by Naomi West
“I don’t know,” he says, his eyes still covered. He waves his other hand through the air. “You’re so pretty it got me all flustered.”
I smile even more and feel my stomach flip. “Are you gonna look at me ever again?” I ask as I accept the papers the instructor is handing to me. I take his too because he can’t see anything beyond his hand.
“No, it’s safer like this,” he says and I laugh.
“I’m Alessia,” I say.
He lowers his hand, his cheeks still vaguely pink.
“Chris,” he says and holds his hand out to me.
We shake hands briefly and I feel my heart skip a little.
“You wanna grab lunch after this?” he asks. “Maybe try and figure out how the hell we’re gonna make it through this?” He holds up the syllabus and I laugh again.
“I guess it would be nice to have a study buddy,” I say and from the back of the room I hear Dare cough loudly.
“Uh, yeah. Totally,” Chris says, his brow slightly furrowed.
The instructor calls the class to order but my mind zooms forward to my lunch with Chris. My day suddenly doesn’t look quite so bleak.
Chapter Four
Alessia
When the words on the page of my textbook start to blur together I know it’s time for bed. I’m utterly exhausted. With all the sleep deprivation, it’s a holy miracle I even made it this far into the night.
My phone buzzes underneath me and I dig it out from between the couch cushions.
How’s it going, goody two shoes?
I smile at the text from Dante. He’s usually so protective over me, but he’s been giving me space lately. Weirdly, I think it actually gives him peace of mind that Dare is watching over me, even if he’s my father’s puppet. I smile and text him back.
You mean besides the fact that my rights as an American citizen are being infringed 24/7? Scottish Terminator is keeping a pretty tight leash, huh?
I think back on the way he glowered at me as I ate lunch with that kid from my class.
Yeah, he’s taking this whole thing very seriously.
Dante texts back immediately and his answer makes me frown.
Good. It’s serious.
Maybe it is serious. But I’m sick of being under Dad’s thumb. I just want to be free.
I almost consider not sending the text, but I watch as my thumb brushes the screen. The text flies off. Dante texts back immediately. And I have no idea what to think about it.
I’m working on it, two shoes.
Working on what? A plan to get free of our father? Not possible. Fabrici Patrizzio is one of the most powerful men in the country. He’s got politicians in his pocket. Policemen owing him favors. He’s got eyes and ears everywhere. Plus, the man is ruthless. There is no getting free of him.
I go to stand up but find that my feet won’t let me get up. I’m additionally exhausted just thinking about my father. The thought of another night in that hellish room turns my stomach. I close my eyes for a minute.
When I open them again, my body is on fire. It must be a million degrees in my room. Looking down, I realize I fell asleep in my clothes. I rip my shirt off over my head and shimmy out of my pants. That’s better. The cool air hits my skin and I roll over in bed, trying to get comfortable again. The sheets feel rougher than normal but my tired body doesn’t give it a second thought.
I stretch my hand out and am surprised when it hits something warm and hard. I run my open hand over the chest of a man. I jolt when I realize that it’s Dare. In my bed. Next to me. Naked.
I’m shocked when it doesn’t feel weird or foreign. He’s looking at me like he’s used to touching his naked skin to mine. His mouth quirks up into a smile as he runs one hand through my hair. It falls like a waterfall through his fingers and the ends cascade over my sensitized skin. His eyes fall to my lips and his casual smile evaporates. Suddenly I’m on my back and all I can see is his face as he kneels over me, caging me in with one arm on either side of my head.
“Say it, Alessia,” he growls and I feel the words bubble up, wanting to come out.
But something holds me back. I bite my lip to keep them in. His eyes darken even further and he lowers his head to me. He clamps his teeth over my bottom lip and tugs it into his hot mouth. He knees my legs apart and presses his thigh into the hot, wet core of me. I moan into his mouth.
“I said, say it,” his voice is so deep I can feel it in my chest.
I rub myself against him, trying to alleviate the racing feeling between my legs. One of his hands grabs me by the hips, holding me still.
“Say it, and I’ll give you everything you need, right now,” his eyes are dark sapphires glinting at me through the dim light of the room. His mouth is panting and gritted against the desire he’s pressing into me.
“It’s yours, Dare,” I finally say, in a voice that’s more moan than words.
Instantly he ducks his head, his hands trailing down after him, tugging on my nipples before they make their way to the top of my panties. He rips them down my legs and lunges back up body, his mouth making immediate contact with my pussy. His tongue plunges inside of me and my back comes up off the bed.
He plants his hands on my hips and rolls us so that he’s on his back under me. I try to pull away for a second, but he firmly holds my hips in place over him. He lowers me onto his mouth at the same second he plunges his tongue into me again. Licking all the way up over my pubis, his lips parting the folds of my sex, he circles my clit with his tongue. And then suckles me. I’m so close. I’m about to come. I’m so close.
Chapter Five
Dare
I grit my teeth and stare angrily at the screen of my laptop. I’ve been obsessively checking the sensors that are scattered around the condo and I know she’s still in the living room because she hasn’t tripped the ones leading to her bedroom. I can’t sleep until she’s locked into her room for the night.
I know she hates the master bedroom but I’m not sure why. Honestly, I don’t give a shit. That room has by far the most security features. It would take a SWAT team to extract her from there and it’s the only place she’s safe enough from Greco.
I know I’ve been too tight with her over the last week so I’m trying to give her a little autonomy. Study wherever she wants within the apartment. But it’s pushing three in the morning and she’s still in the living room. I’m tempted to check the security cameras to see what she’s doing, but I don’t. It’s just pervy if there’s no security based reason to watch her. Her privacy has been invaded enough already.
I crack my knuckles and try to get more comfortable. What is she even doing studying this late? As if she even needs to. Shadowing her in her classes this week made it sickeningly clear how off base I was about her intelligence. She’s clearly the brightest person in the room. She often makes points that make even the professors give pause. And even though her demeanor is quiet, she’s very outspoken. Often good- naturedly arguing with other students and asking lots of questions.
Basically, she’s the complete opposite of the way she is when her father is around. She’s obviously gotten very good at creating the illusion that she’s dull and ditzy. Probably so that her father will continue to underestimate her. If he knew how smart and talented she is there’s no doubt he would try to bring her into the family business in some way. The thought of Alessia tangled up in the Patrizzio line of work makes my stomach curdle.
I clench my fists against the feeling. I’ve been having it a lot lately. For the last decade, I haven’t had any problem dissociating my own sense of self from the man I was paid to protect. Patrizzio’s life was Patrizzio’s life and all I did was follow along, making sure he was safe. Just like he paid me to do.
But in the week I’ve been shadowing Alessia I’ve found myself wanting to butt in a million times. Sure, whenever there is a security concern I insert myself in her life no matter what. Even though she hates it. But even when she’s perfectly safe, I find myself h
aving to hold back from talking to her, convincing her to make different decisions.
For instance, lunch with that bologna dick piece of shit today. The kid looked like he was going to come in his pants just from sitting next to her. And then when she’d started eating a banana…
Come to think of it that had been a little difficult for me to watch, as well.
She’d texted me from under the desk during class and asked me to hang back, pretend like it was just a coincidence that I was eating at the same place as them. She’s obviously not wild about telling people she has a bodyguard. They mostly talked about the class and their study schedule but I got so worked up watching that idiot sneak peeks down her shirt that she apparently had to send me another text.
Hey, Terminator. Chill the fuck out or he’s gonna figure out you’re guarding me. Read a book or something.
It would have been funny if he hadn’t taken the opportunity to put his number in her phone after she was done texting me. The only thing that kept me from knocking the kid into next Tuesday was how she kept referring to him as her ‘study buddy.’ I’d laughed out loud when she’d done it the first time in the classroom. Really took the wind out of his sails. It was fucking hilarious.
I frown at the computer when I realize that the sensor is blinking green. That means that she hasn’t moved from the living room but that something is making a noise in there. It’s probably just the TV or something. Or she’s talking on the phone. I slam my laptop closed. She better not be talking to bologna dick.
I’ve had enough of this shit. It’s time for bed. I’m striding down the hall before I can even think twice about it. Enforcing a bedtime isn’t technically my job as her head of security, but both of our lives have been turned completely upside down this last week and I’m at the end of my rope.
I freeze in my tracks halfway down the hallway when I hear the noise that the sensor was detecting. A small moan. Breathy. Needy.
Then another. My cock strains against the sweatpants I changed into a few hours earlier. What the fuck is going on? Is she hooking up with someone in there? The thought that someone could have snuck into the condo without me knowing has panic ripping through my chest. I stride into the room, my fists clenched. But all the air in my lungs is completely sucked out of me when I see what waits for me in the living room.
Alessia, asleep on the big sectional couch. Her shirt and pants are discarded on the floor and she wears only a white tank top and a pair of pale pink panties. Her black hair is spread in a fan underneath her. As I watch, her head flips from one side to the other. Her lips part as she lets out a moan and her thighs press together.
“It’s yours, Dare,” she whispers and her nipples strain against her shirt, visible under the thin material.
Christ. It’s not hard to fill in the pieces. She’s having a sex dream. And I’m pretty sure she doesn’t know too many other people with the first name Dare. My cock could pound nails as I watch her twist on the couch. I’m frozen, completely unsure of what to do next when her legs fall open.
A grunt rips out of me when I see that her panties are soaked. I realize what I have to do then and adjust my cock in my pants. I have to put her in her room and lock it up. That way she’ll be safe from everything. Including me. But if I have to watch her little body wiggle around and get herself off while she dreams about me, then I’m going to wake her up and fuck her on the couch and that would be very bad. Very, very, very bad.
Somehow, my hand is still on my cock as she says my name again, her hips pushing against the air. I watch in horror and fascination as one of her hands slides over the smooth, golden skin of where her shirt has ridden up. I jump forward, springing into action. I have to lock her away from me. Right now. I’m a good man. But I’m still just a man and if I watch her finger that pussy, even for a second, I’ll lost control. No question. I don’t even care if she wakes up as I bend down over her and lift her up from the couch as quickly and clinically as possible. She’s so deep into sleep that she doesn’t even stir. Her body is light as a feather and damp with sweat. I can smell her floral musk and it’s enough to make my cock grow another inch.
I’m holding her out from my body, but she twists in her sleep and I have to hold her against my chest to steady her. Her breasts crush into me and I stifle a groan. She’s so plush, so soft, so warm. So young.
I mentally smack myself. At twenty-two, she’s too young for me. No matter if she’s dreaming about me and wiggling and moaning in my arms. Focus, goddammit. I make it across her room in two huge steps and lean forward to quickly lay her down on her bed, but her body must have sensed her downward motion because suddenly she’s gripping my shoulders and her eyes snap open.
“Dare?” she asks, confused and sleepy.
I lay her down completely and try to pull away, but she clings to me. One of her legs hooks around my hip and I freeze as I feel her hot pussy press against my stomach and I can sense how wet she is.
“Where are you going?” she asks.
“Back to my room, Alessia. You were sleeping on the couch. I brought you back in here where it’s safer,” I can barely grit out the words through my clenched teeth. I want her so badly I can’t see straight. I feel like a wild animal. There is no blood left in my head for good decision making. I can smell her arousal on the air.
She blinks her eyes and comes completely awake. I know because she freezes in my arms. Where a moment ago she was pliant and molded to me, now she’s become rigid and stiff. Gasping, she lets go of me and pushes herself across the bed. Her knees pull up in front of her.
“I-I was dreaming.”
“Yeah,” I say, wanting to reassure her that nothing happened between us.
Her dark eyes fill her face. “You just carried me in here?”
I nod. I hope she doesn’t think I was perving on her. I open my mouth to clarify but snap it closed when I realize her eyes have dropped to my lips. She licks her own and her knees come down. I try as hard as I can, but my eyes have a mind of their own when they drop to her nipples straining against her thin tank top.
She leans slightly forward and looks at me, obviously turned on. But then something else crosses her face, a momentary flash of uncertainty. A look that asks me, what happens next? And I’m reminded of her age. She’s too young. And besides that, she’s Patrizzio’s daughter. I have to get the fuck out of here. I take two steps back from her.
“Goodnight, Alessia.” I close the door firmly behind me lean back against it, breathing hard.
Chapter Six
Alessia
I don’t so much as glance at Dare for the next week. Which is apparently fine by him as he barely even looks at me either. We exchange words only when entirely necessary. Our condo has become a silent tense fortress.
The following Friday night I step out of the shower of my master bathroom, the only part of the bedroom that I like. Steam curls around me but it’s not the hot shower that has my face flushing, it’s the memory of waking up in Dare’s arms, pressed so tightly against him. I’m not positive that he knew what I was dreaming about, but I’m sure I was writhing against him when I woke up.
I can’t even begin to imagine what he must think of me. Probably that I’m a sex crazed bimbo that can’t even keep it in her pants when she’s asleep. Even the act of remembering that night causes me to flush in the bathroom mirror and I pat my cheeks. I hang my towel up and start roughly combing the tangles out of my hair. Well, he can think what he wants. It doesn’t change the fact I’m still a virgin for fuck sakes. I’ve barely ever even kissed anyone.
My father’s influence and reputation has kept almost every boy a million miles away from me. Even when I was here at Michigan alone, I never went to parties or got up the courage to talk to boys. Some would come talk to me in the library or at cafes where I was studying, but they’d quickly lose interest when they’d find an awkward school-obsessed girl instead of socialite partier. One boy I went on a date with in my sophomore year even told me tha
t the way I look was false advertising, like I was giving off a vibe or something.
I push away the negative thoughts. In almost every regard I’m a confident person. I don’t need to be ashamed of who I am when it comes to sex. Just because I’ve never met anyone who really interested me isn’t a failing on my part.
My mind flashes back to the dream about Dare. That had been really unexpected. I didn’t really understand how someone who is so domineering and irritating in real life could make me want him so badly in my dreams.
Luckily it hasn’t translated into real life. Ever since I had that dream I’ve been completely repelled by Dare. Wanting to keep as much space between him and me as possible. It’s almost like we’re two strangers who happen to be going to the same places. The only time we ever touch is in the night when he inevitably shakes my shoulder to wake me up and tell me to go to the bedroom from wherever I’ve fallen asleep. Sometimes in the living room, sometimes at the kitchen table, wherever I’ve been studying.
