Deception (Infidelity #3)(94)

“You were?”

“That lasagna wasn’t heaven on my tongue.” He lowered his head and ran his tongue along the seam of my folds.

“N-Nox!” I writhed against the restraints as his strong, unyielding grip held my hips in place.

He teased my core, my clit, and lapped at my essence. Mercilessly, he set off flares as the kindling of my flesh scorched from his searing touch. I longed to weave my fingers through his dark hair, to push him harder against me; instead, he taunted, igniting sparks but not allowing them to fully combust.

As I moaned in both agony and ecstasy, Nox sat back and reached for the vibrator. With a flip of a switch, the room filled with the combination of its echoing hum and my mindless whimpers of unmet need.

Nox’s brow lengthened as he moved closer. In his hand wasn’t the vibrator that I’d expected. In his grasp was a black blindfold, one that I’d never before seen. Without a word, he eased the elastic over my head, darkening my world.

With the loss of vision, the vibrator’s hum was amplified. Each movement made as Nox shifted upon the bed was more pronounced. Even the scent of our impending union was heightened. I flinched as Nox sucked one of my nipples, his teeth grazing the hardened nub. Anticipation covered my skin, leaving chills as well as a sheen of perspiration in its wake. My breathing hitched and my heartbeat hastened as I waited, blind to his next move.

Then all at once, Nox’s thunderous voice reverberated against the walls, his question echoing in my ears. “Tell me, princess, you didn’t really want to misbehave, did you?”





“RESPECT,” VINCENT SAID through the phone. “It seems that you haven’t taught your son to respect the family. It’s time he learned.”

My throat clenched at his threat. “I have. He’s young. What are you talking about?”

“Young? Lennox is twenty years old. He’s an old man in our world.”

“He’s not in our world.”

“And whose fault is that?” Vincent asked.

“Mine. It was my choice. We had an agreement. I don’t know what you’re doing, but do it to me instead.”

“It’s too late.”

My knees gave out as I sunk to my chair behind my desk. The office where I sat disappeared, as did the view from the windows overlooking the financial district. Nothing mattered. “I have respect. I pay my dues. Do you want more? I can do that. I will, because we’re family. Family, Vincent. Lennox is family.”

“Newark.”

It was his only response before the line went dead.

Newark. What the hell?

And then I knew. I remembered Lennox’s ridiculous hobby. I’d told him to stop—more than once. I’d told him that he shouldn’t be spending so much time in New Jersey. Brooklyn was where his family was. New York was his home as he attended NYU.

I pushed the button on my desk phone. “Michelle?”

“Yes, Mr. Demetri?”

“Have my car brought up from the garage. I need to leave.”

“Sir, you have one more meeting.”

“Cancel it.”

“But, sir, Judge Walters is already here.”

Joseph Walters had already been helpful in a few court rulings over the years through his influence in not only New York, but also his connections elsewhere. Not only was he moving up in the circuit courts, he had tenure at Columbia.

“Michelle, send him in and call for my car.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Judge,” I said, rounding the desk as Michelle led him into my office. “I apologize. I just received an urgent call. I’m afraid I’ll need to cut this meeting short.”

Joseph nodded. “I understand, Oren. Things happen. I just wanted to let you know that I see the wheels turning. I don’t like where it’s going.”

“Marijuana?” I asked.

“Yes. Legalization will upset many people. Many groups who have a vested interest in it remaining, shall I say, untethered by legal restraints and regulations.”

The Costello family had never dealt in drugs of any kind. It was a hard, fast rule of Carmine’s, and Vincent had stood strong on the same belief. It wasn’t that the Costellos were against making money in illegal endeavors. It was that there were others who specialized in the drug trade. Others who knew to pay their dues. Everything from marijuana to cocaine, meth, and crack. Most recently the news reported increased heroin usage, especially across the bridge.

In Newark.

“Judge, I really need to go. What can I do to stop the trend for legalization?”

“I know you have connections.”

Yes, quid pro quo.

“Ones that wouldn’t be appropriate for me to speak to directly,” he continued. “I can help with writing the legislation. I need to know more, to learn details. If you can help me with that, I can help you. I recently saw an emissions bill that could end up costing Demetri Enterprises a fortune in government penalties or refinery alterations to avoid them.”

“You tell me who and what,” I said, looking at my watch. “I appreciate the heads-up on the emissions. Next week?”

“Yes,” Joseph Walters agreed as we exited my office together.

“Michelle,” I called toward her desk. “Lock up my office. I’ll be back in the morning.”