Chapter 172


    Alexi pulls out my chair as we seat ourselves at the dinner table at eight, standing beside it so as not to


    cage me from behind. Always aware of that little fact. Always making me love him all the more.


    We are in the grand burgundy and gold dining room of the ssy hotel, alone so far as we are first


    here, and he slides his hand down the open back of my silver sequin gown as he moves beside me to


    sit down. Trailing fingertips down to where the dress closes over my bum and runs gentle featherlight


    touches across the naked skin before pulling away. Igniting every nerve ending I possess.


    Tingles erupt across my skin and I blush at the memories of rolling about upstairs with him. Body still


    warm and glowing from the recent climax he gave me; I lean into him to deliver a kiss on that delicious


    mouth. Alexi cups my jaw lightly and kisses me properly, making me forget where we are, as he teases


    my lips apart seductively and gently caresses my mouth with his. Just a few moments of oblivion to our


    surroundings.


    Yes, I was pissed for a while, but after I enjoyed my soak in the tub for half an hour, I came out to find


    him wearing nothing but a smile and holding a bottle of champagne as a peace offering. I soon forgot


    what I was mad about and he had me giggling childishly. He is too irresistible to stay mad at for long


    and I know what those hands and that body are capable of. He still finds my weaknesses and utilises


    them to his full advantage and had me on the bed and moaning in under three minutes.


    Alexi ordered some light snacks to tide us over till tonight and we ate most of the food off each other’s


    body as we got inventive. It quickly got very messy and sticky and then he moved me to the floor to


    remind me why I let him get away with being an unromantic shithead. The bed was disgusting by the


    time we finished and the champagne he poured over me to lick off stained everything. It required


    showering after, which of course was just an addition to our session and despite his ‘water makes sex


    dry’ he managed just fine to pin me against the wall and screw my brains out.This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    I think I have a serious addiction to the wild unleashed side of him. Even though he tends to prop my


    knees by my ears and show me who’s boss. Forgets the human body has limits to flexibility and he is


    lucky I’m pretty bendy.


    I treated him to one of my very finest blowjobs; finally got to show that man where my biggest talent


    lies. Pleased to say that he is a mere mortal and when sucked well, he can’t hold off cumming for long


    at all, and now I know how to end a long sex session if my body decides enough is enough. He


    returned the favour and we never made it outside for any sort of sightseeing. Not that I’mining.


    I’m now soid back, rxed and satisfied it’s like being tipsy on fine wine. It may be the copious


    amounts of champagne adding to my surreal dream-like state, but I feel good. Merry, chilled, nothing


    bothering me, and all my focus is on his little discreet touches on my leg under the table.


    It was to my great delight to inform tits on the main desk that our bed needed some clean bedding as


    we sexed it up, and now it was too filthy to sleep in. She almost choked when I told her, quite bluntly,


    what I meant by that.


    Alexi just gave me that sideways, amused look of seriousness and made no remark. I could tell,


    despite his silent, deadpan face, he was a little smug that I was broadcasting to little miss boobs that


    he was, in fact, a sex beast in the sack. He’s a man after all. They do like to have their egos stroked


    and have girls profess all about their masterly skills to one another.


    Gino and Alessandra appear with smiles and air kisses as they pass and proceed to sit further around


    the huge table. It’s barely seconds before I have time to drop my napkin on myp when Alexi stands


    up to greet our four other guests.


    Prompt, on time as he likes it and I turn myself to see the approaching Carrero cousins. Lexi pulls the


    first into a handshake and a manly half pat hug type manoeuvre.


    “Rob, Georgie, good to see you again.” Alexi moves between them and embraces the second of the


    men. I don’t even need a DNA test to tell who they are. They have fairer hair than the standard ck of


    most of the Carreros, but the features and piercing blue eyes are a giveaway. Height, build, and that


    annoying Hollywood sexy smile. They are brothers and obviously cousins of Alexi and Gino. Either that


    or the illegitimate sons of his father.


    They have two women in tow, both blonde, leggy, pretty things and they are introduced as the wives,


    it’s brief hurried as though their presence is unimportant. Not that it’s a shock, this is the general way of


    men in Alexi’s world; woman equals object. They don’t get formal intro’s and when they do, it’s brief


    and uninteresting.


    “This is Cami Walters, my girlfriend.” Alexi helps me stand and I take a moment to gawp, a weird


    startled look as the words pour so effortlessly out of his mouth. Both for the proper introduction and the


    way he just says it so easily while putting me in between himself and the men to shake hands.


    WOW.


    Never in a million years did I think that sentence would roll so smoothly from this man’s tongue. The


    fact he presents me and brings me to his side for a formal meet and greet is also another strange


    move. I’m not being used to charm or coerce the men; therefore, my presence doesn’t need much


    attention. Alexi is acting like a proud owner of a shiny new toy, showing it to his peers. This is not the


    done thing. Even I know that, and the odd strained looks on the faces of this party of four says it all.


    “Howdy. You sure are a pretty little thing.” They almost say it in unison, with a very odd ent for


    Carrero men. Slightly southern and not native to Vegas or New York which makes me blink twice, and


    it’s obvious it’s an emptypliment from two men wondering why their cousin just made an extra


    point of introducing a girlfriend.


    I assumed all Carrero men came from the same batch and would all have that little half hint of an


    authentic Italian ent hidden in the upper-ss New York dialect, like Alexi.


    Introductions are made between everyone, polite hugs and handshakes before we are all finally seated


    and the men almost instantly jump into talks about the casino, they have been scoping out here. It’s


    obvious they have done the groundwork for Alexi and I sit and mull over the menu to let them talk.


    Feeling that overbearing weight of ‘women shall not be heard’ing over from that side of the table.


    Introductions forgotten.


    Alessandra is wearing sunsses already, seeing as she and Gino got very drunk while having noisy


    sex all afternoon. We heard them when Alexi opened the door for our food cart and texted Gino to tell


    him the halls were echoing with the noise they were making. This hotel has two penthouse apartments,


    in what used to be one huge one. They share a hall with us with a door directly opposite ours.


    The two of them are still in the stage of parties and wild living with her being a model who travels a lot.


    Every time they get together, they go wild, ording to Lexi. When she is home, they get a little crazy


    together, horny, smashed and loud and now she is silently regretting the amount of chardonnay she


    downed.


    The other women arepletely silent and it’s eerie. They don’t even converse with each other; they


    stare at their menus, sses of water and then tes while they await the menfolk to pick food. I watch


    them feeling somewhat bemused that this archaic 1950s type of woman still exists.


    The carefully chosen modest clothes, the perfect, groomed appearance of eptable, good Christian


    wives and both have dainty silver crosses around their neck dering their faith. I can’t help ncing to


    and from women to men and then Alexi and it’s obvious there is a huge difference here.


    Gino and Alessandra are oblivious, but I can smell the intensely religious influence and the old-


    fashioned pecking order of women who know their ce. Women who don’t look up and make eye


    contact without permission.


    These are women who obey their men. Something I know is normal among families steeped in tradition


    and I catch myself ncing at Alexi and contemting it. I wonder if this is expected of the married


    women in his family. I wonder if I ever married him would his need to lord over me intensify like it did in


    the beginning and he would coerce and push me into another ‘Yes, Sir’. The thought gives me a


    horribly abrupt drop in the pit of my stomach and cold goosebumps bristle over my whole body.


    I just couldn’t live that way.


    They are like mindless bots awaiting permission to breathe or be seen.


    Downcast eyes, sullen expressions and I can imagine sex is given when ordered and probably


    missionary once the bloom of the honeymoon period has worn off.


    “Are you ready to order?” A waitresses to the side of the table beside the first blonde and she


    blushes profusely without looking up. Instantly ufortable at being singled out first. That immediate


    uneasy reaction and her eyes fly to her husband who is deep in conversation and unaware. I can see


    the hesitation all over her face and body as she tries to figure out how to behave withoutmand.


    Too caught up in knowing her ce that she won’t interrupt him to draw attention.


    It’s pathetic and just makes the bile in my stomach rise faster. That edge of ‘fuck no’ing up and


    over me.


    “Ma’am?” The waitress tries again, sounding a little less patient but gets the same rabbit in the


    headlight response. A woman unable to speak without permission, fumbling with her napkin and


    refusing to look the server’s way. It’s excruciating to watch really, and I butt in to save her soul from


    going to hell, or wherever naughty Christian girls go when they enrage their masters.


    “I’m starving and almost ready to eat Lexi’s tie. God, these men know how to make us wait. I’ll have the


    steak, rare with a side sd and your finest house red wine.” I push out brazenly, interrupting the tense


    standoff and loud enough to be heard. A weird deathly stillness drops into my orbit and the two women


    immediately stop, eyes widening as they stare at me with crimson blushes spreading across their


    petrified faces. They both seem to stop breathing. The whole table falls silent. I could hear a pin drop


    and try not to react with the sudden deafening quiet.


    Alexi looks around to see what has happened, with the sudden change of atmosphere to an ice-cold


    chill, and one of the men frowns at me before whipping the menu out of his wife’s hand and sternly


    orders meals for them both. He doesn’t even ask her what she wants and just tosses her menu back


    when he is done. Cousin two follows suit and then Gino and Alessandra order for themselves quickly


    while no one seems to take a breath.


    There’s a weird strained tension all around us, like a heavy smog and finally Alexi pipes in to break it.


    “Steak for me too … make it a bottle of red for the two of us and I will have a straight brandy while we


    wait. She’s right, we are all famished, and thedies shouldn’t wait to eat while we men talk shop.” He


    doesn’t seem at all flustered in the way the men are behaving but I can feel eyes eating into me,


    summarising the cause and realise that Alessandra is being oddly quiet too.


    I don’t like the vibes I’m getting. I can tell I just broke some unspoken rule of etiquette for this family


    and I’m regretting it profusely. I don’t want Alexi mad at me for something so dumb.


    “Where wee from the women wait for the men because they know their ce. It’s a sign of


    respect.” One of the men butts in harshly, obviously not impressed with Alexi flippantly palming off the


    situation.


    Rob looks at me pointedly, a weird snarly tinge on the corner of his mouth of pure disdain that a woman


    stepped out of line and I just stare right back at him, hackles rising and that fiery pit of hotva in my


    stomach swirls. Brewing for a showdown. He’s trying to intimidate me, which I must admit is working,


    but I’ll be damned if I back down to this arsehole and show him he has dominance over me. He is not


    my lord and master, no man is. Not even Alexi fucking Carrero!


    I don’t care if I broke a rule. I’m a free person and I can up and walk away if I want to. They have no


    power over me.


    I don’t get the chance to reply though, even though my sarcastic response is lingering on my lips,


    poised and scathing.


    “Well, she’s not from there and it’s not how I expect her to be. My woman has a mind of her own and


    knows exactly where her ce is. She doesn’t need to be reprimanded by anyone who isn’t me!”


    Alexi’s tone is loaded even if it’s said in a friendly way, and I watch the silent tug of war that goes on


    between him and the lighter-haired Carrero. That power imbnce as the other man, clearly older than


    Alexi, bites his tongue from a harsh bacsh. Eyes locked, a million trantions in tiny looks and it’s


    obvious Alexi can out-stare him any day of the week. I recoil a little inside, although no longer worried


    that he will scold me for my faux pas and just loving him even more for standing up for me.


    “Wait till you’re married and it all changes. Women need discipline and leadership. They learn or they


    suffer for the disrespect.” Cousin two, the one called Georgie pipes in, grinning smugly, trying to


    interject a little lightness with his words, despite the content being despicable and I can feel their wives


    trying to disappear under the table across from me. He ces a hand on his wife’s thigh and squeezes


    hard, emitting a grimace from her and she flushes seven shades redder. It’s obvious she doesn’t like


    his public manhandling, and I wonder if arranged marriages are still a thing in families where title and


    connections still matter as much as money.


    I would never have paired them normally. Either that or she is miss prim and proper and God may burn


    her soul in hell for having some public form of contact with her husband. I have heard worse.


    Alessandra clears her throat and also seems to revert to submissive so suddenly, shocking for her


    normally brassy, bold self and it finally clicks. My brain giving me a shake.


    Alessandra has dealt with this family for years andes from an Italian family much like theirs. It’s a


    different set of rules when in the presence of Alexi’s family, and the far-out wider circle of Carrero. She


    knows how to act with these people and is toeing the line. It’s aplete contrast to the outspoken sex


    goddess I have known in my brief time but it’s a hint that I have no idea what I’m dealing with.


    They have different values and opinions about their women in different sectors, and this attitude is


    more in keeping with other mob families and how they treat their worthless sex dolls. The man I first


    met in Alexi was like this with his women. Be silent and be obedient, but he’s not like that with me


    anymore; I have never seen it with his cousins or twin and their women either, or any of the men


    around us constantly, so I do not think it’s the norm for the New York family at all.


    Alexi obviously had the influences in his life though, which suggests more of the Carrero line is like this,


    just not the ones from The Hamptons and the city.


    I know the branch in London was equally vile with women, now that I know the rkes are Carreros.


    They treated their wives like objects, as far as the rumour went, and no women they were seen with


    appeared to be their wives. Escorts and dates were always whores.


    “Her ce is wherever she chooses it to be. I don’t need to silence my woman to earn her respect.


    Cam knows how to be when I need her to be a certain way. This is family, she doesn’t need to be


    anything but herself in your presence.” Alexi grits his teeth, that edge of anger moving in, annoyed for


    me, biting with that sh of famous temper and Gino coughs and leans forward. He can sense Alexi


    growing agitated and we all know what an unpredictable explosion that can be.


    “New York is a lot different to bama, Rob. Women are far more independent and outspoken. We just


    had to learn to roll with the punches and loosen the leashes a little. They are harder work but that’s


    where the fun lies. Alexi likes a challenge and Cami is definitely that for him; he would never be


    happy with servitude and nods in his chosen one.” Gino is trying to joke and calm the atmosphere in his


    smileyid back way, but I can already feel the tension in Alexi thickening the surrounding air. My cool,


    controlled one has zero patience when ites to me, even I have figured that one out. It’s the one


    chink in that facade I used to be unnerved by. Mr Control is incapable of keeping his shit together when


    you add me to the equation.


    It’s sweet but a total shitty weakness considering what he does.


    “Well, you have certainly changed. Last time we met up your date was both obedient and silent and


    understood the meaning of the men taking the lead. Are you going soft cuz? Over a piece of skirt … is


    she really that good of a fuck? Or maybe you just lost your touch in keeping your bitch under control


    and making excuses.” Smirking, smug arsehole, acting superior towards his cousin and even I know


    that is the absolute wrong move.


    I don’t like him.


    I snarl subtly and re at the conceited moron, grasping my napkin to curb the urge to tell him to go


    choke on his brother''s dick.


    This Carrero is a massive knob jockey, and I, honest to God, would love to see him talk to me this way


    back in New York, surrounded by Mico and Jackson. Pretty sure both of them would have something to


    say.


    Wanker.


    “Watch your mouth. I’m warning you.” Alexi growls, startling me with his sudden interjection, that low


    sadistic tone of the devil that used to terrify me to death. Such few words, precise, slow but loaded with


    meaning and the heaviness of my anxiety is painful with the sudden death chill.


    It’s the way he always used to rein in control in any given scenario. It means he’s most likely bordering


    on snapping necks.


    I can’t breathe in properly, just the memory of who he can be when riled, and even Gino falls quiet.


    Alexi is teetering on a cliff edge. It’s that evil husky note of ‘everyone in this room should be very afraid’


    I know only too well.


    Everyone does


    “He didn’t mean anything by it. No disrespect Alexi. You’re the head of the family and he forgets


    himself.” Its George butting in, stammering sheepishly, trying to eyeball his brother to back off and


    looking less assured. Trying to tame his brother in the way Gino is trying to diffuse this pissing contest,


    and I can see which of the four got the alpha genes and which got the peacemaker ones. It’s so tense


    that the air crackles.


    It seems though that Alexi’s tone is universally feared. Even arsehole Rob looks less cocky and nerves


    are peeking through in the way his eye twitches ever so slightly under Alexi’s unbreakable and


    unmistakably angry stare.


    I broke a rule of etiquette within this hierarchy. I dared to speak first and order my food without


    permission from my man. This is the aftermath and now dinner is going to be a fucking ball.


    I feel sick. Anxiety gives way to nausea and I clench my hands on myp under the table to hide my


    difort. I wish the ground would open up and swallow me whole. Sure my heated face is the red


    blush of embarrassment at causing this. My body stiff and on high alert, blood running cold.


    I expected this kind of opposition in his world of men in suits back home, but not between family. His


    own men. It reminds me that this world is bigger than us, and Alexi isn’t the monster I once believed


    him to be. He shows me more respect than these men show their own wives. He has always given me


    a sense of safety, even when he was being the devil. I never really gave him credit for that before.


    Rob tenses his jaw and furrows his brow rather menacingly, sits back in his chair so he’s no longer


    leaning on the table but it’s all posturing and I can tell his fight has died. His whole demeanour takes on


    that of a sulky teen rather than a grown man itching to battle. Backing down because he is no match for


    his cousin. Alexi, the stealth, still growling darkness by my side, has one arm resting casually and his


    whole body is poised as though he’s unaffected. That means he is about a second away from jumping


    over the table and breaking bones.


    “Yeah, I forget that even though I’m older, had way more time and experience under your father’s


    guidance, I was bypassed for my kid cousin, who was still in diapers. Sorry.” The tone matches the look


    and it’sughable. Moody man child that has reverted in years in the blink of an eye and his insult is


    petty. Even Alexi frowns with a look of ‘what was that?’


    It all makes sense and falls neatly into ce with that begrudged and venomous statement though.


    Rob was meant for the role of leader, wanted it, expected it, but Alexi swept in and took it from him. I’m


    guessing he assumes Alexi’s father had a role in his own son taking over, but I know that is far from the


    truth. Alexi was made for this role and his family saw it against all his father’s wishes.


    You can’t deny natural gifts.


    The air between them may have seemed friendly at first nce but the jealousy andpetitiveness


    are there lingering between us all. Now it’s been highlighted I can see it seeping from every pore of the


    man. Wearing it like a thick cloak.


    Not all Carrero men are charming. Some of them are meant for the world in which I grew up and it


    makes more sense to me now that their family has been known for generations as heavy-handed and


    ruthless gangsters. The hearts of the Carreros I know is not in all of them. They are unique.


    Power mad, cruel and petty is the norm. I will bet your bottom dor this branch of the family treats their


    women with less care than Alexi’s part in every way. I wouldn’t be surprised if they used fist and foot to


    punish them into submission and broke them down mentally. Much like the men I have known in my


    past. Much like he did to me when I was the enemy.


    I move slightly closer to Alexi, that same old fear wing up inside me when men who show a cruel,


    violent side peeks out and I’m the focus. I press my leg against his thigh to feel more grounded and


    take a littlefort from feeling his strong body so close to me. His natural heat reverberating through


    my naked leg.