I’ve felt desire before, but as Adriano practically devours my mouth, something much more powerful rocks me to my core.
My abdomen clenches hard, and a kaleidoscope of butterflies erupt into flight, filling my stomach with intense flutters.
Just as I push my body against his, he rips his mouth away from mine and takes three steps backward.
I almost topple forward but catch myself in time, and while I desperately gasp for air, Adriano looks at me as if I’m some kind of extraterrestrial being.
His tone is filled with darkness and a promise that I will regret it if I do anything but obey his every command. “Eat. Shower. Sleep.”
After barking the orders at me, he rips the door open and stalks out of the bedroom.
What. In. The… Good God… Holy crap. Ahhhh.
Leaning back against the wall, I’m still breathless from the kiss he just laid on me. I try to gather myself, but the man just steamrolled the crap out of me, and I need a moment.
“Order food for Laurie,” I hear Adriano say, and as my breathing begins to return to normal, he also adds, “And get Marcus and Paulie to guard her.”
What?!
I push away from the wall and storm out of the bedroom, shouting, “You bastard!” Anger and the hopelessness that’s quickly becoming a constant companion pour through me, and not giving a shit anymore, I walk to the elevator while snapping, “You can’t hold me captive.”
I press the button, and when the doors slide open, I’m plucked off my feet for the third time today.
“Jesus!” I screech while twisting my upper body and slamming my elbow into his collarbone.
With everything I’ve been forced to endure, I lose my mind, and I begin to hit Adriano, but his strong arms easily clamp mine to my sides, and I’m only half aware when he sits down on one of the couches with me on his lap.
“Maybe tone things down a little,” Little Ricky says. “Don’t give me that look. You’re scaring the shit out of the woman.”
“Leave!” Adriano barks angrily, and seconds later, when I hear the elevator doors shut, my head whips in their direction.
Air bursts over my dry lips, and I can hear my heart pounding in my ears right before I dissolve into a fit of tears, because this week from hell is too much to handle.
“Shh…” Adriano presses my face into the space beneath his chin, and I feel his five o'clock shadow scratching against my forehead, his scent in every breath I take.
“Let’s just calm down, then we can talk things out.” He actually sounds reasonable, which scares me because how the hell is he able to go from hot to cold to hot at a drop of a hat?
“Let me go,” I whimper.
I’m surprised when his hold on me loosens and his arms open into a gesture of surrender.
I keep a cautious eye on him as I scoot off his lap before getting up and putting some distance between us.
“I’ll transfer more to your bank account once you’ve signed the contract,” he says, getting right to business.
I turn my back to him and use my fingertips to wipe the tears from my cheeks. “You can shove your money where the sun doesn’t shine.”
“Fifty thousand.”
Shock ripples over me as I spin around to gape at him like he’s lost his mind.
“Fine.” He pulls his phone out of his pocket. “One hundred.”
What?
When I blink at Adriano, he continues, “Two fifty.” He stands up and straightens his jacket while he looks me dead in the eye. “Five hundred.”
“Ahg…” It’s the only sound I can make.
