Loving Jared: A Mafia Romance Novella Read online

  He made his way to the fence, pulled himself up and launched himself over, landing on the other side as quietly as if he were jungle cat. His grin grew wide and predatory as he approached the sleeping woman sprawled out on her lawn chair.

  He kneeled down next to her, looking into her face. She looked like an angel when she slept. Her slack lips were turned downward ever so slightly and her cheek was buried in the crook of her arm. Wisps from the messy bun on top of her head were floating lazily in the breeze, drifting across her cheek and shoulder.

  Jared could do one of two things here. Wake her up and check on her or let her keep sleeping and hope to god that she rolled over so he could see her glorious breasts spill out of the untied bikini. Before Jared could choose, Amy chose for him. Her black eyelashes fluttered and then lifted slowly revealing deep bottomless hazel eyes. Not green, not blue, not brown, but somewhere in between, they were the kind of eyes a man could climb inside and stay forever.

  Damn, that was almost romantic. Not something Jared was known for.

  Amy blinked sleepily up at him, her gaze still foggy and far away. Reality came to her slowly, but when it did, she gasped and jerked back on her lounger. Jared was disappointed when her hand dropped to her chest to clutch at her bikini top. A top that barely contained the full glory of her chest.

  "J-Jared?" she stuttered, smothering a yawn. "What are you doing here?"

  She looked around as though her backyard might provide some answers.

  "Checking on you." Jared pushed himself back onto his ass and brought his knees up, slinging his arms across his upraised legs. “Saw you were asleep out here. I was worried you were gonna get burned."

  Amy reached behind herself and retied her bikini top. Though it was a shame that she wouldn't be showing him those glorious breasts, he was impressed at the deftness of her fingers. He guessed that she did this often.

  "I’m wearing SPF 60 and I don't really burn very easily, but thanks for your concern." The tiny frown between her brows told him that she didn't really appreciate his concern.

  "You do this often?” he asked. “Sunbathe?”

  How the fuck had he not noticed her prancing around her yard in a bikini before? He really needed to spend more time at home looking out his windows. Or he needed to buy glasses.

  She shrugged. "As often as I can. I love the sun and when I come home from work, I'm usually pretty sleepy. I like to take a nap before the kids get home from school."

  "You worked today?" He was surprised. It was only mid-afternoon.

  "Yeah, I start work at 5. My shift ends at 1:30 and I usually get home around 2. I try to sleep for about an hour so that I'm fresh to make supper and help with homework."

  "Jesus, that's early," Jared said. "I work a lot of hours, and I don't even get up that early. Where do you work?"

  "The factory." She shifted as she spoke and dropped her eyes.

  He knew right away what she was talking about, where she worked and why she might be embarrassed to admit it. A popular TV dinner company ran a factory outside of their town. Many of the lower income, less skilled workers got jobs there. Jared didn't like the idea that Amy was getting up so early in the morning to go to work.

  "You on the assembly line?"

  She picked at a loose thread on her lawn chair and didn't look at him as she nodded. Even worse. She had one of the worst jobs at the factory. Monotonous, boring, low-paid with no opportunities for advancement.

  As if she could sense Jared's thoughts, she defended herself, "I had to start working straight out of high school. There's not much choice when you’re young and don't have any experience. I was lucky to get a job there. It puts food on the table."

  "I'm not judging you, Amy. What you're doing here is admirable. I just don't like the idea of you working at a place like that." He admitted his thoughts out loud. Why not? The more time he spent around Amy, the more his thoughts seem to center around her.

  "Then it's a good thing you're not my parents," she replied with a smirk.

  "What would your parents have said about you getting a job like this?" As soon as the words were out of Jared's mouth, he regretted them. He’d momentarily forgotten that her mother was dead and her father was in prison. She probably didn't want to speculate on how they'd feel.

  Amy surprised him. She raised a brow and continued with their playful banter. "Well, my mom definitely wouldn't have liked it. She would've wanted me to get a more cerebral job. Like in a library, or tutoring. My dad? He probably would've spanked me."

  Jared's mouth fell open in shock. Had her father actually spanked her? What the fuck was wrong with this family?

  Amy’s shoulders shook, then giggles began to spill from her lips. She laughed heartily at him and the expression on his face. "I don't actually know what my dad would've said. He didn't spend a lot of time with us, preferring to be at work or out with his drinking buddies. Honestly, I don't think he would've cared. I just wanted to see your face when I suggested someone might spank me."

  "And that tells me just how badly you really do need to be spanked, baby."

  The laughter fled from their faces, and they stared at each other. Attraction sizzled through the air. Her skin, smooth except for a light sheen of sunscreen and sweat, pimpled with goosebumps. Jared was glad he was sitting the way he was; it hid the raging boner that was rapidly tenting his shorts.

  "I shouldn't have said that." He didn't regret it though. She might be young, but her body was fully grown, and her circumstances had forced her to mature beyond her years. Now he was discovering she had a sense of humour to go with that wicked little body. Jared was falling hard and fast. It wasn't going to take much to push him over the edge.

  "It's okay," she whispered.

  "Have dinner with me tonight."

  Her eyes widened, but they didn't leave his face. "I can't. I have to feed my sisters and brother."

  "See to them then. After, have dinner with me. Are they old enough to be alone for a few hours if you're just next door?" He was being pushy, but he couldn't help himself. He wanted nothing more in the world than to spend more time with Amy.

  Amy nodded. "Yeah, they are. As long as I check on them."

  "Then you're coming over." He didn't give her an option.

  Still, she denied him. "I can't."

  Jared frowned. He didn't date often. In fact, he almost never dated. The last time was over a year ago when he'd taken out Vince and Jenna's nanny. Sharon had been a nice enough woman, but they'd had nothing in common. They talked a couple of times and then called it done.

  Amy was different. Jared definitely wanted to fuck her, but he also wanted more. He wanted to see into her head, see how she worked. He wanted to take her under his wing, protect her and keep her near. He never had these feelings before, but he wasn't going to question them. He’d lived a satisfying solitary existence up until now. Somehow, though, he sensed that Amy was going to change that.

  "Tell me what's stopping you. I'll fix it."

  Amy shifted uncomfortably on the lounger, then huffed in annoyance. She clearly didn't want to explain herself. Too fucking bad. He wanted to know why she couldn't hang out with him, and then he wanted to fix it so that she could.

  Finally, she admitted her hesitation. "I can't come over because I have to work my other job."

  Jared frowned. "What other job? How many jobs do you have?"

  He knew he was sounding like a dick, but he couldn't stop himself. She was obviously working herself into exhaustion if she had to take naps and work at 5:00 am.

  Amy pushed herself off the lounger, reached for her towel and stood. She wrapped the towel underneath her armpits, covering most of her body.

  "The factory doesn't pay enough to cover all of our bills. I work a… telemarketing job in the evenings. That way I can work from home, still take care of the kids and have enough money to cover everything."

  Jared pushed off the ground and stood across from Amy, his arms over his chest, his biceps bulging. Her eyes drifted down his body, lingering for a split second on his crotch where his cock was still pressed hard against his gym shorts. He smirked and gave her tiny nod when her gaze met his. She blushed a deep crimson and looked away.

  "You're working too hard. I don't like it."

  She shrugged. "Again, you aren’t my parents. I have no choice but to work. If that's all, I'm going inside now." She turned her back and headed toward the house.

  "For now."

  Jared's deep voice stopped her. She glanced over her shoulder. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

  "It means, that's all, for now. Later…" His gaze drifted down her body, landing on her red painted toenails and then travelling back that to meet her eyes. "Later, I'll be wanting a whole lot more."

  She fled into the house and Jared left the yard, grinning.

  Six

  "Why don't you tell me what you want from me?" Amy purred, leaning back in her chair, folding her hands over her stomach and tipping her head back. Her ponytail spilled across the back of the chair. She propped her feet up on her desk.

  "You want to know what I'm wearing?" she asked, closing her eyes. "I'm wearing a pink lace thong and a matching teddy. It's cut low over my breasts and high on the sides. You like pink, don't you?"

  She listened for a moment, then giggled girlishly. "I only wear naughty clothes like this when I'm alone. My parents are out for the evening, and I'm home from college for the weekend. Do you like me?"

  She reached up to adjust her headset. "Well, I like a lot of things. I might seem sweet as pie, but I'm really a very dirty girl. I need a spanking to smarten me up and then a bath to clean me up. Do you want to spank and bathe me, daddy?”

  She pictured Jared as she spoke, the way they were in her backyard when she’d been sunbathing. She shivered as she remembered that deep, velvety voice as it caressed her. He hadn’t been able to hide that promisingly sizeable hard-on in his shorts. Though she tried not to look, it'd been fairly prominent, and her eyes had drifted down.

  She didn't usually get hot on these calls, but tonight she was soaking wet. Because she was imagining Jared on the other end of the telephone.

  She waited for a beat and then said, "I knew you were just the man to set me straight. You want to know what I think would be a good punishment? If daddy would bend me over and fuck me in the ass."

  Her client indicated that he liked that idea. His breath shifted to heavy and she waited for a few moments as he jacked himself.

  "My ass is virgin. Do you like virgin ass?" As he enthusiastically agreed, Amy picked up a dried noodle off her desk and shoved it into her mouth, covering the mic in front of her lips as she crunched. She'd made pork chops, rice and salad for her siblings, but hadn't had time to eat with them. She’d grabbed the package of instant noodles and was now eating them dry.

  "You can fuck me hard in the ass, I don't mind." She giggled in a high-pitched girlish voice. "I like it rough, especially with you, daddy.”

  They were reaching the point in the conversation where she didn't need to say much, just listen as he worked towards his big finish, using her voice as a prop every few minutes, encouraging him. This particular client liked his women young, stupid and giggly. Though Amy understood that it was fantasy, she couldn't help but judge… just a little. What was it with guys and sweet, innocent, virginal girls? She didn't get it. She thought experience would be more fun.

  As his breathing hitched more and more, she spoke to him in a sexy, breathless voice. "Has daddy come for me? Little girl wants daddy to come all over her. Ahhhh, it feels so good.”

  The door to Amy's office rattled, letting her know that the someone with a key was coming through. She whirled around, her hands scrambling for the disconnect button on her phone as she half stood from her chair. Amy's office was as soundproof as possible, located in the basement with a locked door. The kids knew to stay away when she was working, though she gave them a key just in case they needed to get in. For emergencies.

  Her heart hammered in fear as the door creaked open. Was the house on fire? They knew better than to play with flames when she wasn't around to supervise, but that didn't mean that they would actually listen. Especially Teagan.

  Amy was completely shocked when the door opened to reveal Jared. She was about to cover her microphone and demand what he was doing there when her client asked where she was. He wanted to know if she was finishing with him.

  Amy reached out, grabbed Jared's hand and dragged him into the office, she stretched a leg out as far as it would go and kicked the door, slamming it shut. Just in case her siblings wandered down to listen in on her conversation. She stared at Jared with uncertainty. She badly didn't want to finish this phone call in front of him, but her client was paying a whole hell of a lot to finish.

  So, she shrugged, turned around and plopped back in her seat. Ignoring her sexy neighbour, who was standing right behind her, she continued her conversation. "I'm here, daddy. And I'm so close to finishing. My fingers are buried in my dripping pussy. I'm imagining your big cock slamming into my ass. Ooooh, yes, it feels so good."

  "What. The. Fuck." Jared said from behind her.

  Amy whirled around, stood and clapped her hand over his mouth to keep him from speaking again. She glared up at him. Her eyes locked with his dark ones as they stared at each other. When she was sure Jared wouldn’t interrupt again, she continued speaking to her client.

  "No, daddy, it's only me here. I’m all alone in this big house. Laying on my bed, my legs spread, my panties down around my ankles. I… I… I'm cumming." She let her voice drift over every word, dripping with heat.

  Jared's eyebrows raised for a few seconds and then dropped into a thunderous frown. He reached for her headset, but she smacked his hand out of the way. She grinned as she heard her client finish with a loud grunt.

  Another satisfied customer.

  She said goodbye, thanked him for his patronage, and reached out to disconnect the phone. She dropped her hand from Jared's mouth and stood looking up at him. She could feel the shame beginning to rise in a creeping tide but shoved it down. Who cared what her next-door neighbour thought of her? This was her job and it put food on the table. That was all that mattered.

  "I think I've underestimated you, little Amy Funk." His voice sounded anything but disgusted as he stared down at her, the light of a hungry predator flaring to life in his expression.

  Amy grinned at him and winked. "Good, I'd hate to think that you were bored by me."

  “That’s definitely not a possibility.” His deep voice slithered down her spine and right into her already wet panties.

  Heat rolled off him in waves, as though it was taking effort for him to tether the impulse to grab her. Amy didn’t want him leashed. She reached up and touched his face, running her fingers down his unshaven cheek. Then she locked both hands behind his neck and tugged his head down. He was almost a foot taller than her, so the kiss wouldn’t have worked if he hadn’t dropped his head to hers.

  Their lips met in an explosion of heat. She gasped against his mouth as a lightning bolt slammed through her body, flooding her lower belly and making her feel light-headed. Jared took advantage and pressed his tongue into her mouth, expertly swirling it around.

  They kissed for what felt like ages but was probably only a few minutes. By the time they came up for air, Amy was wrapped around Jared like a vine and his big hands were all over her ass, holding her up against his erection.

  They stared at each other, both stunned by the sheer chemistry of the kiss. It was Jared that broke the moment by saying, “Phone sex operator?”

  She laughed and nodded, feeling strangely at ease with him. “It’s my night job.”

  He titled his head and she could almost see the gears of his brain working as he thought about it. “You don’t see these clients in person?”

  “God no,” she quickly assured him. “I don’t even know where they live, and they definitely don’t know where I live.”

  He nodded his head slowly, still thinking. “Good, I can live with that. For now.”

  She tilted her head. “Live with what?”

  “I can live with my super hot next-door neighbor girlfriend sexually chatting up other guys as her night job.”

  Amy’s heart pounded at his words and the light-headed feeling came back. “Girlfriend?”

  “Yeah, think I want to see where this goes,” he said, tightening his arms around her. “I have a good feeling about us.”

  Amy thought about it. Her life was a complicated mess. She came with more baggage than an A-list celebrity with five ex-husbands and a failing make-up brand. Still, it was hard to resist her irresistible neighbor, especially when he used his wicked sexy voice and gorgeous eyes on her.

  “I have a good feeling too,” she admitted, though she thought maybe some of her good feelings were coming from a woefully neglected pussy.

  He dropped a kiss on her upturned lips. “Just make sure I’m in the room when you’re talking to these assholes. Consider me your new quality control expert.”

  Amy laughed. “I think my quality is pretty damn good.”

  He swatted her ass. “I’ll make sure of it.” He took her hand and tugged her toward the door. “Come with me.”

  “Where are we going?” Amy asked, following him willingly.

  “I’m taking you to my place for supper. Your sisters told me you missed supper.”

  “Those little tattle-tale rats!” Amy said with a laugh as they climbed her basement stairs. “Did they let you in?”

  “Yup.”

  “They’re not supposed to talk to strangers though, let alone let someone in the house,” she protested.

  He gave her a wink. “I’m no stranger, I’ve been giving those girls candy every Halloween for years. Teagan too, when he was smaller,” he teased.

  Amy’s mouth dropped open and her sisters laughed at her expression as she was pulled through their living room and out of the house. Jared closed the door behind them and escorted her next door.