Fix You (The Irish Rogues #3)

Chapter Nineteen Raphael

I n my office, my brothers and I sat around the table putting the final touches on a new real estate deal in the Bronx. Not only was it for a lucrative high-rise, but it aligned us with another Italian family, which extended our territory in the boroughs.

As I rose out of my chair, Leo asked, “So Birthday Boy, what are your plans for tonight?”

“I’m going to turn in early and rest up for Maeve’s visit tomorrow.”

Leo and Gianni exchanged a look. “What’s wrong with that?” I asked.

“Nothing. We were just thinking we could go to Inferno and have a drink.”

“I think I’ll pass,” I replied as I threw my jacket on.

“But you can’t!” Leo blurted.

As I smoothed down my lapels, I asked, “And why the fuck not?”

“Because today is your birthday.”

“And I’m going to celebrate it tomorrow with Maeve.”

Gianni gave a low whistle. “Ouch, man, you don’t even want to celebrate with us?”

I furrowed my brows at him. “Seriously, what’s up? You didn't give two shits when I spent my last birthday in the Maldives without you guys.”

With a sigh, Leo replied, “We wanted it to be a surprise.”

“What?”

“We got the bouncers and waitresses together to do a little something for your birthday.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I mean, it’s been a tough year.”

Snorting, I replied, “I assume you're referencing Caterina’s kidnapping and me assuming the role as capo and not our worthless father’s death.”

“Exactly.”

Although I knew the right thing was going home and resting for Maeve, I sighed. It couldn’t possibly hurt to at least swing by for one drink and thank the waitresses and bouncers for the birthday wishes.

Wagging a finger at them, I said, “You two are a bad influence.”

After a quick trip home to shower and change, I met back up with my brothers in the lobby of our building. “Lookin’ good, brother,” Leo replied.

“Thanks. You two cleaned up nicely as well.”

Since Milos was off for the night, Gianni’s bodyguard, Emiliano, had our back along with two part-time bodyguards who I had yet to learn their names. When we arrived at the back of the club, a balloon arch decorated the employee entrance. “Seriously?” I asked with a grin.

Leo winked. “The waitresses got a little carried away.”

Gianni snorted. “I’d agree considering the credit card receipt I got from the party decor store.”

When I stepped onto the floor of the club, I entered an absolute party overload. Yellow and red balloons of all shapes and sizes littered the corners, which was a subtle nod to the Sicilian flag.

Over the main balcony to the VIP section was an enormous banner that read Happy Birthday Raphael .

Our manager, Carissa, handed me an enormous piece of chocolate cake and a flute of champagne. “Happy Birthday, boss!” she shouted over the roar of the music.

“Thanks, Carebear,” I replied, using our nickname for her.

Leo leaned over to speak into my ear. “Listen, G and I have a birthday present for you in your office.”

“You didn’t need to get me anything.”

“Come on, man. You’re not just our brother–you’re our capo. You’ve seen us through some crazy shit this year.”

The sincerity of Leo’s words and his expression caused my chest to tighten. “That means a lot.”

“So, come on.”

I followed him to the employee area. Just before we got to my office, Leo put his phone to his ear. Considering the raging bass, I don’t know how he even knew it’d rung. With a grimace, he said, “I’ve got to take this. Go on in and see your present.”

I grinned. “All right.”

When I opened the office door, it was bathed in muted light. As I started inside, my gaze fell on the couch in the back of the office. A blonde-haired woman outfitted in racy green and gold lingerie sat cross-legged on the couch. An intricate gold mask covered her eyes.

At the sight of me, she rose to her feet. “Good evening, Mr. Neretti.”

“What the fuck are you doing in here?”

“I’m your birthday present.”

“Excuse me?”

“Your brothers told me to wait for you here.”

What the fuck? Had Gianni and Leo lost their minds? There was no way in hell I wanted a strange piece of ass for my birthday. Shaking my head, I started over to her. “I’m sorry, but there’s been some kind of a mistake.”

Her pink lips turned down in a pout. “Don’t I please you?”

As she took a leisurely spin in front of me, I couldn’t help but take in her ample curves on display. When I realized what I was doing, I smacked my hand to my forehead. “No, it’s not about pleasing or not pleasing me. Whatever it is you’re offering, I don’t want it.”

“Why not?”

“Because I have a woman in my life I care about very much, and I wouldn’t dream of cheating on her.”

A smile curved on those pillowy lips. “She sure is a lucky lady.”

“I’m the one who is lucky.” Jerking my thumb at the door, I replied, “Now you’ve got to go.”

The woman took a step towards me instead of to the door. “What is it about her that drives you wild?”

“I'm not doing this with you. Get out.”

Tilting her head, the woman said, “Must be the luck of the Irish.”

Something went off in my brain at the mention of Irish. Narrowing my eyes, I truly looked at the woman for the first time. Suddenly those pouty lips were very familiar as were the ample breasts bulging from the bustier of the lingerie.

“Maeve?”

With a grin, she pulled down her face mask. “Mr. Neretti, you were a very, very good boy to pass up willing and available pussy.”

I threw back my head with a laugh. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I wanted to surprise you for your birthday.”

“Oh, I’m not just surprised. I’m fucking flabbergasted.” Staring at her in disbelief, I said, “Your American accent is perfection.”

She grinned. “I worked on it the last couple of days.”

“I seriously had no idea it was you.” I swept my hand over my face. “Leo and Gianni were in on it?”

“Yep.”

“You devious little minx,” I remarked as I tugged her against me. As my lips met hers, I groaned at the taste of her bubble gum lip gloss. Sweeping my tongue inside her mouth, I tasted even more of her.

When I started to push her over to the couch, she wiggled out of my embrace. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s more to your surprise.”

I widened my eyes. “More than you flying thousands of miles to surprise me in lingerie at my club?”

She gave me a shy grin. “Yes. At least I hope so.”

“What is it?”

“I want you to take me to Lust tonight.”

My face fell. “No, Maeve, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“There’s crazy shit that goes on down there.” With a shake of my head, I added, “Dark shit that I don’t think would be good for your journey.”

“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?

There was nothing more in the world that I wanted to do than take Maeve through Lust. But with her history, I knew it was a potential landmine of triggers. The last thing I wanted to do was have my libido cause her a setback.

Maeve cupped my cheek with her hand. “You don’t know what it means to me that you care so much about my healing. You’ve always had such patience with me. I’ve talked about this with Dr. Leighton, and I’d like to try.”

“You have?” At her nod, I felt a little better. If Dr. Leighton hadn’t shut it down as a potential red flag, then I suppose there wasn’t any real harm in trying. “Okay. I’ll take you to Sin.”

Her face lit up. “Really?”

“Yes. But as soon as something makes you uncomfortable, I want you to use your safe word.”

“I can do that.”

I held out my hand to her. “Then let’s go.”

Tilting her head at me, Maeve asked, “Don’t you need to take some of your clothes off?”

“I will when the time comes.”

“Should I put on my robe?” she asked, motioning to a silky green and gold number that was draped across the couch.

“No. I like you just as you are, and I’m sure everyone else will, too.”

She giggled as she slid her mask back on. “Okay. Let’s go.”

When we exited my office, Leo was standing across the hall with a Cheshire Cat grin. “Good surprise?”

“Excellent surprise.”

As Leo’s gaze flickered over to Maeve, his eyes bulged out of their sockets. “Holy shit,” he muttered under his breath. I assumed from his reaction, he hadn’t seen Maeve out of her robe.

“Yeah, you can put your eyes back in your head. While others might be looking at her tonight, you won’t be one of them.”

He winked at me. “That’s a pity.”

With a grunt, I brushed past him to take Maeve to the employee entrance for Lust. I also made sure to put Maeve in front of me so he couldn’t ogle her ass down the hallway.

After taking my keycard from my jacket pocket, the elevator doors opened. As Maeve stepped on, I noticed her legs were trembling slightly. “If you’re cold, I can give you my jacket.”

She shook her head. “Just nervous.” When I opened my mouth to argue that we didn’t have to do this, she replied, “It's good. I promise.”

The elevator doors opened, and a sultry beat filled our ears. Taking Maeve’s hand in mine, I led her out into the club. When I’d designed Sin, I wanted to incorporate a theme of angels and devils. One side was decorated completely in white while the other was in red and black giving someone the opportunity to visit both Heaven and Hell.

Even through her mask, I could tell Maeve’s eyes were popped wide as she started taking in some of the activities. I decided we’d start in Heaven since that was slightly tamer than what she might see in Hell.

When we entered, the walls were encrusted in white feathers. To the right of us was a St. Andrew’s Cross where a naked man was strung up. A dominatrix in a white vinyl dress with angel wings was lashing him with a white whip. With each strike, Maeve jumped. From her tense body language, I could tell it wasn’t doing anything to get her hot.

Quickly, I tugged her over to the other side. A woman lay tied spread eagled to a couch. As others looked on, she sucked one man’s cock who stood at her head while another man stood between her thighs, pounding her with harsh thrusts.

“Oh,” Maeve murmured.

As I turned to gauge her response, she licked her lips. “Do you like that, Tesoro ?”

“Yes,” she answered breathlessly.

“Does that mean you’d like to find another man to join us tonight?”

Her wild gaze spun to mine. “N-No.”

I chuckled. “Don’t worry. As long as I have a breath within me, no other man will touch you.”

A shy smile etched on her face. “And no other woman for you but me.”

“That’s right.”

And then both of our minds went to the dark specter hanging over us–my upcoming nuptials. One day another woman would have to touch me, and I would have to touch her. As much as I didn’t want to consummate my marriage with Drea, I had no choice. Not only did I have to legalize my marriage, but I needed heirs. There was always the possibility of talking Drea into IUI or IVF. Deep down, I did not think she was anymore stoked about fucking me than I was her.

“Come on. There’s more to see.”

We wound our way through other sides of Heaven. Maeve’s interest wasn’t piqued by the floggings or spankings. In fact, she had a huge aversion to anything that involved torture or beating, and I could understand why.

She paused in front of the white bedding section where an orgy with more than ten participants was taking place. I noticed the change in her breathing as she watched the people writhing with pleasure as they fucked in all positions.

Pulling her in front of me, I slid my hand up her ribcage to cup her breast. “Is this okay?” I whispered in her ear.

“Yes,” she panted.

My other hand slid between her legs where I found her already soaking. “My naughty girl. You like watching, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“Do you like to hear the sounds the women make when their lover gives them pleasure?”

“Mm, yes,” she replied, her ass beginning to grind into my growing erection.

“Would you like it to be your sounds of pleasure they’re hearing?”

A shudder went through her. “Oh yes.”

I slid my hand into the cups of her bodice. After squeezing the nipple, I thrust one of my fingers inside her, “Would you like me to take you to one of the viewing beds and let everyone watch me fuck you?”

“Only you?” she asked.

“Only me.” When she nodded her head, I replied, “I need to hear you say the words, Maeve.”

Through her mask, desire shone in her eyes. “I want you to fuck me in front of everyone.”

“Good girl. Now what’s your safe word?”

“Rose.”

With a nod, I then took my finger out of her and removed my other hand from her bodice. My cock ached as I pulled her over to a platform, which was a queen-sized mattress that hung from the ceiling on chains and swung back and forth. I suppose if we were going to do this anywhere, it made sense we would do it on this side and not in Hell.

When we stood in front of the bed, Maeve made quick work of stripping me of my jacket. As her fingers started unbuttoning my shirt, I realized her brows were furrowed. It hit me that although she might be comfortable fucking in front of others, she might not be comfortable with them seeing her naked.

“Do you want to leave your lingerie on?”

Maeve quickly bobbed her head. “Yes, please.”

“ Tesoro , this is all about you. It’s only what you want to do or not do.”

She smiled up at me. “You’re so good to me.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her it was because I loved her. But that was ridiculous. We hadn’t known each other long enough for that. Even if I did feel that level of emotion for her, I couldn’t allow it.

Loving Maeve meant breaking her heart when I had to marry Drea.

I had a feeling regardless of whether I allowed myself to say the words, I was still going to break Maeve’s heart.

As she started unzipping my pants, a few onlookers from the orgy started walking over to us. With our new audience, the pulse point in her neck beat wildly. When her fingers fumbled, I said, “I’ve got this. You go get on the bed.”

“Okay.”

As she climbed up onto the bedding platform, she squealed when it moved. “Are you okay?”

She giggled. “I guess I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Sex swings are the best. There’s a really good one in Hell.”

“That’s something you don’t hear everyday,” she teased with a nervous giggle.

I was thankful for her amusement. It meant she wasn’t triggered and was enjoying herself.

After I made quick work of shedding my pants and briefs, I hopped up onto the swaying platform.

Reaching into the side pocket of the sheet, I pulled out a condom, which caused Maeve’s mouth to drop open in surprise. I winked at her as I slid the condom down my length. “We push safe sex here, so we have condoms everywhere, along with lube.”

“Even lube?”

I nodded. “Considering how wet you were a minute ago, we won’t need any,” I teased.

“I know I’m soaked.”

With a groan, I grabbed her by the neck and jerked her to me. Our mouths fused together–tongues sliding and twisting. When I opened my eyes, Maeve’s were open, and she was glancing over her shoulder to where the people were watching us.

“Still good?” I murmured against her mouth.

“Yes.” She reached between us to take my cock in her hand. “I just want you inside me.”

“Then get on your hands and knees and face the people watching us,” I instructed.

After Maeve let go of my cock, she moved over to the center of the bedding platform. Then she rose up on her hands and knees. Throwing a glance back at me, she swayed her ass provocatively. “I’m ready.”

I crawled over to her. My hand came to her hips to slide her thong down over her thighs. After I tossed it aside, I rose up on my knees and took my cock in my hand. When I started to enter her, I realized something was wrong.

Reaching over, I yanked Maeve’s blonde wig off. “What are you doing?” she demanded.

“It feels like I’m cheating on you. I need to see those gorgeous red locks.”

With a smile, Maeve reached up and started sliding the pins from her hair. I grunted when the auburn strands pooled against the alabaster skin showing above her bustier. “There’s my ginger girl.”

When she turned her head to smile at me, my heart shuddered and restarted. In that moment on the bedding platform, I knew without a shadow of a doubt, I loved Maeve.