With Us (The Amato Series Book 1)

by Layla Frost

  “I’m not panicking.”

  I raised a brow.

  “Okay,” she admitted. “I’m panicking. But I’ll give it some time before I make any decisions.”

  She moved again to get off my lap, but I kept my hold tight. “I like having you close.”

  Instead, she shifted to the side and kicked her legs over the armrest, settling in. She craned her neck to look around me.

  Spinning my chair so she could get a better look at the view out the window, I grabbed my cell and shot off a text to Doctor Coran. I picked up my office phone and pressed a button to connect to Rosa. “I’m working from home the rest of the week, and only on what’s mandatory. Can you reschedule the rest?”

  I could almost see her smile as she pulled out her planners, notepads and supplies. “I’ll email you and Luca the updated schedules.”

  “Thanks, Rosa. Let me know if you have any issues.”

  “I won’t. Enjoy your week with Dahlia.”

  “You’re taking the week off, too?” Dahlia asked as soon as I hung up.

  “There are still a few things I’ve got to handle, but for the most part, yes.” I ran my hand up her side. “It’d be kind of an asshole thing for me to insist you spend the week with me, just for me to work the whole time.”

  Any of the hesitation I’d seen earlier disappeared as she beamed at me. Fighting to mask her expression, she held up her phone. “But you don’t have to do that. I know you’re busy, and I have a billion books to read.”

  I kissed her, hard and deep. If we had time, I’d plant her ass on my desk, spread her legs as wide as they’d go, and eat her until people in the basement could hear her scream. That would mean it would be longer before I was able to get her home, though. “I’ve got to call Steve back, then we’ll head home.”

  Dahlia pressed a light kiss to my jaw and nodded.

  Punching in Steve’s number, I listened to the phone ring.

  Please go to voicemail. Please go to voicemail. Don’t pick up and I’ll send you the world’s biggest fruit basket.

  “Mr. Amato,” he greeted as the call connected.

  No such luck.

  “I’m in a time crunch, Steve, but wanted to finish our discussion about the expansion.”

  Steve droned on about different locations he was interested in, me chiming in occasionally to point out some flaw or advantage. I jotted down a few notes as we spoke, but for the most part, it was just letting him talk it out.

  My hand on Dahlia’s side moved up, my fingertips stroking the side of her breasts. She tensed and shifted on my lap, my already half hard dick lengthening fully. She wiggled again, making my dick jerk under her.

  “Steve, we’ve been over this,” I said into the phone, using all my control to keep the groan out of my voice. “That location isn’t right. In five, ten years? Maybe. But that’s a big maybe.” Moving my hand back down, I pushed Dahlia’s shirt up a little so I could feel her soft skin. My fingertips skimmed along the line of her pants.

  Dahlia tensed further, pressing herself closer to me so my palm was near her belly button.

  Taking the hint, I slid my hand into the stretchy waistband, cupping her pussy over her panties.

  Her sigh of relief was caught in her throat as I pushed my middle finger against her clit.

  “Do you like it best?” Steve asked, catching me off guard.

  “What?”

  “That small buildup on the north? Do you like that one the best?”

  “Yes,” I said, lowering my mouth near Dahlia’s ear. “That’s definitely the one I like best.” Pulling away just enough to squeeze my hand into her panties, I rubbed her clit without the fabric barrier in the way.

  Steve spoke again. “It’s a big commitment to invest in a revival like that. What if something else comes along?”

  “If you’re happy with the location,” I paused, pushing my finger so deep inside Dahlia’s wet pussy, her ass came off my lap slightly, “it doesn’t matter what else is out there. You’re already exactly where you want to be.”

  A muffled moan broke free from Dahlia as I ground my palm against her clit, my finger pumping in and out.

  “Take some time, think it over. I’ll be out of the office for the rest of the week.” I moved my finger faster. “If there’s an issue, get in touch with my office manager. Otherwise, we’ll speak again next week.”

  “About the—”

  Not giving him the chance to drag me back in, I slammed the phone down. I had Dahlia’s back on the desk, her pants around her knees, in the next breath.

  “It’s about time,” she said, struggling to kick her pants the rest of the way off.

  Undoing my belt and slacks, I shoved them down. Taking hold of the pants Dahlia had tangled around her ankles, I pushed so her knees were bent and spread wide, her feet against my stomach. Fisting my cock, I lined it up with her waiting pussy and slammed in.

  Covering her mouth with one of her hands, she arched her back as she reached above her head to grip the edge of the desk with the other.

  I slowed my movements, barely inching in and out. “I don’t want to be rude.” Reaching for the phone, I stopped with just the tip inside her. “I should probably call him back.”

  “Don’t you dare,” she said, her voice stern and raspy. Her hips rocked as much as she could make them given her condensed position.

  Slamming into her so hard the desk creaked, my teasing was forgotten. Her tightness sucked me back in with each withdraw, her wetness dripping down my thigh. I wasn’t sure if she’d noticed that I hadn’t put on a condom, but I sure as fuck had.

  Cazzo.

  Tight and hot and wet.

  I was obsessed.

  With nothing between us, my thrusts became savage, needing to feel as much of her as I could. I put my thumb on her clit, rubbing hard in tight circles. Even with her mouth covered, Dahlia’s muffled cries grew louder, her legs tensing and pushing against me. Her eyes went unfocused.

  Pens. Pencils. Stapler. Monitor.

  My head dropped back as I continued mentally listing all the office supplies on my desk as Dahlia’s pussy squeezed my dick so tight I could barely stop myself from exploding. Once she loosened, her body relaxing slightly as her breathing became sexy gasps, I looked at her and ordered through gritted teeth, “Lift your shirt and pull down your bra.”

  She did both instantly, her eyes hooded and her hips moving again.

  Mindless, I slammed into her a few more times until I knew I couldn’t hold back any longer. I pulled out, my fingers and thumb replacing my cock as I worked her until she was coming again. Fisting myself, I stroked, shooting my come onto her stomach and tits. A small amount hit her cheek and I groaned, trying to get my head together enough to memorize how she looked.

  Leaning over, I kissed Dahlia hard before she pulled away.

  “You’re getting… a mess. On your shirt.”

  “I’m betting it won’t be the last time.” With one last kiss, I stood and pulled my pants up. “Hold on.” I opened the door to my bathroom, grabbing a towel and running it under warm water. Going back to Dahlia, I cleaned her up. When I reached her cheek, there was nothing there but redness that grew the longer I looked. My eyes shot to hers.

  “I was curious,” she whispered, feigning nonchalance.

  “And?” I croaked out.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know; I’ll have to taste it again.”

  “Cazzo,” I cursed, pulling her to stand. “If we didn’t have somewhere to be, I’d turn you around and fuck you against my window.”

  She paused as she pulled up her pants. “Where do we have to go?”

  “Since you had to cancel with Doctor Coran on Saturday, we’re seeing him tonight.”

  Her eyes went huge as she shook her head. “I can’t go to the doctor today. We had sex.”

  “Yeah, most people going for birth control have.”

  “No, I mean we literally just had sex.”

  “I know, I fucking loved
it.”

  “I can’t go see a new doctor right after I just had sex! I need to shower and stuff.”

  Backing her against the window, I cupped her pussy. “I told you last time I was addicted to your pussy. Now that I’ve had it without anything between us, I’m not just addicted. I’m obsessed. And next time I have you wrapped tight around me, I’m not guaranteeing I’ll have the control to pull out.”

  Her lips parted, and I had to force myself to take a step back.

  Adjusting her clothes, Dahlia headed for the door. “Ready?”

  “Yeah, gattina, I’m ready.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Trapped

  Dahlia

  I didn’t want to go.

  Pacing my apartment, I felt restless as I prepared to face the people at Weggies. Putting on a confident smile, I made the quick walk there. I could feel all the eyes on me as I walked inside. A few people whispered and pointed, some clapping softly. Ignoring it all, I walked to the back warehouse.

  “What’re you doing here?” Bill yelled, pointing to the side exit. “You should be out there.”

  “I’m here to pick up my paycheck.”

  “We don’t pay you. Get out there.”

  “No. You owe me my final paycheck, and I’m not leaving until I get it.”

  Bill slammed the door that connected the warehouse to the store closed. “Fine. Stay here as long as you want. It’s your choice to be in a cage.”

  My deep breaths echoed around us. “I’m not in a cage, I just want what I’m owed.”

  “Does he have you in a cage?”

  I started, doing a double take. My personal life wasn’t anyone’s business, so I never spoke of it. “What did you say?”

  “A. Cage,” Bill sneered slowly, making me feel dumb. Taking out a piece of paper that looked like my check, he waved it around. “I saw his car. Did he buy you and put you on display in a pretty cage? An object for decoration?”

  “No, I’m—”

  “Trapped.” The word seemed to echo around us, hurting my head.

  Did he?

  “Just give me my paycheck,” I pleaded. My mind was overwhelmed, my heart clenched tight.

  Bill pointed to the side door again. “Get out there then.”

  I hesitantly approached the door. Turning the handle, I watched out for all the produce on the floor as I eased it open. Before I could look up, I felt a hard shove on my back. I fell forward, scraping my palms and knees against the concrete floor.

  The door slammed shut behind me, Bill’s loud laughter traveling through. I jumped up and ran for it, pulling and yanking. But it was useless.

  Locked.

  Turning, I took a few steps only to run into a metal bar. I looked to the side to see a whole row of them. Rotating, I was surrounded by them on three sides.

  Popcorn flew at me.

  “This one is dumb, Mommy,” a little voice shrieked before more popcorn hit me.

  “Get me out of here!” I yelled at the mom and girl as they watched me disinterestedly.

  “Hush, that’s rude,” the mom said to the girl, ignoring me. “Look, she’s got coffee.”

  I followed her gaze to the other end of the cage to see the counter from Java Brew. Next to it was a smaller version of my already tiny apartment.

  “Coffee, veggies, bed. Coffee, veggies, bed,” the girl sing-songed.

  “Is that all she has? That’s sad,” another child said, lifting onto his tiptoes to look at me. His face looked almost familiar, but also not. He smiled, his dimples reminding me of Theo’s, but his hair and eyes were all wrong. With sticky fingers, he ripped off a big piece of cotton candy and tried to reach between the bars to share it with me. Unfortunately, the sweet fell into the shadows.

  I knew it was there, I just had to reach out for it.

  But I was too scared.

  I didn’t know how dark those shadows were, or how deep. I had no clue what else lurked there.

  “They should replace this one with something newer,” I heard a teenager say. “What’s so special about it?”

  Bill laughed from outside the cage. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. That’s why she lets him keep her locked up. She’ll change to try to be special.” His amused laugh grew cruel. “Otherwise, he’ll kick her out and replace her.”

  “No, no, no.” I held the side of my head, shaking it back and forth.

  “Coffee, veggies, bed. Coffee, veggies, bed.”

  Laughter, cruel and twisted.

  “Coffee, veggies, bed, cage. Coffee, veggies, bed, cage.”

  I paced, covering my ears. The counter, across to Weggies, over to my apartment, and back again.

  Coffee.

  Veggies.

  Bed.

  Cage.

  “Dahlia!” I heard from near where the little boy had been. I couldn’t see anything but a veined hand, holding open a door that hadn’t been there. Theo called for me again, the rest of the crowd going silent. “Dahlia, come with me.”

  I shook my head. “I can’t. I need my paycheck.”

  “No, you don’t. I told you, I can take care of you.”

  My shaking became frantic. “No, no, no. You’ll replace me with someone special.”

  “Never. You are special.”

  “You keep me in a cage.”

  Theo’s arm went into the cage, pointing at the counter, apartment, and store that were all much, much closer than they’d been. “Your life is the cage, gattina. I’m trying to free you. I want to give you a better life. Trust me.”

  “C’mon, Dahlia,” I heard other voices call.

  As they began calling out their encouragement, I realized it was Theo’s family.

  Inching closer to the open door, all I saw were shadows. “I’m scared,” I admitted.

  “That’s okay,” Theo said from somewhere in the darkness. “Just trust that I’m here.”

  I looked around at my life closing in on me, a growl growing louder and louder.

  “I trust you,” I said. Taking a deep breath, I jumped as a deafening roar sounded behind me.

  Jolting up, I looked around, completely disoriented and bleary-eyed. I knew I wasn’t in my own bed since there wasn’t a spring in my back, and my butt hadn’t dipped into the indented area.

  I glanced to the side and saw Theo, his face relaxed as he slept.

  “Stupid dreams,” I muttered to myself, closing my eyes and flopping back down. I curled onto my side.

  “Rawr,” I heard again, though this time it was more of a squeak and not the eardrum rattling roar I’d heard in my dream.

  Still, my eyes flew open, and I found myself nearly nose-to-nose with a tiny kitten. It’s wild orange and white fur was fluffed out everywhere.

  “Mrrow.”

  “Yeah, meow to you too, buddy,” I whispered, tentatively reaching out to pet it. I rubbed its head a couple times before stopping, knowing enough about cats to not test his fickle mood.

  I yawned and stretched, trying to get my bearings.

  After a quick visit with Doctor Coran that had included an uncomfortable, but upkeep free, IUD insertion, Theo and I had stopped at my place to grab a few things. Since I didn’t have much, it’d been a fast stop. We’d grabbed a quick dinner before heading to Theo’s for a movie. Five minutes in, and I’d decided to close my eyes for a minute.

  That was the last I remembered, meaning Theo must’ve carried me to bed. Since I was naked, he must’ve also undressed me.

  Both of those things made me feel warm in two totally different ways.

  When Theo wrapped his arm around me, pulling me closer so his body was curved along mine, the hotter of the heats won out. Especially when I felt him hard against my ass.

  I think it’s time for a wakeup call.

  “Hey, uhh… cat. You’ve got to scram.” Gently pushing, I expected it to go running.

  Instead, it flopped down on the bed next to me, purring and rubbing its head against my hand.

  “I’m glad you like me, but
you should go. Not for young kitten’s eyes, you know?” I pushed again and this time it rolled to catch my hand, but fell on the floor.

  Before I could even move, it was back up, rubbing its kitty face in mine.

  “Look, cat,” I whispered, “I’m going to have to firmly ask you to leave.”

  “Mrrrreeeooowww,” it said, ignoring my insistence.

  “Having a nice conversation?” Theo asked, amused.

  “It’s pretty one-sided, but very enlightening.” I rolled onto my back, both to look at Theo and to avoid the cat butt that was directed at my face. “We’re just getting to know each other. I’d say we’re besties now, me and…”

  “Gus,” Theo supplied.

  “Right. I guess I should know my new bestie’s name. I never thought of you as a cat person.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Why’d you get him then?”

  “Luc was heading over here and saw Gus run across the street. He stopped and called me, insisting I come help on his rescue mission. I did, but only to humor him.” Theo rubbed his fingers on the top of Gus’ head, making his ears flatten out to the sides. “After an intense hunt that included a showdown with a skunk, we got him. And, lucky for him, he’s been with me since.”

  “And lucky for both of you, since he’s so cute.” Gus climbed onto my chest and tried to shove his head inside my mouth as I spoke. “I’m apparently popular with cats. Who knew?”

  “It’s because he knows you don’t want him around right now. If you act interested, he’ll bolt. Try it.”

  I made the clicky noise with my tongue, reaching out to scratch his kitty ears. Less than a minute later, Gus was running from the room, bored of me.

  “Wow, I’m wounded.” I put my hand to my heart. “I thought we had a real connection.”

  “Yeah, Gus is a heartbreaker like that. If it’s any consolation,” Theo started, moving so he was on top of me. I wrapped my legs around him as he dipped his head near my ear to whisper, “How about a different kind of connection?” He pushed forward, his cock sliding against me.

  I tipped my pelvis up, waiting and ready. Theo had other ideas, though.

  Moving down, he skipped any teasing or buildup. His teeth, tongue, and fingers worked me hard, waking up every nerve ending in my whole body with an intense orgasm. Before I’d finished even coming, his cock replaced his mouth and fingers, slamming into my wetness and sending another orgasm rippling through me.