One Night Stand (The Complete Story) (6 page)

My lips parted and a small, strangled moan escaped.
No. This is what I promised to avoid. He is trouble.
My mind was yelling at me but my body didn’t care. All it wanted was him. I could feel his erection grinding into me through our clothes and I was ready for him to take me right there, where everyone could see.

Lorenzo’s hands danced over my body, gently tracing my curves and squeezing the soft swells of my hips. He clutched me to his insanely expensive suit. I could feel the sharp cut of his abs, even through the tightly woven fabric.

“Emma…Emma…” he groaned against my lips. His tongue gently prodded into my mouth, exploring, tasting. I felt the heat inside me growing hotter and hotter and I thought I might explode.
No! Stop it!
My brain screamed at me. I closed my eyes and tried to shut out the voice of reason shouting in my head, but it would not be silenced.

“Wait!” I gasped, pulling back reluctantly. The haze cleared from my mind a bit and I remembered all my prior resolutions. “What the hell are you even doing here, Lorenzo? You got me messed up in something I never wanted. Not to mention, you just basically told your dad I was some slut you just wanted to bang and you never want to see me again.”

All my indignation came flooding back.  I was angry with myself for giving in so quickly, for letting him kiss me. Lorenzo Romano was an asshole, and a dangerous asshole at that. I planted my hand on my hip and waited for his explanation.

“I know, Emma. I’m sorry. I don’t deserve to have you hear me out, but will you? I have something important to tell you and I can explain everything.”

His gorgeous face looked so forlorn and dejected as he stood in front of me, looking plaintively into my eyes. As much as I wanted to tell him to get lost, I knew I couldn’t. Lorenzo was like a drug to me and I knew that I would never be able to say “no” to him, no matter the price.

“Alright,” I agreed. “I’ll hear you out. And this better be good.”

Part 3:

Heir Apparent

He looked like pure sex.  I shouldn’t have been thinking that as Lorenzo stood in front of me, about to tell me something important. Maybe he would finally explain why he didn’t mention that he was the son of the biggest mob boss in the city before he took me to his place for the hottest night of my life, or why both the mob and the cops were suddenly very interested in me, or even why he kicked me out in the morning and had just called me nothing but a piece of sweet ass.

Those were all questions I was desperate to have answered, but they weren’t what I was thinking about right then. As Lorenzo stood there in his perfectly tailored suit, I thought about how much I wanted him to rip it right off so I could see his bulging muscles underneath, so I could run my hands over his washboard abs, and get one more glimpse at his massive cock. My mind started running wild, imagining him pushing me up against the wall and pulling my legs up around him like he had the night before. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I knew I was already addicted to him.

“First, I want to sincerely apologize,” Lorenzo sighed, his handsome face looking for all the world like a sad puppy.  He really made it difficult to stay angry at him. “You don’t deserve to be treated the way I’ve treated you, Emma. You are a beautiful, amazing girl and any man would be lucky to have you. You deserve better.”

I nodded, glad at least for the apology. He didn’t deserve my forgiveness though. Not yet. I needed an explanation at the very least. It didn’t matter how hot he was or how much I wanted to have his cock buried inside me again, I wouldn’t let anyone treat me that way.

“I know you never expected to be involved in all this. It is my life. It always has been. So sometimes I forget just how crazy it all can seem to someone new,” he continued. “I just really liked you and wanted you and thought we could keep all that separate from my family and who I am. And then, when you asked me questions in the morning, I thought that you already knew who I was and were digging for information. It has happened to me before. Girls wanting to use me for my money, or to get close to my family, or even to pass on information to the cops. I realize now that I was wrong in jumping to that conclusion. I should have given you a chance before just kicking you out like that. I really like you. I want to give this, us, another chance.”

My heart raced in my chest.
He did want me!
But I still wasn’t completely satisfied. So much had happened and so much still didn’t make any sense.

“Alright, but even if that is all true, why did you just say that I was nothing more than a quick piece of ass to you?” I asked dubiously.

“I said that to get my father off my back, and off your trail. I know it sounded bad, but believe me it is much better if my father thinks I’m just an irresponsible guy looking to hook up with you. If he thinks you are someone I might be seriously interested in, he will want to vet you, interrogate you, have people follow you constantly. He is worried that I might let something slip if I spend too much time with you.”

“Oh.”

“He isn’t really a bad guy. I mean, the stuff he does is all for the family. He knows I don’t want to be involved and despite wishing I would follow in his footsteps he is letting me choose my own path.”

“And what path is that?” I asked, feeling much lighter. It was like a big metal chain had been wrapped around my heart since that morning and was now suddenly gone. I wanted to jump around and twirl, but for my totally exhaustion after such a crazy day.

“I own a gallery. I’ve always been really into art, ever since I was little. My mother loved art too and she taught me much more about it than I ever learned in school. Now I get to be surrounded by art every day.”

“I would like to see that.”

“I would love for you to come see my gallery. But please, first can I take you out on a nice, real date to apologize for everything? I would like to show you that I am serious about you.” His face looked pleading and I knew I couldn’t deny him.

“Okay,” I agreed. “But right now I am exhausted. Can we do another day?”

“How about tomorrow?” His face was beaming with excitement, softening the sharp, masculine lines of his jaw and cheekbones.

“Tomorrow would be perfect,” I agreed. His smile was contagious. I couldn’t stop the happiness that was bubbling up inside me. After the nightmare day I had just had, everything was finally falling back into place. And Lorenzo Romano was going to take me out on a real date.”

“I’ll pick you up at seven,” he said, grabbing my hands in his and planting a quick kiss on my cheek. “I can’t wait to see you.”

As he hurried back to his apartment building, I leaned against the heavy marble and felt my heart fluttering. It was hard to catch my breath after the rollercoaster of emotions I was riding, but the sheer joy of being kissed by Lorenzo outweighed everything else. He wanted me! He even wanted to take me on a date!

I practically skipped the whole way home, despite my exhaustion. I threw open the door and rushed into the apartment, almost knocking over my roommate Riley, who was standing in the kitchen with two fresh pints of ice cream.

“Emma?! Oh my God, you scared me!” She dropped the ice cream containers on the table and threw her arms around me in a big hug. “Is everything alright? I got us some ice cream since I figured you might need a movie night after everything that happened with that jerk Lorenzo.”

“Is Emma back?” Ava, our third roommate called out from her bedroom.

“I’m back!” I called out, then turned to Riley. “Ice cream and a movie night sounds perfect, but I actually have some pretty big updates on the whole Lorenzo situation. I could feel my cheeks heating up and looked away, trying to hide my smile.

“Oh my God! Emma! Did you do it again? You slept with him again after everything he did and even after he turned out to be involved with the freaking mob?!” Riley tossed her long blond hair indignantly and placed her hands on her hips. I knew she was trying to be all motherly, but she just managed to look like a model posing for a magazine cover.

“You slept with him again?” Ava shouted excitedly, running into the room and coming to a skidding stop. She had already changed into her pajamas, a matching set of baby blue shorts and a tank covered in multi-colored fish. With her bright red curls tumbling wildly down her shoulders, she looked adorable and completely excited.

“I didn’t sleep with him,” I assured them, to Riley’s relief and Ava’s disappointment. “But I do have a date with him tomorrow.” When I saw their faces, I laughed and quickly added “there is a lot to explain.”

“Let’s grab some ice cream and move to the couch so you can explain it all,” Riley replied gently.

“That sounds great.” I could feel the exhaustion seeping in again and curling up on the couch with some ice cream and my two best friends sounded pretty wonderful right then.

We grabbed our chipped old bowls and some spoons and served ourselves each a bowl of butter pecan and cookie dough ice creams, and then walked over to the faded, but comfortable couch in our living room. I curled up in the middle and Ava and Riley snuggled up next to me on both sides.

“Alright, spill!” Ava demanded after we had silently taken a few comforting bites of ice cream.

“So, basically, my day was crazy,” I started. “Some guy named Bruno who works for the Romano family basically showed up to warn me not to fuck with them. Then I got this call from this detective guy who wanted me to meet up with him. I did, and he basically warned me that Lorenzo is a no-good womanizer, tried to get info on the Romano family. Of course, I have no information at all, which I told him. Then that Bruno guy showed up again and told me I had to go see Lorenzo and his father, Giovanni.”

“Holy shit!” Ava interrupted. “You mean the mob boss guy?”

“Yeah, he was at Lorenzo’s apartment. Basically, Giovanni wanted to know if I was working for the cops. Lorenzo then told him that I meant nothing to him and was just a one night stand.”

“Asshole!” Ava interrupted again.

I smiled at my friend’s loyalty, but continued. “I basically left after that, but then Lorenzo ran after me and grabbed me and kissed me and holy shit! Guys, he is so good at kissing. And so hot. It just immediately reminded me of how incredible last night was and how much I wanted him again. He apologized and explained that he thought I was trying to get information on his family, which is why he kicked me out in the morning. He told his dad that I meant nothing so his dad would leave me alone. And then he asked to take me on a date tomorrow.”

“That is so exciting! I’m so jealous!” Ava squealed, almost knocking over her ice cream as she jumped up to hug me. “You are going on a date with the hot mob boy!”

“Well, he isn’t really part of the mob. He owns an art gallery,” I explained.

“I’m happy for you that Lorenzo turned out to not be such an ass, but still be careful,” Riley warned me. “His family is still dangerous.”

“I know,” I sighed. “I don’t want to be involved with his family at all though. I wish I could just walk away from him, but I’ve never felt like this about anyone before.”

“Well, we expect updates on the hot sex,” Ava grinned.

I laughed and took another big spoonful of ice cream. “Yeah, yeah. But let’s watch a movie first. How about a happy one?”

Riley started to list off movies and I smiled. Life was good again. I was spending the night with my two best friends and tomorrow night I had a date with the hottest guy I had ever seen. Things couldn’t get much better than that.

The next morning I woke up early and got to studying right away. I had a big test later in the week, so I wanted to be relaxed and prepared by the time I needed to get ready for my date. Whenever I thought about the fact that I was going on a real date with Lorenzo I felt giddy and lightheaded and couldn’t focus. I forced myself to push the thought out of my mind while I studied through the afternoon.

I put away my books at a quarter to six and started getting ready. After a long shower, I called my friends into the room to help me get ready. They helped me blow out and style my long brown hair into loose, cascading curls down my back. 

Riley did my makeup, painting my face with a smoldering smoky eye and a soft pink lip. After rifling through my closet, we finally settled on the perfect date outfit. It was a cobalt blue dress with a sweetheart neckline that showed off just the right amount of cleavage. It fit snuggly across my breasts and waist, then flared out into a perfect A-line skirt that swished around my legs and came to rest just over my knees. I looked equal measures cute, sweet, and sexy in this dress.

“Thank you both!” I squealed, hugging both my roommates fiercely after I admired my reflection in the mirror. They really knew how to help me bring out my best physical attributes. My hair looked soft, flowing in gentle, dark, voluminous curves down my back. My eyes looked mysterious and sexy, turning my usual girl next door look into something much more sophisticated and womanly.

“Have fun!” Ava replied with a giggled.

“And be safe,” Riley added, but she was smiling at me.

I knew my friends were happy for me. I wasn’t one to fall easily for any guy, and I was already head-over-heels for Lorenzo. Despite the many complications, I really wanted to give us a chance to see if we could be something more together.

I heard a knock at our door and my heart suddenly jumped in my throat. He was here! I looked at my friends in a panic and they laughed. Riley went to answer the door while Ava helped me into my heels and handed me my purse.

“You look beautiful,” she assured me as I glanced in the mirror once more.

“Thanks,” I sighed, and walked out into the living room with her.

Ava was leading Lorenzo into the apartment and as soon as I saw him all the breath left my body. Damn, he was hot. He was wearing a pair of grey dress pants that showed off his seriously toned ass and a blue button down shirt with the top two buttons left open and the sleeves rolled up over his forearms. He somehow managed to look sharp and casual at the same time.