pretend he’d reconsider, and she’d be his, but he wondered if he could live with himself if he did that. Nonna always said one white lie was all it took to start down the path to the gray area that his father operated in. One where crimes were framed in a way to make it seem as if there were no other option.
He had to find a way to convince her to give him another chance. Because he wasn’t ready to let her go. Not yet.
He knew that he needed to do something to win her back.
He had no regrets about the PDA at the opera the night before. He was never going to be able to keep his hands off her. She called to him like nothing else in his life ever had. It intrigued him and kept him coming back for more.
But she was still nibbling on her lower lip and looking over at him, her blue eyes full of regret, longing and resolve. That didn’t bode well.
“I’m sorry about the press. I have my man on it and he’s going to put a spin on it that’s going to make this all seem like nothing but harmless fun,” he said. “That’s what you want, right?”
She blinked rapidly and shook her head. He tried to keep his mind on her emotional state, but she wore a pair of leggings that hugged her curves, revealing her belly button and midriff. His fingers tingled with the need to reach out and touch her, caress her.
When she was in his arms, none of the other stuff mattered. It didn’t matter that he was the reason the social bloggers and society pages were following her. He was the scandal. Not Melinda. She had spent her entire life doing good deeds in her work as a philanthropist. He’d never met someone who always thought of others before themselves.
He did a lot of good work at Conti Enterprises but in his gut, he knew it was to prove he wasn’t like his father. Somehow, he was pretty damn sure that tinged the good deeds.
Neither did his family name matter once he held her in his arms, nor the fact that they really were very different people. Only the attraction and the passion between them mattered. That and the fact that she liked walking on the wild side with him. He knew she wasn’t used to dating a man like him. Sure, she’d dated wealthy bachelors but most of them had been doctors or lawyers. Not sons of dangerous gangsters.
Once again, he realized how much he hated that part of himself. He was constantly at war with that side of himself and it had cost him opportunities all of his life. He knew that one day it would cost him Melinda Perry as well.
But it wouldn’t be today.
“Slade—”
“Don’t. Don’t do this. Give me a chance before you kick me to the curb,” he said.
“I shouldn’t...but I want to,” she said, biting her lower lip again.
This time he groaned. He reached out and rubbed his thumb along her lower lip. She had the kind of mouth that always inspired wet dreams in him, even when he sat across the table from her at a charity meeting. He couldn’t help it. She was so prim and proper when they were in public.
But in private...
She bit his thumb and then sucked it into her mouth. He put his hand on her waist—God, she was so soft—and then he drew her closer until her body was pressed against his. He ran one finger around the waistband of her leggings and then let his finger slowly move up her spine.
She shivered in his arms and arched her back, thrusting her pelvis against his. He rubbed his erection into the notch between her thighs as she parted her legs to accommodate his hard-on. She put one hand on his shoulder and tipped her head back. Their eyes met and he knew this would solve nothing.
He wanted to believe that a day spent burning up the sheets would make all their problems go away, but he knew it wouldn’t. That this wasn’t going to do anything but distract them for a little while.
And since he’d sort of gotten used to being a distraction for her while her father had been under suspicion of financial wrongdoing, it was a role he fell easily into. He liked it because this was the one time when it didn’t matter that he was the son of a dangerous man—a reputed mobster who had a long list of crimes he was suspected of committing, though there had never been any witnesses to convict him.
Except Slade.
No. He wasn’t going there now. He was holding this gorgeous woman in his arms, and he planned to distract them both from the real world and their problems.
Cupping her butt, he lifted her off her feet and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he brought his mouth down on hers. That sexy mouth of hers melted under his and she pushed her fingers through his hair, holding him to her as she angled her head to deepen the kiss.
Her tongue rubbed over his and he sucked it deeper into his mouth as he moved toward the kitchen counter. It wasn’t ideal, but it was the closest flat surface and he couldn’t wait one more second. He set her down on the counter and stood between her spread legs. She didn’t scoot back, still kept her ankles locked together, holding him with a grip that he knew he could break. But why would he want to?
He had everything that he’d always wanted right here in his arms. The publicity was a road bump, but they’d get past it and move on. They’d figure this out, but not right now. Right now, he had other things to focus on. Like the feel of her hand roaming down the front of his pants, cupping him and stroking his erection while she kissed the side of his neck.
“You like that, don’t you?” she asked, her voice deeper than normal. A husky tone that sent shivers down his spine and made it damn near impossible for him to talk.
“Yeah.”
She laughed at the way he grunted the word but then he took the hem of her sports bra in his hands and lifted it up over her head, tossing it aside. Her breasts were full and her nipples pert from being aroused. He reached down and cupped both breasts, rubbing his thumbs over her areolae until she was arching her back, thrusting her breasts toward him.
“You like that?” he asked her.
She just ran her finger around the tip of his erection until he was about to melt into a puddle at her feet. “Yeah.”
He loved this. Loved the way she turned sex into fun. It wasn’t a game of power with Melinda; it was always something they shared. Both of them enjoying every minute of it and neither one trying to manipulate the other.
Leaning down, he kissed the side of her neck, working his way lower. She smelled of her flowery perfume and the sweat from her workout, and it made him even harder. He loved that she always felt real to him. Not like she was trying to be someone else. Melinda was one of the few people he knew who was always just herself. She owned her life and that was a big turn-on.
He nibbled on her and held her at his mercy. Her nails dug into his shoulders and she leaned up, brushing against his chest. Her nipples were hard points—he glanced down to see them pushing against his chest. He shifted his shoulders, rubbing his chest over hers, and she leaned forward to bite his neck, her fingers going to his tie. She undid it and then moved slowly down the front of his shirt, undoing the buttons and pushing the fabric open until he had to let her go to get the shirt off.
He wore French cuffs because it was
