Buttons and Shadows: Beyond Buttons #15

  BUTTONS AND SHADOWS

  BEYOND BUTTONS #15

  PENELOPE SKY

  HARTWICK PUBLISHING

  Hartwick Publishing

  Buttons and Shadows (previously published as Lover in Lingerie)

  Copyright © 2018 by Penelope Sky

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  CONTENTS

  1. Bones

  2. Carmen

  3. Cane

  4. Bosco

  5. Vanessa

  6. Griffin

  7. Vanessa

  8. Carmen

  9. Bosco

  10. Carmen

  11. Bosco

  12. Carmen

  13. Griffin

  14. Carmen

  15. Bosco

  16. Carmen

  17. Bosco

  18. Carmen

  19. Carter

  20. Carmen

  21. Bosco

  Epilogue

  Also by Penelope Sky

  1

  BONES

  Vanessa’s pregnant belly had gotten so big that it limited our positions during lovemaking. She was almost finished with her seventh month, and her distended stomach became rounder and rounder. My son was going to be a big boy, judging by the way he constantly needed more room in her tiny body.

  Now I liked to stand at the side of the bed with her ass hanging over the edge. I cradled her legs in my arms and thrust inside her, careful not to hit her stomach. She was getting uncomfortable in her pregnancy, her back and feet hurting, so I did all the work.

  Not that I minded.

  She held on to my wrists as I gently thrust inside her, moving my big dick through her tightness. Despite her dull aches and pains, she was still just as aroused by me as ever.

  I watched her come for me, finding pleasure for a moment before she returned to her constant discomfort.

  She dug her nails into my skin and whispered my name over and over, full of my cock, my baby, and my love.

  I came as she ended, filling her pussy with my seed. I didn’t know how I would feel about her pregnancy before she became pregnant, but now I knew it was another thing that turned me on. Seeing that belly every day got me aroused in a way nothing else ever had. I loved watching her waddle around the house, my son growing stronger inside her every day. When he was born, it would be time for me to be a father. But until that moment, I was just a husband obsessed with my knocked-up wife.

  I pulled out of her then kissed her belly, smothering every curve with my lips. She was as petite as she ever was, making her belly look even bigger. I trailed my lips up her body then kissed her mouth. “I love you, baby.”

  She ran her hands up my chest. “I love you too, husband.”

  I kissed the corner of her mouth before I pulled away. It was nighttime, and all the lights were off in the house. After Bosco stopped by last week, I was a little more paranoid than I had been before, but he hadn’t shown up again. He didn’t seem to be a threat, but now that I had a pregnant wife, even a hint of a threat was too much for me.

  I went downstairs and checked on the rest of the house one more time, including the infrared cameras that filmed throughout the night, before I came back to bed.

  Vanessa was under the sheets with her head against the pillow. “Everything alright?”

  “Yes.” I got into bed beside her, still slightly uneasy about Bosco’s visit. Just when I thought all our troubles were gone, Carmen had to sleep with the devil.

  Vanessa picked up on my tension. She turned over and faced me, her hand over her stomach. “What is it?”

  I never lied to her, so I chose to be silent.

  “Griffin?”

  “Go to bed, baby.” My palm moved to her stomach, my fingers reaching out and covering most of her belly. He wasn’t kicking right now, but I could still feel the life inside her, the life we made together.

  She gave me that sassy look that told me she wasn’t gonna drop this. “You’ve been weird all week. I’ve waited for you to tell me yourself, but you obviously are never gonna fess up.”

  I looked into her green eyes, the eyes that brought me comfort during my darkest times. I’d never told her about Bosco and the conversation we had outside. I didn’t want to scare her. But since we both knew what Carmen was doing, it seemed strange to keep it a secret. “I know about Bosco.”

  Her eyes immediately lost their hostility. She tensed in a new way, her stomach even shifting slightly.

  “I noticed her shop was closed one day, so I went to her apartment. It was obvious she hadn’t been there in months. Her mail hadn’t been checked either. I spotted her car on his property, and that’s when I knew.”

  All she did was sigh in response.

  “Bosco and I talked about it.” I skipped the part where he came to the house, but I didn’t actually lie about it. “He told me about their arrangement, but he also made it clear he would let her go at the end. He threatened to hurt all of us if I said anything, so I agreed to be silent. Since their relationship is gonna end, I didn’t see the point in fighting it. As long as Carmen isn’t a prisoner, I suppose there’s no real harm. I confronted Carmen about it and told her how disappointed I was. She assured me she would leave him when their arrangement was finished, understanding her family would never accept him. He isn’t husband material, and he can’t give her the life she wants.”

  Vanessa stayed quiet, absorbing all the information I’d just given her.

  I watched every little reaction she made, wondering what she would say next.

  She didn’t deny that she already knew all of that. “I warned her it was a bad idea. She said she’s looking for a relationship like ours, a man she can settle down with. She wants passion, devotion, and a man who can protect her. I told her he didn’t fit the bill, that he was too dangerous and controlling. She agreed with me and tried to break things off. He refused, roping her into this three-month agreement.”

  I clenched my jaw. “Any man who has to force a woman to stay is no man at all.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “You’re joking, right?”

  I remembered the beginning of our relationship and her time as my prisoner. “Not the same. I was a different man then.”

  “At first, there was no deadline. He just wanted to keep her forever. But she negotiated to three months. He signed a contract and assured her he would let her go. She wanted an excuse to stay but also a way to leave—so she got what she wanted.”

  “I can’t believe she actually likes this guy…”

  “After what happened in the alleyway, I don’t blame her. Now that she’s with a powerful man, she feels safe.”

  “She would be safe if she didn’t make stupid decisions,” I snapped. “I offered to take her home, but she refused.”

  She placed her hand on my arm to calm me. “Griffin, she told me he’s more than just the criminal mastermind of the underworld, that he’s sweet, gentle, and kind.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “You understand you’re being a huge hypocrite, right?”

  “My personal life and my occupation were distinctly separate. I didn’t bring work home with me. When it mattered, I walked away from that life and settled down with you. Now I have honest work and a simple life. Bosco is the job. He’s constantly swarmed by the criminal plague. There’s no separation. He’s obsessed with money and violence. It’s completely different.”

  “I think you’re being unfair. He runs a casino. It’s
not like he was a hitman.”

  My wife was driving me nuts right now. “Are you saying you want Carmen to date this thug?”

  “No, I—”

  “Because it sounds like you’re defending him.”

  Her eyes radiated rage. “Don’t interrupt me.”

  I didn’t dare do it again.

  “I just think you’re overreacting. The man said he would let her go if she wanted to leave. That means she’s not a prisoner. She’s there at her own discretion. I hated you when I first met you, but I started to see all of your good qualities.”

  “I didn’t have good qualities. You just made me acquire them.”

  “Fine. Maybe the same thing is happening with Carmen. Maybe Bosco is changing for her.”

  I shook my head slightly.

  “The relationship is gonna end soon, so it doesn’t matter.”

  “It better end. But more importantly, it shouldn’t have started in the first place.” I gave her a look full of accusation. “You should have told me the second you knew about this.”

  “Excuse me?” She sat up, letting the sheet fall down to reveal her swollen tits. “She asked me not to. I would never betray her.”

  “Even though she was in danger?”

  “That’s not how she described it.”

  “You still should have told me. I could have handled it.”

  “Griffin,” she said coldly. “I would never betray Carmen’s trust. She made me promise not to say anything. I will never break a promise. If she were in any real danger, of course, I would have said something, but she never was.”

  I shook my head, still annoyed with her. “We could have stopped this a long time ago…”

  “Griffin, Carmen is twenty-five. She owns her own business and has been on her own for six years now. She can do whatever she wants. She doesn’t need us to boss her around and intervene.”

  “Again, this isn’t some petty criminal that sells weed on the corner. This man is the most powerful guy in Florence.”

  “And she can hold her own pretty damn well. If not, she wouldn’t tell me she felt safe with him. She would tell me she was afraid of him. That’s not how she feels, Griffin. You need to let this go.”

  I loved Carmen like my own sister. She was the only one who’d treated me with respect when I tried to win over the Barsettis. She defended me and didn’t treat me like some kind of psychopath. She knew I loved Vanessa—and gave me a real chance. “I love her very much. She’s an amazing woman and deserves an amazing man.”

  Vanessa’s eyes softened as she listened to me.

  “I have a special place in my heart for her. She was kind to me when no one else was. She believed in us when no one else did. She never doubted my love for you, never doubted that my love was enough to overcome my flaws. I just want the best for her… I would die for her.”

  Vanessa’s hand moved to mine, and she gently stroked her fingers over my knuckles. “I know, Griffin. That’s why you need to trust her, to trust her instincts. She’s a smart woman. She believed in you, and now you need to believe in her.”

  That was easier said than done. The Barsettis had become my family, and now I cared about all of them. I would lay down my life for any of them.

  “Let’s not worry until we actually have something to worry about.” She rubbed my arm then kissed my shoulder. “You aren’t going to tell my father and uncle, right?”

  That was the worst part, keeping it from them. I worked with them every single day, had become a son to both of them. “What’s gonna happen when they find out I knew the whole time?”

  “They aren’t gonna find out.”

  “And if they do?”

  She sighed. “Carmen made you promise.”

  “That’s not gonna be good enough, and you know it.”

  “Tell them you would have intervened if she was in real danger, but she obviously wasn’t.”

  I still felt like shit for keeping this from the two men I respected most. “If they ask me point-blank, I can’t lie. I’ll never lie, and if that happens, then so be it.”

  “Why would they ask you that?”

  “If they ask me if I know if Carmen’s dating someone, I’ll have to tell them.”

  “They aren’t going to ask you that.”

  Probably not. But it was possible. “They might.”

  “Well, cross that bridge when you come to it. But I suspect you never will.”

  2

  CARMEN

  I was at the shop when Vanessa texted me.

  Let’s get lunch. We need to talk.

  There was no doubt in my mind that Griffin and Vanessa had officially shared everything. I couldn’t ignore her, so I agreed. Alright. See you soon. I locked up the shop then met her at our favorite place, a little bistro that had the best ravioli ever made.

  Vanessa was already sitting when I walked inside, her chair farther away from the table to accommodate her round stomach. She didn’t get up to hug me, and the horrified look on her face told me she noticed the black eye. “If that fucking piece of shit—”

  “Wasn’t him.” I glanced around at the other tables, seeing the concerned looks on everyone’s faces as they listened to a pregnant woman scream her head off. I fell into the chair across from her, embarrassed the thought even crossed her mind. “Chill.”

  “Then what happened? Your eyes are practically swollen shut, Carmen. If Griffin sees that, he’s gonna hunt down Bosco with a knife.”

  “And that would be a mistake because it wasn’t him. Bosco would never hurt me.” Emotion entered my voice because I shouldn’t even have to say that. Bosco put his life on the line to protect me. He wasn’t afraid to make any sacrifice when it came to me.

  “Then who did it?”

  “I was in line at the bank when it got robbed.”

  “Oh my god. I saw that in the paper. You were there?”

  I nodded. “Some guy tried to take the necklace my father got me, so I fought him. He punched me in the face, and then Bosco and his men came in. Bosco stabbed him to death and took care of the other men. If it weren’t for Bosco and his security team, I would be dead right now.” I had to set the record straight because Bosco wasn’t the villain. He was the hero.

  “Jesus, are you okay, Carmen?”

  “I’m fine. It’s a little painful, but the swelling has gone down.”

  “I’m so sorry.” She placed her hand on mine. “That must have been terrifying.”

  “Not as terrifying as what happened in the alleyway. I knew Bosco was coming for me, so I was calm.”

  “Yeah…good thing he was there.” She said the words with only partial sincerity.

  “So you and Griffin finally talked about it.”

  She pulled her hand away and nodded. “Yes. He’s not happy about it, Carmen.”

  “I know.”

  “And he cares about you so much. He says you’re his favorite Barsetti and wants to make sure you have what you deserve. His heart is in the right place. I know he comes off as a caveman sometimes…but he adores you.”

  I already knew that. “He’s a good man.”

  “He said he’ll stay quiet about it. But he won’t lie, so if our fathers come right out and ask him about it, he’ll tell the truth.”

  His commitment to transparency was annoying. “Pain in the ass…”

  “I know he is,” she said with a slight smile. “He’s willing to keep your secret, but he’s not willing to sacrifice his reputation to do it. You’ve put him in a difficult position because he sees your father every day. If they ever find out about this and discover that Griffin knew…there will be trouble.”

  “Why does our family need to be so involved in every aspect of our lives?” I asked incredulously. “Other families aren’t like this.”

  “Because other families don’t care, which isn’t a good thing. And if you dated a normal guy, then this would be a different situation. Then it wouldn’t matter how long you kept it a secret because it really would be n
one of our business. But you probably wouldn’t have kept it a secret this long because there would be no reason not to introduce him to your family.”

  “My father never actually said this to me, but he doesn’t want to meet a man unless he’s gonna be my husband. It was implied. So it would be too soon for that anyway.” A part of me wished my personal life weren’t so fascinating to everyone, but I also knew Vanessa was right. Everyone just wanted the best for me, and that meant I needed to be with the best guy.

  “I get that,” Vanessa said with a nod. “But since there’re only a few weeks left, it doesn’t matter. When you find the next guy, make sure he’s not a crime lord, and everything should be just fine.”

  My expression immediately wilted at the thought of meeting someone new, dating someone new, sleeping with someone new… I couldn’t picture a face different from Bosco’s. I loved the strong lines of his jaw, the beauty of his bright eyes, and the hard muscles of his trim physique. I loved how tough he was, the way he commanded an entire room just by walking into it. And I loved how soft he was when it was just the two of us, when he was treating me like a delicate woman who needed affection.

  Vanessa caught the look. “Griffin is under the impression this is gonna end in three weeks…I hope that’s still the case.”

  I kept telling myself that’s what was gonna happen, but now I didn’t know anymore. Bosco was convinced I would never leave his side, not when we crossed the line and told each other that meaningful phrase. “I need to tell you something. You can’t tell Griffin.”

  She covered her face with her palms before she dragged them down her cheeks. “Carmen, don’t do this to me. I don’t want to keep anything from my husband. It’s too weird. We’re honest with each other about everything.”