“Hi,” I say.
“You told him you’re mine?” Alessio asks.
“No, that’s not what I said.”
“Repeat what you said.”
I sigh. “I saidhis governess begs an audience.” Damn it.
“Begs?” Alessio sounds excited.
“It seemed appropriate at the time.”
“Begging me is appropriate all the time.” He pauses and adds, “As you well know, begging me gets you treats. Doesn’t it, Lake?”
Alessio wouldn’t stop eating me out unless I begged permission to come. It was a power play I enjoyed with him, and he delivered in spades. I clear my throat and don’t dignify his remark with a reply.
“Fine,” he says. “Don’t answer that, but allow me to point out thathisis a possessive pronoun.His governessmeans the woman belongs to man, and in this case, she belongs to me. But since English is my second language, it’s possible I’m mistaken. Am I?”
I change the subject. “You sent a SWAT team after me.”
“They’re hardly a SWAT team. They’re the equivalent of the Secret Service. Very discreet.”
The jeans and white T-shirts they’re wearing might be discreet, but the shades and the tats turn heads. “Alessio, I’m only having lunch.”
“How was your lunch?”
He’s infuriating. I stomp my foot. “That’s not the point, and you know it.”
“Are you angry with me?” he asks.
“You’re having me followed.”
“I’m not having you followed. I’m securing you. There’s a difference.”
This is what he did in the house. He thinks locking me and Leo inside is “securing” us.
I run a hand through my hair. “The Ramses and I are going to stay for coffee. I’m sending Leo back home with your Secret Service guys.”
“The Ramses?”
I can’t help myself. “The entire football team.” I wait for him to reply. It’s taking longer than necessary. “Hello? Are you still there?”
“Do you know when you’ll be back?”
“Whenever we’re done. I have to get through the whole team.” I bite my fingernail, wondering if he’ll take the bait and laugh or think I’m serious.
“Do you need two more hours, three? Until nightfall?”
“It’ll be an all-nighter.”
“Lake, you do not want me to come fetch you.”
Okay, he’s done being teased, and he’s right. I don’t want him to come. “Alessio,” I enunciate his name. “I’m a grown-ass woman, and I don’t appreciate you making me feel like I have a curfew.”
“You’re feeling it. I’m not. I’m only asking when I can expect you home. It’s not too much to ask.”
I sigh. “A few hours. Maybe two. Please, pull the men back. It’s creepy that you’re ‘securing’ me, and I can’t relax knowing all these guys are watching me.”
