“You have children? You belong to someone already?” He spits out, angrily. I pull back from him, but not in fear. I am surprised how wet his anger makes me. God, even his temper turns me on, and I don’t know what that says about me.
“Calm down big boy. I help take care of my siblings.” He makes me so flustered. How much of his hot and cold can I really take? I decide, irrationally, that I can take all of it.
Realization dawns on his face and his smile takes my breath away.
Shit. He’s staring at me like he wants to gobble me up.
Funny thing is, I want to let him. Despite working here, I am as innocent as can be.
Well, I guess I used to work here if Alberto means what he said. Judging by the look on his face, he meant exactly that.
“Let’s get out of here,” he says. When I lick my lips, he groans.
“Where are your things, Autumn?” The New York in his accent is thick, just like mine.
“In the back, in my locker,” I whisper. I can’t find my voice with this man. I’m not shy, not by a long shot, but he has me feeling like I don’t know my own name.
“Get them. Meet me back here in five minutes,” he says in a tone that brooks no refusal. Not that I would, but still.
“Yes, Sir,” I say with a mock salute. I don’t know why I did that. He’s turning me into a huge awkward mess.
“Five minutes, Lolita, don’t talk to anyone on your way back,” he says.
“Okay.” The tense way he says it has me nodding immediately, instead of saying something sassy again.
It takes me three minutes to grab my purse and ratty coat that does nothing to keep me warm. As I am walking from the back, I am stopped by Richey Santucci. Again. Ugh. Even his hands are greasy, I notice as his hand snakes out and grabs my wrist and pulls me onto his lap. Yuck. I squirm, trying to get the fuck off of him. His hands on me feel nothing like when Alberto did the same exact thing to me.
Don’t ask me how, but I know shit’s about to hit the fan when Alberto is suddenly standing over me. The look in his eye is murderous.
Is it bad that I am so turned on by that glint in his eye?
Chapter Two
Alberto Diaz
Before I walked into my family’s classless establishment, I was dreading it. Strippers aren’t my thing, nor are they my brothers. Our cousins set up his bachelor party even though I am the best man. My brother, Tony, is marrying the love of his life, Angelina, on Saturday. I’m an extremely busy man and I don’t have the time to plan something for him any more than I have the time to even be here on a Wednesday. I figure I can take care of some business on my phone while my cousins enjoy the show. Besides my work for The Family, I am the corporate controller for a coffee company. If the company were smaller, I’d be the CFO, but there are just too many divisions both here and in Columbia, so my job title changed after several acquisitions.
As soon as I walked in the door, I felt something in me shift. I could actually feel my heart beating for the first time. I tried to discreetly watch her as she worked, but every interaction she had with another man had me seeing red. I had ordered a beer when we got here thinking I may as well try to enjoy myself, but that sat untouched until I jumped up causing it to overturn all over my cousin, Theresa. I will pay for that later, I’m sure. I stormed over and rescued my girl. Now I’m about to do so again.
“What the fuck, Santucci? Get your hands off my girl.”
“Diaz? I’m surprised your daddy let you out. No dead bodies to deal with tonight?” I watch Autumn’s eyes widen. Fucking Santucci. He’s not wrong. I am a cleaner for the Diaz crime family, among other things but I need to shut this shit down until I can explain it all to Autumn, but she surprises me.
“You might want to take your greasy hands off me before it’s yours we have to deal with,” she says wrenching her hand away from him and tucking it into mine. The way she says “we” lets me know two things. One, my profession isn’t a deal breaker and two, she’s ride or die.
“Did you just threaten me,” he says with clenched teeth. She also insulted him, but I don’t mention that. I am about to jump in when she responds.
“No, just stating a fact. Albie doesn’t like it when someone touches what’s his,” she says removing herself from his lap and comes to my side putting a calming hand on my forearm. Her response floors me. She certainly is accepting the inevitable much better than I hoped for.