and was horrified to see Aaron standing next to his sister in the doorway. She pulled the cover over her body to hide her nakedness. Rosie was only two, but Aaron was six now and had already started to ask questions about the birds and the bees. ‘Why do boys have a winkle and girls don’t, Mum?’
Eddie sighed. ‘Talk about pick your moment.’ His own winkle had just shrunk.
‘Why don’t you knock first? I’ve always told you to, haven’t I?’ Gina scolded.
Rosie’s eyes filled up. ‘Because I thought you were hurting my daddy.’
Aaron put an arm around his little sister’s shoulders. ‘It’s OK, Rosie. They were making us a brother and sister.’
Eddie chuckled. ‘No chance of that, I’m afraid. You two are enough to put a sperm donor off having any more kids.’
When her children leapt on the bed, Gina couldn’t help but laugh. She turned to Eddie. ‘The wonders of bloody parenthood, eh?’
Vinny Butler breathed heavily as he threw Felicity Carter-Price on to the bed, then forcefully tied her legs and arms to the posts. She was face downwards, just the way he liked his women.
‘Get off me. Who are you?’ Felicity shrieked, while trying to wriggle out of Vinny’s grasp.
Lifting his hand, Vinny whacked it as hard as he could against Felicity’s bare buttocks. ‘You’ll find out soon enough, slut.’
Felicity begged for mercy until, unable to move, she lay on the bed defeated. Seconds later, she screamed in agony as the huge vibrator was shoved up her backside without as much as a smear of KY Jelly.
Vinny grunted and groaned when he replaced the vibrator with his pulsating penis. He’d met Felicity earlier that year when she’d started working at his Holborn Gentleman’s Club as an exotic dancer. He preferred to think of her as that rather than a stripper or plain old lap-dancer. Exotic had a certain ring to it, and she was certainly exotic in the sack. Fliss, as he called her, was as keen on wild sexual role-play as he was. Vinny liked her to pretend she was a stranger and he was a rapist. Not once had Fliss complained. Anything he suggested they try, she was up for.
Vinny’s orgasm was powerful and, once over, he untied Felicity and lay on his back, sweating. That was another thing he liked about this particular relationship. She wasn’t demanding. Vinny wasn’t one to go down on women, he didn’t even like kissing them, truth be known. Sex was all about what he got out of it. In Vinny’s eyes, a woman was born to please a man. Although that didn’t apply to his close female family members, of course. He always wanted the best for those. His mother had deserved far better than his drunken bum of a father. And one day he hoped Ava would meet a wealthy bloke who wasn’t cut from his cloth. He wanted his daughter to be with a man who had a decent, law-abiding career and who would treat her like a princess.
Felicity snuggled up to Vinny. He was a selfish lover, but so good to her in other ways; she was willing to overlook his faults. She was also seeing more and more of him, which pleased her immensely. She knew she was Vinny’s first proper girlfriend in years, and that he was a hard nut to crack because of his past. It was only recently he’d started opening up and Felicity could tell he was warming towards her. He’d even kissed her properly and passionately on a few occasions of late.
Feeling more relaxed around a woman than he could ever remember, Vinny planted a kiss on Felicity’s forehead. He’d had his heart broken as a teenager by Yvonne Summers and he’d never really recovered from that. The few relationships he’d had since were based solely on sex or payback. The only reason he’d snared Joanna Preston was to get even with her father. Johnny Preston had shot his brother Roy, and it appealed to Vinny’s warped mind to impregnate his daughter, especially as the bullet had been meant for him in the bloody first place. As for Little Vinny’s mother, Karen, she’d been a stripper at his old club and he’d only been using her for the odd shag.
‘What are you thinking?’ Felicity asked.
‘I was thinking it’s about time we went public. Not to my family, yet, but we will soon. First, though, I’d like you to meet my new business partner and his wife. You’ll like Eddie Mitchell, he’s good craic. And Gina’s OK too. I’m sure you’ll have lots of girlie stuff in common. Shall I give ’em a bell, see if they’re free tonight? I’ll book a restaurant, take us somewhere nice.’
Felicity pecked Vinny on the lips. ‘I’d like that very much.’
Gina Mitchell was none too enthralled by the evening ahead. She’d met Vinny Butler on a couple of occasions in the past, but had yet to form any kind of connection with the man. Unlike her Eddie, who was a loveable rogue who liked a laugh, she could sense Vinny had more of a sinister serious side to him and little respect for women in general.
‘Cheer up, for Christ’s sake. We rarely go out on our own these days, so let’s make the most of it, eh? Vinny’s footing the bill an’ all, so make sure you order the most expensive champagne and food on the menu,’ Eddie Mitchell joked.
‘What’s Vinny’s girlfriend like? You told me in the past that he was destined to remain a bachelor for the rest of his life,’ Gina reminded her husband.
‘Well, he was. But a bit like me and you, I suppose, darlin’, love sometimes smacks you in the chops when you’re not exactly searching for it. I don’t know that much about Felicity, but Vinny’s definitely taken with her. She’s a lot younger than him – mid-to-late twenties, I think. Oh, and she used to work for him as a dancer at his Holborn club.’
When Gina turned to look out the car window, Eddie squeezed her hand. ‘Don’t be worrying about the kids, they’ll be fine. You know how they adore Joey and vice versa.’
She wanted to bellow, I am not worried about our children, Eddie. I’m more concerned about trying to hold a conversation with your strange friend and his young stripper, but instead Gina bit her tongue. Her husband wasn’t a fool and if he deemed Vinny Butler to be a good enough man to go into business with, Gina knew she must make an effort for his sake.
‘Who is it?’ Queenie Butler shouted, her voice full of suspicion. Even though her new home was in a much nicer area than Whitechapel, after what had befallen Viv, no way was she taking any chances.
‘It’s me, Nan.’
Queenie opened the door and smiled at the sight that greeted her. Her grandson was holding a large bouquet, his wife a beautiful potted plant and her eldest great-grandson had a balloon with WELCOME TO YOUR NEW HOME scrawled across it. ‘This is unexpected. To what do I owe this pleasure?’
Little Vinny was Vinny’s eldest child and Queenie’s first grandchild. He put his free arm around his nan and kissed her on the cheek. ‘We’re neighbours now, aren’t we? Dad said he wasn’t about tonight and Sammi-Lou thought we’d surprise you. I’ll treat us to a takeaway.’
‘I’m not fond of that Indian or Chinese rubbish, as you well know. A nice bit of fish and chips’ll do me,’ Queenie said, hugging Sammi-Lou. Her grandson’s wife was, in Queenie’s eyes, a godsend. Though she was no ravishing beauty – she’d put on quite a bit of weight since having the children – she had a pretty enough face, but it was her personality that had won Queenie over. The girl had a heart of gold and Queenie only wished her own sons would take a leaf out of Little Vinny’s book and date an average-looking girl instead of the bloody glamour model types they seemed to go for. There’d been a time when Queenie had worried and despaired over
