Nico (Ruin & Revenge #1)(38)

His heart thundered in his chest as he straightened his jacket and tie. “Follow them out,” he said quietly to Luca. “Take their phones. If the cops show up, call Charlie Nails. He knows what to do.”

Nico had a bead on the top brass in every police station in the city. He’d given the details of the corrupt cops on his payroll to Charlie Nails who could handle both the bribes and any legal problems that arose. Unless the feds were involved, no member of Nico’s crew ever spent a night in jail.

He half expected Mia to be gone when he returned to the game, but she was still there, leaning against the table, casually sipping a drink, like she was just waiting for him to come back from the bar.

“I should be disgusted by that brutal display of violence, or at the very least, terrified.” She bent over the table, took her shot, left him with a tough bank.

“Are you?” He didn’t want to know, but he did.

“Make that last shot, and I’ll tell you.” She chalked her cue, one hand twisting back and forth over the polished knob while the other slid up and down the smooth, wooden stick almost as if she were pumping …

“Mia.” He gave a soft growl of warning before easily making the bank. With adrenaline still pumping through his body, and the object of his desire close at hand, failure wasn’t an option.

“What? Feeling distracted because you’re in a sprint to the finish? Do you prefer it long and slow before you sink your balls? Or are you off your game because you just finished beating a guy to a pulp because he was checking out my ass?

“Jesus fucking Christ.” He threw his stick on the table and yanked her against him, driven by a primal need to conquer and claim. The moment their bodies touched, lust, wild and raw tore through him, and his voice, when he uttered his demand, was thick with desire. “Tell me.”

She licked her lips, slowly, sensuously, her tongue sweeping the lush pink bow until it glistened before she whispered in his ear. “I don’t know if it’s because it was you, or because you did it for me, but it was so fucking hot, all I want to do is get you alone, tear off your clothes and—”

And he couldn’t wait. Not one more second. He had to have her.

Now.





TEN

She knew she was in trouble even before he grabbed her hand.

He’d been like a caged lion when he returned from the fight, only half-focused on the game, the other half on her. If he hadn’t been so good at the game, she could have used his distraction to her advantage, but he wasn’t just good, he was amazing. Professional level. Not a straight shooter like her.

Now she owed the mobster a favor, and as he tightened his arm around her waist, she was in no doubt what that favor would be.

“Anyone in your office?” His breath was hot against her neck, making her shiver despite the heat in the room. Her stomach knotted, her arousal soaring as his free hand glided over her curves. His fingers toyed with the hem of her shirt, bunching it up the back as he slid his hand beneath the cotton, exploring her bare skin with a whispered caress. Possessive. As if the rest of the evening was a forgone conclusion. Which, after he’d just beaten a man to protect her, it was.

“No.” She wanted him, had wanted him since she walked into the pool hall, and she wasn’t afraid to let him know it. Usually she kept her hook-ups discrete and short-lived to protect her dates from her father. But this wasn’t a man who needed protection. This was the man her father feared.

With a groan, he spun her around, dropped his hand to her waist and ground his hips into her ass, as the hot, sultry sound of Peder’s “The Sour,” played over the speakers. She was wet as much from the knowledge he wanted her, as from the way he handled her body, like he knew exactly what he was doing, like he was totally and utterly in control. And yet only a few minutes ago, he had been lost in a battle frenzy, a predator subduing his prey.

She tilted her head to the side and looked over her shoulder at him. His face was dark with desire, and she felt his low rumble of pleasure in every inch of her body. She wiggled against him and his free hand snaked under her shirt, moving upward with obvious intent. Mia slammed one arm over her breasts. Yes, she wanted him, but not with everyone watching.

“Don’t deny me.” His words held a dangerous, primal undertone, one that sent a thrill of fear through her body.

“I have no intention of denying you, or myself.” But one of them needed to exercise some restraint, and it clearly wasn’t going to be him.

He gave a grunt of satisfaction, and swept his fingers over her shoulder, pushing her shirt aside. His mouth was warm against her skin as he kissed her shoulder, licking and tasting her, teasing her neck with the scrape of his teeth. Her blood turned to molten lava and streamed through her veins.

“Not here, Nico. I know most of these people.”

“Upstairs.” He slipped to her side, one arm around her waist, paused to say a few words to Frankie. She grabbed her bag and her boot, and he guided her through the pool hall to the back stairway leading to her office.

It was dark, but she didn’t turn on any lights, letting the faint glow from the pool hall, and the exit lights guide her up the stairs. When she reached the door to her office, she turned. “Should we tell—?”

His hands wrapped around her ribcage and he lifted her, shoving her back against the wall. Hot and hard, his body pressed against her, forcing her thighs apart to accommodate his hips. He was rough, demanding, and as wild as she had imagined he would be.