Coercion (The Cassano Series Book 3) (10 page)

Adrian

Victoria has given me the most erotic experience by giving me all of herself. I’m shaking, feeling as if all the blood has drained from my head.

Instead, it’s all pumping to my pulsating cock as I come down from a dizzying high only Victoria can incite. I pull my dick from her mouth and grab some tissues off an end table. Wiping her mouth with one hand, I undo my tie with the other.

Her hands come up and wrap around my legs. As her head leans against my thighs, I question why she’s latched onto me. I feel like I should be the one doing the hugging.

“Thank you for letting me serve you.”

“Fuck. Victoria, stand up.” I pull her naked frame into my arms. “Your genuineness is remarkable, and I don’t believe I could love you more than I do. It’s already beyond measure.”

Lowering her to the sofa, I lie between her legs and pull her to me. Her fingers weave into my hair as I give back to her, eating her pussy like I can’t get enough. I am a hungry man when it comes to Victoria, feeling like I can never get my fill of her. I almost lost her, and I can’t let it happen again. I’m terrified something is going to separate us.

She’s unabashed in her cries of pleasure, the sounds echoing in the spacious room. Her legs are spread wide, heels close to her ass.

I angle my gaze up at her to take in the view. It’s ecstasy as her half-lidded eyes watch what I’m doing, her mouth parted and breathing ragged.

My erotic goddess is sprawled out, vulnerable and baring all for my senses. This feels like it’s for me once again, so I pull her closer to my fiery breath and lick her until she’s screaming my name.

She’s my whole world, and I fucking love her.

***

A good hour has passed since I carried her to our bedroom and made love to her like she deserved. Our sticky bodies are tangled, and we’re right where we should be.

“I love you, and you know I want this whole situation over as much as you do,” she says. “Right?”

I kiss the top of her head. “Yes, I know that.”

“Then don’t freak over what I’m about to say.” My body tenses. “This perfect evening is what made me think of it.”

“OK,” I say drawn out.

“I can’t live here while we’re trying to bust Sanders. I can’t believe I’m asking this of you, but I need you to lease me an expensive condo and just as expensive of a ride.”

I lean back and look down at her, so she pulls away from my chest. “I’m trying to see if you’re fucking serious right now.”

“Adrian, I’m sorry, but we can’t risk Noah seeing us together. He might have me followed, and I need credibility if I’m supposed to be some big time dealer.”

“Fuck!” I kick the sheet off of me as I behave about as well as a two-year-old boy. “I just got you back.”

“I know. I don’t want this, but you’re only angry because you know I’m right.”

“I’m angry because we’re going to have to be apart–a lot.”

Victoria cups my cheek. “Please, stay in the present with me. I need you here. We’ll make it work and find a way to see each other some.”

I pull her hand to my mouth and kiss it. My eyes close as her words register with me. “Some.”

“I’m sorry. Maybe it won’t be for long.”

Zev

A week has passed since I last spoke to Tara, but it hasn’t made me think about her any less. I’ve tried to stay away from her as much as possible by not going to the lounge when she’s there. The pull to be close to her is overwhelming, and I don’t get it. Why her?

I dragged Kruse out with me the other night to find some women. I would’ve taken Simon, like usual, but he’s up Sadie’s ass every free minute he gets.

We found some hot, young ass at the Bellagio. I went back to this brunette’s apartment and fucked her brains out. That is if she had any to begin with.

It didn’t mean shit, but I at least worked out some of the tension that had built up in my ballsack from the blonde who won’t stop sharing space in my fucking head.

I have too much shit going on right now. My administrative assistant has cancer and has no clue when she’ll return. Yeah, I feel bad for her, but I need some damn help.

On top of that, I’ve been dodging Noah, and I know my time has run out. I need to make a buy from him, and he’s going to press me about Tara.

Last, Victoria is going to be playing poker in the lounge soon, and although I won’t be directly affected, it’s another stressor, knowing what we have at stake and what we’re keeping from Noah. If something or someone blows her cover, we could all go down.

I’ve hit a point where I have to go into the lounge. I haven’t shown my face in there for days, so I should be social with our clients and ensure they’re being taken care of. I also need to speak to Shannon about getting me some help with all my paperwork and shit.

I stroll into the lounge and exhale a deep breathe. I know Tara is working tonight. OK, I probably could’ve checked on my clients last night when she wasn’t here, but dammit, I want to have a look at her.

Matthew Becker crosses my path first. He stops me at his table during a break in the game. He’s a young CFO of a construction company. Daddy ran it first and has handed it over. Needless to say, Mr. Becker isn’t getting his hands dirty except in this place.

“How are you, Xavier? I haven’t seen you for several days.”

“I’m good, Matt, and you?”

“Life’s treating me fair, but I must say that your fine servers are holding out on me.”

I wish I could tell the poor guy that it’s probably because he didn’t inherit looks along with money. He can pay to be in this lounge, but it’s a little more difficult for him to get company outside of it. Shannon might have to put a little pressure on the girls to give the hard-up guy a date.

“They’re having some busy nights, so they’re probably exhausted after. Give them a little time, and I’m sure they’ll come around.”

I pat his shoulder and move on my merry way. Glancing around, I see there is only one female client in the lounge, and she’s only one of two who are members of Royal. Victoria is going to stick out like a sore thumb, especially as attractive as she is.

Hell, I probably won’t need servers because every male client will be trying to stick their dick into Victoria. I’ll have to warn her about fights and lecture Adrian about watching the cameras. I know this is going to turn into a damn nightmare.

It’s why I have to find a way to make a huge drug deal with Noah before then. If I can make one large enough, he’ll go down, and hopefully the FBI can figure out who’s above him.

I spot Tara from across the room. She’s grinning, chatting it up with that fucker Brian Nash. He’s twenty-five and an arrogant ass like Sanders. He won his fortune through poker, so most of the clients hate playing with him.

He pushes the limits with my servers, slipping a hand around their waist or brushing their ass when they go by. Shannon believes they only tolerate it because they find him attractive. Does Tara find him attractive? Hell, I wonder if she’s been out with him.

My jaw stiffens, so I peel my eyes off of her and head to Shannon’s office.

“Xavier, there you are. You’ve been held up in that office of yours for days.”

“I need help. Lucille is out with breast cancer, so who the hell knows when she’s coming back? Got any ideas?”

“I can have HR interview some people for you and get a temp hired.”

“How long will that take?”

“Oh, about two weeks.”

I slip a hand along the nape of my neck and rub it. Sometimes the money and power isn’t worth all the stress that comes with this job. “That’s too long. I need someone ASAP.”

“Sorry, but I can’t snap my fingers and have a helper appear.”

The thought that’s been festering in the back of my mind springs its way to the front. Tara could help me. I’ll keep it strictly platonic.

I could tell she’s all about “attention to detail” from the way she noticed my wrist brace and knew all about her perfume.

“What are you thinking?” Shannon asks as she leans back in her chair. Crossing her arms, she inadvertently pushes her rack up for me to see. She’s too old, but I mean, they’re tits. I’m gonna notice.

“Uh, I was thinking how that Northrup girl mentioned she had a business degree.”

Shannon’s head starts moving from east to west.

“No, Xavier. She’s my prettiest girl. The men love her and spend a ton on liquor to have her serve it to them.”

“Come on, Shannon. What if we share her? Just let me have her three days a week for a few hours.”

What if we share her? Let me have her.

Do you even hear yourself, dickwad? Yeah, I’ll be trying to fuck her brains out, too.

I lay on my most pitiful look, hoping Shannon will cave. Her hand finally swats my way. “Fine, fine, but first you need to see if the girl is even interested. She wasn’t hired for that, so I’m not making her do it.”

“Uh, OK. I’ll go ask.” Leaving Shannon’s office, I scope out the lounge. Royal is about half the size of Elite. It costs a pretty penny more to be a member in here, and we like the intimate feel. The idea is for Royal members to feel like they’re special–royalty special.

I spot Tara and see that Noah Sanders has his hand around her hips. He brings her in closer as she stands next to where he’s sitting. I want to beat that smug grin right off his face. I better not approach her now, or I’ll be accused of cock blocking again, so I wait for her to leave his table.

She heads toward the bar, so I meet her there.

“Tara.”

She barely glances my way. “Good evening, Mr. Cassano. What can I do for you?”

“It’s Zev,” I enunciate each word sharply, a little pissed that she’s being so formal, “and I need to speak with you.”

Setting her tray on top of the bar, she sighs and turns my way. Of course, her eyes are cast downward.

“You told me I’d be wise to run away from you,” she mutters.

“It’s business.” Her gaze lifts to meet mine, and
holy hell
, I’m so fucked with this one. There is a soft glow to her flawless skin I want to blame on the dim lighting.

I also want to place blame on our lighting for how extraordinary her blue eyes appear tonight. Round sapphires gaze back at me, but they’re no ordinary gem. No, they look as if diamonds have been set with them, incorporating a sparkle in with the deep blue. They dazzle.

Sparkle. Dazzle. Fuck, who am I? 

“Let me deliver these drinks.”

My hand trails over my hair as I look away to regain my bearings. “Yeah, sure.”

Get your shit together, Zev. Own this situation. Don’t let it be the other way around.

Tara returns and attempts to avoid eye contact. She’s nervous, and that’s exactly how I want her. “I need some administrative help. My employee is going to be out for a while, and Shannon said she wouldn’t mind if we split up your time.”

“Will you be there while I’m working?”

“Lucille has an office off of mine. You can work in there, so I will be close, but not on top of you.”
Like I’d like to be.

Tara blushes from my choice of words and glances around. “If you’re sure this is purely business, I’m fine with it. It will give me a break from all the unauthorized touching.” Her eyes flash to one of the tables as she scowls.

Shit, she’s really done with me. I guess I asked for this after the incident in the elevator. I never planned on touching her then, but when she tore into me, thinking I had told Adrian to have a talk with her, it turned me on.

“Cool, you can start tomorrow. Work for me from five till eight, and then the rest of the night you can be in Royal. I’ll let my bouncer know to escort you back.”

“Sounds like a plan. Goodnight, Zev.” Her sapphires lose a little glimmer as a touch of sadness washes over them.

This is probably a bad idea. I’m going to hurt her. Inevitably, I’m going to take what I want from her, and like a typical me, I won’t be able to give her anything in return. There is nothing good in me to give.

Victoria

Tara picks me up at my apartment for a day of shopping to ensure I have the right attire to play poker in the Royal lounge.

I feel bad. I haven’t spent much time with my closest friend, Cicely, in a long while. I wish I could take her shopping, but I need someone with first class taste who knows the designer brands, and that person is definitely Tara.

I also wish I could take my older sister, Nicole. This would be an incredible bonding moment for us, but I don’t want her inquiring why I have the funds to buy a designer wardrobe. I can explain it to Tara without her pressing me for more information.

“I’m so excited!” she proclaims as I slide into her fairly new, white Honda Accord. “When you said Adrian gave you the money to buy an entire wardrobe, I knew it was going to be an amazing day.”

“OK, but I need to fill you in on a few things. I’m doing some detective work at Submission. I normally wouldn’t offer up that information, but you play a role in it since you work in the Royal lounge.”

She takes a glimpse at me and bites her lip.

“This gets more exciting by the minute.”

“I’m going to be playing poker in the Royal lounge, and you cannot let on that you know me outside of there. You can’t disclose that I’ve ever worked for Submission, either. Think you can do that for me?”

“Of course. I get to be a part of official police business. That is so cool.”

“This is extremely important, Tara. I’m investigating a player, and he cannot find out I’m a cop.”

“Scout’s honor. I won’t say a word.”

I relax and set my purse in the floorboard of the car.

“So, what’s been going on in your life?”

“I have had an enthralling development. Zev Cassano and I have been flirting. OK, there’s been some touching, too.”

“You and Xavier?”

Tara blushes. “Yeah, I like him. He’s been looking out for me, which is completely unexpected, but he’s also been sending me conflicting signals. One minute he wants to be near me, but the next minute he doesn’t. I’m not sure where we stand.”

I frown when I recall Simon’s words at Rick Jacobs’s house. “Tara, you can’t date him and work in the lounge. He wouldn’t be able to handle seeing other men flirt with you and touch you. I went through this with Adrian.”

“I’ll cross that bridge if and when we get there. I need to start putting my business degree to work soon, anyway. Maybe Zev will be the reason it’s worth leaving Submission.”

Her golden blonde hair is shining from the sun casting on it, but her face is lit up more. She’s flushed and giving a mammoth grin as she looks straight ahead and drives.

I can see she’s lost right now in her fantasy of Zev. Lord, I pray he doesn’t hurt her.