“Sit down on the floor!” I yelled, my voice trembling.
The man went to sit. “Not there. Turn around and face the wall!”
“Alright, alright,” the man said exasperated. He turned around and then lowered himself to the ground and sat down cross-legged.
“Did I say you could put your hands down?!” I yelled.
“I can’t leave them up forever,” he protested.
He has a point. When’s the last time you kept your hands raised for more than a minute?
“Okay, well keep them in view somehow.”
“How?”
I thought. “Hold onto your ears.”
The man sighed and brought his hands up and held onto his earlobes. It was actually a pretty silly sight, and I wished I could take a picture. The inner laughter was coursing with the adrenaline. I had somehow managed to stay alive, and little old me had gotten the upper hand on this ogre that was now sitting down and listening to my directions in the living room. I walked down the hallway gingerly, determined to get some answers.
“Alright, Bub,” I said, getting cocky. “Mind telling me what you’re doing in my apartment?”
“Your apartment?” he asked, raising his eyes and turning around.
“Face the wall, remember?” I asked, my voice going shrill. He turned around immediately.
“Sorry, I didn’t know you lived here,” the man said. “I thought this was…uhmm…Mr. Carnahan’s apartment.”
I paused. He had a point. “I’m the new roommate.”
Yeah, if I had the kind of money that the creep does, I wouldn’t be getting a roommate either.
“This is about you remember?” I asked, not wanting to give up the initiative. “Not me.”
“Right,” the man said, obviously falling a bit into ease. “Name’s Bruno, miss. Bruno Gianelli.”
“What are you doing here, Bruno?”
“I’m with Waters Security, ma’am,” he replied. “I come once a week to check up on the white noise and anti-bugging equipment to make sure no one’s trying to slip a fast one.”
What the hell does that mean.
“What the hell does that mean?” I asked.
There was a long sigh from Bruno. He still had his hands holding each earlobe. It looked ridiculous, and made it hard for me to hold the MACE with any amount of seriousness. I walked over to him and over around, so that I could see his face as he spoke, to make sure he wasn’t bullshitting me. It also left me closer to the door. If he tried anything I would run out the door screaming bloody murder – I knew this was New York City, but someone was bound to hear me.
“It means, I work with Waters Security. We contract out to certain people and maintain anti-surveillance equipment in their homes and places of business. Standard stuff – white noise generators, anti-video surveillance mechanisms, blockers, the works,” he said, being very patient. “Mr. Carnahan has been working with me for the last year. Call him if you like.”
I had left my phone in the room. “You call him and put it on speaker. I don’t want to be distracted in front of you,” I declared.
Clever, girl. That way he doesn’t have to see you have a flip phone.
Bruno shrugged and slowly made a motion to remove his right hand and bring it down and pull out his phone from his holster. He put it on speaker and dialled Tristan’s number. I heard it ring three times. Finally, someone picked up.
“Yes?” the voice said. I knew that voice anywhere - it was a voice that somehow even managed to get me a bit wet.
“Uhm,” Bruno began, as if he was uncomfortable. “Mr. Carnahan?”
There was a long pause. “This is Tristan,” the voice confirmed.
“I’m in your apartment…”
There was another pause. And then, “Oh shit.”
Gotcha. Wait…
“Is my roommate there?” the voice asked.
I gave out a long sigh and relaxed a bit. So this wasn’t some random rapist after all.
Maybe Tristan sent him here to rape you instead.
My hands went back up to a defensive posture.
“Alicia?” the voice on the phone called out. Bruno looked at me.
“Hi,” I replied, my defences wavering.
“Alicia, hi, it’s Tristan,” the voice continued. “I forgot to tell you that I have a security guy who comes in every so often. Please don’t be alarmed.”
Bruno gave me a smirk that did enough to say he told me so. I wanted to make sure.
“What does he look like?” I asked into the phone.
“Wait, anyone who Bruno knows would know what he looks like,” the voice replied back.
Damn, he’s both sexy and smart.
“Well, then, what do I look like?” I asked back, slightly annoyed at myself for not seeing the first oversight.
There was a long pause. “I’m not falling for that one,” the voice replied back. Bruno smirked.
What the fuck?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You’re going to be mad at me no matter what I say.”
That fucker. I wasn’t going to drop the MACE until I was sure.
The voice continued, “What if I talk about the arrangement? I don’t want to but you know it’s me because no one else would know about me providing a room for—“
I didn’t let him finish. “Okay, okay, I believe you!” I exclaimed, more to shut him up. I put the MACE down and looked at Bruno. “What do you have to do?”
“I was all pretty much done when I heard you in the room and thought you were some sort of intruder, ma’am,” he said, getting up. “Sorry if I scared you. I honestly can’t be too careful for my clients.”
I nodded. “Not a problem,” I said, slightly embarrassed myself. “I was just cleaning the room – it’s a deal between Tristan and I.”
Bruno nodded. “Do you need me for anything else?” Tristan asked.
“No, Your Highness, thank you,” he said into the phone, and hung up.
Then he looked at me. “Ma’am,” he said by way of departure. And with that, he turned around and walked out the door.
I stood there for a second, processing.
Wait, what just happened?
***
I never got a chance to finish processing. I heard my phone go off in the other room right away. It was Tristan.
“Hello?” I said into the phone.
“I’m coming over,” he said simply. “So sorry about Bruno.”
I was about to say it was okay, but he had already hung up. I didn’t want him to come over all the way from work. For one thing, I would have to put all the stuff I had been snooping away. For another, he might want to have sex.
Girl, this might be your chance to get all the information you need, if you do it right.
There was a chance I could, if I played my cards right.
I texted him.
Alicia: U hung up! stupid! I didn’t get a chance to tell u I’m on my way 2 work.
It was a bald-faced lie, but I needed to be out of the apartment if I was going to seduce him when he was sleepy.
That’s your brilliant plan?
If I had sex with Tristan for information, I wanted it to be when he had a full belly of my cooking and after he had come. That way, all his defenses would be lowered. A quickie in the middle of the day would still leave his guard up.
What kind of men have you been dating.
I was using my sex in a variety of ways that I had never fathomed before. I seriously contemplated whether I could ever become a spy…
***
As quickly as I could in case Tristan decided to come over to the apartment anyways, I replaced the binder of financial information and set everything back into the closet as best I could. I wished I had taken a picture of the closet before taking it apart. The next thing I would have to do would be get a smartphone.
Girl, he’s not even going to notice. This apartment was a mess before you even got here.
I decided tha
t he wasn’t going to notice anyways. Once everything was set, I made sure to clean a little bit to ensure that I wasn’t completely lying when I was on the phone with Tristan. Then, I got ready and headed out into the city
It was so different living in midtown. Everything was surrounding me as if it was made just for me.
The other half really does live differently, don't they?
It made me determined to understand why Tristan then pretended to be something less than what he was. I mean, I had seen the bank statements. It was as thick as a short novella - and it barely scratched the surface. If I did nothing else, I knew I had to figure out what happened to his wife and baby. Why he was living and working when he had enough money to not be working at all.
I walked down Park Avenue to where I saw a cell phone store. This was it - I had saved enough money to be able to afford a smartphone! I browsed and went through the various plans and platforms. But my heart was set on one, and while it was a stretch, I managed to figure out how I could afford it until the money started piling up. I made sure not to take rent and food for granted. The sooner I got out of the job, the better it would be. I had to get the fuck out of that apartment.
Good for you, girl!
After work, I managed to meet up with some friends for some idle chatter and gossip. Refreshed and feeling social, I decided to continue my job search. Only this time, without a laptop but on a phone. I submitted more applications and sent several more emails out. I created a calendar and schedule of how many jobs to apply for each day. I started finally feeling on track that I was progressing.
It was late by the time I got back home - my new phone said it was 12:34 am. I wasn’t surprised to see Tristan still awake in his room. I stopped by his room. He had heard my footsteps and had turned around in his chair from where he was sitting in his office nook.
“Hey,” he said when I stopped at his door. He had his shirt off, sitting in a pair of sweats. I looked at his hard and rippling abs. His pecs, that flexed as he moved his arms. His arms, so intense and muscled.
Careful, Alicia. He’s still a creep.
“So thanks for not letting me know a total stranger was coming by today,” I said, trying to sound upset, but succeeding maybe at petulant.
“Listen,” he said getting up out of his chair, “I’m so sorry about that.”
The thing was, he genuinely seemed very sorry. Was he sorry for scaring me? Or was he sorry because whatever he was hiding was now blown?
Only one way to find out, girl.
Tristan looked like he was getting ready for bed.
It was now or never.
Despite his serious apology, I knew I was dressed to impress. I had on as slutty yet sexy of an outfit I could put on and still pass off that I was just going about my day. And if I was going to be seducing someone for information, it could be a lot worse than Tristan beautiful Carnahan.
Right, because that’s so much more ethical than, say, having sex for rent.
Shutting off my inner monologue, I looked at Tristan. Just one look into his eyes and the truth became evident - he was mine.
You got this, girl. Go for it.
I went around the desk, the sound of my heels clicking across the room breaking all that tense silence. I liked that.
There I was. standing right in front of him, looking straight into his eyes. He didn't blink and I was almost sure that he had stopped breathing. My lips curled up into a smile and I felt him exhale, as if his brain had remembered that breathing was essential.
I leaned forward, placing my hands gently on his knees. He tried controlling himself but it was stronger than him - his eyes darted to my cleavage, and I could almost feel his heart rate going up.
"It's not a crime to look, you know...?" I said, the words coming out of my lips mellow as honey. “It’s part of the arrangement, after all. Has it already been two days?” He opened his mouth but no words came out - his mind was focused on something much more interesting than words, and it wasn't involving speech.
You got this.
I slid my hands up his knees, slowly raising them until finally only my fingertips were touching the fabric of his sweatpants. Without taking my eyes from his, I took my hands to my chest and unbuttoned the top of my blouse, the patterns on the black lace bra I was wearing peeking at him. I could feel him aching for more, the impulse to just grab me by the waist, push me closer and just rip my blouse open darting across his face. But he remained still - after all, I was the seducer and he was just the...seducee? Anyways, Tristan had said I needed to show initiative. Might as well use one of my initiative cards and find out what kind of past this guy had.
"You like what you see, Tristan...?"
"I... I, uh... Yes. I like it." His tongue ran across his dry lips and he paused before adding an humble "I like it a lot."
"See, Tristan...?" I said as I leaned into him, my cheek brushing against his, my lips against his ear. "Sometimes we can have a good time if we’re just open and honest with each other."
I rested my hand against his chest, the warmness of his body coming at me through his body. I bit my lower lip and looked at him, his eyes begging for me almost desperately. In a swift motion I laced my arm around his neck and pulled myself to him, sitting across his lap. Reacting by instinct his hand went to my waist, his long fingers brushing against the exposed skin between my skirt and blouse. It only took that, his fingers on my skin - I immediately felt a pulsing heat between my thighs, a piercing desire to just hike up my skirt and let him have me there and then.
But I've always been a patient woman. And I had questions to ask.
I pressed my legs together and turned my back to him, moving my hands to his knees and pushing them apart, my ass landing straight into his crotch. That was when the real test to my patience began - feeling his erection against my body, even if over layers of clothing, was almost enough for me to go feral. Oh, sweet, sweet Tristan - how could the gods be so kind to me?
It was hard to not want more. I pressed my body down into his crotch, gently swaying my hips back and forth, his deep breathing against my neck. With one hand on my hip, he reached up and moved my blonde hair over my shoulder, laying his lips against my neck, the warmness of his touch spreading across my skin like wildfire.
I grabbed his hand and guided him to my breasts - obedient, he grabbed them, his fingers curling into an hungry claw. He slid his fingers inside my blouse in such a hurry that he stretched the fabric, popping one button out. But I didn't care - oh, no, not at all. As far as I was concerned, he could ruin every single piece of clothing I had on.
No! Use that as your cue!
“Oh, Tristan,” I moaned, not sounding quite as upset as I wanted to be. “That blouse was expensive.”
“I’ll buy you another, don’t worry,” he said huskily.
I stood up, almost sorry for the fact that I was no longer in touch with his cock, and turned to him. He was breathing heavily, resisting against the desire to pull me back on top of him. I unbuttoned the rest of the blouse and, without bothering to take it off, let my hands go straight to the hem of my skirt, hiking it up almost to my waist. My heart was racing, each of its pulses sending me into a frenzy; I moved forward and, in a swift motion, climbed on top of him, my thong and pussy firmly pressed against his crotch.
“Can you afford it after paying for basically all this?” I asked, gesturing around.
He let out a hoarse moan, his long fingers frantically planting themselves on my buttocks, pulling my body against his. I swayed my hips against his body, my pussy tightly pressed against the firmness between his legs. I wanted nothing more than to take off his sweat pants and feel his long cock pulsing in my hand. I had craved it for so long that waiting a few minutes more was almost intolerable. But why ruin all the excitement and anticipation and give up the only leverage I had to get information? Teasing him like that, making him lose all control, his body aching for my hands and lips, for the wetness between my thighs... It was worth it.<
br />
“I’m not having to pinch pennies,” he said, clearly not focused on the conversation.
“That man today must have been expensive.”
He let go of my ass and, with an almost brutish movement, yanked the blouse down my arms. Almost unaware of what I was doing I pressed my flat stomach against his naked torso, my nails digging into his upper back as my hips kept on with their wild rhythm, my pussy dancing all over his length.
I grabbed a handful of his hair and pushed his face downwards, right into my breasts. I felt his cock spasming in pleasure as his mouth and lips pressed down against my chest. He pulled down one strap of my bra, and then the other, his whole body anxious for the sight of my breasts. He unclasped the bra and threw it to the side; stopping for a second, his mouth slightly ajar in contemplation, his eyes took in the soft tone of my erect nipples against my white skin.
"He’ll keep you safe..." He whispered, his eyes telling me that despite his words, more than anything he had a torrid fascination for my body.
A devious smile appeared on my face.
"I know." I leaned my face into his and I met his fleshy lips with mine. His lips parted and, in an instant, we were lost in a kiss, our tongues tracing circles around each other. “But if you can afford him, why do you need me?”
I rested my hand on his chest and, stopping our kiss, stared once more into his eyes. A knowing smile lit his face, and I knew he could see all the unrestrained lust flooding my body. “You’re beautiful,” he said. “But I’m not telling you anything tonight.”
Shit! Fuck!
I jumped up, my hand still on his torso, and then moved it down to his crotch. I pressed down, enjoying each and every inch of the contour of his cock. I pushed the fabric of his sweatpants with both hands - and there it was, magnificent, just a thin layer of fabric separating me from his member. My fingers slid up and down, over his sweats, enjoying the closeness to what lay beneath.
Oh, how I wanted it “What are you talking about?” I asked in as seductive and sweet voice I could muster.
“You expect me to believe all of a sudden you’re interested in fucking me?” he asked, still clearly aroused.
I pulled his sweats hard down his legs. His hands flew to my waist and he turned me around, pulling down the zipper of my skirt. I pushed it down with the tip of my fingers, my bare ass turned to him. I could feel his eyes banqueting on the vision of it, enjoying the shape of my buttocks and delighting themselves on how only just a small strip of my thong covered me.
My Stepbrother, His Highness: A Royal Stepbrother Billionaire Bad Boy Romance Page 29
