“Why the hell?” She’s beautiful when she’s pissed, her crystal-clear glare going muddy with anger. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
She pushes at the carton of kitten milk I just pulled from the fridge. “That’s the perfect type of milk, and you even have the best wet food on the planet for a three-week old kitten! What’s your deal?”
Tatiana picks the fur bundle off her shoulder and watches it wiggle as it gets comfortable in her lap. She covers it with a tender hand that would whack me if I were her target. I stifle my smile.
“You weren’t going to come.” I flop my arms wide to her. She might flay me alive over it, but hey.
“You faked it all so I’d come?”
“Of course not. Not all of it.” There might have been parts I didn’t fake. I narrow my eyes, thinking. No? Well.
“Aurora wanted to see you.” I straighten, working to look innocent, another thing I haven’t pulled off in years. The widening of eyes and looking straight at people works for those who are, though.
“Bullshit.”
She’s so mad. Pretty sure “bullshit” is a cussword too, but I’m not going to test my luck by pointing it out.
“If there’s something I hate it’s to get my day interrupted by random crap. I’m really busy, Isaias. I—”
The rest of her thoughts disappear. Her chest inflates, boobs pointing beautifully at me. Before I can react, she finishes, “You’re throwing me off. You and Aurora appearing right now? I can’t deal with it.”
I lean back against the couch, tipping my head back and watching her attention stray from the cat to me. “If you can’t enjoy the present, how does it have any value? I’m here for that, and I’m pretty sure Aurora is too. Look at her.”
Tatiana’s gaze loses its guard. It softens and floats over the kitten. Apparently, it’s damn easy for that thing to make her feel good. And it’s hilarious that a fur ball is the first thing to cause jealousy in me, in forever.
“What are you grinning at?”
I shake my head. “Nothing much. Except it’d be nice if you had my head in your lap instead of the kitten.”
She snorts. “I’ve heard Italians were aggressive, but geez, you’re over the top. You and your bella, bellissima.”
Tatiana’s eyes give her away; she’s interested, and she could be swayed in the direction I want her. I lean forward enough to reach her with my fingers.
Finally, I get to stroke the edges of her face, feeling smooth skin and the silky locks around it. She’s uneasy, observing my moves. I don’t comment on the chills breaking out along the upper part of her arms.
I hum, lowering my face. She doesn’t back off when my nose runs along the frame of her jaw, moving upward until I’m below her earlobe where the kitten rested a minute ago. She waits, apprehensive along my side, until I skim my lips against her skin. I inhale, reveling in her fragrance. She smells like warm sugar, and it makes my mouth water.
“Bella, bellissima. You have me crazy, and I’ll track you down if you try to escape. Take that as a warning.”
“You want me scared of you?” she whispers.
“Only if it turns you on.”
“I know nothing about you.” The tinge in her voice makes her sound fragile.
“Isn’t that what it’s about, getting to know someone you can’t stop thinking about, find out if that person is worth your attention?”
“I have plenty to think about, thank you.”
“In the love department too?” I do a side-tilt women have fretted over before. A few chicks have mentioned my air kiss, so I pucker my lips for effect. If ever there was a moment, right?
Tatiana’s reaction is a squint. “Yes: Jesus.”
I fold my arms and commit a slow, slow shake of my head. I keep my lips puckered, changing my air kiss to a “no.”
She notices. “I’m a nun.”
“A nun wannabe. Or are you?” I turn my hand, use the back of it to caress her cheek all the way down to her neck. “You don’t have the vibe of one. You haven’t removed yourself from the material world. With every shift you make in that celestial robe, you’re still all woman. You know what you exude when you’re with me?”
Her gaze rises and fixes on me.
“Longing. Even when you’re mad at me, you exude it. Why do you think I come back for you? You’re a fiery, secretive bundle of divinity I can’t figure out. You’ve got an evil side. It’s mixed with a kindness that makes you blow up over stray kittens.
“From what I know of you so far, becoming a nun can’t possibly satisfy you, and I want to find out why you’re hiding under that cloak.”
Tatiana’s chest swells on an inhale, but I keep my attention on her face.
“I’m not making judgments based on your appearance, Isaias, and you should give me the same respect. If I were to judge you, I’d say you’re hardheaded, spoiled, and probably shady. Look at you. Look at this house. But see, I wouldn’t do that.”
“Are you saying it’s lack of respect to mention every single beautiful detail that has me addicted to you?”
Her crystal-bright eyes glue to me, and her lips slacken with surprise. My chest surges in a way I haven’t felt since I was a teenager, since my first crush, since I scored with a girl for the first time. Fuck, this is nice. I’m scrutinizing every shift she makes.
Her forearm is bare, and I slide a finger down to her wrist. She straightens at my caress. I study her face carefully as I lift her hand and leave a careful kiss on top of it.
When her breathing becomes shallow, I pull her into my arms. The cat slides off her lap. It makes her tense up, so I accommodate the kitten behind her and whisper, “All set.”
Finally, I get to play with her hair. I slide my fingers down a silky section of it. “Long day?”
She lets out a quiet huff. “Long, weird day.”
“Same here. I like where it’s ending, though.”
“Don’t get any ideas.” Even her scowl is beautiful.
“I have no illusions.”
Slowly, she relaxes in my arms and allows me to stroke her back. I’m not going to lie and say I don’t want to fuck her senseless. I want to pick her up, stalk to my bedroom, and drop her on my bed so hard she bounces on it. Then, I want to prowl on top of her and stab so deep inside of her she bends off the mattress with a scream.
This woman is different. She’s hit my blood in a rush, and I need to get to the bottom of the insanity she creates. She’s got me combusting whenever I think of her.
“Is this okay?” I whisper, trailing my fingers down her spine.
She nods against me.
“You’re not scared of me?”
“I have my gun,” she mumbles.
This makes my stomach tighten with humor.
“Don’t laugh at me. I’m fast on the trigger.”
I kiss her head. “A drop-dead gorgeous nun who’s trigger-happy. How did I get this lucky?”
Her laughter is so soft, I can’t help myself. I tip her chin up until her eyes meet mine. I bend my head, and in the moment my mouth takes hers, Tatiana becomes mine. Her lips are silky, soft, smooth. We kiss slowly. Her breathing changes, and I take advantage when she has to open her mouth to pull in enough oxygen.
“Bella.” I let myself in, swipe her tongue with mine until she hesitantly plays along. She moans. Fuck, she moans. It’s almost inaudible, but my cock heard her all right. I use all my self-control to keep from thrusting against her. She must feel me resting along the top half of her thigh, and damn does the pressure of her feel good.
Tatiana slides down a little, enough for her leg to rest over my dick. I can’t help it; I hiss air in between my teeth, and that’s when it happens. Her whole little body stiffens, and she retracts her mouth from mine.
“What am I doing? Oh no. No...” She shakes her head, staring at me like I’m the devil. Maybe I am.
“I’d kiss you all night.” I lean back in my seat, sliding down on an elbow while she stands. I’ll drink in every last moment of her in front of me, flustered, rosy-cheeked, lips impossibly bee-stung after our short make-out session. God, I can only imagine her after hours in my bed.
“I need to go.” She looks around for her purse, and I find it for her on the other side of the kitten.
Unsure, she stands there for a moment, feet in sensible heels, thighs disappearing under a skirt that I’d sell my soul to peel off. I see fingerprints on her. Red marks from where my hands held her arms. A brush of my stubble has left art in the form of streaks beneath her ear.
As I follow Tatiana to the door and watch her stumble to the car, it hits me straight in the solar plexus. The girl is a canvas for love. I need to make her understand the heaven she’ll get with me. Once I’ve won her, I’ll treat her like a queen in my sheets, and once I’m done, I’ll trace every touch I made on her body with my fingers, reliving each red streak I’ve created.
The kitten with the big name is on my shoulder, nuzzling against my throat. Tatiana slams the car door shut but rolls down the window.
“It’s okay to be human, you know,” I say.
She leans out, pointing at Aurora. “Careful so she doesn’t fall off.”
“Don’t worry about her. I’ll take care of our love child. Come back and see us tomorrow?” I tilt my head. Playful. Hopeful.
“I don’t have a car tomorrow. It’s my friend’s.”
I smile broadly. “When are you off? Seven thirty again?”
“Depends.”
“Call me. I’ll be there.”
She seems less sure now. Her eyes twinkle in the low light of my driveway, so I lift my hands in surrender.
“I’ll be good. If you tell me to stay the fuck away, I will.”
“Language.” She smiles shyly and lowers her gaze to the steering wheel though she doesn’t need it there to start the car. So cute.
“Right, let’s make tomorrow an Italian night, bella.”
“Stronzo.”
“What?” I snort out, laughing. “Did you just call me stronzo?”
She giggles, sounding mischievous and apologetic at once. “I don’t know. I heard it at a soccer game once, in Milan. Guess it’s not nice?”
“It’s nothing like bella, for sure. I’ll have to teach you better words tomorrow. A domani.”
“A... what?”
“Until tomorrow.”
“You sure about this?” McRoy asks me in the morning. He arrived at Lucid at six, while I came an hour later. Mark was in place as usual, letting me in with his customary no-nonsense, blank stare. He’s shaping up nicely for us. All muscle, he’s perfect for a time of war between my family and the Santa Colombini.
With a couple of guards and high walls, alarms triggered by anything unusual, I don’t feel the need to have Felix send additional muscle to my workplace for now. After all, they’re interested in la famiglia more than anything. If they want me, they’ll look in less conspicuous places.
“Yes, I’m sure about this. You confirmed, right?” I narrow my eyes, making sure he followed my orders from last night.
“Of course. Even if you didn’t answer my text. I had a few questions?”
“You sure did.”
As we walk through the top floor, hitting stairs and descending, I clamp his scrawny shoulder with my hand. “You think too much, McRoy. I get that you worry, but you need to know when to stop mulling over my decisions. What I say is law.”
“Sir. Yes, always.”
“Only it’s not what you do though, is it? You second-guess everything I say.”
“Not everything, sir.”
“See what I mean?”
He opens his mouth, wanting to contradict me again, and that’s it; I burst out laughing. “‘Sir,’ my ass. You, McRoy, are a pain in the neck. All right? Just tone it down, already.”
“Yes, sir.” He performs a salute to the floor, too embarrassed to point it at me.
“So: you got the info from Felix, accepted his estimate, and we have confirmation that his men have been sent out?”
“Sir, yes. They’re all on location.”
I blow my cheeks up and puff out my relief. “Good. Where are we with Sexman?”
McRoy straightens, happy that the heat is off him. “It’s going well. Luka’s filming with a few of the girls today. Belen’s leading for now, but I guess Gianni’s prepping Morgan to take over. Nothing’s been said to Belen, though. She was a bitch to deal with yesterday after you left. Jekyll and Hyde, you know. She keeps it together when you’re here, but as soon as you leave, she’s a diva.”
“Yeah.” I rub my cheek. “We need an open audition with special invite to the Harmony Femme guys in San Francisco.”
He stares up at me. “Harmony Femme? Are you going soft-core and female-friendly now?”
I shrug. “I’m broadening my options. There’s so much untapped audience out there, and I want in on it. Harmony Femme’s doing really well lately, to the point of being top twenty with us in the U.S. ranks.”
“But isn’t it better to work hard to hold onto the audience we have instead of spreading ourselves thin?”
“McRoy. Did we just have a talk about this?” I arch one brow and laser a stare his way.
“Yeah, of course.”
“Open audition, all male, put Isabel on inviting all award winners personally via phone or email, as well as every guy who’s worked for Harmony Femme, short or long term, over the last two years.” I tip my head up, waiting for him to object. Strangely, he doesn’t.
“Will do. When do you want the audition?”
“Friday in three weeks. That’ll give us the weekend to pick through them and offer up three-month contracts for the best ones.”
“Sounds good.” He starts to walk away, heading for his office when I stop him.
“And McRoy.”
“Yeah?”
“Make sure Belen is available that Friday. I want them to try out with her. If they can handle Belen, they’re golden.”
It’s rare to see McRoy smirk.
Being Italian, I have fire in my blood. I use it in bed, and I use it in business. Now, I have some of it reserved for an ice queen from a church, but it doesn’t hinder my progress in other areas.
By mid-morning, I’ve had a call from Clown Irruption, in which Bo Lindgren wanted more information. Questions concise and easy to appease, he hung up with a jovial, “we’ll be in touch.”
I add a checkmark to my to-do list; if he hadn’t called me, today would’ve been when I hunted him down.
I adjust my cock, making it align with my right thigh. I laugh soundlessly to myself; can you picture a sexually frustrated owner of one of the most successful adult film studios in America? This can’t last long. I have a reputation to keep up.
Belen is stomping out of the studio again. She screams cusswords at Gianni over a scene she’s not allowed to be a part of. I don’t usually invite porn stars to my office, but Belen is an exception. She seems to need it in order to get her mind straightened out. I’m no psychologist, but it’s damn clear she’s got ghosts in her closet.
The girl is runway-good-looking with artificial enhancements, her cunt well modified. You need to know what you’re looking for to find the seams where the labia where shortened to teenaged states.
As her heels clack past my office, I slam the door open, grab her arm, and haul her inside. A small squeak shivers in her throat, her eyes deer-like. My cock likes it. He’s been liking a lot of things lately, since being left to himself by Tatiana last night.
“You’re here?” she whimpers, gaze running between my fist clutching her wrist and my face.
“I work here, Belen.”
“I know, but—”
“I own this place.”
“He’s not doing what’s right! You need to talk to Gianni. I’m the cover face for Lucid Entertainment, and he’s not respecting me.”
I shove her against the wall, making her boobs shake and her pupils widen with desire.
“Tell me, Belen,” I growl quietly. “How can I keep you on when you act like this? It’s day to day with you. You’re not the cover face for Lucid Entertainment. You’re the cover tits. Make no mistake. That series of pictures Gianni took, blown up and perfected by Cary?” I shove her against the wall again, making her suck in a heated-horrified breath.
“Those with the jizz?” she whispers.
“Yes, the ones with a butt load of semen covering your breasts. That’s the ‘face’ of Lucid Entertainment at the moment. It sells us at conferences, on the internet, and in magazines. But you know what? I’m not hell bent on the direction Lucid is taking, and if I’m going a different route, your cover tits will mean nothing to us.”
I steel-eye her, waiting for her reaction. This woman has intimidated too many newbies and made the days too long for Gianni and the rest of his crew already. It’s high time I put her in her place.
Belen’s face crumbles. Thin golden eyebrows wobble with uncertainty. “You wouldn’t fire me... Would you?”
“Oh, I’ll respect your contract, but don’t forget that it’s up in a month and a half. You better be doing exactly what I want you to do, no more, no less during that time, or you’re history in this company.”
She gasps, pupils widening even more, this time with horror. “You’re kidding. You can’t do this to your employees in California.”
“Are you in the union?”
“Which union?”
“Exactly.”
She inhales painfully, tears finally leaking out. “I don’t know what I’d do without Lucid.”
I let go of my vise grip, and she slumps against the wall. I brush stray hair away from her eyes. “Then, don’t ruin it.”