“You did fine, young padawan, but there’s always room for improvement. With tutoring, for example. And intensive practice.”
He huffed out a laugh and pulled down another towel to wipe his face with. “I’ll consider it.”
I finished cleaning myself up and straightened my clothes. “Thank you,” I began. “You didn’t need to?—”
He broke off my words with a hard kiss, his hand moving to hold the back of my head the way he always seemed to do. I melted against him, riding his mercurial fucking pendulum like a willful glutton.
When he pulled away, he surprised me. “I’m sorry for taking my stress out on you. While it is very important to me that my guests not discover our sexual relationship, there was no need to be a dick about it. I appreciate your discretion, and I trust you. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have invited you here during such an important event.”
I tried not to read too much into it. Trust wasn’t the same as affection or respect. But it was nice all the same. Especially considering I was a damned liar.
I nodded. “I understand.”
He nodded and took a breath. “Good.”
I expected him to want me to reciprocate, but he exited the closet after first carefully scoping out the nearby area to make sure he wouldn’t be seen.
Meanwhile, I gathered up the blanket and towels we used and shoved them into the hamper in the corner of the space.
The interlude boosted my spirits. When the guests started arriving, I was happy to play the cheerful event host, welcoming everyone to Villa Altomare and inviting them to let me or the staff know how best to make their stay comfortable.
The house staff was obviously experienced in handling such high-level guests, and if I hadn’t been nephew to a major country music singer and comfortable around celebrities, I might have had a hard time remaining calm.
I wasn’t there to greet everyone. Concetta’s careful management of the day often required me to help in other areasof the house, and after lunch, she asked me to accompany Zuri to town to gather a few items one of the guests needed.
“She will pick the cheapest, and you will better understand to get the most indulgent,” Concetta said quietly while Zuri walked around the other side of the car to get in next to the driver. I assured the busy housekeeper we’d be fine and spent a good part of the rest of the day away from the villa, procuring what she needed.
To be honest, it was a welcome break from Locke’s immediate return to being dismissive. While he wasn’t rude to me necessarily, he acted like I was simply a member of the house staff. Nothing important. No one of note.
Since I’d never thought of this adventure as an actual job, having to act like I didn’t have a personal relationship with Locke was a bitch.
When Zuri and I returned from town, I avoided Locke like the plague to keep from having to face the roiling stew of mixed emotions the situation was provoking. Last night had been fun, and pretending it had never happened was something I wasn’t doing a good job of.
Dinner had been a casual cocktails-and-canapés affair on the terrace for the people who’d already arrived, and I’d made a point to stand on the periphery and handle any issues that arose without interacting socially with people so above my perceived station.
It wasn’t until we returned to the suite after dinner that I could no longer avoid him.
“I smell like Sorensen’s cigarillo smoke. Come shower with me,” he said as he hurried past me through the suite, pulling off his shirt and unbuckling his belt. The view of his bare back over his pants was a dirty trick.
“Why?”
“Because I’ve been in pain since you left me with blue balls in the closet earlier. Let’s go.”
I followed him into his bedroom and bathroom but didn’t pull off my clothes. Instead, I folded my arms in front of my chest and tried to be serious. It was difficult when he continued to reveal more tempting body parts.
“I’ve hardly seen you all day.”And not even a single word of praise for how well-behaved I was.
He didn’t bother to look up, only reached for the bodywash and used it to stroke his already hard cock. “Why are you acting like my girlfriend right now? Get in here and touch me.”
I closed my eyes and cursed myself. We’d moved from the happy host portion of my duties to secret lovers. Exactly what I’d signed on for.
And god help me, Ialwayswanted to get naked with Locke Maris, regardless of how much the other aspects of our arrangement sucked.
If he wanted me to get him off, I would.
As quickly and aggressively as possible.
I had to admit it was my favorite trick. I’d already used it on him once before, but maybe it bore repeating.
