Clean Slate (New Mafia Trilogy #2) (27 page)

Jason’s face lit up
when I tugged on his hand and started walking towards the parking lot.
Fortunately we didn’t get pulled over on the way to my apartment since Jason
broke the speed limit and rolled through several stop signs.

Chelsea was staying
with Derek so we had the apartment to ourselves. Jason flipped the futon out to
a bed while I went to the bathroom and freshened up. I was all sorts of minty
fresh by the time I was done. When I walked back into the living room, Jason
had turned off all of the lights and lit every single candle we had in the
living room. He was in the process of undressing and was shirtless; his pants
were unbuttoned and hung low on his hips. His skin glowed golden in the
candlelight, evidence of the time he spent surfing earlier. His hair had grown
out over the past few months so it skimmed the top of his broad shoulders.

Seeing him standing
there half naked, looking at me with desire and expectation written all over
his face, my mouth went dry and my palms became damp. While we had slept
together before, there weren’t any strings attached and it had somehow worked
as part of our easy, chill friendship that I’d grown to depend on. This time
was different and it would mean something, causing things to change between us.

There would be no going
back.

Jason crossed the
living room to meet me, where I stood frozen at the end of the hallway. He
cupped the back of my neck and drew me close, placing his lips gently on mine.
Slowly, I relaxed and opened to him, running my hands up his bare back. His
hands dropped to my waist, fingertips brushing against skin beneath my camisole
top. I gasped at the contact, encouraging him to explore further and he sought
out my breasts. He took his time teasing each nipple to a hard point through
the material of my shirt. I grew impatient and tried to move so I could take it
off, but he held me still, a firm grip on my hips as he placed kisses along my
collarbone, up my neck and eventually back to my mouth. I was practically
panting with want by then. His pants were already unbuttoned, so I quickly
unzipped them and they pooled on the floor around his ankles. He was hard for
me and groaned when I slipped my hand below the waistband of his boxer briefs
to stroke his length. This action seemed to spur him along as he lifted my shirt
over my head and we were skin to skin, feverish.

Jason guided us to the
futon and he lowered me onto the mattress. He hovered above, an arm on each
side of me, biceps protruding and his hair hanging down in his face, but not
enough to hide his eyes which were now a darker shade of blue. He settled
between my thighs and I welcomed his weight as he continued to kiss me. His
lips were soft, a contrast to his hard, lean body.
 
His erection pressed against my clit, the
material of my sleep shorts providing extra friction as I rolled my hips up to
meet his. Wrapping my legs around him, Jason ran a hand up my thigh and
underneath the hem of my shorts. He teased my opening, stroking with his
fingertips before sliding an entire finger inside, priming me for more. My
entire body flushed with warmth and I moved against his hand, scratching at his
back as I exploded into a million pieces.

I was literally gasping
for air when he sat up on his knees, still between my legs, and smiled down at
me.

           
“You’re so beautiful,” he said. His voice was coarse with
desire. He grabbed the waistband of my shorts and tugged, pulling them towards
him. In one fluid movement, he was on his feet, taking my shorts with him. He
quickly took off his underwear and returned to bed. He lay on his side,
watching my reaction as he slipped a finger back inside me. I moaned and
rolled, draping my leg over his hip and pressing against his hard on.

           
“Oh god, Natalie, baby. Please tell me you have condoms.”
He flicked my clit, sending a vibration through my body. I pressed my face into
his chest, holding onto his arms and rode the shudder out.

           
“In there.” I pointed at the small dresser that was
against the wall closest to the futon. Jason rolled over and opened the bottom
drawer then he stopped moving.

           
“What the fuck is this?” Holding the card up from
Dominic, he turned and faced me with an accusatory gleam in his eyes.

 
Oh shit.

***

           
“It’s not what you think,” I started to explain, but he
interrupted my train of thought when he tossed the box of chocolates onto the
bed.

           
“Are you still together?”

           
“No! He sent me a present, but it doesn’t mean anything.”

Jason opened the card
again and read Dominic’s message out loud. “Although we’re apart, you’re always
my Valentine and will forever possess my heart. I’ve sent you a reminder of
home, where I wait for your return.” Setting the card on top of the chocolates,
Jason stood and picked his underwear up off the floor and put them back on.
“That’s a pretty intense note for something that doesn’t mean anything. When
are you returning and were you planning on telling me?”

           
“It’s not like that!” I jumped up and stood in front of
him. “I’m here, aren’t I? Dom doesn’t know about us because I haven’t told him,
not that it’s any of his business.”

           
“Then what’s up with this fucking Valentine’s Day shit?”
He pulled his pants on then shrugged on his shirt.

           
“I can’t control what people send me in the mail,” I
argued, with my arms crossed over my breasts.

           
“But you held on to it. If my ex sent me crap like this,
I’d throw it out.”

           
“I don’t hate him, Jason. We didn’t have some massive
fallout.”

           
“No, you just ran across the country out of fear for your
life and here you are clinging to some sappy love poem.”

Before I could get
another word in, Jason left, slamming the door so hard the entire apartment
shook. Jason didn’t understand that Dom wasn’t a monster. We’d killed for each
other and that created a bond, but I wasn’t going to share that information
with him.

Suddenly cold, I
grabbed the comforter and wrapped it around my naked body before sinking back
down onto the futon. I should’ve stuck to taking things slow.

My mind was so
preoccupied with thoughts of Jason, that I forgot Victor was picking me up to
take me shooting. I was still on the futon, staring at a blank wall, when he
knocked on the door. I answered, wearing my pajamas. He looked me over and
shook his head. “You forgot about me, Princess? I’m crushed,” he said, placing
a hand over his heart.

           
“Shut up and get in here. I had a rough night, alright?
I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”

           
“Trouble with surfer boy?” he called after me as I walked
down the hallway toward the bathroom with a change of clothes in my arms.

           
“I don’t want to talk about it.”

           
“Want to shoot some things?”

           
“Hells yeah!” I shouted and heard him laughing as I
locked myself in the bathroom. That was the truth too. Like with running, I
found that shooting a gun was a huge stress release. Not only was it empowering
knowing I could defend myself, but with each pull of the trigger, the explosion
set something free inside of me.

When we were done,
Victor dropped me off at my apartment and Chelsea was home from work. She
already had a bottle of wine out on the counter with two glasses poured and was
in the kitchen cutting cheese to go with crackers. “Hey heartbreaker, are you
ready for our girls night?” she asked.

I should have known
Chelsea would have already heard about last night’s disaster. “Let me guess,
you saw Jason.”

           
“Oh yeah, he was pretty hurt when he got home. I think I
talked him away from the ledge though.”

           
“Really?”

           
“Yes, your girl here assured him that you are not seeing
Dominic on the side and that the present was a surprise. I think he’ll forgive.
Jase has it bad for you.” Chelsea clamped her lips shut and looked away,
suddenly finding the need to cut each slice of cheese the exact same thickness.

           
“Chels, what aren’t you telling me?”

She continued to avoid
looking at me, but eventually caved under the pressure of my stare. Sighing
dramatically, Chelsea set down the knife next to the cutting board. “He may
have let the ‘L’ word slip when he was venting to me and Derek.”

I sat down heavily on
the stool and pulled one of the wine glasses toward me. “Wow. You know he asked
me to move in with him since you and Derek are moving in together? Thanks for
telling me, by the way.”

Chelsea cringed and
placed the cheese and crackers in front of me before grabbing the other glass
of wine and sitting next to me. “I’m sorry. That’s what I wanted to talk to you
about tonight. It happened really fast and the house is super cute. We couldn’t
pass it up.”

           
“I understand. It’s okay. Hearing it from Jase first was
a surprise.”

           
“Sorry,” Chelsea chewed on her lower lip and reached for
a slice of cheese, placing it between two crackers. “So, are you going to take
Jason up on his offer?”

           
“Definitely no and last night was a clear sign to slow
things down. Actually, I think I might take over the lease here. Do you know
what I have to do?”

Chelsea smiled and
clinked her glass against mine. “I thought you’d choose this route and I
already spoke to the property manager. You just have to fill out an application
to make sure you’re not a felon and that you meet the income requirements.”

It was that simple. Two
weeks later, for the first time in my life, I was living by myself.

***

It didn’t take long for
Jason to apologize. He admitted he should have believed me, but he didn’t tell
me that he loved me. Thank God. We picked up where we left off, but with me
reverting back to taking it slow.

A few days after
Chelsea moved out, I was just getting back from an early evening run when my
phone rang. Recognizing Grant’s number I answered right away and unlocked my
apartment.

           
“Hey Grant, how are you?”

           
“I’m really good, Nat. How ‘bout you?” In the background
I could hear the faint pulsating beat of music.

           
“Doing okay. I miss you though. Are you at Crimson? I
thought you weren’t working there anymore.”

Since Grant became a Capo
under Dom, he had more responsibilities which made him give up his role as head
of security.

           
“I’m here with Miranda, we have some news.” There was
hesitation and my heart, which had been pumping hard from my run, seemed to
stop. I sat down on the edge of the futon and gripped my phone tight, preparing
for the worst: that Dominic was dead.

           
“What news?” I managed to ask even though my mouth was
bone dry.

           
“We’re moving the wedding up to May 12
^th
. I
hope this doesn’t screw things up and that you can still make it out?”

I almost laughed out of
relief. This was news I could handle, but that meant the wedding was in two
months. “Why the hurry – I thought you all wanted a fall wedding.”

           
“We have more news.” Once again, I imagined the worst:
someone was dying and they wanted to get married before this person died.

           
“You’re going to be an aunt.” I almost dropped the phone.

           
“What?”

           
“Miranda’s pregnant and she wants to get married before
she starts to really show. So can you fly out in May?”

I’d have to work some
extra shifts and maybe get a credit card to pay for the ticket, but I wouldn’t
miss Grant’s wedding for anything. “I’ll be there and congratulations you
guys!”

           
“Thanks – it’s a little scary to be honest. I’m so glad
you can still make it. Hold on, Miranda has girl stuff to discuss.”

There was some light
shuffling and muffled voices as Grant passed his phone over to Miranda.

           
“Hey Nat!”

           
“Hi, congratulations!”

           
“Oh it’s crazy. I can’t believe we have a little bambino
cooking. Your brother is so overprotective, I swear he’s going to get me
maternity clothes made out of Kevlar.” I could hear Grant protesting in the
background and I laughed. He had definitely met his match.

           
“I can only imagine.”

           
“So, since this wedding is on the fast track, can you
text me your measurements for your bridesmaid dress?”

           
“Sure, actually Chelsea took them for her wedding so I
can send them right over.”

           
“Perfect!”

           
“So how is everything else going – you know with the
family business?” I knew Miranda wouldn’t sugar coat and after the last
conversation with Grant, where he was particularly evasive about things, I was
concerned.

           
“Surprisingly things are good. We had some issues, but
nipped those in the bud. Dom made some smart business deals, which made a lot
of people happy so it’s been really calm. Dom’s a real natural, but he carries
a lot of the weight. I worry he isn’t taking care of himself. Do you guys talk
at all?”

           
“Not that often – we text occasionally though. It’s hard
with the time difference.”

           
“You should give him a call. I know you broke up, but he
misses you, Nat, and I think it would be good for him to hear from you.”

           
“Isn’t he seeing someone?” I was totally fishing for
information now, but the curiosity was killing me. I was trying to move on and
I’d hoped Dom was too.

           
“No. He hasn’t even hooked up with anyone. It’s like he
took a freakin’ vow of celibacy. Five months from now when I’m huge, I’ll
probably be wishing I did the same.” We laughed together and then said our
goodbyes. I hung up smiling at the prospect of becoming an aunt. Picturing
Grant on diaper duty made me snort. I thought about what Miranda said about
Dominic and sighed, sinking back against the futon. As much as I wanted to call
him, he wasn’t my responsibility. We weren’t together anymore and I needed to
focus on my relationship with Jason.
 

So that’s what I did.
When I wasn’t working my ass off at Dirty, picking up an extra night so I could
pay rent and put extra aside for my airfare for Grant’s wedding, I ran and
occasionally went surfing with Jason. I continued practicing shooting with
Victor, despite Jason being unhappy about it. I made sure to keep my days and
nights full. With a little bit of effort and less communication with Dominic,
Jason and I grew closer.

It was a Monday night
in early April when Jason told me he loved me.

We had ordered sushi
and brought the take out back to my apartment. After dinner we curled up on the
futon to watch a movie. Jason was spooning me from behind, his arm draped over
my waist, tucking me closer to him. His other arm was beneath my head, serving
as a nice pillow. During a heated moment on the screen between the two leads,
Jason’s hand found its way underneath my shirt and crept up my stomach. Cupping
my breast, he gently rolled the nipple between his thumb and forefinger through
the lace, spreading warmth throughout my body.

I flipped onto my back
and Jason instantly lowered his mouth to mine, slipping his tongue past my
parted lips. He moved so he was partially covering me, one of his legs placed
strategically between my thighs, applying pressure in the right place. I moved
my hips, dry humping his thigh. He continued kissing me, occasionally sucking
on my lower lip and nibbling on it, before claiming my mouth again. By this
point, the movie was long forgotten as Jason explored my body with his hands.
Nipples were teased until they were almost painfully hard. His hand slipped
underneath the waistband of my jeans, pressing fingers against the sweet spot.
My hips bucked and I moaned, encouraging him to explore deeper.

Jason removed his hand,
placing it on my stomach, and he broke the kiss. I opened my eyes, painfully
aware of my body’s needs going unanswered. Jason was looking down at me, his
expression soft yet serious.

           
“Why did you stop?” I asked.

He brushed a loose
tendril of hair away from my face before gently tracing the outline of my lips.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered and slid his hand underneath my pants
again. “Especially, when I do this.” He rubbed my clit, setting the bundle of
nerves on fire and I arched against him.

           
“Jase, oh!” I cried out when he increased the pressure,
his erection growing harder and pressing against my hip.

           
“I love you, Natalie,” Jason said and he might as well
have dumped a bucket of ice on me, that’s how effectively he stopped my body
from writhing beneath his. I tried to pull away, to push his weight off of me,
needing air. “Hey, calm down. You don’t have to say it if you’re not ready,
okay?” Jason smoothed the lines of my forehead and kissed the tip of my nose.
He was right, I wasn’t ready. While I couldn’t give him a declaration like
that, I could give him something else in return.

Wrapping an arm around
his torso and gripping his hair in my other hand, I pulled him towards me. He
tugged on my lower lip with his teeth before slipping his tongue in my mouth
and his hand found its way inside my pants again. Things were growing
increasingly hotter and our clothes were becoming obstacles.

           
“Let’s go to bed,” I said when Jason started to kiss my
neck.

           
“Are you sure?” He met my eyes, his irises darker than
their usual sea blue.

           
“Yes.” I sat up, sliding free of his body. I started
walking down the hall, leaving a trail of clothes and hearing Jason following
right behind.

By the time we reached
the bedroom, only our underwear remained. I slowly peeled my panties off while
Jason watched with rapt attention. Next was my matching black lace bra. First I
pulled down one shoulder strap and then the other. Jason swallowed as I
unclasped the back and the bra fell to the floor, leaving me completely naked
in front of him.

           
“Your turn,” I said, not recognizing the huskiness of my
own voice. I took a step closer to Jason, feeling the heat radiating off of his
chest. “Unless you want my help?” Brushing the waistband of his briefs with my fingertips,
he thrust his hips forward encouraging me, his eyes not breaking contact with
mine. I ran my hands across his flat stomach, touching each ridge of muscle
before going lower and grasping his erection through the fabric. He moaned and
put his hands on my hips, tugging me forward so his arousal pressed against my
bare stomach. I slid my hands beneath the waistband and grabbed his ass,
lightly dragging my nails across skin before pushing his underwear down. They
dropped to the floor and he stepped out of them.