It hit me like a smack in the face.
I wanted him.
I wanted Enrico bloody Abattelli, and I wanted him badly. How was that even possible?
I glanced up at him, wanting to take a discrete look, to confirm that my worst fears were true, but instead I found him gazing back at me with an unreadable expression on his face.
We stayed that way for a while, just looking at each other, and suddenly I noticed a shift in the air. We were moving in to one another. This was no longer a game. We were about to kiss…
So I shoved him roughly away from me, and I turned on my heel, racing from the building before I ended up doing something I later regretted.
I couldn’t kiss him; I couldn’t like him. I just… couldn’t.
*****
Enrico
I should have been over the moon. I’d gotten exactly what I wanted – I’d gone on the date, done my duty, and Bella had left me behind, just as I’d planned. That was what I’d aimed for all along, and that was what I’d gotten.
But somewhere along the line, somewhere on the dance floor, the lines between playing a game, and real feelings had been blurred. As I’d gazed into her eyes, I’d noticed that there was another person inside of her that was screaming to get out, just as there was in me. We were both covering up our true selves, and masking it in something else. We had a lot more in common than either of us had assumed – we had expectations weighing heavily on our shoulders, and neither of us knew what to do about it.
I’d spent my whole life reacting to that confusion by screwing everyone and anyone, just wanting to feel what my lifestyle could get me. But it had only left me empty and wanting more. And it seemed like Bella had reacted by encasing herself in a wall – one that was completely impenetrable. She was a bitch to everyone, hurting them before they could hurt her.
Neither of us knew how to be whole, how to be normal.
And now I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Now she was on my mind all the time, and I was afraid that with my stupid game playing, I’d already fucked it up.
I’d sent her a text just afterwards, apologizing, but I’d had no reply. And it seemed like she’d gone straight home and bitched about me to her father because ever since that night, the deal had been going south.
Of course I hadn’t heard the damn end of it. My dad just knew that it was my fault, even though I hadn’t said anything about the date to him. He probably assumed that I’d done my usual trick of screwing and never calling again, but that wasn’t the case. Not this time.
That guy, that version of me was a dick that was never going anywhere in life.
I never wanted to be him again.
Even as I’d been playing games with Bella, I’d only been fooling myself, trying to act even to myself that I didn’t like her, that I didn’t actually want to spend time with her.
But of course, that wasn’t what she wanted. She’d made that perfectly clear.
“Enrico?” One of my dad’s right hand men came over to my desk in the office – where I mostly sat pretending to work, imagining all of the wonderful artwork that I could be spending my time creating instead. “Your father has requested your presence in his office.”
“Why do you always insist on talking like a fucking butler?” I snapped, pissed off that I was about to get yelled at over the date once more. “I know what you really are.”
Boris – I didn’t think that was his real name, but it was what everyone called him – was more involved in my dad’s shady business dealings than this company. He was built like a brick shit house, so I was pretty sure that he was some kind of bodyguard. Someone that got their hands dirty so that my dad could have everything.
“I’m sure… sir,” he finished off sarcastically, before stalking off to my father’s office, indicating that I should follow him.
But before I made it to the room where my dad sat lording over everyone, the police burst into the building, complete with riot gear and a search warrant.
“We’re looking for Mr. Abattelli,” one of them said to me. “I have a warrant for his arrest.”
*****
Bella
It had been really difficult to ignore Enrico since our date – especially since he kept trying to contact me – but I was proud of myself for staying strong.
I liked him. I liked him a little too much, and I couldn’t be around him for that exact reason.
I just couldn’t allow myself to get sucked in to a thing with someone who oozed sex, who clearly screwed around, who I guessed lied to me about the reasons he asked me out. When I was away from the cloud of lust, it was much easier to see that I was suckered by his stupid story, and I didn’t want that to happen again.
When I got home, my dad had asked me how it went and I was so close to tears that this had spilled me over the edge. He’d taken it as I’d found something bad out, and I was too embarrassed to correct him, so things had been going bad business wise ever since.
I was glad about that part. The Abattellis couldn’t be trusted, but I did feel a little bad for not being honest.
But as I sat on my bed, feeling the depression engulf me, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d made all the wrong choices. If I’d misjudged all over again.
I suddenly heard screaming and yelling coming from downstairs, which made my heart race as I jumped up. My father never shouted in this house, and it was totally bizarre to hear it.
I raced down the stairs, running two at a time, desperate to know what had him so riled up. It had to be Prudence – maybe she’d broken off another engagement in the way that she always did when she got bored.
I was excited to see the drama unfold yet again, it was the only thing that might be able to shake me from my funk.
“…and now he’s been arrested.” I heard him scream. “Where the hell does that leave us?”
“What’s going on daddy?” I asked quietly from the kitchen door. I shrank in on myself, feeling as if I was reverting to a childlike version of myself.
“You were the only one that saw it,” he announced confused, racing to my side and throwing his arms around me. “If it wasn’t for you, I would have merged our businesses, and we would be going down too.”
“What are you on about?” All of this sounded really serious, but I couldn’t quite work out what it was.
“Mr. Abattelli,” he said simply, spinning me around to look me in the eye. “He’s been arrested. He’s involved in some massive organized criminal scheme…”
“What?” I gasped, breathless and shocked. Sure, I’d sensed that they weren’t the best people in the world, but I never would have guessed that.
“His entire company is a cover up operation – he probably wanted to include ours as a part of that. Maybe for money laundering and stuff. It’s in the newspaper today.”
“Oh my…” The world started to spin around me, I began to feel nauseated and dizzy. I clutched onto my stomach, feeling like I could have thrown up at any moment. “I don’t…”
And then everything went black.
***
When I came back around, I could hear more yelling. This time, my parents were worrying about me, wondering what they should do next.
“I… I’m okay,” I muttered, forcing myself into a sitting position. “I just need a drink.”
Once I sipped down the cold water, another emotion began to flood through me. Anger. Enrico must know about his father’s dealings, and he didn’t tell me on our date. Instead of helping me save my father’s business, he tried to seduce me instead.
How fucking inappropriate!
Maybe he knew what he was doing; maybe he was a massive part of it.
I stomp out of the room, and leave the house behind me without even looking back. I could hear my parents shouting out to me, but I simply sent them a dismissive wave, and continued on my journey.
I had a score to settle, and I was going to damn well settle it!
I stormed through the streets until I reached
Mr. Abattelli’s office – which luckily wasn’t too far away from my home – and I pushed my way through the doors, completely ignoring the police tape everywhere.
Once inside, I realized that it was like a ghost town. Completely deserted. It was bizarre. But my mood didn’t dull. Enrico was here, I was certain of it.
“Hello?” I called out, trying to draw him out to me. “Enrico?”
“What?” a groggy voice replied, leading me into one of the medium sized corner offices.
There I found him looking red faced and stressed, almost as if he hadn’t slept for a long time.
But I tried not to let that derail me.
“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?” I snapped. “You could have cost my family everything, everything. Does that mean nothing to you?” His head fell into his hands, but he didn’t give me a response. “My dad has worked his whole life, and your dad just… just…”
But then his shoulders began to shake, and I realized that he was actually really upset. That he was crying.
“I knew my dad wasn’t squeaky clean,” he admitted. “But I had no idea how deep all of this ran. I really didn’t. I know you won’t believe me…”
But somehow, I did. Enrico just didn’t seem the type. There was something more to him, something underneath.
I slumped into the chair on the other side of his desk, completely stumped.
“My heart doesn’t lie in this business,” he continued, looking up to meet my eye. “I love art. I don’t want anything to do with all of this, I hate it. I always have.”
And my heart stopped. I knew exactly what he meant. I had always harbored a dream to become a writer, but that had been quashed from a very young age. My parents had spent a lot of time instilling into me that my job was to find a rich man to marry, then to pop out some kids.
And this only got worse when Pru started to act the way she did.
But the dream was still there, going nowhere…
“Wow,” I said quietly. “I… I’m sorry I guess. I just thought…”
“At least your dad didn’t sign anything, right?”
He smiled weakly at me through shiny wet eyes. I nodded numbly, not wanting to say too much. After all, I still had my dad, we did still have everything. It could have gone wrong, but it didn’t.
Enrico had nothing.
He stood up, walking over to me, emotion consuming him. Then, he grabbed my face in his hands, held my eyes for a few seconds, before leaning forward and claiming my mouth with his own.
*****
Enrico
After all that I’d been through in the past forty eight hours, the sight of Bella coming into the office had been like a ray of sunshine. Now she was here, in front of me, listening to me pour my heart out, and actually looking as if she understood.
As I stared at her, I decided that I wanted to kiss her. Once that thought was in my head, I decided to just act upon it before I had the chance to talk myself out of it.
Sure, she could just reject me once more, but I was willing to take that chance. I’d already lost everything else.
But as soon as our lips connected, and fireworks burst through my whole body, I knew that she wasn’t going anywhere. I knew that she was mine.
She responded enthusiastically, running her hands around the back of my neck, claiming me as much as I claimed her. This time there was no running away, this time she wanted me as much as I did her, and nothing was going to stop her.
I tugged her upright, until she was standing in front of me, then I pushed her back until she was perched on my desk. I’d never been with anyone in here before, or in the office at all, and it was kind of exciting.
Of course, I’d never done it before because this place was normally a busy hive of activity, whereas now without dad it was like a ghost town.
But that was perfect, that was just what I needed.
Bella moaned into my mouth – a sound which sprung straight to my cock, causing me to strain painfully against my trousers. I couldn’t control myself any longer, I reached around her and grabbed her ass, wanting to get a feel of her.
“Oh God,” she cried, as I moved my hand around to her thigh. “Enrico.”
I couldn’t believe that she was actually responding to me! After last time, I knew that I was lucky to even get a kiss, never mind… well, whatever could be about to happen.
I ran my fingers up her legs, finally reaching the outline of her panties. There, I could feel her wet heat emanating, and I grew even more desperate to feel her. I wanted to plunge into her and thrust over and over again.
Not only would that help me forget all of my problems, but I’d also be giving myself exactly what I wanted. I already knew that Bella wouldn’t be just some random fuck. We wouldn’t do this, then I’d never speak to her again. We’d do this, and I’d want to do it again and again. After having a few days without speaking to her, I already realized that I don’t want to go through that again.
But just as I was about to make my move, Bella pushed me off panting heavily. “No, no, stop,” she gasped, trying to get a hold of herself. “Wait I…”
“Uurggh,” I groaned, unable to believe that I’d been cock blocked again.
“I… I’m sorry…” she gasped. “I just…”
“No it’s okay.” I didn’t want her to feel bad. Of course if she didn’t want to do this, I understood, but that didn’t mean that I wasn’t gutted.
“I have something to tell you,” she confessed. “I…” Her face flushed bright red as she was clearly embarrassed about what she had to say. “I’m a virgin.”
“What?” I cried out, unable to believe what she was telling me. How could such a gorgeous girl have gotten so far in life without hooking up with someone? Was that why she was so prissy and buttoned up? “Oh.”
“I still want to,” she eventually said coyly. “I… I’ve been waiting for the right person, and I know this seems mad but I feel like we have something. That there’s a connection here. I know that it might seem crazy because we don’t really know each other, but I feel like…” she trailed off, as if she wasn’t sure how I’d react to all of this.
“I feel it too,” I confessed. I really did. There was something here, I’d already recognized that, which was why I’d allowed this to go this far. Of course Bella didn’t know that I was turning over a new leaf, that I wanted to let her in because I wanted to keep her there.
“Will you be my first?” she asked, biting down on her lip.
She had no idea what that question did to me, how it made me feel. Not only did it turn me on more than anything ever before, but it also made me feel special, desired, needed.
And I liked that, a lot.
“Of course.”
*****
Bella
The next thing I knew, we were making out like horny teenagers, unable to get enough of each other. My hands were tangled up in his hair, and his were everywhere, all over my body, sending pricks of pleasure coursing through my veins.
I’d never been so sure of anything in my life.
As soon as I’d seen that spark of vulnerability, that speck of the true Enrico, I made up my mind.
I knew that it was rash for someone who’d held onto her virginity, waiting for the right person – but Enrico did feel right, and this strange, unusual moment felt right too.
He pushed me back until I was lying across his desk, and he stared down at me, letting me in via his deep hazelnut eyes once more, showing me into his soul.
“Are you sure?” he whispered, and I nodded confidently as a reply. My body felt like it was screaming out for him, I was sure!
As if to prove my point, I arched my back and reached out for him, tugging him back to my lips, where we kissed some more.
Damn, I loved kissing him! He alternated between soft and hard, fast and slow, in a way that got me really riled up.
And then he made it even worse, by rubbing my entrance through my lace panties with his fingertips, sending a whole
bunch of unexpected, wild sensations bursting right through me. A hot pool formed in my stomach, and started to trickle through my entire body.
I began panting wildly against his lips, showing him what he was doing to me, even if I wanted to keep it to myself. It was a little embarrassing that I couldn’t contain myself, but Enrico didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he seemed quite excited by it!
I wasn’t planning on staring at his bulging erection, but every so often I caught sight of it and it filled me with excitement and fear equally.
He was just so big!
“I need these gone,” he suddenly growled into my ear, yanking my underwear down until I heard them fall to the floor.
I felt an anxious thrill race through me as I realized how cold and exposed I was for him. He could now see all of me – things that no one ever had before – there was no going back.
“Beautiful,” he exclaimed, examining me.
I gulped, as his fingers edged closer to me. I was hot, I was wet, and I wasn’t sure if he was going to like it.
But then he slipped a finger in and he moaned as if it was the sexiest thing ever, and I allowed my head to roll back in ecstasy. It felt amazing!
Seeing how much I was enjoying this, he slid in another finger experimentally, exploring me to find out what I liked. Then another…
“So tight,” he murmured, leaning in towards my stomach. “So wet.”
He placed on chaste kiss on my torso, then another, slowly working his way down. I had no idea what he was doing, I was just lying there enjoying the sensations.
Until his tongue darted inside of my entrance, and I buckled with the crazy rush that I immediately felt.
“You like that, huh?” he sounded pleased with himself. I tried to get my breath long enough to reply, but it was if it had been sucked right from me, and that only got worse as he flicked his tongue all over me, finding places that I didn’t even know I had.
Just as I could feel myself building up to something huge, just as I felt like I was about to explode, he pulled back leaving me cold and alone.
The Crime of Protection Page 25
