The Submission of a Mafia Princess (6 page)

Footsteps approached the opening of the dressing screen. Toni reached behind her back and grabbed the corset ribbon ends. “I can’t believe I even have this on. Would you please tie the laces?”

The ends were taken from her hand and pulled snug. Before the strings were tied, the ribbons were carefully smoothed and tightened from bottom to top. Fingertips grazed her spine before a bow secured the corset in place.

“Beautiful,” a voice whispered. However, instead of Mia or Francine’s voice, this was husky and masculine.

Toni twirled. Her hair whipped around her face until her eyes settled on the owner of the mysterious voice.

“Brax,” she said breathlessly.

“Hi there, I hope you don’t mind me joining the lingerie party,” he said with a crooked smile.

“Crap. No, I mean yes, I mind. I didn’t want to put this getup on in the first place, let alone have anyone see me in it,” Toni sputtered as she tried to grab her robe.

“I can’t imagine why. You look amazing. Have you seen yourself?”

Toni shook her head.

Brax’s eyes shifted to the bench behind her. “You left the best for last,” he said and jerked his head toward the black silky stockings folded on the seat. “Sit,” he ordered.

She followed his glance to the bench and then returned to his face.

“There’s no going back now,” he said and quirked his eyebrows.

He had a point. She may as well go through with the entire charade. Shrugging, she shuffled her feet and sat on the bench.

Brax knelt at her knees and reached for the pair of stockings. He patted his thigh, signaling Toni to lift her right foot and placed it on his muscular leg. He found the opening of the stockings and bunched them with his thumb and forefinger to the foot of the stocking. Toni pointed her toe and slipped her foot inside. He pulled the silky stocking over her calf and stopped at her knee. Their eyes locked as he reached under each of her knees and gave them a swift tug so that her ass balanced on the edge of the padded bench. He continued pulling the stocking up to the top of her thigh. Finding the other stocking on the floor, he performed the same act on her left leg.

“Stand,” he said roughly and cleared his throat.

Without taking her eyes off him, she stood and watched as he pulled the clips from the bottom of her corset and secured the stockings.

“You’re good at that,” she said smiling.

He chuckled. “I’m going to bring you out to the mirror. No peeking.”

Brax held her hand and brushed his fingers up her back. Toni’s feet stayed planted.

“Come on, trust me. You’ll be pleased. Keep your eyes closed until I say to open them.”

Toni took a deep breath and allowed him to lead her out from behind the privacy screen.

“Inch up a little and I’m going to slip a pair of heels on your feet. Good. Open your eyes, gorgeous.”

Toni squinted, afraid of what she’d see. Her line of vision started with a pair of silver heels.

“Ooo, I do like the shoes.”

She continued her glance upward to a pair of legs she almost didn’t recognize. Damn! Are those mine? Her eyes opened wide, taking everything in. The corset fit perfectly and hugged every curve of her hourglass shape. Glancing at the tiny triangle of leather at her mound, she silently thanked the spa attendant who talked her into the Brazilian wax.

“So?” he asked.

“I’m shocked. I don’t know how, but this getup works.”

“I think you’ve been told things about yourself your whole life and took them for fact. This is all you, sweetheart. You’re sexy as sin.” Their eyes met in the mirror. “Check out the back.”

Toni scooted around and looked at her reflection in the three-way mirror. She followed the crisscross of the ribbon from the top of her back to the dangling ends tied neatly at her bare ass. Only a thin band of leather covered her full ass cheeks, making them starring features. Her glance moved to Brax in his black leather motorcycle jacket, and warmth flooded her belly.

“Now do you see what I do?” he asked trailing his fingertip down her arm.

“I don’t know about that but I’m thinking it’s a keeper.” She giggled.

“I guess that’s a start.” He winked. “Come, I’ll help you with the laces.”

She turned once they returned to the other side of the privacy screen and waited for him to pull the ends of the bow. Instead, he grasped her shoulders and led her back to the bench.

“What’s your safe word, Antonietta?”

She twisted her head and met his stare. “What?”

“Your safe word.” His eyes bore through hers and stoked the embers burning deep in her core.

“Fire,” she said quietly.

“Okay. Don’t be afraid to use it. Ever. Now sit.”

She complied, and his hands moved to her stocking clips. Four snaps sounded before the silky fabric slinked from her legs and was replaced by warm hands traveling up the inside of her thighs. Hooking his thumb around the scrap of fabric at her waist, he yanked the G-string off in a fluid movement. Warm hands were back at the sensitive skin of her inner thigh as he pushed her legs apart. Moving closer, he blew a light breath over her exposed folds, eliciting a quick tremble and making her whimper for more. He growled as the swirl of his tongue sent waves of heat through her core. Toni opened her legs further and leaned backward until her back rested against the wall. Clamping down on her thighs,
 he lifted her legs slightly off the cushioned bench and continued to intimately reacquaint himself with her slick heat. She closed her eyes and moaned deep as the tip of his tongue circled just outside her bundle of nerves.

“Look at me. I want to watch you come undone.”

Her eyes flicked open. “Please don’t stop,” she said in a voice she didn’t recognize. It was throaty and desperate. She was transported to a time when her life was simpler, a time when all that mattered was Brax and the love they shared.

“Touch yourself,” he commanded.

Her fingers were immediately at her mouth. She deliberately licked her index and middle finger then ran her wet fingers down her body to the juncture of her thighs. The single touch set off a deep moan from the back of her throat that even surprised her. She moaned again, slightly louder than the last time as her fingers slid along her slit to right below her most sensitive spot. Her fingers slowly circled her clit once. Twice. Three times. A powerful orgasm was building in her core and sent her over the edge as his tongue plunged deep within her channel. She bit her lip to stifle yet another throaty moan.

“What the hell was that about?” she asked when she caught her breath.

“Just something to remember me by,” he said before standing, turning from her and leaving the dressing room.

Chapter Eight

North Caldwell, New Jersey - three years earlier

Toni’s quick footsteps echoed through the foyer mixed with the purr of Brax’s motorcycle. Stopping in the kitchen, she kissed her father on the head.

“Oh, hello, Angelo.” She walked around the far side of the table to avoid a sweaty kiss on the cheek. “Bye, Dad. Don’t wait up for me.”

“You know I will, Ton.” He smiled.

“You’ve been spending too much time with that guy, Toni. He’s not like one of us, you know,” Angelo grumbled.

“Um, yeah. I do know and it’s refreshing,” she said over her shoulder as she walked out of the kitchen. A late summer breeze nipped at her face as she opened the front door, reminding her to grab a sweatshirt. After a wink and holding her index finger up to Brax to indicate she’d be back, she closed the door and started up the stairs to her room when she heard her name. Halting her footfalls on the oak stairs, her ears perked to the conversation.

“When are you going to put a stop to this? Do you know what it does to me seeing her run off with that loser? She’s mine, Chief. We have an agreement.”

Bile rose in her throat. His? Agreement?

Chair legs scrapped along the tiled floor followed by a bang on the table. “My daughter is not a possession and she is not yours, Angelo, unless she wants to be. That’s not likely to happen unless you do something about yourself, look at you, you’re a pig,” her father barked.

“Yeah, thanks for the compliment. But our agreement, Chief, you haven’t forgotten about the plan to join the Azzari and Manzanno forces?”

“Of course not. She’ll come around. Give her time and she’ll see the importance of the union. This is a fling she has to get out of her system. The pool boy will be going back to school soon and will leave her with a broken heart, I’m sure. I hate it that she’ll have to go through that, but it’s inevitable. Boys like that don’t stick around. He probably has a line of pretty young things waiting for his return to school. It’ll make her realize what it means to be in this family and you’ll be there to pick up the pieces. Just lose some weight, won’t you?”

She heard Angelo snort as she crept outside where Brax waited on his bike.

The pool boy will be going back to school soon and will leave her with a broken heart. She couldn’t look Brax in the eye. They hadn’t talked much about the fact that he was leaving in a few short weeks. Summer was coming to a close faster than she’d care to admit. She needed to end things now. Yank the bandage off while the wound was still fresh.

“I’m not feeling well. I’ll have to take a rain check,” she said with her head down. From her hooded glance, she only saw his booted foot planted on the ground. She turned on her heel and reached for the doorknob.

“Antonietta.” She wavered but continued to turn the knob. Her name spoken from his lips turned her legs to mush. Damn him. Boys like that don’t stick around; he probably has a line of pretty young things waiting for his return. Damn. Him. She squeezed her eyes shut, but not before a single tear escaped down her cheek. His arms were suddenly upon her.

“Come with me. Please,” he huskily spoke in her ear. Fighting the desire to wrap her arms around him and hold on forever or fleeing to her room to never lay eyes on him again, wracked her brain. Her shoulders sagged but she allowed him to lead her to his motorcycle and place the helmet on her head. She refused to look at him while he snapped on the chinstraps and pulled tight. She climbed on the back and held on. If she wished hard, maybe, just maybe she could stop time.

Without a word, he headed north on the highway and she looked quizzically at the signs for the George Washington bridge. “Where are we going?”

He turned his head slightly. “It’s a surprise.”

Banking to the right, he exited at the Palisades Parkway. In just a few miles, the frenetic action of the highway leading to New York City turned into an idyllic wooded ride, climbing high on the cliffs bordering the Hudson River. He turned off at an empty overlook stop.

Toni looked around. “Why are we here?”

“It’s a place I always visit when I need to clear my head and think. So, what the hell’s going on?”

Toni walked to the edge of the viewing terrace and leaned her forearms on the railing. Looking out over the water, her thoughts slowed as she watched the sail of a boat flap in the breeze. He crept beside her and she nestled her head into his chest, inhaling his familiar scent.

“Have you ever wished you could be someone else? Or just disappear and reemerge with a new identity and new life?”

“Hey, you’re scaring me. Spill it, Antonietta.”

“Don’t you get it? That’s the way I feel with you and I know it’s coming to an end.”

“I have no intention on ending this just because I’m going back to school, if that’s what you’re talking about.”

“You don’t?”

“I don’t intend to lose you, ever.”

He turned, slipped his palms under her hair to cup her cheeks, and lifted her face to his. The intensity of his eyes bore into her soul as his fingers trailed down her neck. His thumbs grazed the thin T-shirt covering her breasts as he continued his teasing touch at her wrists.

“There’s so much I want to do with you, places we need to explore,” he said,  capturing each wrist in his hands. “I know what you want. I feel it in the intensity of your kiss and touch.” He pulled her hands behind her back. “But I need to hear it from your lips. Tell me what you want.” He took on an even, authoritative tone while guiding her body against the railing.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she said, searching his eyes. Shifting her feet, she attempted to relieve the pressure of the denim from her most sensitive place.

“I think you do. Link your hands around the railing and don’t move them.” Removing his grip from her arms, he stepped back as a cool breeze puckered her already hardened nipples. “You would look so beautiful with your wrists and ankles bound for me. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

Toni closed her eyes imagining herself tied to a bed helplessly waiting for Brax.

“Answer me, Antonietta.”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Open your eyes and tell me.”

She slowly opened her eyes, sweeping her gaze over his body. Her visual journey made a pit stop at what she figured to be a raging hard-on in his jeans. She looked to his eyes, expecting to see a playful expression. What she saw was pure man and pure lust.