Chapter 2

[Camden]

I can think of about five things I’d rather be doing (three of them women) that isn’t standing around at Bruno Esposito’s stupid party.

It isn’t even really a wiseguy party, just something that Bruno has thrown together for his birthday.

I ended up driving Elora here early because she couldn’t wait, which left Kendall to finish getting ready on her own.

Elora bolted the second we arrived, no doubt hunting down Bruno or stirring up trouble somewhere else.

The mansion is huge, probably bigger even than Dante’s-my capo. The Espositos are an old family, and Bruno is the next in line.

I guess that’s part of the reason that Elora likes him so much. She’s attracted to power, that’s for sure.

I’m the guy that works for the men in power, and I like it that way. There’s too much responsibility in being a made man to be honest.

Too many people trying to take what you have. I’m glad I’m under the radar and don’t have to worry about looking over my shoulder at every turn.

I just want to protect what’s mine-quietly.

I sigh, looking around for my little sister, but she’s nowhere to be found. 

I’m grateful that Marco’s out of town, because he’s a bit of a hothead.

I’m probably being generous. He’s more like a loose cannon.

Elora is playing with fire, and she’s bound to get burned, so I’m glad that her much more level-headed best friend is here to help me out.

Just like me and Elora , Kendall and my little sister are very different, even though they’re both still young and immature.

Opposites attract, I guess.

As I’m scanning the room yet again looking for Elora , my eyes land on a woman coming down the stairs.

Her legs are thick and tanned, leading up to a little white club dress that hugs her generous curves. Her hips are wide and I can’t help licking my lips as I look up at her.

Women could be my weakness, if I allowed them to mean anything to me.

I don’t.

They are a liability. An anchor that forces you to stay in one place. A distraction, though that can be both a welcoming quality and a flaw, depending on the occasion.

But most of all, they are a weapon that can be used against you. If you take a chance on love, you are giving someone else the power to hurt you, directly or indirectly, and I can’t afford that.

Especially as Dante’s lead enforcer. I’d be putting both of us at risk.

But just because I’ll never fall in love doesn’t mean that I stay away from them.

I love women and they love me, so we have fun together but the stakes are always clear.

I like to enjoy a nice pair of legs, ample cleavage, or a wide pair of hips for a night, but that’s as far as it goes. They know not to expect more.

I’ve always been attracted to curves, and this woman has them in spades. Her cleavage spills out of the low-cut top.

As I’m staring, she stumbles, her hair falling down across her face.

I take the steps two at a time and steady her with a hand on one hip and she looks up at me with a smile.

Shit.

It's Kendall.

I blink at her, shocked that I’ve just been checking out my little sister’s best friend, and I let my hand linger on her hip a little too long.

“Jesus, Kendall,” I mumble. “That dress—”

She blushes and looks down at herself. “I know, it’s too tight. Elora talked me into it. I should have changed.”

I shake my head fiercely, taking her chin in my hand and tilting it upward.

“No, you look amazing,” I tell her, and her deep brown eyes search my face as if to see if I’m lying.

“You really mean that?” she asks softly.

“I do,” I say in a low murmur, looking her up and down again, unable to help myself.

Kendall blushes and braces herself against the wall.

“I guess I should find Elora ,” she says, and I let go of her hip reluctantly, watching her walk the rest of the way down the stairs, staring at her legs and ass.

When did Kendall Risi get so hot?

She’s just a kid, I remind myself. Your little sister’s best friend, you dog.

In my own defense, I am kind of a dog. I take advantage of my good looks whenever opportunity arises. That’s one of the reasons I can’t blame Elora for playing Marco and Bruno, I guess.

Maybe Elora and I are more alike than I realize.

A hand claps me on the shoulder and I turn, dragging my gaze off of Kendall’s ample ass, and see Dante standing there, with his pregnant wife, mia, smiling at me.

“You picked out your newest conquest?” he teases, and I shake my head.

“Nah, nothing like that. That’s Elora ’s best friend. She’ll look out for her tonight.”

“Good to know. I need you to focus on work tonight,” Dante says in a low tone.

I nod and he and Mia make it down the stairs to mingle and I head up the stairs, looking around for Bruno. There are people milling around upstairs and I don’t find him, but I do find Angelo Bianchi.

Angelo does some muscle work for Dante here and there. We’ve been friends since high school, when we played basketball together, but I haven’t seen him a few months.

“Camden,” he says warmly, pulling me into a brief hug. “It’s been a while.”

“Not long enough,” I say dryly, but then I break out into a smile.

Angelo laughs. “You bring a date?” he asks, and I shake my head.

“Do I ever? Need to keep my options open,” I say, and Angelo shakes his head, smiling.

“You never change,” he chuckles.

“Never will,” I say matter-of-factly. “Have you seen Bruno anywhere?”

Angelo shrugs. “He could be anywhere, you know Bruno. Probably partying somewhere in a bathroom.”

Bruno isn’t a stranger to hard drugs, so it’s not uncommon to find him doing lines in a bathroom. I let out a long breath.

At least he’ll be talkative.

“Thanks,” I mutter, and walk toward the balcony on the second floor. I look down at the people in the yard, seeing if I can catch sight of Bruno, but no such luck. I don’t see Elora , either, so I assume they’re together.

I wrinkle my nose. I don’t want to walk in on that, so maybe I should just take a break. I pull out a pack of cigarettes from my jacket.

It’s a habit I’m trying to break, so I only smoke once every blue moon, now, when things are really bad.

I put the cigarette in my mouth but don’t light it. I like to just feel it there. I satisfies the craving somehow.

I stand there for a minute longer, breathing in the scent of the cigarette without lighting it, letting it calm me down.

My heartbeat’s still pounding in my chest, like I’ve just run a mile. What is it about Kendall that’s got me all twisted up?

Maybe it’s the way she looked tonight, soft and innocent but somehow tempting. That dress hugged her curves in all the right places, and I can’t shake the way her skin felt under my hand. It was like touching silk, warm and smooth, her body fitting perfectly against mine in that brief moment.

I should go find Bruno, get this job done, but my mind keeps drifting back to her. To the way her eyes had lingered on mine, a hint of something there I couldn’t quite read.

For a second, it felt like she wanted me as much as I wanted her. I shake my head at myself, trying to push those thoughts away.

I’m their protector tonight. That’s it.

Besides, Elora would kill me if she even suspected what was going through my head. 

I remind myself of that, again and again, hoping it’ll stick this time. But damn if it’s hard.

I keep thinking about that body on Kendall. How the hell have I never noticed?

She’s too young for you, I tell myself. Off-limits. So why can’t I stop?

But the image of her tanned, thick thighs is seared into my mind, there every time I close my eyes.

How did this happen? When did she start getting under my skin like this?

I’ve got to get it together.

But... can I?