I hadn’t wanted to.

Yes, he was more than rough around the edges, but when I stopped to think, to really think, it shouldn’t have surprised me. I’d seen how he was with Maria and Fawn, the deep affection between him and his brother. And while he never went out of his way with me, I should have known that the little glimpses of his real self, the one he hid between the name and status and tattoos, were something that not everyone got to see, should have known that the fact that he’d shown them to me meant something.

I sighed and then rolled my eyes. “Don’t be so freaking sappy, Esther,” I mumbled to myself under my breath, not caring if my coworkers thought I was nutty.

As I organized the paint, I turned the Sorin problem over and over in my head. Fact was, I had been cruel to him, and he hadn’t deserved it. And worse, I lied to him and to myself. Whatever we were or weren’t, it went beyond sex and I cringed at the memory of how I’d tried to reduce it to just that.

“You okay, Esther?”

Michael’s voice pulled me out of my head, and I smiled up at him. It would have been so easy to date someone like Michael, but after last night and the way I felt this morning, Sorin was important to me. The acknowledgement lifted some of the weight off my shoulders. I’d find a way to fix things, and we’d figure it out from there.

“I’m great, Michael. You need more lumber?”

S
orin

“
G
o out with the guys
, Sorin. You’ve been cooped up too long,” Nicki said, the old bartender who’d held down the bar at Familie for as long as I could remember.

I shook my head quickly and waved him off, not even bothering to speak. Esther had fucked me up bad yesterday, and I was still reeling.

I fucking hated it.

I’d tried everything to rid my mind of her, had told myself I didn’t care, that she was a bitch anyway, but it was bullshit. It had been bullshit before when I’d fucked her without a condom, something I’d never done. And it was bullshit now, even as I remembered her casual nonchalance, the way she’d practically spit in my face, and worse, how I still wanted her despite it.

The restaurant was far too quiet, so quiet that I had no respite from my thoughts.

The familiar
click, click, click
of high heels had my head turning to greet the equally familiar sight of Natasha approaching. I stood, turned to face her. She was beautiful as always, but her eyes flashed with determination that only hardened when she wrapped her arms around my waist and trailed her hands up my back.

“What are you doing, Natasha?” I said.

“I know what you said, but you didn’t mean it. It’s just been too long, so you’ve forgotten how good it is between us, how good I can be to you,” she said on a husky whisper as she moved her hands down, pressed her slender curves against me.

I tried to convince myself this was good, let myself be swept up in Natasha’s web, but when she craned her neck up to look at me, it only reminded me that Esther didn’t have to do so. And before I could stop it, a fleeting image of Esther, of how she’d always met my gaze, of how her body filled my arms flashed into my mind. And just as quickly, a searing stab at the memory of her rejection.

I’d never get used to it, hated that Esther, that anyone, had the power to cause me such pain, and as I stared down at Natasha, I thought about how easy it would be. The pieces had been put in place many years before, and Natasha could slide into my life with no effort.

Natasha wouldn’t ever push me, challenge me, mouth off the way Esther always did.

She wouldn’t ever make me feel anything, either.

And as frustrating as I found Esther, as much as yesterday had disquieted me, I knew I couldn’t take anything less.

So I again met Natasha’s eyes, remembered all the times that I had kissed her, times that she had touched me like this, times when I had felt at least some desire. Felt regret that I would have to hurt her.

“Who is she?” Natasha spat before I said anything.

“I don’t answer your questions,” I replied.

She broke away, hooded her eyes as she glanced up at me.

“First Vasile. Now you?”

“What do you mean? There was never anything between you and Vasile.”

“No. There wasn’t, probably never would have been, but I’d always thought that if this…if you… But now I don’t even have that.”

“You thought Vasile would have you? Marry you?”

She shrugged, the casual calculation of the gesture not out of the ordinary for her but nonetheless annoying. “I wasn’t sure. I knew he would eventually have to settle, figured that if you wouldn’t have me, he would.”

“You would leave my bed and go to my brother’s?”

“What else would you have me do? You didn’t love me. Wouldn’t marry me. And now…”

I understood what she meant. Natasha would need someone to care for her, and even though I found it scornful, I couldn’t blame her for considering her position.

“You’ll always have a place with us, Natasha. We’ll take care of you.”

Her eyes hardened, but the expression was gone in a flash.

“So I really have lost you. All those years of hope, and I’ve lost you to a better woman?”

“Not better. Just different. And you never had me,” I reminded her.

At the heartbreak in her face, I wished I could take those last words back, but it was important that she know.

“So be it, Sorin,” she whispered. I watched her retreat and then I left Familie, following my feet, certain I knew where they would take me.

E
sther

I
saw
a
shadow out of the window, went to the door, and had it open as he walked up the porch.

“Sorin I…” I trailed off as he used his body to crowd me into the house.

He kissed me then, hungrily, possessively like always, but different now. Then he broke away, looked down at me, eyes glittering in the semidarkness.

“You’re my girl, Esther,” he said, his voice a strange mix of anger, certainty, question, almost as disorienting as the words he’d said.

“Sorin, I’m not—”

His mouth on mine stole my words, and his hands on my waist stole the ones that would have come after. He stroked down my stomach, touch light, but determined, and then heavy but equally determined as he reached under the hem of my short night dress and cupped my sex in his palm, slipping his hand between my thighs, thumb barely grazing my clit.

I was already wet, had been since the moment I’d seen him, something I knew he knew, but I was too aroused, had missed him too much to be embarrassed about it.

He broke away, looked down at me as he moved his thumb in a maddeningly irregular pattern. I arched my back, wrapped my hand around his wrist, trying to make him touch me more, but I wasn’t nearly strong enough to move him, and he didn’t seemed remotely inclined to do so.

“Admit it, Esther,” he said. And then he pinched my clit between his fingers, the faintest smile on his face.

“Admit what?” I said breathily, hating the desire that was apparent in my voice.

He pinched my clit again, the pleasure-pain sending me shooting to my tiptoes and tightening my hand on his wrist. “You know what,” he said.

He let go, then ghosted his fingers along my lower lips, gathering the moisture that coated them. But unlike usual, Sorin, who, like me, had little interest in teasing, didn’t spread my lips, bury his fingers inside me, toy with my clit until I reached the explosive climax that shimmered at the edge of my vision.

“Don’t tease, Sorin,” I said, voice starting out strong and then fading on a harsh breath when he circled my opening slowly, fingers on the edge of my entrance but not entering me.

“You want to come?” he whispered, his face close to my ear, his breath against my skin making me shiver, another issue of warm moisture flowing from me.

“You know I do,” I said, turning my face to his and then nipping at his bottom lip.

He stilled completely then, his eyes glued to mine. “Then say it.”

At the last word, he circled my opening again, ran his fingers between my lips before he reached my clit again. He touched it gently, which only drove me insane, made me want more.

“Sorin!”

“Say it, Esther,” he said, voice stern, serious.

I was panting now, strung-out, needy for climax. And that part of my mind that wasn’t preoccupied with my desire and frustration burned with a question, one that came out of its own volition.

“Why?” I said on a choked-out breath. “Why do you want me to say it?”

I lowered my lids but lifted them and again met his eyes. They were deep, dark, filled with something I couldn’t place.

“Say it,” he whispered yet again, his own voice urgent now.

A moment passed, then another as my heart boomed and my lungs squeezed tight. But my mind was clear. “I’m yours, Sorin. Your girl.”

He gave no reaction but instead curved two fingers and pushed them inside me hard, pausing only for the briefest moment before pulling them back and pushing them inside again and again and again. And when he swiped his thumb over my clit, the combination of his rough yet gentle touch and the firm thrust of his fingers sent me over the edge.

I cried out, long and low, not bothering to hide the pleasure I felt, not sure I would have been able to even if I’d wanted.

“Was that so hard?” he said when I looked into his eyes again.

“Whatever,” I replied with a smile as I reached for his belt.

E
sther

L
ater
, I lay
in his arms, both of us quiet, an unspoken yet undeniable connection between us. And not one to leave well enough alone, I spoke into the darkness.

“So you do what Vasile does?”

“And what does he do?” Sorin replied.

“I’m serious, Sorin,” I said.

And I was.

I didn’t quite know what all had happened today, what the words he’d bade me speak meant, but I knew that I could no longer live under the illusion that whatever Sorin was, what he did, was unimportant.

He sat up, put one hand on the side of my head, and caressed my cheek. “I am being serious. What I do, what he does, is not open for discussion. Not ever.”

“I don’t appreciate being left in the dark,” I said, annoyance sparking in my chest.

“I don’t care. This is how it must be. Accept it or don’t. Your choice.”

The tension that gripped my stomach, the seconds that passed by after he spoke gave the moment even more weight. I was making a choice, crossing a line I instinctively knew couldn’t be uncrossed. And if I did cross that line, chose him, I was becoming a willing participant in his life and what it entailed, things I would probably never fully understand.

But I’d have him.

I nodded and snuggled against his chest.