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Chapter One
The night before All
Hallows Eve.
Breaking into the company
wasn’t as hard as he thought it would be. His job
guarding the multi-million dollar company made it easy.
A couple hundred dollars spent to make sure his security
partner called in sick was nothing compared to what he
could still lose.
He made his way to the
human resources room, located at the back of the
building, and unlocked the door. Guess he should be
grateful that a multi-million dollar company hired him
for security. The status of his other job ensured him a
direct position monitoring the firm.
He’d heard the company
had hired an accountant to look at the files. There was
never supposed to be a link. It was supposed to be a
clean switch, with no traces left behind. One million
dollars in exchange for freedom from his debts. He’d
taken every precautionary measure to clean up his
tracks. He’d hidden the money in an offshore account
behind a dummy company, and had doubted anyone would
ever find it. But that wasn’t a sure thing anymore. It
terrified him that the threat even existed.
He sat in the chair
behind the desk and booted up the computer. His mind
automatically flew to the meeting he’d had with Johnny
Venice, head of the biggest mafia family in New York
City, four days ago.
“I don’t have your
money right now,” he whispered, terror flooding his
bones at the piercing look Johnny threw his way. Johnny
nodded his head to one of his henchmen, who suddenly
closed in on his back. He felt the gun at the base of
his neck, and he trembled in fear of losing his life.
The sweat clung to him, like death hovering over his
soul for departure. The uniform he wore to work on a
day-to-day basis should have ensured his freedom. It
didn’t.
When you sink your
claws in deep with crime, nothing ensures your freedom.
Especially when you’re dealing with the mafia.
“You came to me to
borrow a huge sum of money. I looked at you, all decked
out in your uniform, and conceded that the man behind
the shield deserved respect. Now you stand before me
shaking in fear, practically pissing in your pants. Did
you piss your pants yet? You have one week from today to
get me that money, or the cops won’t be able to identify
your body.”
The mechanical sound
asking for a password brought him out of his reverie. He
shifted and opened the top drawer, instinctively knowing
that administrative employees always hid their codes
somewhere near.
Bingo! He pulled
the paper out and typed in the codes, accessing human
resources, searching for information on the accountant
Benjamin hired.
Shit! The Venice
Family wasn’t going to take this lightly. He could
almost taste death knocking down his door. The mafia
didn’t care about anything except getting their money.
Johnny had only given him a week to get the account
over. Now all assets were frozen until the CEO, Sheik
Benjamin Raja of Gold Fuel & Oil, investigated all of
the company and everyone employed by it.
He wasn’t going to give
in easily. There was no way he was giving up his life
because of one mistake.
He hit the Enter key and
a dark brunette with piercing blue eyes stared back at
him from the screen. All of her information downloaded
in an instant. It was a pity she had to be beautiful,
but he wasn’t going take a chance on Lacy Adams finding
out the truth.
* * * * *
Lacy smoothed out her
short cocktail dress underneath her coat and proceeded
to entire Rosa’s Mexican Restaurant. Located in
mid-town Manhattan, it was one of her favorite places to
dine. The food was appetizing, and the atmosphere was
intimate. Her stomach rumbled, hunger mixing with
nervousness. Another date with the obscure Dante DeLuca
who always managed to dance himself right out of her
reach.
She entered the cozy
restaurant, the warmth and smell of the food hitting her
immediately. She scanned the occupants, her gaze coming
to rest on the dark, brooding man occupying a corner
table. Their gazes clashed. With that sexual hazy-filled
look he threw her way, her need for him stirred once
more. Lacy found herself wishing, not for the first
time, that they were alone when he looked at her that
way.
She broke their eye
contact, using the slight reprieve to strengthen her
resolve, and made her way to the table. Dante rose,
helped her remove her coat, and draped it over the back
of her seat. He pulled out her chair and hovered over
her till she sat. Then he pushed the chair in and took
his seat.
The short table allowed
their knees to touch. Even through clothing, Lacy could
feel the heat of his skin blaring down on her. Her pussy
softened at the fire they radiated off of each other.
“Thank you,” she
whispered, desire filling her voice.
Dante’s all-too-knowing
eyes assessed her. She supposed the fact that he was
detective ingrained these characteristics in him, making
him react this way. She fought the strong urge to look
under the table, to see if his cock pressed against his
pants demonstrating his arousal.
“How was your day at
work?”
Lacy took the offered
conversation, hoping to use it to calm her sexual
nervousness. “Fine. I still haven’t found out anything
new about the funds. How was your day?”
“Same old. Chase the bad
guys, throw them in jail.” He smirked.
She looked more beautiful
now than the first time he’d seen her, Dante thought.
Her shoulders were squared back, and there was an
unusual determined gleam to her eye. He’d suffered a
severe case of blue balls since the first time he’d seen
her, not being able to fuck her like he wanted to. She
wouldn’t be just another lay for him.
Dante was hell bent on
getting to know what made the feisty beauty tick. He
paused in his thoughts as the waiter came by.
“Would you care for
something to drink before your meal?”
“Bring a bottle of
Merlot, please. I hope you don’t mind, Lacy. I took the
liberty of ordering dinner for us both. If that’s okay?”
His gaze never left her once. He handled the waiter and
kept that all-too-knowing gaze on her at the same time.
Lacy shrugged. “That’s
fine.”
He supposed he should
have expected this, but he couldn’t help the surprised
growl that released from his lips at the feel of her
hand on his knee. Lacy pushed her chair forward, the
wood scraping against the tiled floor. He knew she
wanted to get closer, and he had no intentions of
stopping her. He wanted to know how far she was willing
to take this in a public place.
Even through the fabric
of his pants, he could feel the heat of her palm on his
skin. He tried to swallow, but his throat closed up as
the lust in him rose to a dangerous, feral point. Her
hand continued to crawl up, until they reached their
destination.
Lacy pressed her palm
against his jean-covered cock, touching the size and
width of him. He was so thick and long, and she half
gripped him though his pants. He growled and moved
forward, shoving his cock into her hand.
The waiter arrived,
extending his hand to lay the food filled plates in
front of them. “Here are your meals.”
She silently cursed,
forced to remove her hand as the waiter filled their
wine glasses and awaited her taste for approval.
Lacy sipped, the light
flavor bursting in her mouth. “It’s wonderful.”
Dante nodded, and the
waiter departed. “Lacy, let’s eat. Then we need to
talk.”
She couldn’t have
imagined that hard cock gripped in her hand. He was
attracted to her—there was no question about it.
Perplexed as she was, Lacy shoved the thought aside and
proceeded to devour her meal. The next ten minutes were
spent eating quietly. The sound of a cell phone ringing
had her instinctively reaching for hers, only to find
out it was Dante’s.
“Detective DeLuca.”
Seconds ticked by as Lacy
noticed his brows pinching forward in concentration, and
his lips turned into a grim line.
“Is the perimeter secure?
I’ll be right there.”
Lacy already knew the
phone call had to do with his job. Since she’d started
dating him, she’d known he was a detective. It meant she
had to make allowances for his work. It didn’t bother
her; he was good at what he did.
She was just annoyed that
he was departing without having the air cleared between
them.
“I have to go. Duty
calls. Did you drive in or take a cab?”
“I have my car.”
“Good. Stay and enjoy the
food. Don’t worry about the meal, I’ll take care of it.
I’ll call you, Lacy.”
With a sigh, she watched
him depart from her. Another night without satisfaction
from the only man that managed to press her hot buttons. |
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