Gun Moll (8 page)

What little he had
left, that was. After the bills for his mother’s home and the bit of savings
he’d given to his sister—not to mention his own—Mac’s money well was running
dry again. Another fight was an option, but that was like playing with fire
when another family’s organization was involved. Too much integration with
another family and Mac would find himself in a makeshift grave before he even
knew what happened.

Then again, Mac
didn’t even know if he could make up that kind of money in a quick time frame.
It would probably top twenty grand or more, knowing the kind of electronics
that had been inside the truck. A loan shark was an option, but the interests
were a killer. Literally.

“I’ll figure
something out,” Mac repeated.

“Do that, or we’ll
end up having to take out a rival.”

“What can I get
you?” the tattooed bartender asked.

“A beer,” Mac
replied.

Something he could
chug fast and get a hit from. Nothing too strong, just something good enough to
take the edge off. After his discussion with Guido, he’d earned the drink.

The cell phone in
his pocket buzzed with a call, but Mac ignored it. The electric feel of the
music and the cold beer the bartender passed him was enough to lull him into a
calmer state. He wasn’t about to ruin that with nonsense like a phone call.

Besides, it was
probably his mother wanting him to show at church in the morning.

Mac was in no mood
to travel all the way to Amityville for Mass.

Tipping the bottle
up to his lips, Mac chugged half the beer in a single go. As he brought the
bottle down, a flash of russet eyes and caramel skin caught his eye. Just like
earlier, he took notice. He knew that face and that feisty smile.

Shit.

Melina.

Bad timing
, Mac
thought as he glanced around the club. It wasn’t a good place to be getting
mixed up with a woman, not with it being mob-owned
. But what were the odds
,
he wondered. It seemed like the more he turned around, the more he kept running
into the dark-skinned, sexy-as-fuck woman. Her sharp tongue and sassy demeanor
never failed to surprise him, either.

Mac had a lot
going on.

Too much to be
messing with a woman who clearly had some kind of attitude problem.

He wished he would
have listened to his inner voice, but when he noticed one of Guido’s guys—a
made man who made his money by crossing off names when asked—dancing with
Melina like he wanted to take a bite out of her, Mac was already pushing off
the bar. A hot ball twisted in his gut, sending him across the club’s floor
quicker than he thought was possible. Not a single person got in his way, but
that might have been because they noticed the pissed off look he wore.

No claim.

Mac had no claim
on Melina, but he didn’t like the sight of a man touching her. Certainly not a
man like Vincent Carracci.

Jealousy was a
goddamn monster.

Mac wore that
monster well.

M
elina swayed to
the beat of the music. The drink she’d had was giving her a slow buzz and the
pair of strong arms around her weren’t too bad, either.

“You’re so damned
beautiful. You know that,” her mysterious dance partner said.

She smiled. “I’ve
been told that a time or two.”

“Good. Nice to
know there are still some honest people left in the world.”

“And would you be
one of them?”

“Hardly.”

That voice.

Melina’s eyes
narrowed as she calmly took a step away from her companion.

“You know, I think
this might qualify as stalking,” Melina said.

She stared into a
pair of mocking hazel eyes. Arms folded across his chest, head tilted to the
side with a small smirk, Mac Maccari was a sight for sore eyes.

“Mac, what are you
doing here?”

“You know, Vin,
the usual. Business.”

Melina stared
between the two men on either side of her. The air was suddenly thick around
her.

“You two know each
other,” she surmised.

“Yeah, we do,
doll.”

Melina momentarily
gritted her teeth. “I thought we’d established that I don’t like that word.”

“And I thought you
understood what I meant by that, Melina.”

His gaze bored
into hers with the intensity of a thousand suns. She swallowed hard and was
forced to look away.

“Look, Mac, I
don’t know what kind of game you’re playing but this lovely lady and I were
enjoying ourselves before you so rudely interrupted, so beat it and spare
yourself some embarrassment.”

Vin’s hand slid
around Melina’s waist and she took notice of him. His eyes were hard and a
muscle worked in his jaw. Clearly, whatever relationship Vin and Mac had, was
not an amicable one to say the least.

“Vinny, I think
you’d do good to remove your hand, before you lose it.”

Melina put a hand
to her waist. “Mac.”

Mac’s eyes flicked
to her briefly, before they turned back to the man with his hand still resting
on her waist.

“Who the hell do
you think you are? I eat guys like you for breakfast. No one’s buying the tough
guy act you’re putting on,” Vin said.

“That’s too bad.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Before Melina
could blink, she was spinning away from Vin and he was hitting the floor. Mac
stood with the heel of his shoe pressed against the man’s throat. The smirk
never left his face.

“The next time I
ask nicely, you’d do well to listen.”

People were
starting to pay attention to them now. Melina’s eyes were open for security to
show up at any minute.

“You can stop
worrying so much, doll. Nobody’s coming to kick us out,” Mac said.

“You’re a piece of
shit, Mac,” Vin said in a choked growl on the floor, “just like your old man.”

For the first time,
Mac’s smirk slipped. Veins started to bulge in his neck and his hands formed
tight fists. The heel of his shoe pressed down harder into Vin’s windpipe. The
man’s face turned red and his hands grabbed at Mac’s ankle.

“Don’t you ever
compare me to him. You’re lucky I don’t crush your fucking throat.”

Melina’s heart
felt as if it were on a rollercoaster, rising high up in her throat and then
plunging back down to her gut. Even more strangely, she didn’t know whether she
should be scared or turned on. She gasped as Mac’s fingers circled her wrist
and pulled her towards him.

“Melina and I will
be leaving now.”

Without a
backwards glance at the man he’d just sent sprawling to the floor, Mac started
walking, dragging Melina with him.

“Let me go. What
the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Mac ignored her
and continued moving her towards the outskirts of the dance floor. His grip was
firm and strong. The club goers around them had already lost interest. Melina
would get no help from them. It was up to her, like always. Digging in her
heels, Melina stopped walking and jerked away from Mac with all her strength. He
stopped walking briefly, glared at her, and then picked her up and put her
across his shoulder.

Melina slapped Mac
in the back. “I swear to God if you don’t put me down, you are going to regret
it.”

“I’d love to see
what kind of regret you have in mind, doll.”

“Stop calling me
that.”

Melina tried to
squirm from her position, but Mac wasn’t budging. He continued walking, until
he led her into what looked to be a small storage room and kicked the door shut
behind them. He eased her down so that she was sitting on the side of a small
black and gold table. The second she was free, Melina swung at Mac but he
easily dodged her fists. Grabbing her wrists, he easily bent them down to the
table. At the same time, he maneuvered himself to step between her legs.

“Now, that’s
better,” Mac said.

She could feel the
hard ridge of his cock pressing into the junction between her thighs. Melina
wanted to ignore it, but she couldn’t.

“You’re a real
asshole, you know that?”

Mac shrugged.
“I’ve been called worse, but considering I just saved you from making a
colossal mistake, I think you could call me something other than an asshole.”

“What the hell are
you talking about? I was just dancing.”

“Yeah, with a
known enforcer. Vincent Carracci is not a guy you want to mess with.”

Melina rolled her
eyes. “Please spare me. He was the first decent-acting guy I’ve come across in
ages.”

“Then you need to
get out more, doll, but not to a place like this. You’re just asking for
trouble coming here.”

Melina shifted on
the table, but Mac didn’t let go of her wrists. The fool had the nerve to smirk
as her moving brought them into even closer proximity with each other. His gaze
dipped down lower to her breasts and consciously, Melina tried to address the
rising and falling of her chest. What was it about this guy that left her tied
up in knots? One minute she wanted to knock the smirk off his face. The next
she wanted to fuck his … no, she wouldn’t go there.

“Throb
is
the latest hot spot. I’m just here for an enjoyable evening. What could
possibly be so bad about me being here?”

Mac leaned closer
to her, until their lips were only a breadth apart.

“Because this
place is mob-owned, sweetheart. They chew up and spit out beautiful women like
you. They hook a girl on decent drinks and good-looking men, slip them whatever
will make them fly, and then keep reeling them in until they’ve got no choice
but to come back for what they need, what they’re provided with here. You have
no idea how men like Vincent work or what they do for this club.”

Melina cocked a
brow. “Come on. Everyone knows the mob is dead. You’re going to have to do
better than that.”

“Sometimes
ignorance is bliss, but not in this case. Why do you think I was acting like
that?”

Melina shrugged.
“I thought you were just being your usual arrogant self.”

Mac laughed.
“Cute, but no. I wanted Vincent to think you were my girl so he’d back the hell
off. There are rules in the world of mafioso and messing with a man’s woman is
a big one to break. You don’t need to be mixed up with a guy like him.”

“So I should be
with a guy like you?”

“Maybe. Maybe not,
but whatever you do, please don’t come back here, Melina. I wouldn’t want to
see anything happen to you.”

She licked her
lips. “And why is that?”

“Because I don’t
want to be held responsible for killing the next man dumb enough to put his
hands on you.”

Melina swallowed
hard. “Kill?”

Mac rubbed his
nose against hers. “Mmhmm.”

She knew she was
poking a bear. Melina could feel the change in the atmosphere. Suddenly, she
felt achy and hungry at the same time.

The moment his
mouth descended on hers, Melina knew fire. Mac’s kiss burned a path from her
breasts to her sex. Her pelvis tilted towards his. She couldn’t help herself as
her mouth opened to him. His tongue slipped between her parted lips, exploring
and teasing her own. He tasted of beer and mint. Bitter and sweet, all at the
same time. Mac moaned against her mouth and she could feel the vibration all
the way down to her pussy.

Melina didn’t fight
it when he released her wrists and slid his hands around her waist. One of her
legs curved around him, holding him to her aching core. Her breasts tingled,
begging to be touched. As if sensing her unspoken desire, one of Mac’s hands
ghosted up to fondle her. His hand rubbed her nipple through the material of
her dress slowly between his thumb and forefinger. Melina whimpered and he
squeezed tight, causing her nipple to turn into a sharp, hard point as a bite
of pain chased close behind the bliss racing through her blood. She was wet for
this man. She wanted him to fuck her right there on that table.

Things had gone
far enough.

Gathering her
wits, Melina pushed Mac away, breaking the kiss. His breathing was ragged as he
stared at her with his jaw tight and lust burning brightly in his hazel eyes.
Melina wouldn’t be the least surprised if her own face was flushed. There was
something between her and Mac and it was dangerous. She didn’t let men have
control over her. She wouldn’t start breaking that by giving her control over
to this man.

Mac’s tongue
peeked out to sweep his bottom lip. “I knew a mouth that inviting had to be
sweet.”

“That has to be
the lamest line I’ve ever heard.”

“There’s no need
to go for a line when telling the truth is so much easier.”

Melina eased off
the table. “The truth is, that you saw me with another man and got jealous, so
you made up this story about the mob to get me alone. Isn’t that the truth?”

“I wish it were,
doll, but there really are things out there that go bump in the night.”

Melina smiled.
“Are you one of them?”

“Depends on who
you ask.”

“Dodging the
question. Typical man.”

“There’s nothing
typical about me, sweetheart. I’d be more than happy to show you whenever
you’re ready.”

Melina traced a
finger over Mac’s collarbone. “I’m not sure you’re ready for me.”

With a small
laugh, she moved around him and headed towards the door.

“I’ll always be
ready for you, doll.”

Melina tossed a
smile over her shoulder. “We’ll see about that.”

Opening the door,
she stepped out into the hallway and left Mac behind. A deep breath escaped her
as she headed back towards the front entrance of the club. She’d kissed him.

What the hell is
wrong with you? You don’t even like him.
Okay, maybe that
was a stretch. Was he cocksure and confident? Absolutely. Did his smart mouth
get on her nerves? Without question. But the moment their lips had touched,
she’d started to burn. Mac had unleashed something inside of her that she
thought she’d never feel.

Want.

Lust.

Need.

It scared the
absolute hell out of her.

She didn’t know a
thing about Mac.

Does that really
matter, when he kisses you like that?

Pushing open the
doors to exit the club, Melina shook her head at the long line of people still
waiting to get inside. Good luck to them. Throb
had looked like it was
at maximum capacity already. These poor fools were going to be waiting in vain.

Yes, they were
fools, but Melina was not.

There was an old
saying, “If you stick your hand in the fire, you’re going to get burned.”

She’d been burned
and there was no way she would allow herself to be consumed. Men and emotions
made a woman vulnerable. Melina wasn’t going to allow that to happen to her.
Shivering at the remembrance of their kiss, she headed down the block towards
where she had parked her car. If a simple kiss was causing her so much turmoil,
it would be better if she didn’t see Mac again. There was no telling what would
happen if she did.