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1 “N ow, that’s a rack!” “Shut the hell up, Gordo. You’re going to have the whole family breathing down our necks,” Gabe hoarsely whispered. He didn’t bother looking at his hormone-infused partner. Instead he glanced around them, ascertaining that no one had bothered to look over at the cluster of oleander bushes they were hiding in, focused his binoculars, and zeroed in on the object of Gordo’s comment. Gianna Michaela Cipriani. Grieving daughter of the recently departed Alberto “Cappy” Cipriani. A soft breeze stirred her long dark hair. With her head bent, her hands clasped tightly in prayer as the good padre’s deep melodic voice droned last rites, he could only catch a glimpse of her flushed cheeks and full lips. Gathered tightly around Gianna was her extended family and half of San Francisco’s Italian population. If Gabe was a betting man, he’d lay odds his Southern California Italian family shared some of the same gene pool. From Gabe’s vantage point, all he could see was a body s
2 G ianna lay in bed for several long moments. She squinted as the glare of the morning sun blinded her. It was supposed to rain. Instead sunshine greeted her. She rolled over and stuck her head under the pillow, not wanting to open the restaurant. She let out a long relieved sigh when she remembered she told the employees she was going to close today. She needed time before she could pretend to the world her heart was not broken. What surprised her most about her decision was the fact that she was, for the first time, doing something for herself and not thinking of others first. Gianna flung the covers from her body and sat up in bed. She looked down at the thin beige flannel nightgown she’d worn for the last two years with sudden contempt. Such was her life. Colorless, but safe and warm. Her shoulders slumped forward. It wasn’t so bad. She lay still for a long time and realization dawned. She was taking the time off because it wasn’t what she wanted, she was being forced to by her fa
3 “I eat slime balls like Tucci for breakfast. I eat slime balls like Tucci for breakfast. I eat—” The limousine came to an abrupt halt, cutting off Gianna’s mantra. Her knees shook and her hands were damp. “I eat slime balls like Tucci for breakfast.” Why didn’t she let Tressie come with her? Because if there was going to be any trouble, Gianna didn’t want her cousin in the mix. The door opened and Mario looked in. “C’mon, the boss is waiting.” Gianna took a deep breath and scooted out of the backseat. It occurred to her that they were in the Tenderloin. And while there were lots of restaurants and shops in the area, the Tenderloin had long been known for one thing and one thing only—the strip joints and peep shows. But the building she stood in front of with a half dozen suited doormen looked innocuous enough. Maybe Tucci had a legit place? Perhaps it was just a steak house. Somehow she doubted it, despite appearances. Roberto’s profited from meat of a different kind. No sooner had G
4 G abe moved stealthy in behind Gianna as she hurried down the last stairway, then into the open vestibule of Roberto’s. She pushed the doors open and darted outside before one of the doormen could get to it. Gabe followed, ducking behind a concrete pillar as she quickly turned, looking wide-eyed and panicked over her shoulder to see if she were being followed. He caught sight of her a minute later as she ducked into the Kat’s Meow, a seedy topless lounge. “Jesus Christ,” he muttered as he hurried in behind her. For a Wednesday night, the place was quiet. But he had no doubt that in a few hours, the shrouded cubicles where patrons could have “privacy” would be full to busting. Long before his Fed days, he’d worked the streets of San Francisco, vice to be exact. He was all too familiar with the goings-on in the Tenderloin. As he pushed open the black furry doors to the club, he heard a familiar voice behind him. “Mario, she went his way!” Gabe kept his back to the street and stiffened
5 T wo facts slammed hard into Gianna’s conscious. One, she had never felt so lit up in her life, and second, she was allowing a complete stranger, albeit a very handsome, yummy-smelling one, to touch her in places only she had touched herself. And with that realization, she added a third fact: She wasn’t ashamed! Not really. Her breasts ached, her womb ached. Like a fever, her body ached. She could not sit still. But realization filtered into the fog of her sexual haze. He was a stranger. A stranger with his hands in her pants. “Gabe, please,” she whispered against his hot lips. “Tell me what you want,” Gabe said, his lips trailing to her chin, then her neck, then her collarbone. “Anything,” he breathed just as he latched on to a very hard, very excited nipple. Gianna moaned and rolled her head back, pressing hard against him. Just another minute. It couldn’t hurt…. “I want to see you after tonight,” Gabe said against her breath. If it were possible, more excitement tore through her b
6 “W hat the fuck happened to you being just around the corner at Lucia’s?” Gabe demanded, getting real close to Gordo. His partner opened and closed his mouth like a floundering catfish gasping for breath. “I got there, but those goons were just getting up from whatever the hell you did to them!” “No shit, ’cause you weren’t there!” Gordo pulled his shirt from Gabe’s grasp and looked around the darkness of the street. “Hey, I had to, uh, you know, use the can. I got a bug going through me.” Gabe moved backward and shook his head. “Next time, when I call for backup, Gordo, you can shit your pants on the way. That girl was almost raped!” Gordo perked up. “She want to press charges?” “If it were so easy. She’s afraid of them. I don’t blame her.” “Why didn’t you tell her you were a Fed?” “And have her slam the door in my face permanently?” Gabe shook his head. He needed a drink. “No way. I’m playing this one close, real close. That slime bag Tucci wants her, and so do his gorillas.” Gordo
7 G ianna steered clear of Gabe for the better part of the evening. Tressie however, had a sparkle in her eye that made Gianna very nervous. Several times her cousin walked past her with a shit-eating grin plastered across her face and acted like she had a big secret. Try as she may, Gianna could not extract information from her. Finally feeling as if the joke was on her, Gianna marched up to Gabe’s table. “Mr. LaMotta, we’re going to be closing in thirty minutes. I’d like to close out your tab now.” Gabe poured another glass of wine from the half-empty bottle. His dark eyes glowed seductively in the candlelight of the table. Gianna groaned. Her skin flushed, and she wanted to slide in next to him in the spacey booth. “I’ve been waiting for you.” She raised a brow. “Really? Twice last night you couldn’t wait to get rid of me.” Gabe reached out and touched her hand. Her skin warmed. “I’m here to beg your forgiveness.” Gianna slapped his hand away. “Save your sweet talk for someone who’l
8 G abe whistled as he made his way into the elevator to his undercover office. He had Gianna Cipriani on the mind, and even after jerking off twice since last night, he had a hard-on the size of the Golden Gate Bridge. As the doors closed, a ham-sized gloved hand forced them open. The smile faded as Dumb and Dumber walked in. They looked like poster boys for the thugs they were. Dark hair slicked back. Dark glasses, long black trench coats. Gabe was a big guy, but between them, the duo had over four hundred pounds on him. Mario sported a nice shiner. Gabe smiled. “Nice shiner you got there, buddy.” Mario took a swing at Gabe, who ducked and jammed his shoulder into the big man’s gut, sending him into his buddy. He pushed the OPEN button and before the two could regain their balance and launch a new attack, Gabe spun out of the elevator and hoofed to the stairway, running up the four flights of steps to his office. As he went down the hall, he grinned. Standing outside of the elevator
9 G abe’s gaze raked Gianna’s curvy legs all the way down to her fire-engine red lacquered toes then back to her shapely calves to her full thighs. He licked his lips. Her honey-colored skin whet his appetite for more. She slid a finger under the satin crotch of her thong and moved it slightly aside. Glistening pink lips beckoned him closer. His blood quickened, filling his cock to capacity. When he looked into Gianna’s eyes she smiled but a deep flush flared across her cheeks. God, she was beautiful. He moved right into her, sliding his hands into her hair and pulling her up to his lips. His kiss was hard, possessive, and demanding. It left no question about what he wanted from her. Her lips clung to his, kissing him back fervently. He tore his lips away. Panting, he pressed his forehead to hers. “Gianna, are you sure?” Her big hazel-brown eyes glistened, and he thought for a minute she was going to cry. She nodded quickly and reached up to his lips. When he kissed her this time, he s
10 G ianna couldn’t move fast enough from the office where she just lost her virginity. Shame filled her. Not because she was no longer a virgin but because she gave it up to a player! She hit the DOWN button and turned to look over her shoulder, back at the door she’d just exited. Gabe stood there, his shirt hanging from his broad shoulders, the planes of his smooth chest peeking out. His dark eyes were heavily hooded like he’d just fucked someone proper. And he had. She turned around and waited impatiently for the elevator doors to open. So much for being the one playing hard to get. What the hell was she thinking anyway? Hell, she’d been the one throwing herself at the man. Only a freakin’ eunuch would pass up what she offered this morning. Gabe was red-blooded—hell, more so than the average guy. So yeah, what did she expect? The doors opened, and she walked straight in and faced the wall, not daring to turn around and see if he still stood at the threshold to his office. When the d
11 G abe’s cell phone rang. He flipped it open, and as he did, a loud thud on the front door made Gianna jump. They’d found her! She turned wide-eyed to Gabe, who scowled and spoke quietly but definitively to the caller. He didn’t appear to be worried. The thudding increased in volume. Gabe finally flipped his phone closed, scowled at her, then grabbed her by the arm. “Come with me.” Gianna didn’t ask where they were going. His bedroom. He grabbed a really big gun off the nightstand and slid it down the back of his pants, then pulled on a pair of tennis shoes and slipped on a T-shirt before moving through the room to the window. He hoisted the window up, reached out, and pulled down the fire escape. “C’mon, Gianna.” She didn’t question him. Gabe followed her down to the alley at the back of the apartment building, and to her surprise there was a waiting car. She scowled as she recognized one of her customers behind the wheel. Gabe hustled her into the backseat, slammed the door shut, t
12 G abe gritted his teeth as he watched and listened to Gianna turn it on with Tucci. He knew damn well how hot she looked in that skimpy little dress. He didn’t need the minicam to show him. If she were his girl, he wouldn’t let her out of the house in it. Gabe leashed his escalating jealousy. Instead, he focused on the scene unfolding in front of him and decided right then and there that if it even looked like Tucci was going to do the dirty deed, he was out of the truck and in that office before he could alert his team. Tucci slipped a possessive arm around Gianna’s waist and walked with her to the sofa. Gianna sunk into the cushions and looked straight at the lens. A flirty smile twisted her lips. Gabe hissed in a breath. “Why, you little minx, you know I’m watching you.” When she pulled a Sharon Stone move and crossed her legs, giving a quick glimpse of her red-hot panties, Gabe’s cock swelled. Tucci was as affected. He sidled up to Gianna, and like a little boy wanting to pet a
13 “C ’mon, Gianna,” Tressie cajoled. “It’s been three months, and you haven’t wanted to go shopping once!” Gianna smiled at her cousin. “I know I haven’t been good company lately. But it isn’t like you’ve been around a whole lot.” “I know! That’s why it’s important we have some cuzzy time.” Gianna smiled and continued to fold napkins at the bar. It was a quiet Monday afternoon, and the restaurant wasn’t open for lunch on Mondays. She looked out the big front window to the gray afternoon. It had rained earlier and threatened to rain again. Shopping in the rain didn’t excite her. In fact, not much did these days. She hated to admit it, but she missed Gabe. But he obviously didn’t miss her. He hadn’t made any effort to contact her. The last time she saw him was that night on the sidewalk in front of Roberto’s. Gianna let out a melancholy sigh. She missed the excitement he stirred in her. She’d tried to open up to the advances of several men. She’d even gone on a few dates, but she always
To the real Vinnie,a constant source of inspiration
1 “S crew you, Vince!” Theresa Bellessi barely registered the words before the impact of another body slammed into her back. As she stumbled she made a desperate scramble for the glasses on her tray but it was a lost cause. The martini, the cosmo, and the glass of Sangiovese all went flying as the heel of her shoe twisted and she fell backward into a chair. A chair already occupied by a Ciao Bella patron. A very large, very muscular Ciao Bella patron. The breath whooshed out of his chest, accompanied by a soft curse as Theresa slammed into him. “Excuse me, I’m so sorry,” Theresa said as she tried to find her feet. But with her legs in an undignified sprawl and the tiled floor slick with alcohol, that was easier said than done. Big hands closed around her hips as he tried to help her off his lap, and she was aware of thickly muscled legs moving under her own. She managed to shift her weight forward enough for her feet to reach the floor, only to have it skid through a puddle of God know
2 “W hat can I get for you?” The following Tuesday, Vince was back at Ciao Bella, smiling up at the cute dark-haired waitress who’d spilled wine on him. She waited to take his order. God, she was pretty. Young, he reminded himself sternly, but ridiculously beautiful, with big, dark eyes, smooth olive skin and bee-stung lips glossed to a high shine. The thought of kissing those lips, licking his way into the dark sweetness of her mouth, had his cock thickening against his zipper in a way that made him glad his crotch was concealed by the table. She had no inkling of the direction his thoughts were going, and merely smiled a neutral, expectant smile until he finally managed to choke out a reply. As the waitress went to retrieve his drink, Gia came over to say hello. He stood to kiss both of her cheeks, and Vince noticed something different about her, something he’d started to pick up on Friday but hadn’t had time to think about after the commotion Cameron had caused. In the time he’d kno
3 “H ow’s the place?” Theresa could hear the clang of silverware in the background as Gia spoke. “Good,” Theresa grunted as she hefted another box of books and moved it over by the bookshelves. It was Saturday, and she was doing her best to get settled into the guest cottage before she had to go to work. “Thanks again for letting me borrow your car.” Theresa hadn’t had much stuff in storage, but she’d still managed to pack Gia’s car to capacity. “No problem. How’s the dog? Is he giving you any trouble?” Theresa checked out the blond, drooling lump in the corner. As though sensing her stare, Chester raised his head and gave his tail a thump. “I don’t know what the big deal is. He seems like a good dog. Well, except for the humping thing, of course.” When she’d first come to look at the place and meet Chester, the dog had responded to her scratch on the ears by immediately jumping up and going at her leg. Vince scrambled to yank the dog off, relieved that Theresa thought it was more funn
4 A fter nearly a week with Chester, Theresa was beginning to believe Vince when he said she would earn her keep. “The dog is a menace,” she groaned to Gia and tiredly surveyed the Friday night crowd. “How many pairs of shoes have you lost now?” Gia asked. “Counting my gold flats? That’s four.” Suffice it to say, Chester had a chewing problem. She’d discovered it the last Sunday when she’d gone to work. Since Vince had already left on his business trip, she’d locked Chester in her apartment, thinking that since she had a smaller space there would be less for him to get into. Chester had entertained himself by reducing her beloved black Mary Jane pumps into a few scraps and a stray heel. Damn dog had to pick her favorites, and not the platform stilettos she kept meaning to donate to Goodwill. The bartender, Nico, placed the last glass of wine on her tray. Theresa picked it up and winced as a sharp pain shot up her arm. “Still bugging you?” Gia asked. “Maybe you should take the night off
5 T heresa didn’t think it was possible for her to get more turned on, but Vince’s words, combined with the molten hot look in his dark eyes, sent a fresh surge of lust pounding through her body. She’d never had a man look at her like he did, and that alone was enough to send her spinning out of control. Oh, men had looked at her with lust all right. Not too long ago, she’d made a living based on that fact. But Vince’s expression as he stared at her naked form was different. It was plenty lustful, but mixed in with the lust was need, even reverence. Like he was in awe to be naked in the same room with her. She knew it was foolish to read too much into the simple fact that he was a guy who had found a naked, willing chick in his tub and was taking advantage of the situation. But God, when he looked at her like that, when he said the things he said, she wanted to believe this was special. That she was special. That whatever it was about him that had awakened this wildly sexual side of he
6 V ince awoke to the familiar sensation of Chester’s stinky dog breath huffing in his face. He cracked open one eyelid and that was all the encouragement the dog needed. Chester emitted a sharp whine and enthusiastically shoved his cold, wet nose against Vince’s cheek. Vince barely managed to close his mouth before he was assaulted by a canine French kiss. He felt a stirring next to him and smiled as he rolled over to see Theresa’s dark head next to his on the pillow. She lay on her side facing away from him, one hand tucked up under the pillow. He slid his arm around her waist and drew her closer, sighing in satisfaction as his morning erection bumped up against the soft, warm curve of her ass. She sighed and snuggled closer, but just as Vince slipped one hand up to cup her breast, Chester padded over to her side of the bed. The dog put his paws up and lunged for Theresa’s face, hitting her square on the chin with his big pink tongue. Theresa groaned and buried her face in the pillow
7 V ince slipped his hands under his heavy leather coat, circling his hands around Theresa’s ribcage to bring her in to meet his kiss. She let out a small sigh as his mouth closed over hers, a little forlorn, almost like a sound of defeat. Her hand curled around his neck and her lips parted eagerly under his. He took his time tasting her, savoring the feel of her hot tongue sliding against his. Heat exploded through his body at the first taste. His cock, which had been in a steady state of half hardness all day, rose to full attention, hard as a spike, as though it had been weeks instead of hours since he fucked her. It was absurd how much he wanted her. And more than that, how eager he’d been to see her. He’d fully intended to stay in tonight, give Theresa a little space while he figured out the best way to get himself back in her bed. But when he’d woken up from a late afternoon nap, hard and aching, he decided to hell with that. The aggressive, straightforward approach had always se
8 J ust sex, Vince thought. Simple. Easy. Uncomplicated. He only wished that were true as he watched Theresa move through the crowded tables at Ciao Bella. After almost a month of sleeping with her, his emotions toward Theresa were growing more fucking complicated by the day. He’d figured the sex thing would cool down. He was, after all, thirty-five, and though he’d always had a healthy sex drive, his days of thinking about sex nonstop—not to mention doing it nonstop—had disappeared sometime in his twenties. Man, had Theresa ever proven him wrong. He fucked her every single night, sometimes twice, and still he wanted her all the time. When he wasn’t fucking her, he was thinking about fucking her. About peeling back her shirt and sucking her tits into his mouth, sinking to his knees so he could slip his tongue inside the delicious heat of her cunt. He kept his thoughts deliberately crude, refusing to think of what they were doing as anything but fucking, pure and simple. But as he watch
9 V ince’s mind and body were spinning out of control. Phone sex. He was in the middle of one of the biggest deals of his career, and he’d nearly missed an important investor meeting because he was busy having phone sex with Theresa in his hotel room. Even without Theresa actually there, it was still a sexually satisfying experience. Yet it left him unfulfilled and on edge, like giving a starving man a tiny taste of an appetizer when what he really needed was an all-you-can-eat buffet. He was crazy about her. He’d realized his feelings were intensifying well past the point of merely sleeping together, but he hadn’t realized how far gone he was until he was forced to be away from her for a week. Not even. Jesus, he was out of his mind after only five days away from her. He thought about her nonstop, wondering what she was doing. Wondering if she missed him, embarrassed that he missed her as much as he did. He told her he hadn’t had time to call, which was a lie. He’d forced himself not
10 “W hat are you doing here?” she said, taking great pride that her voice betrayed none of her panic. With his light brown hair, blue, blue eyes and sculpted, almost pretty features, Mark Silverton resembled a daytime soap star. It was only when you looked closely that you saw the signs of his true character. The slightly bloated belly on his lanky frame from too many nights of hard drinking. The red-rimmed eyes and pallor from too many hours in smoky back rooms over never-ending hands of poker. The almost undetectable redness around his nostrils from snorting controlled substances. Theresa had seen none of this when she first met him. She’d been blinded by his good looks and the attention he paid her, and she’d thought his less than legal activities made him sexy after her years of only dating boys her parents approved of. Out with her friends, she’d met him at a bar and she’d been swept off her feet by that first charming smile. Too bad she hadn’t been wise enough to recognize him f
11 T he sound of thirty assorted Bellessis and Ciprianis hit Theresa as she and Vince walked into Ciao Bella the following afternoon. It should have been a comforting sound, a welcoming sound, but instead the loud, boisterous voices clashed in her head, rang in her ears, and made the nervous pit in her stomach take hold and grow roots. Vince’s silent presence beside her was small comfort. He’d been acting distant all day, and she knew why. Somehow he’d known she was lying about the necklace. She’d seen it in the way his eyes had narrowed, the way his mouth pulled tight. She’d been in bad situations before, tasted the bitter edge of desperation. But she’d never spent a longer, colder night than last night, when he’d left her with a dismissive kiss. He’d taken her to the edge, taken her to the brink of falling apart. Taken her completely. Then left her, as though he had no more use for her. That wasn’t fair, she knew. He was angry and had every right to be. He wasn’t a man who was often
12 T he next night, Theresa had barely gotten through the door of Ciao Bella before Gia enveloped her in a hug. “Tressie, why didn’t you call me back? I was so worried after what happened.” Theresa fought back tears at her cousin’s concern. Frankly, her tears surprised her, since she was pretty sure she’d bawled out all the liquid in her body over the course of the last twenty-four hours. “I’m okay, Gia,” she said. “Nothing to worry about.” “One look at you and I know that’s not true. You shouldn’t let your father upset you so much. Now I know he’s your father, and my uncle, but I swear sometimes that man makes me want to take a rolling pin to his head like Zia Catherine used to do with Zio Vito. Do you remember?” Theresa managed a weak chuckle at the memory. “You don’t have to bash any heads on my account. I’m just sorry I ruined your dinner.” “Please,” Gia said, waving her off. “It’s not a Cipriani-Bellessi holiday if we don’t have a good brawl. But it makes me sad to see how much he
13 V ince stood outside of Ciao Bella, feeling more insecure than he could ever remember. It wasn’t a sensation he was familiar with, and not one he enjoyed. And the fact that it was a woman who had him twisted in knots didn’t make it any easier to take. It had been a little over a week since he’d watched Theresa drive away. Coldly taken her key back and sent her away without so much as a “have a nice life.” Nine days later, he was hovering outside Ciao Bella, having come to the realization that pushing her away was maybe the biggest mistake of his life. Actually, it had only taken him about a day and a half to figure it out, but by then he’d been on a plane to Singapore and hadn’t been able to do anything about it. If he was completely honest with himself, he wasn’t sure there was anything he could do about it now. Not after the way he’d treated her. He cringed every time he thought about the things he’d said, the way he’d acted. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her face, white an
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