Monk Paletti: Commanding Love Read online

  She was missing the damn point, Monk thought impatiently, but he didn’t interrupt.

  “They wanted to get together because they haven’t seen me in a long time, especially since I was spending all of my time in New Jersey with you. So, we met up for drinks. That’s all that happened. But you act as if I was sleeping around.”

  Monk frowned. “You’d better not,” he said as if he was offended by the mere suggestion. But given how Ashley used to live her life as that easy party girl, it wasn’t that far off. And he suddenly felt a need to make himself perfectly clear. “Whenever I’m not in town,” he said, pointing the cell phone he still held in his hand at her, “I expect you to let me or your father know where you are at all times. You hear me? At all times, Ashley.”

  Ashley couldn’t believe it. “What are you saying?”

  “You heard what I said. None of that flying by the seat of your pants bullshit. None of that party girl bullshit. That’s over.”

  Ashley began moving her hands and her head around. “So you’re saying I have to check in? Is that what you’re saying? You’re saying I have to let you, or Daddy, keep tabs on me? Is that what you’re saying?”

  “Are you deaf? Yes, that’s what I’m saying. If you aren’t with me, I’m to know your every movement. Yes, that’s what I’m fucking saying!”

  Ashley frowned again. “Why would I give up my freedom like that? Why would I voluntarily do something like that?”

  Monk’s anger flared. “Because I say that’s what you’re going to do! Who the fuck you think you’re dealing with? What am I saying that you don’t get? When I become boss, Ashley, the game changes. You said you understood that. Now I don’t think your ass understood a gotdamn thing!”

  “Stop yelling at me like that!” Ashley shot back. “You can talk without yelling at me!”

  Monk tried to settle back down. He knew his anxiety over becoming boss, and how that would put Ashley, as his girl, in a completely different category. And if he married her? It would put her in a league few women were ever in. A league with many advantages, but many dangers too.

  But after that debacle with Checky Lonza he’d already decided he wasn’t risking Ashley’s well-being that way. Why was he even bothering getting all upset with her if he was going to end their relationship anyway?

  Probably, he realized, because he wasn’t going to end it.

  He needed to.

  Lord knows he needed to.

  But he didn’t think he could.

  When she arrived home, and ran into his arms, he realized just how impossible it was going to be without Ashley. To be without the only person who ever truly loved him. To be without the only person he ever truly loved. That was why he was angry. Because he was being selfish and calculating and looking out for number one, and he knew it. Because, if he was the right kind of man, he would leave her right then and there and never look back. For her sake.

  But he wasn’t that kind of man. He was weak for Ashley. Seeing her again made him admit it, once again, to himself. She was a weakness he had to have. If he became boss, and word ever got out just how much he cared for that girl, she could become a deadly weakness.

  Between a rock and hard place. That was how he felt.

  “I’ve got to get back to Jersey,” he said and began turning to leave. “We’ll talk later.”

  Ashley was floored. “But . . . You’re leaving?”

  “I’ve got to make a run,” he said, glancing back at her. But when he saw that confused, sad look on her face, he stopped walking and turned back around. “Something’s come up. That’s why I’m leaving. I’ve got to get back.”

  Ashley was still in a state of shock. He was going to just leave her? Just like that? “But you haven’t told Daddy about our engagement,” she said.

  Monk exhaled. That engagement. Another nail in his coffin. “We’ll have to do that another time. I’ve got to go,” he added, and was turning to leave again.

  But he saw that look on her face again. And it devastated him. And he couldn’t just leave her that way.

  He walked up to her, and opened his arms. “Come here,” he said to her.

  Ashley, suddenly near tears, fell into his big arms. He closed his eyes when she fell against him. How could he hurt her? He’d never hurt her. He’d never let anybody hurt her!

  But Ashley didn’t know any of that. All she knew was that the man she loved was upset with her. Was making her feel not good enough the way the world was telling her she should feel. “What’s happening, Frankie?” she asked him.

  “Nothing’s happening, baby,” Monk said, holding her.

  “What have I done wrong?”

  “You haven’t done a thing wrong,” he said to her. Then he pulled her back so that he could see her face. “You hear me? You haven’t done anything wrong. I’ve got to handle a situation back in Jersey. That’s all that happened. Okay?”

  It wasn’t all that happened. Even Ashley realized that. But he had to go and it was better they leave on good terms. “Okay,” she said, as he wiped her tears away. And then he held her again.

  “Go put on a jacket,” he said to her. “It’s cool out here. And then I want you to ride with me to the airfield.”

  Ashley knew what that meant. He wanted her beneath him, in bed, before he flew back to New Jersey. Which was fine by her. She wanted to be beneath him too. But as she left his side to go and get her jacket, she felt empty. She wondered how could they have gone from that great moment in Jersey when he asked her to marry him, and they were rolling on the ground deliriously happy, to this? He came to town to tell her parents about their engagement. He was leaving town without even bothering to tell them anything?

  She loved him so much. She’d never loved a man the way she loved Frankie. But even she could see that their locomotive called love was already going off the tracks.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  She wasn’t beneath him, but was on top of him, riding his penis hard, and he was flat on his back, squeezing her bouncing brown breasts, and loving every second of the ride. Both were naked. Both were in his bedroom on his docked plane. And Monk knew he should have left Jericho an hour ago.

  But he wanted her so badly. It felt as if it had been years since he did her last, and he now that he had her he didn’t want it to end.

  He pulled her down on top of him, and wrapped her into his arms. He squeezed her butt cheeks hard with both of his big hands as he took over. Now it was his penis pumping her ass off while she laid on top of him and enjoyed the ride. Ashley had never known lovemaking the way Monk did her. Although there was always a franticness to how he did her, there was caring and gentleness too. Because of the kind of men Ashley had ever been with before Monk, she knew how to fuck. Nobody was able to out-fuck her. But Monk knew how to make love. He knew how to make her feel as if she was the most important creature on the face of the earth. He made her feel as if she meant the world to him. He made her forget that he didn’t announce their engagement to her parents the way he was supposed to, or that stupid argument they had back at Big Daddy’s house. He made her feel as if she was completely his.

  And his penis, as if it was a g-spot detector, always knew how to glide over and poke through and tantalize all of her sensitive spots, making her so wet and satiated that she stayed on the verge of cumming. He made her feel as if she, and her entire body, was his.

  He made her feel that way because she was his. In Monk’s heart, Ashley Sinatra was completely his. No other man, he’d already decided, was ever fucking her again. She was his. Being with her in bed didn’t convince him of that fact. He already knew that fact. Being in bed with her only highlighted that fact. Ashley was his. Leaving her for other men to use and abuse, or leaving her to her own devices in this cruel and harsh world, was no longer an option.

  He came there thinking he was going to leave her behind. For her own sake he said. But he knew he couldn’t do it. How could he leave her? He’d worry about her for the rest of his life, and have no control over what happened to her. She wanted to love a loser, what was he going to say about it? She wanted to marry an abuser, what clout would he have over her choices? None.

  No way was that happening, Monk decided, as he rolled her onto her back, got on top of her, and pumped his ass off so hard that her legs began flailing and her orgasm raged.

  He looked at her face as he fucked her harder and harder. He had to fight back his own emotions, that was how deeply Ashley made him feel. And he wondered, once again, why was she the one who turned his hard heart upside down? She was so opposite of him in so many ways! What was it about her?

  She was full of life, that was what it was, when he was trying to hide from life. She made him laugh and she made him happy when his overload of responsibilities never afforded him any such pleasures. She had no hidden agendas: she just wanted to love and to be loved. And despite all of the abusive men that had come and gone in her life. Despite all the times she thought she had found true love, only to be misused again. Despite all of the harshness she had to endure from man after man after man, she still knew how to smile, and embrace life, and treat people with love and respect.

  Ashley was one of a kind in Monk’s eyes. It was selfish as hell, and he knew it was, but he just couldn’t pull himself to be bigger than that, and let her go.

  And the way she was putting it on him only iced that cake for him. He laid all the way down on her, and wrapped her in his arms, and fucked her even harder. He craved her when she wasn’t with him. And not just her body either, but all of her. Her presence in his life.

  But right now, as he began to cum, it became all about her body. His will broke, and he began pouring into her. And calling her name. And with his veins budging, and his entire body straining, he came with his own thunderous cum.

  It was so thunderous, and so ferocious, that Ashley came again.

  When every ounce of every sensation had been fully spent and dissolved, Monk finally rolled off of Ashley and laid his sweat-filled body onto his back. Ashley remained on her back as both of them were still trying to catch their breath. It felt as if they’d run a marathon. Twice.

  Ashley looked at him. She thought she was breathing hard. Monk was almost hyperventilating. “You okay? Or you’re just getting old?”

  Monk smiled, and playfully tapped Ashley’s vagina. “If I am, it’s because of that,” he said, tapping it again.

  Ashley smiled too. “Do you have to go back tonight?” she asked him.

  “Yep.”

  “Why?”

  “My old man’s pulling a Fletcher Christian on me.”

  Ashley stared at him. “A who?”

  “Fletcher Christian. Captain Bligh. Mutiny on the Bounty?”

  Ashley was lost. She had no idea what Monk was talking about. Monk realized it too. They were so not alike! “My old man’s plotting and scheming again,” he broke it down for her.

  “Plotting and scheming about what? You as boss?”

  “Right answer.”

  “But I thought you said the Don hasn’t announced it yet.”

  “He hasn’t. But that doesn’t stop Pop from preplanning. He’s planning a meeting later tonight.”

  “What are you going to do about it?”

  “Let him know I won’t tolerate his bullshit. Let him know he’s got one foot in the grave fucking with me.”

  Ashley frowned. “You think it could come to that?”

  Monk nodded and looked at her. “It could, yeah.”

  “Your own father?”

  “Look, Ash, I know how much you love your people. They’re wonderful parents to all of y’all. But my family ain’t never been the Cleavers.”

  “The Who-vers?” Ashley asked.

  “The Cleavers, Ash. June and Ward Cleaver? Leave it to Beaver?”

  Ashley stared at him.

  “Cliff and Claire Huxtable,” Monk clarified.

  “Oh!” Ashley got it then. “My parents aren’t perfect like that either! And I know about bad fathers. My biological father was a piece of shit. Trust. But we’re talking about your own father, Frankie!”

  Monk kept nodding. “If he tries any of his bullshit, yeah my own father. I’m not plotting and scheming against him. He’s plotting and scheming against me! If I let him get away with that shit, I’m doomed. The Bonaducci family is doomed. Pop’s not a leader. He’s a lover who wants to be a leader. I don’t have time for his bullshit.”

  “What time is the meeting tonight?”

  “My informant, who shall remain nameless, wasn’t sure. It may have already started.”

  “Oh, Monk,” Ashley said, sitting up. “You should have been gone by now!” She began getting out of bed.

  “It’s okay,” Monk said, pulling her back down. She was on her back, he was leaned over, looking down at her happy face. “Being with you, spending this time with you,” he said, “was more important. Because that’s the way it’s going to always be, you hear me? I take care of you first, and then I take care of my obligations to the family. But you will always come first.”

  “Boss or no boss?”

  Monk smiled at the way Ashley had of cutting through the bullshit. “Boss or no boss,” he said.

  “Ah, Frankie,” Ashley said with a grin and pulled his face down to hers, as they kissed.

  But the kiss felt too good to both of them. They couldn’t just stop. They kissed long and passionately. And soon Monk was back on top of her, and was easing his still-wet but fully aroused penis inside of her, and was doing her all over again. He even laid all the way down on her, doing her.

  And it felt so good to Ashley that she mumbled those same two words again. “Ah, Frankie,” she said again as he did her. Only she said it this time in a totally different tone.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Seven senior members of the Bonaducci syndicate, all made men, sat in the backroom of Raymond Paletti’s diner in Jersey and listened as he counted all the ways Monk as boss was a bad idea. Noodles was there, who was Ray’s right-hand man, along with Boozer Rome and five other senior guys. You didn’t have to convince them that Monk was wrong for the job. They already knew it. Rain Man, as they derisively called Monk’s father behind his back, was wasting his time convincing them. They were already convinced.

  “And he’s my boy,” Raymond said. “Why would I want to hurt my own boy? I don’t want to hurt him. Because it’s not about him. It’s about the family. I want the best for the family. That’s why we can’t have him in charge. He’s the wrong jockey for our horse.”

  “He’s too fucking cautious,” said Boozer. “Every time we’ll want to make a move, he’ll have to think about it. We need decisive leadership. Like you, Ray.”

  “Exactly!” said Raymond.

  “You’re wasting your time,” said Noodles. “How many times I got to tell you that? The Don, he don’t listen no-more. He wants Monk running this show, and no matter what we say, no matter what we think, he don’t care.”

  “What we need to do,” said Raymond, “is have a show of force. We need every man that backs us up to show up at Bonaducci’s house and publicly show their support.”

  “Ain’t gonna happen,” said Noodles, and everybody looked at him again. “What, you think I’m lying? They fear Monk. They fear, no matter what they say, that the Don is gonna do what the Don’s gonna do and he’s putting Monk up on that pedestal. He wants Monk running the family and that’s who he’s gonna get. Nobody’s putting their neck out there for Monk to chop off after he becomes boss.”

  “But I can give them assurances that won’t happen,” Raymond said. “They love me. They know I’ll keep my word.”

  “They love you,” Boozer said, “but they fear Monk. They know what that fucker’s capable of. Noodles right. We can’t rely on anybody handling this situation but those of us in this room right now.”

  “But how are we gonna handle it?” asked Danno, another one of the capos.

  “We gotta stop him,” Raymond said. “That’s how we handle it.”

  “And how do you suppose we’re gonna do that, Boss?” Noodles asked him. “We ain’t talking about no trash on the street. We’ll talking about Frankie. How we gonna handle Frankie?”

  “Yeah, Pop,” a new voice was suddenly heard and everybody turned toward the door. That was when they, to a man, saw that Monk was in the building. And they were stunned. How did he find out about their meeting?

  But Monk wasn’t even looking at the men. He was looking at his father. “You say you got to stop me. Noodles asked the right question. How do you suppose you’re gonna do that?”

  Raymond tried to put on his best charming smile. He was a ladies man, after all. All the ladies loved Raymond. But Monk was no lady, and he knew Raymond too well. “Who listens to Noodles?” Raymond said with that smile. “What does he know? He’s just flying off at the mouth.”

  Monk began walking into the room. He began walking straight toward his father. “Is that what you’re doing, too, Pop? Flying off at the mouth? Talking shit you don’t know shit about as usual?”

  Raymond’s smile left. “Who the fuck you think you’re talking to? I’m your father. I’m the head of the Bonaducci syndicate. I built this family! If anybody’s running it, it’s me.”

  “Fine. Run it,” Monk said. “Run it straight in the ground the way you always do, and then call me to bail your ass out. But what if I don’t show, Pop? What if I let you twist in the wind? Who’s gonna bail you out then? Boozer? Noodles? Neither one of those fuckers can bail their own asses out!”

  “Hey, watch it, Frankie,” Boozer said.

  Monk’s anger flared as if from out of nowhere and he ran over to Boozer, grabbed him up by his shirt and slammed him against the wall. “No, you watch it!” he yelled at his capo. “You watch it!” Then he looked at all of them. “When the Don was in charge the Bonaducci Family used to run this territory like it was nobody’s business. We covered every inch of this state and a good chunk of other states too! Then Pop took over. A man they call Rain Man because of his notoriously bad decisions. Now we’re the laughing stock of this whole region. Now we have to defend turf day after day against a bunch of losers who know if they push hard enough we just might bend. That puts all of us at risk. That puts all of your families at risk. And you want to keep that shit going? You wanna keep a man in place who treats this syndicate as some cash cow for his own predilections rather than as a force to be reckoned with to keep our enemies at bay? That’s what you want? That’s what you’re willing to have a civil war over? Him?” Monk said that and motioned toward his father.