Page 18 of Heart's Temptation
Complete silence filled the car after Marko left. I was so angry I could barely contain the rage coursing through me. For years I’d lived with a broken heart and when I finally let go of the hurt and pain, kicked those broken pieces away and forged forward, she turned up.
Instantly, all those nights with nameless, faceless women who were only with me to party and get treated well for a night or two before being kicked to the curb seemed too insignificant when compared with Niki, because they were already insignificant.
She opened old wounds, her beauty and spirit mocking my inability to really put the past behind me. I hadn't moved on, I realized, only hardened my heart. Now here she was, tugging on my heartstrings once again. Damn! I’d help her, support her and even use her, but I couldn’t fall for her this time.
Unlike Marko, who casually dated when he needed to release his pent-up inner Daddy Dom, I never lost sight of Nicolette.
Now, here she sat, more than a decade later, looking exactly the same, and seeming perfectly fine with the exception of the unknown threat looming over her. Huddled in the blanket, she stared out the window, unguarded, her eyes telling her story.
I could see the loss of something was hidden behind her current anxiety. I always could read her clearly and knew what resonated deep within her.
Until the end that is.
Never would I have guessed she’d run from me and Marko. We’d loved and cherished her. Wanted to give her a life beyond imagining. According to Marko, she’d traded that in for a cramped apartment with barely anything to her name. Still, she’d made something of herself, on her own terms, but had it been worth the cost? Wondering what else she’d been up to all this time and with whom was part of the cause of my current rage. The other was having no control over her past, or my current emotional state.
My team of soldiers surrounded the vehicle to protect my newest asset, her. I opened her door, and taking her by the hand, tugged her out of the sedan. One of my younger cousins, Amergio, was included in the guards who moved to create a tight ring around us, ensuring we made it safely inside the building. He’d been a little kid when she left but I saw the recognition in his eyes when they landed on her.
It dawned on me that Amergio would alert the entire Vitale clan, and the Antonellis, my mother’s side of the family, that Nicolette was back. I groaned inwardly and made a mental note to inform my family myself that Niki was back temporarily and under my protection. That was all they needed to know.
Gripping my hands at my sides was the only way to keep myself from pinning her against the elevator wall and pillaging her mouth with my tongue. Instead, I concentrated on the number at the top of the elevator that counted off the floors as they whizzed by. As angry as I was, I still wanted her. My cock was rock-hard. Muscle memory. As soon as her perfume wafted in my direction, it stood at attention and had been painfully trying to escape my pants ever since.
At least driving the car had provided a distraction. That, and being pissed off at Marko. He never should’ve kept this from me, and I would ensure he’d learn from his mistake. Best friend or not, you don’t fuck with a Vitale.
With her proximity in the enclosed space, there was nothing to deter my most basic instinct, which was to fuck her six ways from Sunday. I ground my molars to keep me from losing the war. As soon as the elevator door slid open, I stepped out into the foyer of the luxurious penthouse, creating much needed space between us.
Like all my brothers, I had a suite at the Vitale family compound, but with my crazy hours, it made more sense for me to be amongst the hustle and bustle of the downtown.
Nicolette walked around, surveying the open-concept entrance and living space and the floor-to-ceiling windows that opened to a massive deck.
Unlike my brother Tano, I didn’t live in a jungle, with gigantic plants everywhere. I preferred a tidy Italian garden containing herbs and lots of flowers, and mine bordered the pool and hot tub to one side of the deck. On the other side, I’d set a small stage with a canopy. When I’d done it, I was thinking of private pole dances, but it had never been used, because I wasn’t much for having strangers in my personal space, especially strangers wanting to give me a pole dance.
Nicolette seemed intrigued by it. “What is that stage for?”
“Naked women,” I replied with a smirk. “So they can do a show before giving me a lap dance and sucking my cock.”
She spun and gazed at me. “Wow, just wow! So, you’ve used your time to become a real Italian pig, haven’t you, Gio?”
I was taken aback. Women never spoke to me that way, and I wasn’t about to allow her to. Keeping my mask of nonchalance in place, I returned her fiery gaze. “Careful, tesorina, I don’t take kindly to mouthy women and may take you over my lap and tan your backside.”
The threat hung between us like a promise of things to come. I didn't miss how my comment made her pupils dilate, or the way the pulse at the base of her swan-like neck quickened.
I quickly caged her against the wall. “Is that what you want, to be a naughty girl and get punished?”
My smokey tone had the desired effect. Her lips parted and I was close enough to claim her mouth with my tongue if I wanted.
I straightened quickly and had to dart out my hands to stabilize her or she would have toppled to the floor. “I hope you hold your balance better on stage, little ballerina.”
Her mouth dropped open, as if to retort, but she slammed her pouty lips closed and glared at me instead.
“Wise decision. Come, I will show you to your room.”
I led her into the guest suite, which had access to the deck, and she sat on the bed and gazed around generous space. The elevator pinged again, this time with my men bringing in her luggage. I directed them where to put it and they left.
“There is plenty of food in the kitchen if you are hungry. Dinner is at six pm. Be ready to go to the studio tonight as the rest will be arriving and we need to go over details with the entire company. I don’t want anything left to chance, so after you and your director have had a chance to see the space and what it offers, you can give me a list of what is needed.”
She didn’t say anything, or even look in my direction.
“Nicolette!” I snapped. “You will respond when spoken to, is that clear?”