Take Me Apart (Vitale Brothers Book 1)

Was I pathetically lonely? Or did I have a death wish?

I pondered which was the correct answer as I stared at Enzo’s front door. Leaving was the only intelligent decision, and yet my feet were planted on the floor. I could still taste him on my tongue, a delicious mix of salt and danger that made me want to go back for seconds.

The evidence is in my shoe. I need to get out of here and check it out.

Upstairs, I heard the sound of music starting up, and I frowned. Water ran, and I could imagine him slipping out of his clothes and stepping into a steaming shower. The look on his face when he left had been conflicted and…

Am I imagining shit, or was he upset?

Something had definitely come over him before. All I could think was to distract him with the project of the bookshelves, but something had happened. For that short moment, he wasn’t a man who had murdered a cop that I knew. He was lost and unsure.

It’s not like Ramada wasn’t a crooked cop anyway.

Everyone knew about him and what he had his fingers in. When it came to lining his pockets, he was the best at it. Am I justifying Enzo killing a man?

It was slippery ground to walk on.

I walked over to the bottom of the stairs and glanced up. My stomach tightened and something laced through me. I felt the cold shiver of fear. I didn’t want to leave Enzo alone, but I felt just as afraid to go to him. What if I never recovered? What if whatever twisted obsession I had became full-blown psychosis?

My foot lifted, and the moment it landed on the stair, I was speed walking. Against all my instincts that screamed go back, I opened the shower door and watched as water rolled down his skin. He gazed at me, and something in me melted.

Shit. Do I have daddy issues?

Chelsea was right; I was the good guy. He was the bad boy. And I was falling for it hook, line, and sinker. I kicked off my shoes, knocking them to the side before his hand curled around my shirt. Enzo yanked me into the stall, my back slammed against the wall, and his lips devoured mine.

I forgot how to breathe. My sense of reason was long gone, replaced with a burning need that tore through me. Enzo’s tongue swiped against the seam of my lips. I opened for him, panting as my tongue slid against his. Enzo’s hands gripped my shirt, tugging at it as a growl tumbled from his lips. That sound was enough to make my cock jump and desperately ache to be touched.

At that exact moment, Enzo’s hand wrapped around my length, making my knees turn to jelly. I was easily bigger than him, but he had a way of making me crumble like I was nothing more than his toy. Every inch of me burst into flames as he tugged at my clothes, desperate and anxious.

“Enzo,” I groaned as his mouth moved to my throat. Sharp teeth sank into my neck, and I swore as his fingers dug into my flesh at the same time. “Fuck.”

Trying to strip Enzo of his control was always fun, but it was like he had none now. He tossed my clothes off, throwing them to the side before he grabbed my wrist and spun me around. My chest kissed the wall, my hips were yanked back, and I forgot how to breathe. A finger slipped into my hole, making my eyes widen as a whimper fell from my lips.

“Enzo, what’s wrong with you?” I asked. My stomach clenched, and I realized the truth. I was worried about him. “Are you losing your mind or some— Shit!”

He didn’t say a word. Every move Enzo made was deliberate and rough, like he wanted to tear me apart. Something wet slipped between my cheeks. I glanced over my shoulder. Enzo held a bottle of something, squeezing it between my cheeks with a determined look on his face. I peered closer and saw aloe vera. He’s so serious.

“You’re freaking me out a little.”

Enzo rubbed his cock against my hole and grunted as he slammed inside of me. I saw stars. My knees tried to buckle, but he wrapped his arm around my waist and kept me in place as he began to rock inside of me. His breath feathered against my ear.

“You’re mine,” he growled.

Flutters erupted throughout my body. He’d said that when we were downstairs, that I was his. An anxious ball of energy twisted through me. I’d thought it was a spur-of-the-moment, my cock belongs in your mouth, mine. But glancing back at him, seeing that dark look in his eyes, I wasn’t so sure. Was he really trying to claim me?

No, no way in hell. This is the last time I’m doing this.

It was easy enough to say that, but with Enzo pounding inside of me and his deep, growling groans echoing in my ears, it was hard to believe it. No one had ever felt so good. It was like his cock was made for me, perfectly equipped to push me over the edge and keep me crawling back for more.

“Fuck, I can’t take this,” Enzo groaned.

I reached between my thighs and stroked my cock. “Then cum inside of me,” I said, immediately wanting to slap myself. But I want it. “Fill me up, Enzo.”

He pushed inside of me deeper, rubbing against my prostate. My eyes rolled up. It felt like Enzo’s hands were everywhere all at once. Nails scraped down my back, fingers tugged at my pierced nipples, teeth dragged over my shoulder. Enzo was on another planet, his face taking on a dusty shade of pink as he reveled in using my ass.

I shivered as I gazed at him. Feeling him inside of me without a barrier between us was so much more intoxicating. The more he thrust, the more my head became foggy. Some stupid part of me thought about experiencing this all the time. Having someone who couldn’t keep their hands off of me, someone who would be obsessed with me until the end of time.

It’s too good to be true.

My stomach dropped, and I felt the panic starting to rise. I needed to escape. But I was too far gone, and so was Enzo. He turned my head when I tried to look away, holding my gaze as his lips parted. It was like he wanted to say something. However, he sealed his lips, grabbed my wrist and fucked me like he was never going to see me again.

I came to the sound of flesh slapping against flesh, spraying his wall with a stream of cum as I yelled his name. Enzo rested his forehead against my shoulder. Even when he was done, we stayed together, panting and holding onto each other while water rained down on our bodies.

It was as if neither one of us wanted to move. Enzo wrapped his arms around me, and I knew the second we stepped apart the illusion would shatter and the real world would come crashing back in.

“Here.”

Enzo offered me a towel as I sat on the edge of his bed. I took it, pushing it through my hair to dry off the strands. My gaze moved up to watch Enzo as he walked around his bedroom. He wasn’t in a hurry to get dressed, that much was clear. I watched an errant bead of water travel down the curve of his ass, and I sucked in a breath.

Fuck. He looks so good it should be illegal.

When he looked at me, I glanced away. I need to get the hell out of here. When I looked back, Enzo was still staring at me.

“I should go,” I said.

Enzo nodded.

Neither of us moved.

The man was going to turn me into a crazy person. Every chance he got, he made me question everything I knew about him, the cold, hard facts in his files. I could almost see him as a different man. Someone with a dangerous edge, sure. But not the murderous psychopath he was.

I can’t take him staring at me anymore.

“What was that? Earlier?” I asked. “You kind of just… froze.”

“Downstairs?” Enzo asked.

“Yeah.”

He shrugged. “It’s nothing important. Sometimes I just get…” He trailed off, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the floor and then back at me as if he was only just remembering I was there. “It’s not important,” he finished. He paused for a while. “Are you staying?”

I blinked at Enzo. Did he just invite me to stay the night? I didn’t know what to say to that. In another life, I would have happily stayed in his bed, hoping for another round or two. As I gazed at Enzo, though, I knew I had to get out of there.

Standing up, I folded the towel without thinking and placed it on his bed. “I should really get going. I have work.”

Work that you know about. You know I’m a cop. Hell, maybe you even know I’m investigating you.

The words hung between us in the air, unspoken. A blanket of tension covered us both. Enzo’s expression flickered for a brief second, and I saw a look of… was that disappointment? Disdain? Anger? The world shifted beneath my feet, and the immediate urge to make the situation right flared.

He killed his lover. And he killed a cop. Probably more than one in his lifetime. Think straight, Tex. There is nothing between us.

Right. The only way for Enzo Vitale to help me was for him to wind up behind bars and for me to finally make detective. That was my dream. My only reason for existing was to prove that I could do what my father did, but so much better. To show him and everyone else that I was no longer the screw-up they all knew I used to be.

Clothes flew into my face. I grabbed at them, and Enzo nodded to the clothes he’d tossed at me. Mine were still soaking wet and lying in a balled-up heap in the shower. I had no choice but to slip into his black sweats and the soft, blue t-shirt. He gave me a jacket as well, and I slipped it on as he stood there, staring at me.

“Enzo—”

“You can see yourself out,” he said, his tone clipped. When I turned away, he called my name. I glanced back at him. “Make sure you don’t show up here again.”

Red hot anger flashed through me. I kept my mouth shut, nodded, and exited his room before I said something that would get me killed. I snagged my shoes, shoving my feet inside. Something poked me in the sole. I removed my sneaker and glanced inside. USB port. Somehow, I had forgotten all about it.

Bile rose in my throat, mixing with the anger. There was no telling what I was going to find on that thing. I made a beeline for the door, resolving myself to find out the truth.

No matter how much it hurt.