Wrath: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance (Deadly Sin Series Book 1) Read online

  My body quivered with excitement. Not knowing how the rest of the evening would unfold. Would he be sweet, or rough? Would I want him to be sweet, or rough?

  Stop thinking!

  Un-zipping his pants, not even bothering to unbutton them, he pulled out the goliath that resided three inches below his zipper. He pushed me up against the wall, keeping his lips pressed against mine, his dick pressed up against my stomach. I was enthralled by the intoxicating taste of alcohol, which still wafted from his mouth to mine.

  I pulled away. "I want you and I don’t even know you," I whispered.

  "You know what you need to know," he replied, placing his palms on my shoulders, guiding me down to my knees. The floor was dirty and uninviting, but I set all that aside, once I saw what he was offering.

  Palming the back of my head, he guided my mouth onto his hard cock. I hadn’t been with any man other than Christian, and though I was slightly hesitant, my body urged me to move forward. Slowly I took him in, devouring him as I clasped onto the base for a little control. I was ready for what I was used to—roughness and complete disregard for my own comfort. But that's not what he was offering. I sucked his throbbing flesh, moaning to create an extra vibration to tickle his senses.

  He gasped quietly, placing his hands on the bathroom wall for support as I continued to pleasure him on the cold and dirty bathroom floor.

  "God, I want you," he said between breaths.

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a condom, something I hadn’t seen in awhile. He pulled away from me and slipped it on, then lifted me from my knees, spinning me around to face the wall. Cinching down my jeans, he tugged my hips toward him, separating my ass, sliding his thick dick into my slick pussy. I braced myself. He was so much bigger than Christian. So much bigger.

  Slowly, he pulled it out. I bit my lip to hold back a moan, wanting to turn to see what he was doing, but I waited patiently like a good little girl. Gently, he slipped the tip in again, filling me with his massiveness. He was sweet about it, but not for much longer.

  Guiding my hands to rest behind me on the small of my back, he began to pound himself into me, every nerve ending begging for more of what he had to offer. His passes slowed while he held his breath, as a few men entered and exited the stalls next to us.

  A groan escaped from my mouth.

  "Did you hear something?" a man asked.

  "Shhh," Liam whispered in my ear as he continued to fuck me; not at all swayed by the present danger of being caught.

  I don’t know if it was his commanding presence or his strikingly good looks, but whatever it was, I was drawn to let him dominate me in whatever way he saw fit. I willingly yielded all control to him.

  "Whatever you say, baby," I whispered back.

  Liam raked his fingers down my arms resting his hands on my hips. His right hand snaked around my waist, between my legs, and skillfully began to stroke my clit. My body tightened at his extra teasing, and I couldn’t control nature any longer. A rush of heat swept over me, my pussy blazed with satisfaction as it trembled from the aftershocks of an orgasm.

  He gently bit my ear as he continued to fuck me in that cold bathroom stall surrounded by the sounds of piss hitting urinals and drunken men boasting about the women they were going to bang that night, completely unaware of the depravity taking place in the stall next to them. Luckily they were too drunk to notice Liam marking his territory in the most intimate way.

  I wrenched my neck to the side.

  "Cum, baby," I whispered as he began to pump faster.

  His dick stiffened. His body paused. I knew what had just happened. I smiled, picturing what we must've looked like shoved up against the wall. His lips trailed over the back of my neck, biting a spot hidden by the collar of my jacket.

  "Did you like that?" he asked, pulling out of me.

  I turned, and all I could do was smile. He whipped off the condom and tossed it into the toilet. He yanked out a handful of tissue and handed it to me before zipping up his pants. Slowly, he exited the stall, and when it was clear, he motioned for me to follow.

  I couldn’t wait for the car ride home to tell Celia what happened. I knew she would be proud, and maybe a little jealous, of what I had just done, but I didn’t know how she was going to react to whom I had just done it with.

  Floating through the crowd on cloud nine, I found Celia dancing with a tall, mediocre looking white guy with nothing to offer except a brooding demeanor and a head of luscious long brown hair. I tapped on her shoulder, grinning from ear to ear.

  "Why you dirty little whore," she whispered in my ear.

  "What?" I asked innocently.

  "I can see it on your face."

  The moment was palpable as I pored over her face for clues. "I don’t know what you're talking about."

  She threw her arms around me, and said, "I'm so proud of you, bitch!"

  My stomach stopped churning, and a sense of relief washed over me. Her approval meant more to me than anything. I spent my life walking on eggshells around Christian, and I didn’t want to have to worry about Celia holding this over my head.

  She planted a kiss on my cheek then turned to continue dancing.

  "Everything okay?" Liam asked, cupping his palm around the back of my neck, pulling me close.

  His presence alone made every cell in my body ache for him. He had this gravity, a pull, and I was no match for any of it.

  "Everything is perfect," I whispered, staring into his entrancing eyes, framed by a set of thick black lashes.

  "Where have you been all my life?" he asked.

  "Locked away, waiting for you."

  He leaned in and softly pressed his lips to mine.

  Where has this man been all my life?

  The lights flicked on, and a roar of disappointment fell over the crowd.

  I broke our kiss. "I guess it's time to go."

  "Can I see you again?"

  Can he see me again?

  "I need to tell you something," I said, resting my hand on his chest as the crowd made their way past us.

  "What is it?" he asked, laying his hand over mine.

  I didn’t know how to say what I had to say. I knew I would lose him, not that I ever had him in the first place. After all, this was just going to be a one-night-stand, nothing more and nothing less.

  "I'm married," I said with the most regret I'd ever had in my life.

  There was sternness in his face, the intensity of which caused anxiety to wash over me, and I wanted to run away and hide. But after a few moments, it washed away leaving a vulnerability I had never seen in a man before.

  "I don’t care," he said.

  "You should."

  "Obviously he doesn’t make you happy," he said, laying my arm over the back of his neck.

  "It's not that simple—"

  "Oh, but it is," he interjected.

  He didn't understand who I was married to, and he wouldn’t, because I wasn’t going to tell him. There was no reason to put him in danger, and by telling him, or leading him on any further, that's exactly what it would do.

  There was a sharp tug at my jacket. "You ready?" Celia asked.

  I glanced over my shoulder to say goodbye, but he was already gone, lost in the crowd of clubbers making their way to the exit.

  "It's probably for the best," Celia said, tugging at my jacket.

  I turned to her. "You're probably right."

  I knew she was, but that fact did nothing to fill the emptiness I felt inside. We made it to the car, and back to the hotel, with some meaningless chatter in between. My mind was on Liam, and nothing else, reliving the soft feel of his lips on my skin, his skillful hands roaming my body, and the way he felt inside of me.

  I was in the shower, washing the smell of alcohol and sex out of my hair before I even snapped out my trance. Lazily, I got out the shower and slipped into the soft terry bathrobe provided by the hotel, and laid in bed, ready to close my eyes and forget the night ever happened. What was
the point of remembering since it wasn’t going to happen again?

  My lids fluttered shut and I seamlessly drifted off to sleep.

  DRUDGERY

  CHRISTIAN

  Present…

  She looked different—almost refreshed. It had been a long time since I'd seen that side of her. I couldn’t help but wonder what happened on the Chicago trip to make her smile glow, and big brown eyes shine the way they did.

  "What are you looking at?" she asked.

  "Can't a man look at his wife without the third degree?" I asked, pouring myself some coffee.

  LEXI

  "I guess? I've just never seen you do it," I replied, taking a sip of coffee, wondering why he was looking at me in such an intense way.

  Usually, his looks were just cursory glances to see who was walking into the room, but I guess if I thought back far enough I did remember a time when he would flirt with me behind closed doors. Those were the old days, though when our relationship was still new and exciting. Nowadays, he had all his side bitches to keep him occupied.

  CHRISTIAN

  "What are you doing today?" I asked.

  "Nothing much. Just hanging around here."

  "You wanna grab some lunch? I have a little free time in between meetings if you're interested that is?"

  Her eyes widened, and a smile fell over her face. "Lunch. Just the two of us?"

  "Yeah, why not?"

  "Again—it's just never happened."

  "You make me sound like some kind of animal," I said, caressing the side of her cheek with the back of my hand.

  She clutched onto my hand and pulled it away from her face. "What are you doing?"

  "I am trying to love you."

  "Like you love your other women?" she asked snidely.

  The anger in me began to stir, and I wanted to say something insulting in return, but I held back. "So, lunch?" I echoed.

  She looked at me with a confused expression on her face. "If you're sure?"

  "Who wouldn’t want to have lunch with a beautiful woman on such a beautiful day?"

  "Who are you?" she asked with a smile.

  "I'm your husband."

  "Hmm…"

  "Don't 'hmm' me, Lexi. Just be at Verona's at noon," I said, shooting her a wink before walking out of the kitchen.

  My phone vibrated in my pocket as I headed down the hallway. It was a text from Cheryl.

  Cheryl: Do you want to meet at the hotel today?

  Me: Not today.

  Cheryl: Why not?

  Me: I'm having lunch with my wife today.

  Cheryl: Your wife???

  Me: Yes. I'll text you when I wanna see you.

  Cheryl: So what? Now I come after her?

  Me: You have always come after her.

  I waited for a few seconds, and when she didn’t reply, I slid my phone back into my pocket and walked into the closet to look through the rows of finely-fitted Italian tailored suits, choosing a dark navy blue three-piece for the day. I had a few meetings with some assholes, and my lawyer, and the navy blue seemed to intimidate the less savory of the lot.

  LEXI

  A few hours later…

  The trip over to Verona's wasn't the usual drive it had always been. I was a little uncomfortable, wondering why Christian was acting so differently. Then it dawned on me—did he know?

  Gripping the steering wheel tightly, my knuckles turned white as the thought swirled in my mind, the frigid fear washing over me as I neared the restaurant. A searing honk snapped me out of my daze. I had inadvertently zipped through a red light, narrowly missing a large delivery truck.

  "Fuck!" I said, smacking the steering wheel.

  I pulled my phone from my purse and called Celia. The phone rang only once before she picked up.

  "Hello," she squealed, breathing heavily.

  "What's wrong?"

  "Nothing," she replied, still breathing heavily.

  "Are you having sex?"

  "What do you want?"

  "Christian."

  "What about him?" she asked, her voice muffled.

  "I think he knows."

  "Why do you say that?"

  "He asked me to have lunch, and he was being nice this morning."

  The phone went quiet. Her heavy breathing stopped.

  "Hello. Celia. You still there?"

  "Shit girl. I dunno—how nice was he being?"

  "Pretty nice."

  "Maybe you shouldn’t go. You can come here."

  A man's voice chimed in from the background. "What do you mean she can come here?"

  "Shut up!" Celia replied to him.

  "Your place is the first place he'll look for me."

  "Maybe he doesn’t know. How could he know? Who would tell him?"

  "Well, I didn’t tell him."

  "I would never tell on you."

  "I know, I know."

  "You're meeting him in a public place?"

  I slowed down for the next stop light. "Yeah, at Verona's."

  "Okay, feel him out. I'll call you in thirty minutes with an emergency. If you feel like he knows, then drive away and don’t come back. You hear me. Don't. Come. Back."

  "Thirty minutes?"

  "Thirty minutes."

  I hung up the phone and took in a deep breath, rubbing the shine off the black leather steering wheel with the sweat from my palms. Pulling up to the curb of Verona's, I took one last look in the rear-view mirror, making sure my makeup was at its best.

  The valet opened my door. "Mrs. Cerisi."

  "Thank you," I replied, stepping out of the Mercedes with a fake smile I'd picked up over the years.

  He switched out my keys for a valet ticket and drove off, leaving me on the curb to face Christian alone. I adjusted my red mini dress, clutched my shiny gold clutch under my arm, and readied myself for what was to come.

  Walking through the doors, I wondered what the headlines might look like tomorrow. Would they say I went missing; or would they say I had been found in an alley, shot in the back of the head, wrapped in a beautiful Persian rug?

  The Maitre d' greeted me as I entered. "Mrs. Cerisi, your husband is waiting for you in the back room."

  "The back room? Alone?"

  "No, I believe there is a gentleman with him."

  I cleared my throat. "Can you tell my husband that I had an emergency call, and I needed to leave?"

  "Ah, Lexi!" I heard Christian's voice from behind.

  I turned from the Maitre d' and put on my fake smile again, except this time I was sure there was a twinge of fear peeking through as well.

  "Christian," I greeted, wrapping my arms around his neck, trying to steady my trembling hands.

  "You're late," he said, pulling my hands from his neck as he twined his fingers with mine.

  Leading me to the back room, I spotted the man the Maitre d' told me about, facing the opposite direction. My eyes widened as I pored over the back of his head, trying to ascertain who he was.

  "The traffic was bad," I tried to explain before we got into the room.

  "I want you to meet my new lawyer," Christian said, pointing to the man, who stood from his seat and turned to me with his hand stretched out.

  The moment my eyes fell on the stranger, my heart sank into my stomach. I was in shock, and I had no words.

  "Liam Storm, this is my wife, Lexi."

  I looked into eyes mirroring mine, but he played it off rather well. "Lexi, it's a pleasure to meet you," he said.

  I, on the other hand, was not so elegant and graceful with my shock. "Uh…"

  Christian chimed in, squeezing my arm as he spoke. "My wife is being rude. I apologize on her behalf."

  "Yes, I'm being rude. It's nice meeting you, Mr. Storm."

  "Please, call me Liam."

  I nodded as Christian pulled my seat out. "Thank you," I said, laying my purse down next to my plate as I took a seat.

  "Lawyer, huh?" I asked Liam.

  "Yes, Mr. Cerisi—"

  Chris
tian interrupted. "I told you to call me, Christian."

  "Sorry. Yes. Christian, hired me this morning."

  I looked over at Christian, who was drinking his usual single malt scotch.

  "This morning you say? You just met this morning?" I asked Liam.

  "No, we met a few weeks ago. We just finalized the contract this morning," Liam replied.

  "Anyway, enough with all that. Liam was just leaving."

  Liam stood upright as Christian's phone rang.

  "I have to take this," Christian said, standing up from the table.

  Liam sat back down as Christian walked out of the room to take his call.

  I leaned over. "What are you doing here? Are you trying to blackmail me or something?"

  "No. I—"

  My phone rang, interrupting him.

  I pulled my phone from my purse. "Hello," I hissed.

  "What the fuck—does he know?" Celia's voice cracked as she spoke.

  "I don't think so. I'll have to call you back," I said, impatiently clicking off the call.

  My attention shifted back to Liam. "What are you doing here?" I whispered across the table.

  "I'm not blackmailing you. I didn’t even know who you were that night."

  "I don’t believe you."

  "Do you think either of us would still be sitting here if he knew?"

  "I don’t know what the fuck to think. You were there, and now you're here. I was never supposed to see you again."

  "Don't you think this is awkward for me?"

  "No. I really don’t," I said as Christian walked back into the room.

  "What were you two talking about?"

  "Nothing. Just asking him about his wife."

  "Yes, Liam, we never talked about family. Do you have a wife?"

  "No. I don’t have a wife."

  "Girlfriend perhaps," Christian asked.

  "No. I'm totally free."