Sleeping With The Enemy Read online

  ‘Oh Lord Jesus!’ she gasped as his rod filled her.

  He jammed into her.

  ‘Oh fuck!’ she yelled.

  He drew back and drove back inside her.

  ‘Oh shit!’

  He dropped his head onto her chest and encircled his hands around her chest, his hands finding her breasts and squeezing them as he rammed his pelvis against her ass. After a while he released the hold of his hands on her breasts and straightened up. He stared down at her gaping asshole and inserted his thumb into it as he made slow deliberate thrusts with his penis inside her pussy. She called the Lord’s name again and closed her eyes as she felt heaven come over her.

  He got off the bed once more and pulled her to him. On her back on the bed, he held her legs by the ankles and pasted her legs straight along the front of his body. He sliced into her closed thighs and found the flooding heat of her hole. He drove into her and sent her climbing the walls for a long while, before dropping her legs onto her chest and coming on top of her. She dug her knees into his underarms as he grabbed her buttocks from under him and pressed them tight against his pelvis as he made slow and gentle thrusts inside her. His mouth found hers and they kissed hotly. An overpowering wave of pleasure swept her and took her to the oceans. She erupted in a noisy orgasm and opened her mouth wide but nothing came out. Her voice had dried.

  He felt the new wetness brought by her orgasm and drove himself deeper and faster into her. He pulled out of her and enjoyed himself watching her dancing her buttocks in the air alone as another wave of orgasm seized her. He knelt down on the bed and sat on his heels as he pulled her to sit on his lap, facing him. She clung to his shoulders for support and danced her pelvis to and fro as she rode him. He caressed her soft neck with his lips and stroked her breasts with his hands. She slammed herself faster against him and suddenly her dancing slowed down and she shook violently and held his body in a tight embrace. Then she became still, entranced by the rigors of orgasm.

  After a moment she opened her eyes. He kissed her, stroking her taut nipples. He looked into her beautiful eyes and smiled affectionately at her. ‘You’re beautiful.’

  She just smiled.

  ‘I love these,’ he said, squeezing her breasts.

  ‘Please don’t give them a name.’

  He laughed. ‘I promise I won’t.’

  Twelve

  He woke up with a startle. He was in unfamiliar surroundings. He looked round him and it came to him that he was in her apartment at the Lombardy Heights. He stared at the ceiling and his eyes met the quotation written there:

  At the end of each day, ask yourself what you’ve done to make you proud.

  Her shadow came over him and she leaned down and kissed him. ‘Good morning.’

  ‘Where am I?’

  ‘In heaven,’ she said with a happy smile.

  ‘What’s that?’ he asked, shifting his gaze to the quotation written on the ceiling.

  She smiled happily. ‘It motivates me to get up in the morning.’

  He smiled back at her, and noticed that she was dressed for the day. He sat up. ‘Where’re you going?’

  ‘Before I go to the office I have to donate two hours of my time to the children at the Lyndhurst Orphanage.’

  ‘I want to go with you.’

  ‘No, you don’t. If you go with me you’ll like being there just because I’m there and you want to please me—.’

  ‘I won’t—.’

  ‘Sh…’ she hushed. ‘You have to go alone first. When you’re there, you have to do an honest introspective search into your soul. When that’s done, the question of whether you like being there or not will be answered.’

  Silently, he stared at her. She picked up her laptop. ‘There’s food in the fridge…’

  ‘Thanks.’

  ‘See you later.’

  ‘Bye.’

  She disappeared from sight.

  * * * * *

  The Lyndhurst Orphanage was situated in in the Bronx, close to the New York Botanical Garden. It was built in an old style, an imposing structure of brick and mortar with pristine lawns and flower gardens. Rosina drove through the big gates and flashed a smile at the guards. Wearing a long black coat over red pants and a black blouse, she went inside and found her class ready for her.

  ‘Hello, children.’

  ‘Good morning, Miss Ameliano,’ they replied in chorus.

  ‘Have you been good children lately?’

  ‘Yes, ma’am.’

  ‘Alright. Today we are continuing with the reading of our book, but before we do that, I need to know a few things from you.’

  She looked around the class. ‘What is the name of the book we are reading?’

  The kids lifted up their hands.

  ‘Yes, Robin.’

  ‘The Count of Monte Cristo.’

  ‘Excellent. Stanley, who wrote that book?’

  ‘Alexandre Dumas.’

  ‘Good. Who can tell me what has happened in the story so far?’

  ‘Yes, Damien?’

  The boy stood up to give his response…

  * * * * *

  Ferdinando checked the bedside clock. It was 8.17.

  He threw away the sheets and switched on the small hi-fi on the bedside table. Justin Timberlake’s Mirrors filled the room. He made the bed and left the room. He went to the living room and was disappointed by the sight that met him. While it was decorated in a modern, beautiful style, the room looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in a thousand years. He searched around the apartment until he found a small vacuum cleaner hidden under the kitchen sink and went about tidying things up in the living room. He even changed the set-up of the furniture in the living room.

  That done, he went to the kitchen and washed the dishes before going to the bathroom adjacent to Rosina’s bedroom to take a shower. After taking a shower he opened the bathroom closet and saw an aftershave labeled in her handwriting:

  A gift from me to you.

  It made him smile. He sprayed himself with the aftershave and then got dressed before going to the kitchen to find something to eat. After a light breakfast of cornflakes in milk, he grabbed an apple from the fridge and ate it as he examined her small collection of books in the living room. He selected Great Expectations and sat down on a couch to read it.

  Unable to get her out of his mind, he pulled his phone from his pocket and called her.

  She answered on the second ring. ‘You smell nice.’

  ‘How did you know?’

  ‘Intuition.’

  He let out a short laugh. ‘I missed you.’

  ‘Since when?’

  ‘The last time I saw you.’

  ‘I was with you only this morning.’

  ‘My point exactly.’

  She laughed. Her laughter sounded so beautiful to his ears it melted his heart. Reluctantly, he ended the call, but thought of dialing her back again as soon as he ended the call.

  ‘Get a grip on yourself, ol’ boy,’ he said aloud, checking the time on the wall clock.

  It was close to midday.

  He left her apartment and went out onto the streets. He bought a pizza at a takeaway. He saw a homeless man walking pushing around a trolley full of garbage and went to him. He tore off the top of the pizza with the logo and gave the pizza to the homeless man. Then he went into a menswear shop and bought a pair of black pants and a white shirt.

  He went back to his home and looked in the fridge. He pulled out some chicken thighs and grilled them. While the chicken was in the grill, he peeled some potatoes and made chips. He placed the grilled chicken thighs and the potato chips in foil paper before putting the food in a lunch box. Then he went to his sewing machine and imitated the pizza company’s logo by sewing it onto the pocket of the white shirt he had recently bought. Satisfied with his handiwork, he tried the new clothes on and looked at himself in the mirror.

  ‘You’re irresistible, Mr. Imposimato,’ he said with a wide grin.

  He to
ok the lunch box and left the apartment. He arrived at the studio and stood with the camera crew as she finished off the news bulletin. ‘…That’s the end of the 2 o’clock news bulletin. I’m Rosina Ameliano. Join me for the next news bulletin at 3. I leave you in the hands of Simon, who knows everything most of us don’t know about the weather.’ She smiled beautifully. ‘Simon, what good news have you brought for us?’

  The picture on the monitors switched to Simon.

  ‘That’s it, Rosie,’ said the producer.

  She took off her earphone and unclasped the tiny microphone from the lapel of her blouse. When she looked up Imposimato was waving at her.

  She stood up, gathered her iPad and papers and walked over to the small group gathered at the cameras. She came closer to him and whispered, ‘What’re you doing here?’

  He grabbed her waist with his free hand, pressed her to him and gave her a hot kiss. The small group of men cheered noisily.

  Someone shouted, ‘Introduction!’

  When he let go of her she was blushing fiercely.

  ‘Tell them,’ Imposimato said. ‘Or should I?’

  ‘Um,’ she cleared her throat. ‘This is Ferdinando Imposimato…’

  ‘Oh God!’ exclaimed the lighting assistant, an openly gay man of twenty-eight. ‘The Mafia are in town.’

  Ferdinando cleared his throat and smiled.

  ‘He’s my boyfriend,’ Rosina concluded.

  There were loud cheers again, and some of the guys came and shook Ferdinando’s hand, winking at him mischievously.

  Rosina whisked Ferdinando away and they went her office. He went in first and she came in last and closed the door, but remained standing there watching him silently.

  ‘I brought you lunch.’ He handed her the lunch box.

  She opened it and took a peek inside. ‘Wow!’ she exclaimed. ‘Looks delicious.’

  ‘Home Fried Chicken à la Imposimato. Winning recipe always. It’s the healthiest thing you can eat. And there’s yoghurt in the lunch box too. Good for the digestive tract.’

  She looked up at him with a wonderful smile. ‘Thanks a lot.’

  He lifted an eyebrow in surprise. ‘Is that all I get?’

  She edged closer to him and gave him a peck on the cheek. ‘Thank you.’ She eyed him naughtily. ‘I’d really love to give you more than that, but I’m swamped.’

  ‘Are you chasing me away?’ he asked with a feigned hurt expression.

  ‘Yes,’ she responded with a laugh.

  ‘Ouch!’ he said quietly.

  She laughed harder.

  He crossed to the door.

  ‘Fare thee well, my lady.’

  ‘Goodbye, Ferdinando.’

  He left and closed the door.

  Rosina sat down at her desk and smiled to herself as she opened the lunch box to eat. ‘Mmm.’

  * * * * *

  After delivering the 3 o’clock news, Rosina worked furiously at her desk for a while, then held a mini-meeting with her producer and the news head, after which she went to the newsroom to prepare for the 4 o’clock news. When the time arrived she gave the 4 o’clock news to America and then went to her office to gather her things.

  She left her office and on her way out of the studio she blew a kiss at the two jokers of the newsroom, the 28-year-old gay man and his best friend, the cameraman.

  ‘Man, Mafia service has always been efficient,’ commented the lighting assistant when Rosina was out of earshot.

  ‘And diligent,’ agreed his friend.

  ‘Generous.’

  ‘If not sumptuous.’

  ‘God!’ the lighting man grimaced as if in pain. ‘I prefer things less deleterious.’

  * * * * *

  Outside, she bought The New York Times, scanned the headlines, and then folded it, placing it under her forearm as she walked leisurely along the pavement.

  A dark limousine came to walking pace alongside her. Its back window slid open and a voice called to her. ‘Hey, Miss Ameliano, do you want a ride?’

  She looked at the face that came with the voice and smiled when she recognized Imposimato. ‘I don’t take rides from strangers.’

  ‘Even strangers who think you’re the most beautiful angel created by God?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘My mother – bless her beloved soul – always said not to look a gift horse in the mouth.’

  ‘How does your mother get into this?’ she asked with an amused smile.

  ‘It’s because I want to pay her a visit, and I want to tell her that I asked her to pray for me to find me a good girl and I have.’

  Rosina walked silently for a moment. ‘Does this girl know?’

  ‘If she comes into the car she might.’

  The car stopped moving and she went into it. She sat down next to him and he grabbed her left hand and squeezed it affectionately. ‘Tell me about yourself,’ he said as the big car started moving again.

  ‘What exactly?’

  He shrugged. ‘I don’t know…where you grew up…where did you go at school?...your family…’

  ‘I grew up in Hawthorne, here in New York, with my younger sister, Paulina. Most of Pa’s relatives live in Colorado. We’re not really close, and when Pa died the divide widened. Ma followed Pa two years later, probably due to heartache more than anything else. My parents were good people. Provided well for us and brought us up with good values and a spirit of humanity. Not a day passes that I don’t think of them.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ he offered meaningfully.

  She nodded and looked away. ‘You went to school here?’

  She nodded and looked at him. ‘Then later went to Europe to study journalism. Came back here, pulled some strings and got hired by the channel.’

  ‘You love your job.’ It was a statement.

  ‘Nothing compares to it. I’d die for it—.’ She stopped in mid-sentence and looked around, an apprehensive expression suddenly covering her face. ‘Wait a minute; this is not the way to my place.’

  ‘No,’ said Imposimato calmly. ‘I’m taking you someplace else.’

  ‘Where?’ she asked suspiciously.

  ‘I won’t harm you, I promise.’

  ‘Truly?’

  ‘Cross my heart,’ he said with an indecipherable smile.

  * * * * *

  The car sped along the Interstate and went to The Hamptons. It chose a quiet neighborhood and picked a big house built to generous proportions and similar in style to a Spanish villa. Strewn around the place were guards in dark suits and sunglasses, with sub-machine guns hanging from their shoulders.

  The main door was opened by a uniformed butler, who bowed down in reverence to Imposimato and greeted Rosina with a warm smile. He took their coats and Imposimato guided her around the magnificent hallways of the villa. She turned around to face him with a curious expression on her face. ‘What do you do?’

  ‘I build empires,’ he replied with a sly smile.

  ‘Does it pay this much?’

  ‘It’s amazing the things you can do with cement.’

  She came to a stop before a picture on the wall. ‘This is Rembrandt, right?’

  ‘Arguably one of his best works.’

  ‘Done when he had a bout of schizophrenia, and like all works done in that condition, it’s excellent.’

  ‘I couldn’t agree with you more.’

  He walked up to her and pulled her into his arms. They stood before a large window and looked outside. ‘What’re you doing for the weekend?’ he asked in a quiet voice.

  ‘I wanted to curl up on a sofa with escapist trash and lose myself in it.’

  ‘I have a better plan.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘There’s a party to celebrate the completion of a building project. Major players in the industry will be there, and you’ll make me an eminent man by your presence beside me.’ He kissed her left cheek lightly. ‘But before we do that, I want to take you to the skies.’

  * * * * *

  The h
ot-air-balloon glided there above the lush residences of The Hamptons. Rosina stared down and marveled at the beauty of it all. It was such a pretty sight, with New York far off in the distance.

  Ferdinando grabbed her and kissed her neck. ‘Are you happy?’

  ‘I’m happy…And in love. I don’t want this to end.’

  He looked into her eyes. ‘It won’t.’

  The balloon moved slowly above Connecticut until it brought them slowly down onto a lush-green open field with sparse trees. They climbed out of the balloon’s basket and walked hand in hand towards the car that had brought them to the field. She tickled his ribs and he attacked her back, but she quickly sprinted away, screaming delightedly. He chased her, and caught her when she slammed her back onto a tree. He pulled her to him and kissed her with a hungry passion.

  ‘Stop it,’ she giggled uncontrollably. ‘We still have a party to go to.’

  * * * * *

  The party was a black-tie affair. The guests arrived in big cars, and the women were dressed in beautiful, flowing evening gowns. Beautiful opera music filled the great ballroom. Champagne flowed in copious amounts.

  Imposimato entered into the ballroom with Rosina at his arm, and they accepted the offer of champagne from a waiter. They walked around the big room, mingling with other guests. Then Ferdinando took her to a group of six women who stood chatting noisily at one corner of the room.

  ‘Ladies,’ he greeted them with a broad smile.

  They greeted back with a round of hellos.

  One of them said, ‘Ferdinand, I was beginning to think you’ve grown to hate me.’

  He pulled her to him and embraced her in an affectionate hug. ‘I could never do that, Lisa.’

  Another pulled him out of Lisa’s hands and hugged him. ‘My favorite man, do I still have a chance with you?’

  He pulled himself out of her arms and turned to Rosina. ‘Ask the lady.’ He smiled at the group of ladies. ‘Ladies, this is Miss Rosina Ameliano. Don’t you agree she’s breathtaking?’