“So you play on Facebook or something?” Victoria asks as she shoots me a look, and Luigi chuckles loudly.
“Yep! ‘Play on Facebook’ is what’s written on my business card actually,” I say, hoping that my sarcasm translates well and makes its way across the table to meet her icy glare.
“Elena, would you like to dance?” Leo asks as he starts to stand up. I grab his hand, and we walk towards the dance floor together. Michael Bublé’s “Feeling Good” is playing, and we stand cheek-to-cheek pressed together dancing. I feel all eyes on us. We are the only people out on the dance floor.
Leo runs his hand down my back, and I feel a squeeze on my ass. In this moment, no one else exists to me. In the past I’d never let a man squeeze my ass in public, in front of all the glaring eyes, but with Leo I’m glad he can’t keep his hands off me.
I kiss his cheek and whisper in his ear, “You are the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen, and I can’t wait to get you in my bed.”
Leo nibbles on my ear, and I feel he’s happy about my confession by the bulge that’s now pressing into my belly as we dance.
“I want to leave this party and rip your dress off. I want you naked … now,” Leo’s hot breath whispers his fantasy into my ear.
“Leo, I can’t wait to have your hot tongue licking every inch of me.”
“After I lick every inch of you … then what?”
Oh, I see he’s getting into my dirty talk! Maybe it’s this sexy song that’s taking over us. Michael Bublé can do that to you!
“Then,” I blush thinking about what I’m going to say, “I want you to stick your massive cock inside my pussy and pump your hips into me until we come together, screaming in pleasure.”
Damn! Where did I come up with this stuff? I have never talked dirty before … ever. This is another example of the confidence I feel with him.
The song ends, and before we can head back to our table, Leo leads us towards the bar. He orders two shots of tequila and hands me one.
“Shots? I didn’t know Mr. Beautiful likes to take shots.”
“When Mr. Beautiful’s girlfriend is rubbing up against him and saying dirty things in his ear, he needs to take a shot to calm his nerves.”
I laugh at his adorable confession and realize it’s the first time he’s acknowledged the ridiculous nickname I gave him. I down my shot, licking the rim with my tongue as my eyes gaze into his. He lets out a hiss of breath and takes his shot.
“We need to leave … now,” Leo says as he slams his shot down on the bar.
“Leave? You haven’t even shared a dance with your mama. How can you already be talking about leaving?” Rosalie asks as she walks up to us.
“I think it would be lovely to see you dance with your mother,” I say, looking at Leo with Rosalie. Teasing him when he’s clearly in need of something from me is kind of fun.
And I have to admit, it’s nice to see them next to each other. I can see their resemblances—they both have striking emerald eyes and dark brown hair. Rosalie looks young for her age as well.
“Grazie, Elena, for giving me a minute of my own son’s time.” She says it with a smile on her face, but I think that was just a diss. Am I reading too much into this? I scan Leo’s eyes, but they seem to just be staring between Rosalie and myself.
“Okay, mama, let’s dance,” Leo says as he takes his mother’s hand and they walk out to the dance floor together. They look adorable dancing and talking to one another. It makes me happy to see them. Rosalie softens her harsh personality when she’s with Leo.
I think about my own family while watching them. I miss my parents and my siblings. I really have a great family, and it makes me a little sad to think of Leo growing up without a dad and with a mom who was depressed. I want to wrap my arms around him and cuddle him like a big teddy bear and not let him go. I feel a need to protect him.
“Elena, your boyfriend is on the dance floor. You shouldn’t be standing here by yourself. Care for a dance?” Danilo asks me.
“Your wife won’t mind?”
“No, she’s dancing right now with our family friend.”
I spot Gianna on the dance floor before taking his hand, and we join everyone having a great time. The song changes to a more upbeat tune, and I see Leo and Rosalie walk off the dance floor out of the corner of my eye. We start to have fun and let loose; everyone dances together.
Before the next song starts, I excuse myself from the dance floor and look for my dreamy boyfriend. I don’t see him anywhere in the giant ballroom so I figure this would be a perfect moment to use the little girl’s room. On my way to the bathroom, I hear Leo’s voice, and it sounds like he’s getting loud with someone.
I walk towards a closed-off room, where I think the shouting is coming from. I don’t mean to eavesdrop, yet again, but if Leo is upset, I want to defend him or be by his side.
“Leonardo, I understand that she’s cute and you want to just stay in bed all day, but she is not cut out to be Signora Forte.”
I can match that voice, and you’d think it was Victoria’s … but instead it’s Rosalie. So much for making a great impression with his mom—guess not!
“You have no idea what you are talking about. Elena would make an amazing Mrs. Forte. She makes me a better person.”
My heart beats faster as I listen.
“Better person? There’s nothing wrong with you that this American girl can fix. You run one of the most important companies in this country, soon to be the world. You are on the cover of magazines, you make very important decisions daily, and you are the heir of two giant family fortunes. What will a ‘social media’ girl who works in a coffee shop do to better you? You are better than this! Better than her.”
Ugh! Again with this bullshit. I can’t believe how many people in Leo’s life don’t want us to be together for the fact that I am not “good enough” for him. They don’t even know a thing about me. I should barge in and tell her a little about my background, but I decide that she’s not even good enough to know. If she doesn’t like me for what she’s seen already I have no reason to tell her I too own a multi-million-dollar company and make important decisions daily.
“I don’t want to hear this anymore. Elena is the best thing to happen to me. I love her and I will not have anyone in my life who won’t accept our relationship … even you.”
He loves me? He’s defending me! My heart melts at his confession and the fact that he is fighting for not only me, but for us.
I see the door handle start to turn and I sprint into the bathroom so no one knows I was there.
Taking a good, hard look at myself in the mirror, I notice the glow that is on my face. I know that Leo just got into a fight with his mother and I know that Rosalie just said a whole bunch of nasty things about me, but I don’t care. Leo loves me! The man who didn’t believe in love, or even marriage, mentioned both in that conversation. I think I’m in shock.
Someone starts to open the bathroom door, and I decide to duck into a stall so I don’t have to deal with anyone. From inside the stall, I hear the voices of Victoria and Rosalie—great, just who I wanted to be stuck in here with.
“He says he loves her. I don’t understand what she’s doing to him—I’m worried,” Rosalie says to Victoria. I’m spying through the crack in the stall and I see them throwing their hands and arms in the air.
“Loves her? Leo is not capable of love! He has never ‘loved’ anyone. Does she have something on him that we don’t know?” Victoria asks, sounding disgusted.
“I don’t know how she’d be capable of that. Not only does she come off as … poor … she also comes off as stupid too,” Rosalie snickers.
Poor? Stupid? Let’s add those to the list with ‘trashy American.’
“I wouldn’t be worried, Rosalie. Just like the girls in the past, he will get tired of her, and she will be kicked to the curb like the rest of Leo’s discards. He’s just wasting his time right now until he’s ready to officially settle down wit
h someone worthy of him,” Victoria adds, with triumph in her voice. Worthy? Does she think that’s her? Get real.
“I trust you, Victoria. Don’t let my Leonardo ruin his life with that tramp. She needs to go. Now.”
They leave the bathroom, and I walk out of the stall feeling defeated. I look at myself in the mirror and see my glow is gone and I’m looking pale. Tears are about to spill from my eyes.
Before my eyes can shed those tears, I feel my phone vibrate in my clutch.
“What’s up hooker? Miss you! xoxo Sophie”
Thank god. Just who I need to hear from in my time of freak out! I shoot her a quick text back—“Funny story, I was literally just called that!”
“Say what?! No one is allowed to call you a hooker but your BFF—I’m an exception to every rule.”
“It gets better … it was by Leo’s MOM!”
“Omg! Are you kidding me? I’m getting on the next flight to Italy to kick some old Italian lady ass. Why did she call you that?”
“I overheard her talking shit with another girl who hates me. She also said I wasn’t good enough for Leo.”
“You better not be believing any of this garbage.”
“I don’t know Soph. What if she has a point? What if I can’t live up to all that a man like Leo needs me to be?”
“Elena, you are out of your damn mind!! You are the kindest, smartest, funniest chick I know. You are the first to lend a hand or a hug. You come from a loving family. You are a hard worker. I think you need to come clean about who you are to these bitches!”
“No girl, I told you I was keeping all of that under wraps when I was coming here. I need a break from being ‘CEO Elena Scott,’ it was getting to be too much.”
I read her text a few times to boost my ego; it actually calms my nerves to hear the kind words of my best friend, someone who knows all about my life—the good and the bad.
I know that Leo says he loves me, and the fact that he defended me in front of his mother is so admirable to me. I’ve never heard a man say such kind things about me. I’ve also never had anyone fight for me. But my heart can’t get around the fact and over and over again I’m reminded by the people in his life that I’m not good enough for him. What do they need me to be?
I know Sophie says I should tell them I’m not who they think; I’m so far from a trashy, slutty, poor girl. But you know what? Who cares if I was! If they can’t love me for who I am right now and how I make their son feel, why should I tell them anything different? My head feels like it’s going to burst with all these questions slamming around inside.
Before I can ask myself any more self-defeating questions, I run to the toilet and throw up!
21
I find Leo waiting for me at our table talking to Danilo and Gianna. He looks up from his conversation, and I see a look of panic in his eyes.
“Elena, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I just feel a little under the weather. I don’t mean to do this to you and your mom, but I think I need to go.”
“I’ll text Mateo right now and have him bring the limo around to pick us up in the back so we can avoid the red carpet.”
“Grazie.”
Leo stands to take me into his arms, and I feel safe in his embrace. I feel the tears start to well up again but I fight them back and nuzzle myself into his chest, getting as close as I can. He holds me tight, and I know he can sense something is up with me but he’s not going to bring it up here.
Leo’s phone buzzes, and Mateo lets us know he’s ready for us to come out. We say our goodbyes to Danilo and Gianna. Leo doesn’t even scan the crowd to look for his mother; he takes my hand and escorts me to the back of the ballroom so we can slip into the limo undetected.
I curl up into Leo’s lap, getting as close to him as I possibly can, and we ride back to his place in silence.
I practically bolt out of the limo when we stop outside of Leo’s home and high-tail it to his master bathroom. I need a minute to myself to collect my thoughts after this whirlwind night.
“Elena, mi amore, are you okay?” I hear the concern in Leo’s voice as he stands outside of the bathroom door.
“I’m okay, I’ll be out in just a minute.”
What am I going to do? I can run out again like I did my first time here, but that’s not fair to Leo. He deserves an explanation of why I need to leave. I love Leo with all my heart but I want to do what’s right for him and his future. I know what I need to do.
I walk out of the bathroom and notice the bedroom is empty. I spot my overnight bag near the door and I have an idea! I grab the super-sexy lingerie I brought for the weekend and head back into the bathroom. I slip on a black silk, ultra-low babydoll slip. It’s cut low in a V shape that goes down to my belly, lined with ruffles and lace. Paired with the slip is a black lacy v-string panty. Everything is on display because the outfit looks super-sheer. I leave my high heels on and, just as I’m about to open the door, I hear Leo making noise in the bedroom. He’s back!
Leo is the kind of man who always takes control no matter what the situation. It’s unbelievably sexy, but tonight I’m going to be the one in charge.
I open the bathroom door, and Leo looks up from where he’s sitting on the edge of the bed typing on his phone. He takes in a harsh breath and puts his phone down—he hasn’t taken his eyes off me once.
I stand in the doorframe in what I hope is a sexy stance and give him a pout. The way he’s staring at me turns me on, and I can’t help it—I giggle. Oops! #NotSexy
“Elena, you look fucking amazing.”
Maybe the idea was better than I thought! Leo stands up and walks towards me, but I meet him at the bed and push him back down.
“I’m in charge tonight, Mr. Beautiful. Don’t even think about taking control.”
He looks at me with a mixture of confusion and amusement, but I can also see the desire burning in his eyes.
“I’m all yours, cara. Do what you want,” he says, leaning back on the bed.
I lean over in front of him, practically pushing my breasts into his face, and I unbutton his dress shirt. I slip off his shirt and run my fingers down his rock-hard chest and ridiculously hot six-pack. My fingers keep exploring and make their way greedily towards his belt. I have it off in an instant, as well as his pants and boxer briefs.
I stand over him and admire his body. I can’t believe this guy is all mine—for now.
She’ll be kicked to the curb with the rest of his discards …
I push Victoria’s nasty voice out of my mind! No one is allowed to ruin this moment for us. I want to remember this forever.
I push Leo so he’s laying flat on the bed and I straddle him. He takes his large hands and rubs my thighs.
“No way, Jose. Don’t you understand you aren’t in control here? Now do as I say, lover boy,” I command with a little laugh as I push his hands above his head. With one hand holding his arms, I suck on his earlobes. I work my way down his neck, chest and stomach, trailing kisses, bites, and licks. I hear him let out a few moans and I know he’s trying very hard to fight his urge to take control.
He tenses as I take his cock in my hands and stroke his length. I don’t think I’ll ever get over how big he is. I drop my hands to the side and instead place his dick in between my breasts, pushing them together as I rub him up and down.
When he looks ravished for more, I lean over him and rub my sex against him. My panties are so sheer, but the rubbing creates a sexy friction. I stop the rubbing because my body’s all-too-willing to surrender to him, and instead take his cock in my mouth.
I don’t want him to orgasm yet; I’m not ready to end this moment. I stand up towards the edge of the bed. Leo’s eyes never leave my body.
He watches as I slip my hand into my panties and start to rub my own clit. His breath hisses between clenched teeth, and I can tell I’m pushing him to the edge. I lock eyes with him and start to circle my bud with my fingers until I can feel a dampness between my legs.
I slip a finger inside myself, tilt my head back and let out a soft moan.
“Elena, if you don’t stop, I’m going to come. Get back over here.”
Leo pulls me down on the bed and straddles me. His body is everywhere! He rips off my v-string and slips his fingers inside my sex where my own fingers just were. As he pushes his fingers in and out of my pussy, he takes his mouth and sucks hard on my nipples through the sheer lingerie. My senses are heightened, and my body feels ready to explode.
“Oh my God, Leo. I need you inside of me right now,” I plead as I grip his biceps and push myself into his hand.
He positions his cock at my entrance and locks eyes with me. His mouth crashes down on mine, and he starts to swirl his tongue around. I can’t take much more and I really don’t want to orgasm without him. As our tongues are busy working, I push my hips up to meet his cock and start to rub against him, slick with our juices. I think I’ve pushed him to his max, and the next thing I know, he’s slamming into me.
This moment is what I’ve been waiting for.
Leo slips his cock out and then slams back down into me. I meet each of his thrusts with my own. I grab onto his back with all my might and dig my nails in, holding on for dear life. As we continue to ride each other, I bite down on his shoulder to stop myself from screaming out in ecstasy.
“Elena, I’m going to come!”
I push into him and can feel his manhood pulse inside of me. He collapses onto my body, and together we climax. The scent of our lust is in the air. He stays on top of me as we catch our breath and then he slips out of my sex.
He lies back on the bed, and I curl into his side and stroke his broad chest. I feel both of our hearts beating loudly. That was the best sex I’ve ever had.
“That was heavenly, cara. I think I like when you are in control, too.”
I laugh at his confession, and we hold each other tightly as we drift to sleep.
22
It’s a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon as Leo and I walk the streets of Rome hand-in-hand. We blend in with all the tourists on their honeymoons. We spent the morning in bed together, making love … twice. We could give these honeymooners a run for their money.
My Mr. Beautiful: Eternal City Love, Book 1 Page 13
