“I wish you a good life here, Giuliana,” he tells me, and I blink back the tears as realization washes over me like a poisonous flood of fury.
Closing my eyes, I breathe in deeply, attempting to calm my erratic heartbeat, to ease my simmering anger at the man who’s meant to love me. I don’t want to cry, I don’t want to give him the pleasure of seeing me break, so I don’t turn to face him again. Instead, I stalk away, mumbling under my breath, “Goodbye, Daddy.”
Lance
Groaning into a soft, warm pillow, I roll over, feeling the heat of the sun beating down on me as it streams through the small window in the roof of the building. The curtains are open, and I realize I forgot to shut them last night when I fell into bed.
The scent of whiskey burns my nostrils. I fell asleep with the open bottle beside me, the remnants leaking all over the bedsheets, soaking through the threadbare mattress I’m lying on.
My body aches. My throat feels as if there’s sandpaper scraping against it with every swallow and the thickness of my tongue is evidence I haven’t had a drop of water in a long while.
There’s a hammering in my head, the warning of drinking far too much and not listening to my body to stop when it had enough. It’s been like this nonstop, and yet the pain doesn’t go away. The reminder of Giuliana choosing to become a fucking nun is still at the forefront of my mind.
That’s the problem with alcohol. It can undoubtedly numb the ache, but the moment you wake up from the stupor, all those memories are there, glaring at you.
I shove off the bed, my head spinning as I open my eyes wide enough to take in the small attic I slept in last night. A sweet, beautiful blonde dominated my dreams with cobalt eyes. But I woke up alone. And as always, when I dream of her, I wake up hard and ready to fuck. My cock is raging a war with the zipper of my jeans, and I have to focus my mind on something else before I head down to the bar. It’s time to get out of this city and make my way to San Antonio to take out the fucker who’s been on my kill list for longer than I can remember. Since the moment I learned about him when I joined the Cavalieri, I knew he would be my mark. No other soldier will take him down.
A knock at the door sounds, causing a groan of frustration to rumble through my chest. I shove the bottle to the floor, groaning when I have to move my taut muscles, and grab a pillow, hiding the bulge prominent in my jeans.
“Come in,” I rasp toward the door.
The bartender from last night steps into the space carrying a mug of coffee, a bottle of cold water, and a couple of Tylenol. “Figured you’d need this.” She offers a smile along with the painkillers, and I nod in response.
“Feeling rough today,” I voice honestly, the words scraping along my throat, making me wince. Running my fingers through my unruly hair, I take the water and the two pills and pop them into my mouth. Swallowing back the painkillers, I gulp down half the bottle of water and reach for the coffee. “Thanks.”
She offers me an innocent smile, but I know there’s nothing pure about this woman. She plays the part well, and if I weren’t so hung over and hung up on Giuliana, I may have shoved this beauty against the wall. But after all I’ve learned, I know I need to find the one girl I love.
“I’m sorry if last night was . . . I mean . . . Did you sleep okay?”
“Yeah,” I grunt. Rising, I allow the pillow to fall to the floor, forgetting why I had it in my lap in the first place. Blue eyes land on my crotch and a soft gasp tumbles from her pouty pink lips.
“Uhm . . .” Her cheeks turn a rosy shade when she averts her gaze to the floor. “Did you want anything else?” The question, which should be fairly innocent, definitely doesn’t come out that way. And I know she’s wanting a lot more than I can offer her. Right now, or ever.
“You offering to suck my dick, darlin’?”
She blushes a deeper red than before, making me chuckle at her shyness. The girl is a contradiction if ever I’ve seen one. Stepping forward, I close the distance between us, causing her to lift her chin, her eyes meeting mine with a questioning glance.
“If it were any other day, I would’ve taken you up on your offer,” I tell her honestly because, to be honest, I would love a warm, wet mouth on my cock right now. But I have a job to do, and if I don’t get out of here now, I’m going to fuck this petite little woman ten ways to Sunday.
“I’ll be here if you’re heading back to NOLA,” she offers with a smile. Leaning on her tiptoes, she presses her pouty lips to the corner of my mouth, and her floral perfume invades my senses, causing my dick to remind me of its current state of hardness.
“Take care, darlin’,” I tell her, grabbing my leather jacket, keys, and wallet. Making my way down the stairs and out the back door to my bike, I shake my head to clear my thoughts of what I almost did.
Yeah, I’ve fucked women over the past two years, but the fact that she looked like Giuliana forced me to come to terms with who I truly want. Sighing, I shove the key into the ignition and turn until the engine roars to life.
I need a shower, and a piss, but it will have to wait till I get back to my house. I need to grab a few things before I head out to the job. Turning the bike toward home, I smile as the wind whips against my face. My shades block out the harsh sunlight, and thankfully, the painkillers are having their intended effect.
When I reach home, there’s a motorcycle in the driveway. I know who it belongs to — One of our youngest recruits — Seth Galahad. Pulling to a stop, I cut the engine and head inside. There on my sofa getting his dick sucked is the little shit.
When they hear the door slam shut, the girl flies from her kneeling position to standing in zero-point-two seconds flat; but Seth, being the little shit he is, just chuckles, giving me a salute in greeting.
“Hey, man,” he greets me with a grin, tugging the young girl into his lap.
“What the fuck are you doing here? Doesn’t the mansion have enough rooms for this shit?” I question, ignoring the brunette while she squirms. Her wide eyes glued to me. A pretty little mouse I’m certain will be hanging onto Seth as if he were a lifeline. I wonder where he was last night if he’s in here with her.
“Yeah, but I needed more privacy.”
Pointing at the exit, I grunt, “Get her the fuck out of my house. Now.”