The Banker Read online

  The backs of his fingers moved to my cheek, and he gently grazed them toward my hairline. His skin was warm, innately inviting. “But you’re the kind of woman to stalk a man for two weeks?”

  I turned to him, the ferocity entering my gaze.

  A slow smile formed on his lips, the look so handsome and so arrogant that it was undeniably sexy. “Has anyone ever told you how gorgeous you look when you’re pissed?”

  Damien popped into my mind. “Actually, yes.”

  His smile widened even more. “I get under your skin, don’t I?”

  “I think you’re a bit arrogant.”

  “If you think I’m bad, you should meet my brother.”

  “You’re more than enough.”

  His smile continued, but his gaze sharpened. “You’ve got a quick mouth on you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I wonder what else your mouth can do.” His smile faded away, but the intensity remained in his eyes. He made his moves one after another, seducing me without even trying. Maybe he was an excellent entrepreneur, but making panties drop was his next best skill set.

  “You’ll never know.” I finished my glass then took a drink of his.

  He watched my movements, not protesting when I helped myself to his booze. When the glass was back on the table, he moved his fingers under my chin and slowly forced my gaze toward his.

  I easily could have fought it—but I didn’t even try.

  “Yes, I will.” He moved his hand into my hair as he pulled me in for a kiss. He cradled my head against his palm then kissed me softly on the lips, giving me a tender embrace that was nothing like what he gave the other women. This was purposeful, soft, and so slow that it made my legs shake.

  I’d just watched him kiss those other women minutes ago, and instead of being disgusted by being the third in line, all I could think about was how good his mouth tasted. His cologne was purely masculine, and when I felt his hard muscles brush against me, I wanted to sink my nails into his skin. My thighs tightened, and I breathed into his mouth as my hand gripped his thigh under the table. He was a solid rock under my fingertips, pure muscle stretching denim. My mouth naturally matched his cadence, moving past his and receiving his tongue with vigor. I sucked his bottom lip before I gave him mine. There was nothing I liked about this man besides his looks, and I never thought I could have such an incredible kiss with a man I could barely tolerate. I had never experienced lust quite like this, where physical attraction was more important than anything else.

  His kiss slowed to a gradual halt. His final embrace was a gentle suck on my bottom lip. Just like an intense workout, he gave me a nice cooldown before he ended it altogether. He pulled his face away while his eyes were still glued to my lips. “Let’s go.” He took my hand and guided me out of the booth.

  I didn’t appreciate being told what to do. I didn’t appreciate the assumption that I would go to bed with him just because he kissed me. But my eyes stayed on the prize, and I focused on why I was there in the first place.

  To save my father.

  We walked into the building and took the elevator to the top floor. There was no one in the lobby and the sidewalk was deserted, so I assumed he owned the entire building. A multibillionaire probably protected his privacy above all else—even if he had to drop millions on an entire building.

  The doors opened to a luxurious living room and the sound of classical music in the background.

  But I didn’t have a chance to look around for clues before I was yanked into his arms for a kiss. His hand gripped the hair tie that kept my hair in place then he yanked out the remaining pins hidden in my brown hair. His mouth continued to move with mine, and he was much more aggressive than he’d been at the club. He gripped my ass then scooped me up before he carried me down the hallway.

  My arms circled his neck, and I continued to kiss him, feeling my arousal seep into my panties. It’d been over a month since I’d had a man in my bed, and the sex hadn’t been all that great. There was no doubt in my mind this man knew how to fuck—so I decided to enjoy it.

  I explored his shoulders and back through the cotton shirt and imagined how he would look in nothing but his birthday suit. He would be just as gorgeous, but even better because his package was probably impressive. A man couldn’t be so arrogant unless he was packing a big dick in his pants.

  He lowered me onto the bed and kissed me for a few more seconds before he rose to his feet and pulled his shirt over his head. He was carved out of marble, the lines separating his muscles so deep he looked like a statue. His pecs were hard and wide, and his narrow waist was a complex display of rivers and mountains of muscle.

  Now it was no surprise he could get laid whenever he wanted.

  “Christina.” He undid his jeans and dropped them to the floor so he was in only his boxers.

  I didn’t focus on the outline of his erection through the material because I was stunned by what he said. “Christina?”

  His knees hit the bed, and then he leaned down to a kiss woman beside me.

  A woman I hadn’t noticed because I’d been too focused on him.

  He kissed her hard on the mouth then pulled her panties down her long legs.

  I was in too much shock to move.

  This asshole brought me here for a threeway?

  After he finished kissing her, he moved over me and grabbed one of my heels to slip it off.

  I yanked my foot out of his grasp. “Are you kidding me right now?”

  He stilled on top of me, his eyes narrowing on my face.

  I’d already had to talk myself into sleeping with him in the first place, but there was no way in hell I could talk myself into a threeway. It would do nothing to further my agenda anyway. I was just another body in a bed to fulfill his fantasies. There was no intimate connection that would allow me to manipulate him. I would be kicked out first thing in the morning, or I wouldn’t even make it through the night. He wouldn’t pay any attention to me ever again. I would be another notch on his belt before he moved on to the next. He probably wouldn’t even remember this night in a few weeks.

  I pushed him hard in the shoulder so he rolled over onto his back. “You’re such a pig. The biggest fucking pig I’ve ever met.” I got to my feet and stormed out of the bedroom, furious that my plan was going to shit. If I couldn’t sleep with him to get my way, and I didn’t have another trick up my sleeve, that meant I was completely out of ideas. I moved through the living room and headed to the elevator, not expecting him to stop me.

  His loud footsteps sounded behind me, his bare feet hitting the hardwood. “What the fuck was that?”

  I jammed my finger into the button before I turned around. “You bring me home to a threeway? Call me old-fashioned, but you should at least ask a woman first before you throw her into bed with another woman.”

  “You’ve been following me for weeks. When am I ever with just one woman?”

  I saw him make out with several, but I didn’t know he fucked multiple women at a time. “You’re disgusting.” I turned back to the elevator when the doors opened.

  He snatched me by the arm and yanked me back.

  I spun my wrist out of his grasp quickly then slapped down his hand before he could grab me again. “Don’t touch me.” I stepped inside the elevator.

  He followed me and placed his body in between the doors so I couldn’t go anywhere. In just his boxers, he stared me down with ferocity, like my tantrum was pissing him the hell off. “I know what I like, and I’m not ashamed of it. Every man in the world wishes they could have what I have, but they aren’t man enough to make it happen. Just remember that the next time you screw someone. He may enjoy fucking you, but he would be much happier if there were two of you.”

  I shook my head slightly, my disgust growing by the second. “Trust me, he wouldn’t be thinking that. Because I’m the kind of woman a man can barely handle on his own. I’m the kind of woman who doesn’t share. I’m the kind of woman who keeps his attent
ion until I’m finally done with him. If you need two women in your bed every night, then you obviously haven’t met a single woman who can hold her own. That could have been me—but now you’ll never know.”

  5

  Cato

  I lay between Christina and Stephanie, the floor-to-ceiling windows showing the bright lights of Florence. The Catholic church down the street was lit up every night, a guiding star to all the lost souls of this city—including me.

  I didn’t stop that woman from walking out of my home.

  No one talked to me that way.

  But once the rage had passed and I’d fucked two beautiful women in my bed, I reflected on everything she’d said.

  If you need two women in your bed every night, then you obviously haven’t met a single woman who can hold her own. That could have been me—but now you’ll never know. She successfully planted a seed of doubt, a hint of regret. I wondered if I had spent the night with just her, would the sex have been as marvelous as she promised.

  I guess it didn’t matter anymore. I would never see her again.

  Didn’t even know her name.

  She was too beautiful to be one of those stupid obsessed women who thought they could change me, who thought they had something special that would make me settle down and marry them.

  I would never marry.

  I was way too rich to get married.

  Women wanted to be in my bed because I was good at fucking. But they agreed to threesomes in the hope they would mean something to me, that I would see them as adventurous and exciting enough to be my wife.

  There hadn’t been a single woman who’d turned me down—until now.

  My phone vibrated on the nightstand with a call, so I carefully reached over Stephanie to answer it. No one called me at this hour unless it was an emergency.

  And it better be an emergency.

  I saw the name on the screen. Mother.

  I jumped out of bed and walked into the living room to answer it. “Mother, what’s wrong?” Buck naked, I stood in my living room with my hand on my hip. Slowly, I paced, fearing the worst. “Are you alright?”

  “I’m so sorry to bother you right now, Cato.” She sighed into the phone, but her tone didn’t hint at any distress. My mother had always been that way, eerily calm even in the most dangerous situations. It made her impossible to read.

  “You never bother me. Now tell me.” I stood in front of the window and looked across the city, holding my breath as I waited for an answer.

  She sighed before she answered. “He’s here…and I can’t get him to leave.”

  I knew exactly who he was. “Why the fuck did you let him in?”

  “Said he wanted to talk.”

  “He had plenty of time to talk to you twenty-five years ago.” With a clenched jaw and flexed biceps, I started to pace through the living room again. “That was his chance—he blew it.”

  Calm like always, she didn’t rise to my anger. “Are you coming, Cato?”

  She never had to ask that question. “You know I am.”

  Since this was personal, I drove myself. I took my Bugatti west to the countryside, while my team followed behind me. They accompanied me everywhere I went. In this instance, I didn’t need them at all, but if someone wanted me dead, this was a perfect opportunity to catch me alone.

  I didn’t take risks.

  I called my brother on the drive since this was his business as much as mine. “Bates.”

  He sounded wide awake despite the hour. “This should be good…”

  “Mother just called me. That piece of shit is at her house right now.”

  Bates knew exactly who I was talking about without asking. “What the hell is he doing there at two in the morning?”

  “I don’t like it either.” I drove with one hand on the wheel and saw the headlights from the brigade of men behind me. “I’m five minutes away. You can join me if you want, but I’ve got this handled.”

  “By the time I make it out there, he’ll already be dead.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right.” I thought of my pistol sitting in the glove compartment. It was fully loaded and ready to go, but not all men deserved the mercy of a bullet. In this case, a clean bullet was way too good for him.

  “Let me know what happens.”

  “Alright.”

  He hung up.

  I pulled up to the house, a two-story Tuscan home surrounded by vineyards. In the darkness, the beauty was difficult to see. She had several acres of land, a fountain in the center of a circular driveway, and a gorgeous home I’d bought for her. She preferred the Italian countryside to the city so she could keep up her garden and enjoy the sound of the birds in the morning. I always worried she was too far away—especially during times like this.

  A beat-up black car was in the roundabout, and I parked my Bugatti right behind it.

  Pissed off, I stormed the front door and shoved it open. “Where the fuck is he?” Whether I was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt or a full suit, I was equally formidable. If someone crossed a member of my family, they wouldn’t live long enough to cross anyone else. I moved past the entryway and the staircase into the living room that faced the back patio.

  The second he looked at me, he flinched.

  Like a pussy.

  He turned to me and held up both hands. “We were just talking—”

  I punched him so hard in the face he was on the floor instantly. And he didn’t get up again.

  Mother covered her mouth with her hand and silenced her gasp. “Cato, you could kill him.”

  I watched his motionless body on the floor. “That’s what I’m going for.”

  After a few seconds of immobility, he slowly lifted his weight with his arms and stumbled to his feet. Blood poured from his nose, and his skin was already becoming discolored. With my height and a similar build, he wasn’t a weak man—but I was definitely stronger. “Cato—”

  “Come near my mother again, and I’ll kill you next time.” I never made threats I didn’t mean, and I definitely meant this one. “No one will come looking for you. No one will file a police report. I own everything in this country—and I can make you disappear without a trace. Don’t call my bluff, asshole.” I took a step toward him, tempted to give him a black eye to complement that broken nose.

  The asshole was stupid enough to speak again. “I just want—”

  “You turned your back on my mother and left her alone to raise two sons. She had no job and no money, and you fucking left anyway. You’re the definition of a coward. Now you show up on her doorstep asking for a handout—because you’re pathetic.” I moved even closer to him. “I’m the man who takes care of her now. I’m a bigger man than you’ll ever be—because my mother knew how to raise a man. We didn’t need you then, and we don’t need you now. Get the fuck out.”

  He held my gaze as he breathed hard, the blood dripping down his lips. His facial structure was similar to mine, and it was clear from whom I’d inherited so many of my features. But he didn’t possess a spine, and he didn’t possess honor. “I’m not looking for a handout—”

  “Bullshit. I’m a thirty-year-old man. I don’t need a father anymore. You’re twenty years too late. My mother doesn’t need a man without balls. You serve no purpose to either one of us. You stopped being a part of this family when you turned your back on us. That door has been shut and locked. There’s no going back.” I pointed to the front door. “Now get the fuck out.”

  He held my gaze a moment longer before he finally made his way toward the door. He wiped his nose on the sleeve of his collared shirt before he crossed the threshold and disappeared. Some of my men would escort him off the premises and follow him to see where he went.

  I turned back to my mother. “Are you alright?”

  A silk robe was tied across her body, and despite the late hour, her hair was still elegantly styled. A life of luxury suited her, and she kept up her classy appearance constantly. She stepped closer to me, the fatigue
in the bags under her eyes. “I’m fine, Cato. Thank you for coming.”

  “There should be security guarding the perimeter.” I’d offered it to her before, but she never took it. I had men watching me all the time because I had a lot of enemies—known and unknown. Any man who had my wealth was always a target.

  “I don’t want to live that way,” she said dismissively.

  “And I don’t want to worry about you.”

  “Then don’t.” She looked up at me, her blue eyes identical to mine. “He says he regrets leaving…”

  “Because we’re rich, Mother.” Sometimes my mother was naïve, despite the way she’d been betrayed. She wanted to see the good in people even when there was none there. “Of course, he regrets it. His two sons have founded the most lucrative banking company in the world.”

  “You’re probably right…but he does seem sincere.”

  “He’ll seem sincere until he gets a check.” I was tempted to pay him off. Give him a million-dollar check just so he would leave us alone. That was just pennies to me, and he would never bother us again. But I had too much pride to give him anything, not after he hurt my mother. I couldn’t care less there wasn’t a father figure in my life when I was growing up. My mother was more than enough. But my loyalty to her fueled my rage.

  “Maybe.” She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “You should get going, son. I know you have work in the morning.”

  “Alright. Good night.”

  She walked me to the door. “I really appreciate you taking care of me, Cato. Not all sons would be so generous.”

  I turned my gaze on her before I walked out the door, examining the petite woman who had somehow given birth to two behemoth sons. She worked around the clock to put a roof over our heads and food on the table, and somehow, we always had a nice Christmas. When Bates and I found our success, we didn’t even need to have a conversation about our mother. We took care of her because it was the right thing to do. “It’s the least I can do, Mother.”