A Private Affair

by A. C. Arthur

  In one night, Riley Gold might have completely damned him.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “LET’S GO SIGHTSEEING,” Chaz suggested the next morning. “Isn’t that what people do in Milan?”

  They were sitting across from each other at a round table positioned close to a window.

  “Unless you’re in the industry and then Milan’s mostly about work.” Her response was a bit curt as she stared down at her tablet. She moved a finger over the screen, going from one email message to another, reading and scribbling notes in the stripe-covered notebook beside the tablet. To the other side was a small plate with an untouched croissant and a half-full cup of coffee that was undoubtedly cold by now.

  “You do know what a vacation is, don’t you, Riley?” He didn’t wait for her to respond. “It’s when you leave work at the office and just relax. Lie in bed all day or go see places you normally don’t get a chance to see when you’re so busy working.”

  She didn’t move her head but raised her eyes to stare at him. It was one of the sexiest things he’d ever seen.

  “I know what a vacation is. I also know that Fashion Week is right around the corner—”

  “And it’ll still be around the corner when we return to New York tomorrow.”

  She shook her head and returned to her emails. “I’m not surprised you don’t understand.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Chaz was sitting back in the chair, his tuxedo pants on but not buttoned, his feet and chest bare.

  Riley sighed and crossed one leg over the other. “You’re not as invested in this business as I am. Sure, you’re at King Designs now, rebranding all of Tobias’s lines that are flailing, but everybody knows your real love is your social media chain.”

  She knew more about him than Chaz had presumed. He’d process how he felt about that later. Right now, Ms. Gold needed to be corrected.

  “I don’t do anything half-assed,” he countered.

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “But it’s how you presented it. And yeah, I came back to New York to help my uncle rebrand some of the lines that had taken a backseat to the expensive couture designs. I’m rebuilding areas that needed more attention not because they’re flailing, but because King Designs needs to remain a full-service fashion house. And thankfully, Conversation Media, my Fortune 500 company, is doing well enough that I could afford to step away for a while to do what I can for family. That’s called loyalty.”

  She tilted her head and folded her arms over her chest. She’d gotten out of the bed before him, and when he woke, she was wearing fuchsia satin pajama pants and top. Her hair had been smoothed back and hung in a long tail down her back. She wasn’t wearing any makeup and was still stunning.

  “Again, I didn’t mean to offend you. I was just saying that you may not have as much at stake since King is your secondary job.”

  He wondered if she realized she’d just offended him again. Luckily, Chaz had a thick skin and was more amused than offended. Riley honestly thought she was stating a fact and nothing else.

  “My family is important to me. Just as yours is to you. But putting that aside, this is still a vacation. So, let’s get dressed and head out for a fun-filled day like other coup—ah, other tourists.”

  With any other woman Chaz might have been lucky enough to avoid the mistake he’d just made. Not with Riley.

  “We are not a couple. And for that reason, plus a half dozen others, we cannot go traipsing around Milan seeing the sights and soaking up the local flavor.”

  “The couple thing is just a title. Tell me the real reason you don’t want to go out.” Because she was being way too adamant about this.

  “That’s the reason. We’re not a couple. In fact, for all intents and purposes, we’re enemies. The press would have a ball writing headlines about us being together in Milan and my father would freak when he saw them. Your uncle probably would, too.”

  “That feud is theirs not ours.” He knew that wasn’t going to be enough so he held up a hand to stop her rebuttal. “But I get it. Why add fuel to the flame? Fine. Then we’ll have to figure out something fun we can do in this room.”

  Riley arched one elegant brow and Chaz’s dick jumped on command.

  “Man, Riley, you are killing me!” he groaned and shook his head. “But I’d rather not spend my one and only day with the Riley Gold in bed. And if you ever repeat that I’ll have to kill you.”

  She laughed.

  It was a quick burst that sounded so pure and so infectious that Chaz found himself smiling, too.

  “So tell me, if I wasn’t here right now and you weren’t working, what would you do today?”

  She was still smiling when she shrugged. “Probably lie on the couch and watch movies.”

  “Okay.” He shook his head. “We can do that. What type of movies do you like?”

  He almost said he didn’t want to watch any romantic comedies or movies where women got even by killing their spouses or whoever wronged them, but he refrained. If she named a movie like that Chaz would have to suck it up and watch, just for the sake of being with her.

  “You sure you want me to pick the movie?”

  No. He wasn’t.

  “Yeah, I’m sure.”

  “Okay, but don’t forget this was your idea.”

  * * *

  It wasn’t cozy sitting on the hotel couch with her legs stretched over Chaz’s lap. And she hadn’t enjoyed the risotto alla Milanese much more than she had ever before because he’d been laughing at her for eating what was essentially a bowl of rice while he savored his so-called heartier dish of osso buco.

  Similarly, the movie they were watching was one of her favorites. She’d seen it so many times that she’d saved it on her tablet, which they’d hooked up to the television. So the reason she was laughing and seeing Joe and Kathleen fall in love differently had nothing to do with Chaz’s lively commentary throughout the film. Nothing at all.

  And she absolutely was not turned on by the fact that he’d watched not only one of her favorite romantic comedies, but three. They were on their fourth one. They’d been on this couch all day, getting up only to use the bathroom and answer the door for room service. Riley couldn’t recall when she’d spent such a relaxing and entertaining day. But she wasn’t going to give Chaz all the credit. He just happened to be here with her. All day long.

  With that thought Riley pulled her legs away from his lap, bringing them up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them.

  “We can turn this off now. It’s almost over, anyway,” she told him.

  He’d watched her legs as they moved and now dragged those sinfully dark brown eyes up to meet hers.

  “When it’s over, we can pick the next one or go sit on the balcony for a while if you need to get some air.”

  Riley needed more than air to understand why she’d put herself in this position in the first place. It was foolish to believe she could spend one full day with this man, or any man for that matter. Why bother kidding herself about ever having a fulfilling relationship? That wasn’t in the plans.

  “I think I’ve watched enough movies for today.”

  Riley stared at the television. She’d seen enough women find their perfect guys and keep them. Yes, watching romantic comedies with him was an even bigger mistake than agreeing to this twenty-four-hour tryst.

  “Is that really what’s going on, Riley?”

  Her head snapped back so she could look at him. “I know when I’ve had enough of watching movies, Chaz.”

  This was the second time today she’d snapped at him. The first had been during breakfast when he’d done exactly what he was doing now—looking at her as if he knew something she was too daft or too stubborn to admit.

  “Or have you had enough of this?”

  This?

  It was not
hing. That was what she’d been telling herself for the past few hours when her mind drifted to how their current situation resembled so many of the movies they’d been watching. A man and a woman getting to know each other, feeling the attraction between them brewing and deciding how best to proceed to get what they wanted most—happy-ever-after.

  “I agreed to one night and then went along with a full twenty-four hours,” she said because that was the best excuse she had for getting herself into this predicament. Riley did not go back on her word, no matter how uncomfortable she might feel.

  “And you were fine with that twenty-four hours being just about sex.”

  “That’s all there is,” she replied and turned on the couch to drop her legs to the floor. The former position made her feel too vulnerable, to unsure of herself.

  “That’s cool, Riley. If you can’t take anything else, we can do what we agreed.”

  Chaz got up from the couch and came to stand in front of her.

  “Here or in the bedroom?”

  After breakfast he’d gone down to his room. When he returned, he was wearing sweatpants, pristine white tennis shoes and a white T-shirt that molded to every indentation of his chest. All of that gorgeousness was standing in front of her now, offering her everything she’d dreamed of sexually. Riley swallowed. Hard.

  From this position it was just a matter of reaching out, pushing the pants down past his hips and freeing his cock. She could have him in her mouth in seconds. She’d thought about that very act all night long.

  “I wouldn’t have guessed this arrangement would irritate you so much. After all, it was your suggestion.” Her words were a stall tactic, which Riley hated having to use.

  “Not irritated, Riley, baby. Aroused.”

  He licked his lips and lifted a hand to his chest, letting it glide slowly down until it grazed the very noticeable and very hard bulge of his dick through the sweatpants.

  She resisted the urge to lick her lips, too.

  “I know the difference, Chaz. And regardless of our agreement, I’m not going to have angry sex with you.”

  He tossed his head back and laughed.

  “You’re not going to watch movies with me all day long and you’re not going to have sex with me. So, tell me, Riley, what are we going to do?”

  This was ridiculous. It was frustrating and embarrassing. All the things she’d felt anytime she was with Walt.

  “Fine,” she snapped.

  Her fingers shook only slightly as she grabbed the waist of his sweatpants. He took another step closer and Riley pushed the pants down past his hips. She didn’t bother pushing the boxers down, but instead reached her hand inside the opening and grabbed his dick.

  “That’s it, baby. Take what you want.”

  His words were raspy and sounded dirty.

  She liked them.

  Riley scooted her butt to the edge of the couch, spreading her legs so that Chaz was now standing between them. She jerked her hand from the base of his length to the tip, watching hungrily as her fingers moved over the silky dark skin. Her mouth watered and she dipped her head, extended her tongue and took her first taste.

  She owned a penthouse in Manhattan, a Lamborghini, had a trust fund she hadn’t touched a penny of yet and, thanks to her budding career and smart investments, became a millionaire years ago at the age of twenty-five. But nothing she’d accomplished up to this point in her life had given Riley the surge of power she felt with Chaz’s dick in her mouth.

  With her throat muscles relaxed, she took in his full length. Hollowing her cheeks, she sucked while her tongue licked the bottom of his shaft. One hand was still at the base of his dick, holding him in place while the other fondled his heavy sac. Her eyes were closed as she worked her mouth over him while the sound of his guttural moans and the feel of his fingers raking over her scalp, pushing away the band that held her hair, rang like music to her ears.

  He pulled back and pumped into her mouth with slow movements that almost seemed painful if the sound of his grunts were any indication. But the way he held her head so tight to him and the slight tremble in his thighs when she held him deep in her throat made Riley feel as if she were flying. Soaring actually, over the entire world that had read Walt’s stupid article and believed every word about her being frigid and inexperienced in the bedroom.

  “Damn! Your freakin’ mouth!” His words were punctuated with deep breaths and loud exhales. “Your sweet, hot little mouth.”

  Riley let her lips slide over his dick as she pulled back slowly. He wrapped her hair around his fingers and gripped tighter, trying to keep her from releasing him completely. That wasn’t her plan. Instead she flicked her tongue over the crest of his cock, easing into the slit that dripped sugared drops of his pre-cum. He hissed, sucking air through clenched teeth as his head fell back on his shoulders. Riley had looked up just in time to see the moment of surrender in this infamous sophisticated billionaire. Triumph was like a nightcap and they hadn’t even experienced the full meal yet.

  She knew the moment Chaz had reached his breaking point when just as she sucked him in deep again and tightened her mouth around him, he released her head and stepped back from her hastily.

  “Take off your clothes,” he grumbled as he pulled his shirt up and over his head in a matter of seconds.

  Riley didn’t bother being offended by his command. She could still be in control of this interlude. When she was naked, she stood. Chaz had just finished removing his shoes and was taking a condom out of his wallet before tossing the wallet onto the table and pushing his pants and boxers down and off. He must have replenished his condom stash when he went to his room because the two leftover from last night were still on the nightstand in the bedroom. This one Chaz held between his teeth while he removed the rest of his clothes. Riley stepped forward, snapping the packet away from him. She tore it open and removed the latex so that when he stood gloriously naked in front of her she quickly sheathed him.

  “This is what you want?” It was a question he didn’t give her a chance to answer because before Riley could speak Chaz wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against his chest.

  She tilted her head to stare up at him and he bent down to meet her, crashing his lips over hers and taking a brutally hot kiss. Tongues, teeth and moans mixed and mingled while naked bodies pressed together in the middle of the living room in a luxury Milan hotel. This could have been a scene in a movie—a tawdry sex flick, not the romantic comedies they’d been watching all day.

  He lifted her off the floor, wrapping her legs around his waist while his mouth still worked over hers. Riley wrapped her arms tightly around his neck as Chaz moved them back to the couch. She wasn’t thinking of anything now besides how good his kisses were and how the taste of him would forever be emblazoned in her mind when he sat on the couch, holding her close on his lap. Riley eagerly pulled away from his mouth. She dropped her hands between their bodies and grabbed his cock while lifting her body to position herself over him.

  “Now.” She breathed the single word just as the tip of his dick touched her wet opening.

  “Whatever you want,” he replied before taking her nipple between his teeth for a quick tug.

  Riley gasped and slammed down onto him. He filled her completely, snugly but comfortably. It took her a couple seconds to let the pleasure of his presence inside ripple up her spine and spread throughout her body. Then she was riding, coming up on her knees and rotating her hips in a rhythm that once again had Chaz gasping and murmuring something about her lips, her tightness and how much he enjoyed all of the above. She marveled in the words, let them wash over her along with the unmitigated pleasure sex with him was bringing her. He matched her rhythm, cupping her butt tightly and licking her breasts as she arched over him.

  Riley was definitely soaring now, but this time it was over puffy white clouds that lulled her into
a place where only pleasure existed. She bounced over him knowing that it could only get better from this point.

  “Yes, Riley! Take everything you want. Let go and take it all.”

  He gave her permission. She took it and more until her release crashed over her, splintering her into a million pieces that scattered over sweet blissful clouds.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Manhattan, New York

  One week later

  RILEY WAS IN her element. She walked around her desk, flipping through the report that Korey, her assistant, had just handed her.

  “These projections are off.” She glanced across the page to the end of each row, then down to the bottom to get the totals. Numbers were Riley’s nirvana. She’d always been able to gather and analyze data fast and accurately. A talent that had guided her decision to focus on market research within the company.

  “Which is probably why Sigmund has been calling every day since he sent them over. I don’t know how many times I had to tell him that you were on vacation.”

  Korey was a recent college graduate with an eye for detail and excellent fashion sense. Today he wore black slacks, suede shoes and a black button-front dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Normally that look proved too casual and just slightly messy for Riley, but Korey made it appear classic.

  “Get him on the phone. He has to do better. We’re paying him too much money and we’ve got way too much riding on this for him to flake on us now.”

  “No problem. Let’s see, it’s about seven in the morning his time, but he should be up.”

  Riley flipped back to the first page and paused when her stomach made an unruly sound.