They both laughed. Reno Gabrini was a hotel and casino mogul in his own right. “You’re a very special lady,” Alex said to Kari. “Reno thinks so too. And his wife Trina told me to be sure to bring you with me next time I’m in Vegas. She said if I didn’t bring you, I wasn’t to come myself.”
Kari grinned. “That Trina! But this is only Monday and you’ve got an immediate trip at hand, one you need to get going to. And don’t worry at all about not being able to stay and have lunch with me. I’ll be fine. This won’t be the first time I’ve eaten alone.”
Alex was upset with himself for his decision to keep expanding when he needed to slow his ass down. Especially now that Kari had already warned him that she was going to take his shit just so long. But despite his need to leave, he couldn’t part with her so easily. And he had an idea. “Are you hungry?” he asked her.
“Not really, no. I ate a pretty hearty breakfast this morning. Why?”
Alex rose to his feet and stood behind her chair, assisting her to her feet. “Give me your valet ticket,” he said as she stood.
Kari looked back at him. “My ticket? What for?”
“My limo is here. One of my men will drive your car to your office, and my limo driver will take you there after I’m on the plane.” He gave her a hard, sensual look, one she was well familiar with. “I want you to ride with me,” he said softly.
Kari understood exactly what kind of riding Alex meant. He was about to go on a long plane trip to handle business, and he wanted her, not so much to ride with him as he had said in polite company, but to ride him! And, knowing Alex, he wanted her to ride him hard before he left. An idea that she, and her underused vagina given Alex’s recent absences, were warming to.
She took her valet ticket out of her purse, and she handed it to Alex.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
He pressed the button that pulled up the privacy partition in his limo, and then a second button that pulled up extra tint on all of the windows. He had already removed Kari’s panties, and had just placed her on his lap, straddling him and facing him, when he pressed those buttons. She smiled and placed her arms around his neck. His driver was taking them on a slow drive to the airport.
“Comfy?” he asked her.
“On my man’s lap?” she asked as she ran her fingers through his thick, silky hair. “You know it, baby.”
Alex smiled, as spider lines appeared on the side of his eyes. Kari took one of her hands from around his neck and rubbed those lines. They were so opposite in so many ways: age, race, likes, dislikes. But their hearts seemed to be exactly the same.
And as she stared into his eyes, he stared into hers. And he felt compelled to say those words he’d never said to any woman, except Kari. “I love you, Karena,” he said to her.
A lump appeared in Kari’s throat. It wasn’t the first time he had said those words to her, but it always felt like the first time. “I love you, too, Alexio,” she said, using his birth name as he was using hers, and they both smiled.
He gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. “I often wonder where I would be if you had not come into my life. After what happened with my son - with his suicide, and what happened to my daughter - with her arrest, I was fairly certain happiness was not meant for me. Not ever. Not in this lifetime, anyway. Then you appeared, on that dreary night at Lucinda’s, and changed everything.”
His hand moved between her legs and he began gently rubbing her clit. “Everything, Kari,” he said as she closed her eyes to the tenderness of his touch and leaned her head back, exposing her beautiful neck.
Alex stared at that neck, at those big breasts, at Kari as he rubbed her. And he began remembering her grin. Not her smile. But the way she grinned that night in that diner. And how she had him feeling like a kid again, and she had him grinning too!
He placed his free hand under her chin, lifted her face to his, and kissed her gently on the lips. First one, and then another one, and then another kiss. But when she parted her lips, and he placed his tongue inside of her sweet mouth, his control broke. And he began rubbing her harder, making her wetter, and kissing her with far more urgent, passionate kisses.
And then it wouldn’t do. He lifted her from his lap and laid her on the seat of his limousine. He lifted her dress up to her navel, moved his head between her legs, and began massaging her, with achingly slow licks, with his tongue.
Kari held onto the door handle as his mouth moved deeper and deeper into her wetness. He raked over her clitoris repeatedly as he licked and ate her, and the more he raked and ate, the more she could feel her control about to break too. But it was about to break into an orgasm so powerful she didn’t know if she could handle it.
But when Alex moved up, lifted her dress and bra up to her neck, and then began sucking her breast, it was no longer a matter of when she came. She was cumming! She was on the verge of total cum. She held onto his hair as he sucked her, until she felt that big, imposing, pleasure pole of a cock ease inside of her. She didn’t even realize he had unzipped and pulled it out! But he had. And it eased in, and then shoved.
Kari gave out a loud sigh of sensual joy when Alex shoved it inside of her, and her body lifted up all at once as if she was levitating.
Alex pulled her back down, and got on top of her, and fucked her so hard and so passionately that his breathing were harsh grunts and groans where just the sound aided and abetted Kari’s orgasm.
She came hard. She came in a way that made her small body shiver beneath Alex’s big body, and that made her fight to breathe in the euphoria of the man she loved doing her the way she could never have dreamed was possible.
Alex was still fucking her as she came. He could not ease up. He loved that feeling when she tightened even more and pulsated and throbbed as his dick kept moving deeper inside of her. He held her down, with her legs bent up and resting on either side of his body, as he kissed her and fucked her harder and harder as if there was no way he could ever stop.
So hard that his dam broke too, and he drenched her with his love.
But even as he poured into her, he still couldn’t stop fucking her. The idea that he was going to be away from her, when he’d only just gotten back in town to her, angered and saddened and worried him. He needed to leave his mark. Contrary to what the world might think, it was Kari who held the trump card in their relationship. It was Kari who could get tired of his bullshit and leave him, not the other way around as they all thought. It was Kari.
And by the time Alex finished fucking her, and the limo arrived at the airstrip, it was Kari who also had a secret. No matter how big she talked about her independence. No matter how much she boasted about doing everything her way. It was Alex who had her heart in his hands. It was Alex she was beginning to wonder if she would ever be able to live without. It was Alex.
And when he finally stopped putting it on her, and collapsed in her arms, it was Alex who still couldn’t pull himself to get out of that limo, and let her go.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Bavaria, a southeastern German state on the borders of Liechtenstein and the Czech Republic, was known for its medieval castles with breathtaking views, and beautiful hotels. One such hotel, the Hotel Weisen, in the capital city of Munich, was awaiting the arrival of a dignitary. And not just any dignitary, but a Greek billionaire. The Vice President of Guest Services walked out of the lobby and stood under the portico. He felt the chill as soon as he stepped out.
“It’s cold already,” he said to his General Manager, who was already outside and waiting.
“This is nothing. They expect a freeze tonight.”
“Terrific.” The VP blew into his hand. “Just terrific.”
The hotel was American-owned and operated, with all of the top tier staff English speakers. And although Alex Drakos bore American citizenship himself, he was known around Europe, and to most Europeans, for his Greek ancestry. And for the Drakos family’s checkered past.
“How far is he now?” the VP asked.
<
br /> “Five minutes. Maybe less. He just got out of some tough negotiations across town, but he will be staying with us for the remainder of his time in Germany.”
“I was hoping for a stress-free week,” said the VP.
“As was I,” replied the GM.
“No dignitaries. No restless billionaires. The week has only just begun, and we’ve already got ourselves an A-lister.”
“The GM looked at the VP. “Why is he here anyway?”
“You know why. He wants to expand his empire. Why else?”
“But why us, I mean? We are a big hotel. A luxury hotel. But we are not, by any means, the best hotel even here in Munich.”
“You know people like him,” said the VP. “He wants to buy us low, make us the best hotel around, and then sell us high. That is his stock and trade, as they say. He owns nothing for very long. Not property. Not women. Not his own children. That is how he operates.”
The GM shook his head. “A man who would put his own daughter in prison for stealing from him, no matter what the amount, and would lead his son to suicide, is not the kind of man I can admire.”
“Here here,” said the VP. “And that family of his in Greece? Those gangsters? What is the board thinking even entertaining such nonsense! But what are we to do? We are mere minions compared to him. All we can do is smile a big smile and put on a good show. And hope, when the ink dries and he is our new owner, that he will allow us to keep our jobs. But never mind. He’s here!”
Three SUVs drove under the portico and stopped at the entrance doors. The GM was about to open the backdoor of the middle one, to greet their V.I.P. arrival, but the bodyguard stepped out of the front passenger seat and quickly held up his hand. “Back away from the vehicle, please,” he ordered.
The GM quickly did as he was told. And then looked at the VP. The VP shook his head. “Get used to it,” he said.
And they waited. For nearly five minutes they waited. They could tell, scantily from the SUV’s tinted windows, that the subject in the backseat was on the telephone. Which made it an understandable wait. But they still felt smaller for it. One of them, the GM, wanted to pull out a cigarette in his own act of defiance.
But before he could be so bold, the bodyguard opened the vehicle’s backdoor, and Alexander Drakos stepped out buttoning his suit coat.
This was their first in-person meeting of the man known the world over as the playboy billionaire, and like most who meet him for the first time, they were both surprised by his muscular frame, and by his warm demeanor. And that suit he was buttoning was so well-appointed and fit so divinely that the VP, who viewed himself as somewhat of a fashionista himself, was impressed. “Mr. Drakos,” he said cheerfully as he stepped toward Alex with extended hand. “Welcome to the Weisen!”
Alex smiled and shook his hand. “Thank you.”
“I am Carl Micron, the Vice President for European Operations, and this is Tad Scott, our General Manager.”
Tad and Alex shook hands also.
“Once you’re settled in, and as soon as you’re ready, sir, Tad and I will give you the grand tour.”
“Who runs your housekeeping department?” Alex asked.
The VP didn’t understand. “Housekeeping, sir?”
“Yes. Who’s in charge?”
“Well . . . the supervisor, sir. A lady by the name of . . .” He looked at his GM.
“Miss Elmsly,” the GM said.
“Miss Elmsly,” said the VP.
“Will she be here in the morning?” Alex asked.
“I would imagine she will, yes, sir.”
“She will be the one to give me the tour. 8am sharp, before I leave for meetings. Tell her to meet me in the lobby.”
The VP was thrown. “The lobby, tomorrow morning at 8, yes, sir,” he said.
And Alex, with an army of assistants, including his executive assistant Priska Rahm, hurried across the sidewalk and entered the sleek hotel.
The VP and GM looked at each other, baffled as to why he would want a housekeeping supervisor, of all people, to show him around. But then they realized that their A-list guest had gotten away from them. They hurried across the sidewalk and into the hotel also, to catch up.
Downstairs were fast-moving tourists, faster-moving traffic, and congestion that was a little off-putting for Alex, but was exactly the kind of energy that a thriving business needed. It was a good hotel in a good location. But could this hotel become great? That was what he had to decide, if the negotiations succeeded, during this trip.
He stood at the floor-to-ceiling window and looked out over the busy, beautiful city. As he held his phone and waited for the connection, he never dreamed he’d become this invested in hotels. But there it was. The hotel here in Bavaria. Another one in California that he and Reno Gabrini were considering partnering in. And, of course, his own crown jewel: his hotel and casino in Apple Valley, Florida. Already under construction. He was amped.
And then Kari appeared on his iPhone home screen, and his happiness grew by leaps and bounds. “Hey,” he said.
She was sitting up on her bed, with her back to her headboard, in hair rollers and no makeup whatsoever, wearing what appeared to be one of his white dress shirts. And it warmed Alex’s heart. Every woman he’d ever Face Time with, no matter what the hour, was always decked down in jewels, had the hair fixed to perfection, and wore tons of makeup. Most would strip naked or be more than happy to give him a good peepshow. But not Kari. She wasn’t putting on any shows. That was what he loved about her. She was always, and he meant always, the same. It was that reliability that Alex needed most.
“Hey, Alex,” she responded.
“How are you, Miss Grant?” he asked her with a big smile on his face.
Kari smiled too. “I’m good. Was nodding asleep at my computer, but I’ve got this inventory list to finish.”
“Business is booming then?”
“Business is never booming,” Kari said. “At least not my business,” she added, and Alex laughed. “But it’s no longer on the critical list,” she continued, “so I’m grateful for that. What about you? How’s it going in Munich?”
“A little rocky at the moment. Negotiations are back on, which is good, but no final agreement is in sight. I just arrived at the hotel.”
“And you called me first? Even before your shower?”
“That’s right.”
Kari smiled. “Ah. I feel special!”
It was no smiling matter to Alex, although he was not the kind of man who could be boldly affectionate. “You are,” he said, staring at her beautifully plain face. Truthfully, he thought, she’d never know just how special she was to him. “And I’ve decided to take your advice.”
“My advice? What advice?”
“To let the housekeeper be my guide.”
“Oh, always, Alex,” Kari said. “She’ll show you just how good, or bad, that hotel is run. She won’t tell you anything negative for fear of losing her job, but I guarantee you she’ll show you. Those uppity mucks in any other management department will only show you the good stuff.”
“I’ll let you know how it turns out.”
“Great,” Kari said, pleased that she could help him.
“How’s Jordan?” Alex asked.
“Asleep. I’ll be waking him up for school soon, which he’s going to hate. I’m a super-early riser, but he’s not.”
Alex wasn’t a super-early riser either. “I can empathize with Jordan,” he said with a smile. “Besides, it may be one p.m. in Munich where I am, but it’s only what, six am in Florida where you are?”
Right. So, yeah, he’s still sleep. But otherwise, he’s just fine. Thanks for asking.”
“My pleasure,” Alex said.
But speaking of pleasure, the more he looked at Kari, the more he couldn’t stop wanting her. She gave him everything, including sex, in the kind of intense doses no other woman could ever match. And he missed it. “What are you wearing?” he asked her.
Kari
grinned that infectious grin he loved. “One of your shirts you left at my house,” she said.
As if to see what she was truly made of, he decided to push the envelope. “Unbutton it,” he said to her in such a sensual way that it caused Kari’s vagina to pulsate. She still could feel his mouth all over her breasts the way it was before he left.
But that didn’t mean she wasn’t surprised by his blatant request. She was. Alex should know her better by now!
“You heard me,” he said to her.
“Alex!” she said to him.
But Alex was dead serious. “Unbutton it,” he said again.
Kari stared at him. She realized he wasn’t kidding, and it concerned her. Women were always saying that if your man wasn’t getting it from you, he was getting it from somebody else. And given Alex’s reputation for womanizing, and his constant traveling, that somebody else was always in the back of her mind.
But even at the risk of him seeking out another woman for affection during his trip overseas, Kari wasn’t going to do something stupid. If she had to compromise her values to keep him, maybe she didn’t need him? “I’m not about to show off my goods on this Face Time web service so my naked ass can go into some cloud, or whatever storage place they put it, for strangers to one day view. No way, no how.”
Alex smiled and shook his head. That response was so like Karena, he thought, that it warmed his heart. It didn’t stop his dick from throbbing, but at least she made him smile.
“You’ll have to wait until you’re back in Apple Valley,” Kari continued, “and I’m underneath you, to get a load of this body.”
“And if I can’t wait?” he asked.
Kari smiled too. “Sounds like a personal problem to me, buddy,” she said, and Alex laughed.
She decided to change the subject. “Have you eaten?” she asked.
“Too much,” he said.
“You look a little tired.”
“That I am, too,” he said with a smile that revealed lines on the side of his eyes.
Alex Drakos 3_What They Did For Love Page 8
