Deception (Infidelity #3)

“It’s a good thing you didn’t…” he said and after a pause added, “…misbehave.”

“It is?”

Nox opened the case to my purple vibrator. “Because, princess, tonight’s punishment wouldn’t be my belt, though as I said, the one I’m wearing is now my favorite. I told you on the phone how I’d punish you. Do you remember?”

My exposed breasts rose and fell as my nipples tightened. “By not letting me come?” I asked, my voice softening as my thighs came together and lip disappeared behind my teeth. I could barely recall his question as my mind fully focused on the man before me. With the pink case and satin placed on the edge of the bed, Nox removed his clothes piece by piece until each one had disappeared, falling messily to the floor surrounding our bed.

Once he was naked, his broad chest turned my direction, and rock-hard erection sprung forward, pointing toward the ceiling. “Only good girls get to come,” he said as reached for the coil of black satin and crawled across the mattress toward me.

I wanted to reach out and touch him, to take his length in my grasp and stroke the solid rod covered with his velvety smooth, stretched skin. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t move or speak. I couldn’t do anything but watch with wide eyes as Nox’s defined muscles flexed and he inched closer. Each movement reminded me of a panther slowly approaching its prey.

I was the prey.

The warmth of Nox’s body covered mine, his flesh a spark to my kindling. Heat surged as he moved upward and lifted my hands.

“Do you trust me?”

It was the same question he always asked, and each time the answer came with less hesitation. “I do.”

Carefully, Nox bound my wrists before securing them to the headboard. I tugged against the restraints as he ran the tips of his fingers from the inside of my wrist, along my exposed breasts, all the way down to my waist. His chest inflated as he teased the edge of the garter belt. His hands continued their exploration as he ran lower, moving my legs to his desired position. When Nox was done, my knees were bent, the high heels were against the sheets, and my core was fully exposed.

Lowering his lips he kissed the inside of my thigh just above the stocking—but not as high as I wanted—and deeply inhaled. “You’re fucking perfect.” His deep tone sent ripples through my body causing my insides to quiver. Glancing up at me with navy swirling in his light blue eyes, Nox added, “I was wrong earlier at the restaurant.”

“You were?”

“That lasagna wasn’t heaven on my tongue.” He lowered his head and ran his tongue along the seam of my folds.

“N-Nox!” I writhed against the restraints as his strong, unyielding grip held my hips in place.

He teased my core, my clit, and lapped at my essence. Mercilessly, he set off flares as the kindling of my flesh scorched from his searing touch. I longed to weave my fingers through his dark hair, to push him harder against me; instead, he taunted, igniting sparks but not allowing them to fully combust.

As I moaned in both agony and ecstasy, Nox sat back and reached for the vibrator. With a flip of a switch, the room filled with the combination of its echoing hum and my mindless whimpers of unmet need.

Nox’s brow lengthened as he moved closer. In his hand wasn’t the vibrator that I’d expected. In his grasp was a black blindfold, one that I’d never before seen. Without a word, he eased the elastic over my head, darkening my world.

With the loss of vision, the vibrator’s hum was amplified. Each movement made as Nox shifted upon the bed was more pronounced. Even the scent of our impending union was heightened. I flinched as Nox sucked one of my nipples, his teeth grazing the hardened nub. Anticipation covered my skin, leaving chills as well as a sheen of perspiration in its wake. My breathing hitched and my heartbeat hastened as I waited, blind to his next move.

Then all at once, Nox’s thunderous voice reverberated against the walls, his question echoing in my ears. “Tell me, princess, you didn’t really want to misbehave, did you?”





“RESPECT,” VINCENT SAID through the phone. “It seems that you haven’t taught your son to respect the family. It’s time he learned.”

My throat clenched at his threat. “I have. He’s young. What are you talking about?”

“Young? Lennox is twenty years old. He’s an old man in our world.”

“He’s not in our world.”

“And whose fault is that?” Vincent asked.

“Mine. It was my choice. We had an agreement. I don’t know what you’re doing, but do it to me instead.”

“It’s too late.”

My knees gave out as I sunk to my chair behind my desk. The office where I sat disappeared, as did the view from the windows overlooking the financial district. Nothing mattered. “I have respect. I pay my dues. Do you want more? I can do that. I will, because we’re family. Family, Vincent. Lennox is family.”

“Newark.”

It was his only response before the line went dead.

Newark. What the hell?

And then I knew. I remembered Lennox’s ridiculous hobby. I’d told him to stop—more than once. I’d told him that he shouldn’t be spending so much time in New Jersey. Brooklyn was where his family was. New York was his home as he attended NYU.

I pushed the button on my desk phone. “Michelle?”

“Yes, Mr. Demetri?”

“Have my car brought up from the garage. I need to leave.”

“Sir, you have one more meeting.”

“Cancel it.”

“But, sir, Judge Walters is already here.”

Joseph Walters had already been helpful in a few court rulings over the years through his influence in not only New York, but also his connections elsewhere. Not only was he moving up in the circuit courts, he had tenure at Columbia.

“Michelle, send him in and call for my car.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Judge,” I said, rounding the desk as Michelle led him into my office. “I apologize. I just received an urgent call. I’m afraid I’ll need to cut this meeting short.”

Joseph nodded. “I understand, Oren. Things happen. I just wanted to let you know that I see the wheels turning. I don’t like where it’s going.”

“Marijuana?” I asked.

“Yes. Legalization will upset many people. Many groups who have a vested interest in it remaining, shall I say, untethered by legal restraints and regulations.”

The Costello family had never dealt in drugs of any kind. It was a hard, fast rule of Carmine’s, and Vincent had stood strong on the same belief. It wasn’t that the Costellos were against making money in illegal endeavors. It was that there were others who specialized in the drug trade. Others who knew to pay their dues. Everything from marijuana to cocaine, meth, and crack. Most recently the news reported increased heroin usage, especially across the bridge.

In Newark.

“Judge, I really need to go. What can I do to stop the trend for legalization?”

“I know you have connections.”

Yes, quid pro quo.

“Ones that wouldn’t be appropriate for me to speak to directly,” he continued. “I can help with writing the legislation. I need to know more, to learn details. If you can help me with that, I can help you. I recently saw an emissions bill that could end up costing Demetri Enterprises a fortune in government penalties or refinery alterations to avoid them.”

“You tell me who and what,” I said, looking at my watch. “I appreciate the heads-up on the emissions. Next week?”

“Yes,” Joseph Walters agreed as we exited my office together.

“Michelle,” I called toward her desk. “Lock up my office. I’ll be back in the morning.”

“Have a good evening, Mr. Demetri.”

Good wasn’t the description I had in store for me.

As we stepped into the elevator, Walters lowered his voice to a whisper. “I was thinking about the Bonettis.”

I nodded my understanding and acceptance of his request. Yes, the Bonettis were the center of the drug cartels in Newark.