Page 48 of The Mastermind
He frowned. ‘We will blend in, Donã, no problem.’ His tone suggested anyone who had a problem would be dealt with.
I raised a sceptical eyebrow. ‘You think so? With that shiner? I like this hotel. I’d like to come back and stay next year.’ I hardened my voice. ‘You’ll check it out and wait for me back in my suite. I’ll let you know when to come and get me if you’re that worried.’
They exchanged wary looks I ignored. I was putting them in a precarious position, but I reasoned this temporary discomfort by taking them out of the equation was better than the alternative of risking Fist dealing with them.
The trio of smiling staff waiting for me with a tray of refreshments didn’t blink an eyelash when they saw the burly soldiers with me. And they kept smiling all the way through Roberto and one other guard peering into corners and cupboards and satisfying themselves there was no threat lurking behind the tall ferns and oriental screens.
I waited, clutching my glass of iced mineral water, for a full three minutes after they left, then crossed to the desk.
‘I’m sorry, but there’s been a change of plan. I have to step out for a little bit. Apologies for the inconvenience. I’ll pay for this treatment anyway and have my butler reschedule?’ I signed the receipt and tossed in a hefty tip that produced wider smiles and a flurry of bows that trailed me to the empty executive lift.
The ride to the designated floor rushed by far too quickly with each floor sending a louder roar in my ears and sweat to my palms, until I feared I was going to pass out from the surge of adrenaline-fuelled excitement.
The doors swung open.
An impatient Cesare reached in with both hands, wrapped them around my waist and yanked me out. My head spun as he hoisted me high like I weighed nothing and marched down the wide corridor. I was thankful for the dizziness for blurring the faces of the soldiers scattered round the suite.
‘Legs, waist. Now,’ he rasped in my ear.
I’d suspected our text exchange had riled him some, but looking into Cesare’s exceptionally hot face, I saw something else. Feral, uncontrolled hunger. That had nothing to do with the snitch he still hadn’t caught – as far as I knew – and everything to do with me.
The thrill intensified as he stopped in his tracks. ‘Everyone. Get the fuck out!’
The snarl was barely decipherable. But the men and women understood. From the corner of my eye, I saw a massive shadow – Fist – step forward.
‘Boss, maybe you should?—’
‘Now!’
Feet scurried away as we entered the suite proper. And between one breath and the next, the door was kicked shut and my back met a textured wall.
Charcoal-grey eyes framed by lush dark lashes women paid good money for seared me. ‘I believe I gave you an instruction.’
My eyes dropped lower, to the thinner slash of his upper lip and sensuous curve of his lower, inhaling sharply when his grip tightened fractionally around my waist.
‘Do what you’re told and you might be rewarded,’ he murmured, all arrogance and dark, dominant promise so confident of his power.
Entirely justified apparently, because my black palazzo pants-clad legs rose and wrapped around his waist almost of their own volition.
‘Tighter,’ he bit out, his breath washing over my mouth, making it tingle.
I eagerly complied.
He groaned.
I moaned.
And just like that we were back in that dark warehouse in Connecticut, anticipation thick and heavy as he pressed his waydeeper between my legs. Rolled his hips and imprinted his thick, engorged cock against my hungry core.
‘Oh God,’ I gasped, my arms flying around his neck, terrified of this intense, long-awaited replay being snatched from me.
He leaned closer, pinning me with more of his hard-packed body. ‘Do you know how fucking insane you’ve driven me with the memory of how you taste,bedda?’
Unintelligible sounds rattled from my throat, my head heavy with the surge of dizzying desire. It dropped forward, seeking another refresher of his mouth on mine.
But he reared back. ‘Uh huh. Not yet.’
‘Why not?’ I cringed at the faintest whine in my voice. ‘What’s the point of all this if you’re not…?’ I trailed off, my face heating with the need rocking through me.
