Chapter 2

• Chapter 2
• [Camden]
• [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?