by Zavi James
I let out a nervous laugh and admitted, “Lucas is attractive.”
I wasn’t blind. The man looked after himself and his take no shit attitude was bound to get any woman hot under the collar. But he was also arrogant and cold. Not only that, but Lucas's work was shady and highly questionable in the eyes of the law. Not something any sane person would want to get themselves caught up in.
“You’re telling me,” Dom agreed.
“But,” I started. “There’s nothing there and there never will be.”
Because there couldn’t be. It would be ridiculous to even entertain the thought. And yet, the memory of his lips at the base of my neck blossomed vividly in my mind. Maybe it would work in a different life where we were different people under different circumstances but that wasn’t our reality.
Dom shook his head at me and looked disappointed. “You’re too quick to write him off, Mia. You should try to get to know him.”
It was already late by the time we got back to the house and Dom helped me carry the bags up to my room. It had been nice to have a small speckle of normality in the form of shopping when my life had been anything but recently.
“How about you go and try on my gifts?” Dom suggested.
“You’re finally going to let me see what you got me?”
He held the bag out and I took it from him.
“I’ll wait here,” he said, dropping onto the end of my bed. I left him there and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind me.
Pushing the cream tissue paper aside, I pulled out the gifts Dom had bought, and my jaw dropped. There was an array of lace, silk and leather. These were things I never would have chosen for myself.
“Dom! What the hell are these?!” I yelled through the door, fingers brushing over the intricate ivory lace of a bodysuit that would leave little to the imagination. I could hear him laughing from the other side. “You’re an idiot!”
“Stop being such a prude and try something on,” he called back to me.
I pull out a silk dress that would barely give me any modesty. “I’m never going to wear these!”
“Luc might appreciate them.”
I blushed at the thought. I would be mortified if Lucas ever caught me in something like this. If anyone ever caught me in something like this. I rummaged around for the least revealing thing I could find and started to pull it on.
Chapter Seven
Lucas
It had taken longer than I would have liked to have everything signed off, but there was a sense of satisfaction as the ink dried on the paper. A celebratory drink capped off business for the day so I could finally make my way home.
I’d never been eager to walk back into the house after a day of work, but dinner with Mia, now that we had finally been able to get through conversations without arguing, had become a highlight. The conversation didn’t flow as easily as I would have liked. She tried to ask about work but I was reluctant to let her know anything other than the bare basics. It would be a shame to have to silence her permanently, but that was a potential possibility when she didn’t know how to keep her mouth shut.
That wasn’t the only reason that conversation had been strained. Mia had found her way into my thoughts whenever there was a lull in my day. I’d found myself wondering about the mysterious ink she could not show me and longing for the warmth of her bare skin against mine. I couldn’t act on those impulses, no matter how strong they had become, because Mia was purely business.
Regardless, I found myself climbing the stairs to see her. I told her to have dinner without me, but it was a part of my routine and something felt misplaced since I hadn’t seen her this evening.
The door to her room was open and Dom was lying back on her bed, laughing to himself.
“Dominic.”
He jumped and shot upright. “Hey, Luc.”
“Where’s Mia?”
Dom nodded towards the bathroom door as he answered, “She’s trying on some clothes.”
“Did everything go smoothly today?” I asked him. “Did she get everything she needed?”
“Within reason,” he answered. I narrowed my eyes and he continued, “She didn’t take your card.”
I frowned at that admission. Why wouldn’t she take it when I gave it to her? I’d given her the freedom to be able to pick up anything she wanted with no restraints. I had no idea what she would need so it seemed unfair to give her limitations.
“Other than that, perfectly fine. She found everything she wanted and a few extras.”
“Thanks for keeping an eye on her.”
“Part of the job, boss.”
“I’d like to see Mia alone,” I told him, rubbing the back of my neck. “Just to check that she’s okay.”
Dom got up from the bed and gave me a curt nod. “Absolutely fine by me.”
He left, closing the door, and I sat down on the edge of the bed, waiting for Mia. I dropped my head into my hands and tried to straighten out my thoughts. Why am I here? Dom said she’s fine. I should leave her to her evening but there’s a desire to see her, hear her… touch her.
No.
I should not mix business with pleasure. Not where Mia was concerned.
I’d watched her closely over the past two weeks. The way she wanted to help Lydia, the way she laughed with Dom and the way she devoured novel after novel. Mia was not a woman that belonged in my world in any form, other than what she had been brought here for. To imagine her in my bed was all well and good, but that steely spirit would be broken with ease in my line of work. Her fierce attitude had been forged through the typical hardships that an average person would face, not through a life where you constantly strived to stay ahead of the curve because falling behind could mean death.
“Dom, I’m not being funny but when the hell am I ever going to wear…?”
Mia stumbled out of the bathroom dressed in a tight leather dress that showed more skin than I’d seen her opt to display herself. I felt the blood run south and my logic clouded over as my eyes stayed fixated on the woman before me. She’d taken a barefooted few steps in my direction before looking up and realizing that I was not Dominic.
“Oh my God,” Mia said, eyes wide and she turned away quickly, but I refused to let her go so easily. I pushed myself up from the bed and grabbed her around the waist so that she faced me again. Any sense I had to keep my distance from her had ceased to exist.
“Lucas, this is not… I wouldn’t… Dom,” she floundered while her face flushed red.
I don’t think I’d ever been so grateful to have Dominic in my employment.
“I like it,” I told her, my voice low and husky from the effect she’d had on me. Mia’s body had mesmerized me, the way her figure dipped and curved and the hint of black ink that peaked from her cleavage.
Pulling her flush against my body, I felt no resistance from her. Without shoes, I appreciated just how petite she was next to my frame, her head coming to just beneath my chin. I took her hand in mine and lifted it to my mouth, kissing the bruised skin on her wrist in a silent promise that I wouldn’t do anything she was uncomfortable with. Any sign of resistance, any reluctance from Mia, and I would leave. I may have been a man with red on my ledger but there were lines that I would never cross. She didn’t pull away.
Leaning down, I kissed her neck before whispering, “You have no idea what I want to do to you right now.”
A verbal cue that the control I had forced myself to maintain around her was quickly slipping. She shivered against me as I brought my lips back to her neck, trailing kisses down the column of her throat and across her bare shoulder. Her skin was still warm from the heat of the summer sun and I wanted to drink her in.
“Why don’t you show me?” she whispered back, the faint tremor betraying the confidence of her words.
I needed no more encouragement from Mia to move my lips from her shoulder to her mouth, finally allowing myself to taste her. My tongue pushed its way past her lips, fueled by lust and des
ire. The hunger to have her, all of her, and finally quiet the late-night thoughts had her pinned against the wall in moments.
“Mia.” It came out as a growl as I returned the kisses to her neck. My hands slipped from her waist to her hips and I turned her around to face the wall.
“What are you doing?” she asked me over her shoulder. Her lips were swollen, and eyes hooded from the exchange. Mia was a woman who liked some level of control, I’d seen that from our conversations, but that would not be the case here.
“Getting you out of this dress,” I answered her as I took the zipper between my thumb and index finger and dragged it down, knuckles brushing against the length of her spine. My hands slipped underneath the tight fabric and cupped her breasts. Her nipples hardened at my touch as I kissed her shoulder.
“Lucas.” My name was a breathless moan on Mia’s lips as she tipped her head back, pushing her chest into my hands. My erection grew, seeing the way she responded to my touch, and I pushed my hips against the back of her so she could feel it. No fantasy could compare to having her up against me in that moment.
A curt knock on the door caused Mia to tense but I didn’t stop. I wasn’t sure I was capable of control. My fingers rolled her nipples and she bit on her lip to keep quiet.
The knock sounded again.
“What?!” I called, irritated at the interruption. There had better be someone bleeding out in the house, to be worth this disturbance.
“Sorry, boss,” Dom’s voice drifted through the barrier, sounding uncertain. “Business at the door.”
Careful what you wish for.
“I’ll be there now.”
Dom wouldn’t have sought me out unless it was something he couldn’t deal with himself, which meant, as annoyed as I was, I needed to tend to this. I removed my hands from inside Mia’s dress and turned her gently to face me. Her large, doe eyes reflected the lusty haze of my own.
“I need to sort this out,” I told her gently, running a hand down the side of her face. There was not a single cell in my body that wanted to leave her. Not when I had finally gotten to knock down enough walls that she would let me this close. “Get some rest, Mia.”
I pressed a kiss to her cheek, unsure of how long this business would take, and took a deep breath before walking out of the room, trying my best to ignore the painful hard-on in my pants. This was exactly what I had tried to avoid.
“Dom, who the fuck,” I started as I made my way down the stairs.
Standing in the entrance hall of my home was a familiar busty blonde who flashed me a grin. “Why, hello doll. Miss me?”
∞∞∞
Last night, things had gotten out of hand. I should never have taken things that far with Mia. She was business and that was the way it would stay. I couldn’t allow myself to lose hold on the reins again. To make Mia anything other than business would only complicate matters.
“Slept in today, Lucas?” Lydia commented as I walked into the kitchen the next morning.
“It was a late night,” I told her. She handed me a mug of coffee and I took it gratefully, needing the pick me up.
“With Mia?” Lydia asked, almost making me choke on my sip. “Dom mentioned you went to see her.”
"Dom needs to learn to keep his mouth shut," I said, irritated at the gossip under my roof. I didn’t need people forming incorrect ideas. Though, I guess they wouldn’t be far from the truth if last night had continued without disruption.
“I woke up and you weren’t there.”
Standing in the doorway to the kitchen was the tall, blonde woman from last night dressed in nothing more than my shirt.
“Hello, Lydia,” she greeted my housekeeper.
If looks could kill, Lydia would have been as lethal as I was. The woman let every emotion run across her face but that was why we had always been close. She didn’t bother with bullshit. "Amber," she greeted in return.
Lydia turned towards me and I felt as if I was 15 again and waiting for her to say she was disappointed in me, but instead she said nothing. She had never been too fond of Amber and had dropped several not very subtle hints to let me know as much, but this was my life. This was an aspect that was left to me alone.
Amber sauntered up and took the mug from my hands, swaying her hips with the movement. “I was thinking maybe we could spend some time together today. It’s been a while.” She reached up and kissed me.
“Maybe,” I muttered, noncommittal.
Amber was the only woman I had any form of attachment to. Over the years we’d kept each other company, filling lonely nights and plus-one requirements. She was fully aware of my line of work and it suited her fine, considering all the things that my money had bought her. I hadn’t seen her since Mia moved in, and Amber hadn’t taken kindly to being ignored. Hence me being whined at in my kitchen.
“How about you take me out to lunch?” Amber suggested, sipping from the coffee mug, eyelashes fluttering over the top.
I leaned back against the kitchen counter and Amber leaned against me. Personal space was not a concept that she was clear on. Sighing, I wrapped an arm around her waist and gave in. Sometimes the path of least resistance led to a less stressful life. Dad had taught me to pick my battles. “You choose and we’ll go.”
Dante walked into the kitchen and caught my eye, arching an eyebrow at the display. “Boss,” he said with a nod. “Amber.”
“Dante, doll,” Amber cooed. I prayed that this morning would not consist of me breaking up a fight between the pair. Dante’s child-like wonder and charm were wasted on Amber and her incessant need for attention pulled out the worst in him. “I hope you’re not about to tell Luc that you’ve got work to do.”
“There’s a few things that require his attention,” Dante said with a shrug, directing his response at me.
I gave a small nod as Dante grabbed a plate of food from Lydia before she disappeared, muttering to herself and I caught the word “standards”. Extracting myself from Amber, I joined Dante at the table.
“What’s happened?” I asked him.
He kept his voice low as he replied, “Your mother.”
I paled at the mention of my mother. What had happened now?
Amber made her way over to us, coffee still clutched in her hands, before she dropped herself into my lap, but my mind was too focused on what Dante had said. Shifting, I pulled my phone from my pocket to see it was still on silent and that I had a string of missed calls.
“I need to make a few calls,” I said, shifting Amber from my lap and stepping out the back doors to get some privacy.
Chapter Eight
Mia
“Mia!”
I walked into the kitchen to see Dante grinning at me. He stood by the coffee machine and was adding spoon after spoon of sugar. By this point, I would have wagered there was more sugar than coffee in his mug. Dante’s cheery disposition was a welcomed change of pace in the house, and I hoped his presence would make it less awkward this morning.
I pulled my hair into a high ponytail, dressed for my morning run, as I said, “D, what did I say about the sugar?”
“That you think I’m sweet enough?”
Rolling my eyes, I grabbed a mug from the cupboard. It had been a restless night and coffee was a necessity rather than a luxury. Part of me wondered if Lucas would come back to my room to finish what he had started, but there had been no sign of him. I had no idea how we stepped over the boundary or what he had been thinking. Something in me buckled the moment he pulled me into him, and I wished I could have shown more resistance. For a few hazy moments, I had been ready to give in to the less logical side of my thought process.
I wasn’t sure whether it was something we should discuss, or whether to just let it be swept under the carpet as a spur of the moment mistake. I was hoping seeing him would help to guide the discussion.
“Dante, aren’t you going to introduce us?”
When I turned around my eyes landed on a woman who was sitting at Lucas’s s
pot at the head of the table. His shirt from last night draped over her body. The way she sat displayed her long, lean limbs and her blue eyes drank me in. The sight of her caused something in me to dislodge as if a cold bucket of water had been thrown over me, and I had some clarity on the situation.
“Hi, doll,” the woman continued. “You work here now?”
“Something like that,” I said. I abandoned the mug and braced myself against the counter in what I hoped was a casual gesture. I didn’t need someone to draw me a diagram.
“Mia, this is Amber. She’s…” Dante swept in.
“So, Amber,” I said, finding my voice. What was I meant to say to this woman? I just didn’t want an awkward silence.
“Yes, doll?”
“You and Lucas?” I asked because apparently, my brain struggled for any form of small talk and quite obviously it wouldn’t be Dom.
“You know what it’s like,” she said with a smile. Everything about this woman reminded me of a feline, a predator. She and Lucas were perfectly matched. “He’s busy with work but when we’re together we can’t keep our hands off each other.”
My body tensed at the statement. Last night Lucas would have had me in bed in minutes if we hadn’t been interrupted, and now I saw what had kept his attention. He had spent the night with Amber instead. I had been a placeholder until she had turned up. That thought felt like a punch to the gut and I swallowed the humiliation as it lodged in my throat.
Dante put an arm around me and rubbed my arm so that I looked up at him as he spoke. “I’m sure Mia has trouble fighting off male attention.”
I was grateful that he’d found a way to make me look like less of an idiot than I felt.
"You want to tell us something, Dante?" Amber teased, tone slightly off playful and more akin to spiteful. "Do you have a little crush?"
"Sorry about that. What did I miss?" Lucas stepped back in from the grounds and I caught his eye for a split second before looking away.
“Mia,” he said my name quietly as if he hadn’t expected me to show up at breakfast this morning. When I looked up at him again, I could see the stress written across his features. His eyes flitted to Dante and the stress morphed into anger.
