I take another deep breath and count to ten.
“You know what, if you’re not going to do your job, I don’t fucking need you! I don’t need this stress! You’re fucking fired!”
She hangs up on me, and I exhale. That commission was huge, but sweet Jesus, it wasn’t worth the shit that girl can sling.
“What’s wrong?”
My head whips up and I find Dominic standing ten feet away, hands in his pockets, watching me quietly.
“I’m fine.”
His jaw ticks, and the next thing I know, he takes my hand in his and leads me across the grass, into the back of the villa, and into the sunroom, shutting the door behind us.
“You’re not fine.” He stalks to me, all tall muscle and intense blue gaze, and just like that, my breathing increases and I can’t remember why I’m frustrated and pissed off. I back up as he advances, until my back is against the wall. He braces one hand on the wall beside my head and cups my cheek with the other. “You’re not fine,” he whispers, just before his lips meet mine in a slow, lazy kiss, just like the last two.
But I’m not feeling slow or lazy.
I moan and bury my fingers in his hair, grip it in my fists and press myself against him, taking the kiss from easy to hot in one-point-three seconds. I bite his lip, then devour his mouth, sucking and biting, and I just can’t get fucking close enough to him.
He growls as he leans into me, pressing me between his hard body and the hard wall at my back. His hands travel from my shoulders, over my breasts and down my sides, and then he gathers my skirt in his hands, pulling it up around my waist. I slide one leg up his, hook my leg around his hip, and moan in delight when his hand cups my ass firmly, tilting me against his hard erection.
“Cazzo, cara,” he whispers, as he kisses his way down my jawline to my neck.
Oh, God, my neck! It’s my sweet spot.
I’m not responsible for my actions if he kisses my fucking neck.
Suddenly, from somewhere behind him, someone clears their throat loudly, making us both come to a halt. Dom catches my gaze in his molten blue one and slightly shakes his head, warning me not to move.
Thank God he’s shielding me from the view of the person behind him.
“Yes, Celeste.”
“You’re needed out in the barn, sir.”
“Thank you.”
We hear her walk away and he lets my leg lower to the floor. We’re both panting hard, my nipples are hard nubs, stabbing his chest, and dear God, I’ve never ached for anyone the way I’m aching for him right now.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
“We didn’t even hear her,” I mutter with frustration. What am I doing? Thank God the sun shades are pulled on the windows of this room; otherwise, the entire crew would have had an eyeful.
“Are you okay?” he asks again.
“Fine.” Fuck, I’m not fine.
He watches me for a heartbeat, then presses his lips to my forehead. “That was a lie. You’re only allowed one, cara.”
“I’m not—”
“We’ll talk tonight.” He steps back, makes sure I am steady on my feet, and then drags his fingertips down my cheek. “Don’t ever let anyone speak to you the way that woman did again.”
I raise a brow in question.
“She was loud. I could hear her as if I had my own ear to the phone. You don’t have to be abused like that by your clients.”
I blush and smooth my skirt down my legs. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not working for her anymore.”
“Good.” He tilts my chin up and I’m caught in his bold blue gaze. Damn it, I like him.
“Thank you for breakfast.”
“You’re welcome.” He smiles now, a bright, full on, infectious smile that lights the room before leaning in and pressing one more light kiss to my lips. “Tonight.”
He winks and then walks back outside toward the barn. I have to take a moment to catch my breath.
What the hell was that?
I can’t control myself around the man. He barely kissed me and I climbed him like a tree.
And, God help me, I want to do it again.
I shake my head and walk into the kitchen. I need a cold bottle of water STAT, and then I need to get back to work.
I stop short when I see Blake in the kitchen bustling about and whistling happily.
“I wasn’t expecting you here today.”
“I needed to check in with Dom on a few things and decided to start organizing things in here the way I want them.” He tilts his head and narrows his eyes at me, and then a slow, sly grin spreads over his lips. “You’re getting some.”
“Shut up.” I roll my eyes and stomp to the fridge to retrieve a water.
“Is this why you’ve been avoiding me?” he asks, and makes a note on his notepad.
“I’m not avoiding you.” Exactly.
“Called you twice,” he murmurs, and avoids my gaze as he pulls open a cabinet door to count cookware.
“I’ve been busy. You know this is my biggest event this year.”
He nods and purses his lips.
“What, are your feelings hurt?” I smirk and take a long pull on the water.
“Well, given that in the last three years you’ve never not called me back, I might be a bit pissed.”
“I’m not at your fucking beck and call,” I reply hotly, and immediately hate myself.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
I’m damn sexually frustrated and having a shit day.
“So, what crawled up your ass today, Leash? Because whatever it is, can we pull it out, so you can stop with the crabby-ass attitude?”
Dominic Salvatore is my issue.
So not telling him that.
“I’m sorry.” I sigh and round the island to give Blake a hug, and sigh when his strong arms circle around me and hold me tight. “I’m a bitch.”
“You’re not a bitch. But you’re not yourself.”
“It’s a big event,” I say again.
“You never used to lie to me.” I cringe and think of Dom’s words about lying in the sunroom.
“It’s just a bad day. Honest.” I plaster a smile on my face and look up into his big brown eyes. “And I’m sorry I didn’t call you back. I was distracted last night.”
He quirks a brow.
“Not like that.” I pull away and reclaim my water before heading for the door and away from Blake’s all-knowing gaze. “I’ll call you later.”
“Be careful, Leash.”
“I’m fine.” I roll my eyes to make him smirk and head back outside to work.
***
I can’t freaking sleep.
Again.
There were no more issues with the construction crew this afternoon, but we were set back long enough that we all worked through dinner, and by the time I was done for the day, I just didn’t have it in me to face the sexual frustration that comes from being with Dom. I made a hasty retreat up to my room to return calls, check my email, and get ready for tomorrow.
And now my work is all caught up, it’s late, and I should be fast asleep.
Instead, all I can think about is the sexy Italian most likely asleep just a two-minute walk away.
I blow out a gusty sigh and toss the covers aside, throw my hair up into a messy knot on the top of my head, and pull on a pair of yoga shorts with my plain white tank before opening the door to my room and sticking my head out to make sure no one is walking down the hallway.
No one, meaning Dominic.
Assuring myself that the coast is clear, I pad down the hall to the linen closet and almost jump with joy when I find cleaning supplies. I load my arms with sponges and cleaners and pad back to my room, close the door, and march into the bathroom.
When I’m stressed out, I clean. It’s soothing, and I do my best thinking when I’m scrubbing the hell out of something.
I pull my travel speakers out of my computer bag and connect the Bluetooth on my iPhone to them, then set my
music to my angry cleaning playlist.
Eminem and Rhianna begin singing about Monsters and away I go, swinging my hips with the blaring music.
It’s a good thing I’m the only one on this side of the villa. No one will be able to hear my music.
Half an hour later, I’ve scrubbed the sink, the toilet and the shower and I’m on my hands and knees, cleaning the floor around the sunken tub.
Where does Dominic get off, always coming on to me anyway? I’ve said no to his advances in the past. You’d think the man would take a hint, for crying in the night!
And what’s up with his arms? Why do they have to be so…defined? I bet he doesn’t even have to try to look like that.
He just looks like that.
I scoot backwards toward the door and scowl.
“And what’s up with his secret Italian home remedies?” I ask the room at large, just able to hear myself over the sound of Lady Gaga singing to Alejandro. “I wonder what the Italian home remedy is for sexual frustration?”
A deep, male voice chuckles behind me, making me still, and then hang my head in resignation.
“Shit.”
I glance back over my shoulder and sure enough, there he is, leaning against the doorjamb of the bathroom door, arms crossed over his naked chest and a mischievous grin on his delicious lips.
“Don’t you know how to knock?”
“You didn’t hear me over the music.”
I stand and shut the music off, immediately sending the room into a shocking silence.
“What can I do for you?” Can you please cover your ridiculously muscled chest? Jesus, is that chest even legal?
“You didn’t come down for dinner.”
“I had work.” I cross my arms over my chest, hoping to cover the fact that I’m not wearing a bra and tear my gaze from his torso. “And it was late by the time I was done.”
“You know, I have people who do this.” He gestures to the cleaning supplies on the floor.
“I clean when I’m stressed.”
His face sobers. “What’s stressing you out, cara? I’ll take care of it.”
I bark out a humorless laugh. “Right.”
“Talk to me.”
I bite my lip and then shake my head. “I’m fine.”
“That’s number two.” His normally calm and easygoing voice is now hard, just like his eyes.
“Okay, you want to know what’s wrong with me?” I push away from the sink and pace across the bathroom. “I had too many construction issues to deal with today, which put us behind by hours that had to be made up today in order to stay on deadline.”
I pace back toward Dom and immediately regret it when I see his eyes narrow and his biceps bulge when he crosses his arms again.
“I lost the wedding with Tonya. Yes, she’s a first class pain in the ass, but the commission was good.”
I pace away again.
“I hurt Blake’s feelings, and I never hurt his feelings. I sometimes forget that he has feelings. And I was insensitive and bitchy with him, and he didn’t deserve it.”
I turn back to Dom, all riled up and unable to stop the purging of words out of my mouth.
“And here you are, all sexy and funny and kind, and you make my body crazy! I’m so sexually frustrated I can’t fucking see straight.”
My chest is heaving with labored breaths as I stare at him, mortified that I said what I just did, and still pissed off.
Suddenly, he walks to me with measured, carefully controlled steps and lays his hand on my hip, urging me toward him.
“Do you think you’re the only one, cara?” His eyes drop to my lips and then return to mine. “I’ve wanted you since the minute I saw you.”
He’s backed me up, like he did earlier in the sunroom, and suddenly my hips are pressed into the vanity.
“Why?” I whisper.
“I recognized you, and I’d never seen you before. My body yearns for you. I can’t get enough of your laughter. And if I don’t get my hands in your fucking hair right now, I’ll go out of my fucking mind.”
With my eyes pinned to his, I reach up and pull the knot out of my hair and let it fall around my shoulders. Dominic takes a long, deep breath as he pushes his hands gently into it at the base of my neck and tilts my head back.
“If you’re going to say no, say it now, Alecia.”
Chapter Seven
~Dominic~
Her eyes dilate as her chest heaves with her labored breathing, and I’ve never seen anything so fucking sexy in all of my life. Her body is on fire, pressed against mine. My hands are fisted in her long, soft hair, tugging her head back so I can look into her chocolate brown eyes.
She swallows hard and licks her lips, and my sanity is holding on by a fucking thread.
I tilt my head down, but don’t kiss her. Not yet. My lips are hovering over hers, my nose brushes lightly over the tip of hers, and her eyes flutter.
“Yes or no, cara?”
“Dominic—”
“Answer me.”
“Yes!” She surges up and takes my lips with hers in a frustrated kiss, plants one hand on the nape of my neck, keeping my lips over hers, and her other small hand goes on a long journey all over my bare torso, down my chest, across my stomach and around my side to my back, then around again, as though she just can’t wait to touch me everywhere, all at once.
And fuck if I don’t feel exactly the same way.
I boost her up onto the vanity, then brush her hair back over her shoulders and allow my hands to travel down her arms and up under the thin material of her white tank top.
She’s not wearing a fucking bra.
I didn’t think my cock could get any harder, and then my thumbs brush over her hard nipples and her hips surge against my pelvis, and that’s it.
Game over.
She manages to reach into the waistband of my gym shorts and tug them down around the middle of my ass, just far enough to unleash my cock, and my eyes cross as she pumps my dick in two long, fluid motions.
“Jesus, Alecia.” My voice is rough.
“Your skin is dark everywhere,” she murmurs, her eyes watching the hand that’s wrapped around my shaft. I’m not going to last if she keeps this up.
I take her hands in mine, kiss them both, then pin them behind her back, thrusting her breasts high, perfect for my lips.
“Wanna touch you,” she gasps, then lets her head fall back on a long moan as I pull one perfect nipple into my mouth and suck, then release it with a loud pop before turning my attention to the other one.
“Love your tits, cara,” I whisper. I glance up to find her eyes closed and her bottom lip clenched between her teeth. Her tank is pushed up above her breasts, under her armpits, and her hips are moving in a rhythmic circle.
I cup her sex, over her yoga shorts and grin when she gasps and gazes up at me with wide eyes.
“You like that?”
“Touch me,” she whispers.
“Oh, I plan to do a whole lot more than that,” I reply, releasing her hands. She immediately braces herself on my arms as I reach between her legs and rip her shorts and panties right off her, leaving them in shreds under her sweet ass.
“I would have taken them off for you,” she says with a wry grin.
“No time,” I reply, and take my cock in my hand, but instead of plunging right inside her, I drag the tip of my cock through her wet folds, up around her clit and back down again, and then I let it simply rest against her pussy and lean in to take her mouth again.
I thrust my hips against her, nudging her clit with every push, making her squirm and clench her legs around my hips, her hands on my back, pulling me closer against her.
But I’m not sinking inside her. Not yet.
“Dom,” she says with a growl.
“Yes.”
“Inside. Me. Now.”
“Not yet.”
“Oh, my God!” she cries as I fall to my knees, spread her wide, and feel my heart stutter.
> Mother of God, she’s stunning.
She covers her stomach with one hand and balances herself on the other, and I frown up at her in confusion.
“That’s not my best side,” she says, her cheeks reddening.
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
She’s self-conscious?
I take her hand and press a wet kiss to her palm, then press it against my cheek as I stare up into her deep brown eyes, full of lust and excitement, and just a little fear.
“You’re beautiful, tesoro. Don’t hide from me.”
I lift up and kiss her breasts, down her stomach to her navel and over the slight swell of her abdomen to her bare pussy, and just when I rest my lips against her clit, her hips pulse again and she buries her hands in my hair, keeping me pressed against her sex.
I take a deep breath, inhaling the musky scent of her, and kiss her long and deep, dragging my tongue through her folds and plucking her lips with mine, until she’s about to fall off the bathroom vanity.
“Dominic,” she moans. Her thighs are beginning to shake uncontrollably, and I know she’s close.
I push one finger into her wet pussy and clamp my lips around her clit, and she comes spectacularly, crying out, and pulling my hair. It’s the most amazing reaction I’ve ever witnessed.
Before she can recover completely, I stand and swoop her up into my arms and carry her to the bed, lay her on her back and cover her completely, my pelvis nestled between her legs, my pulsing cock cradled in her folds. I brush her hair off her cheeks as she stares up at me, trying to catch her breath.
“That was one.”
“One what?” she asks breathlessly.
“One orgasm.”
“You’re counting?” She giggles, which makes her core flex against my cock, stealing my breath.
“Oh, yes, I’m counting. You won’t have the brain cells to keep track.”
“How many are we going for?” She pushes her fingers into my hair, brushing it off my forehead. Nothing’s ever felt so good. I love the way she touches me.
“As many as possible.”
“I’m good with one.” She shrugs one shoulder, but I smile down at her.
“I’m not.” I rest my lips against hers, brushing back and forth. I pull my hips back and the tip of my cock is just about to slip inside her when her eyes go wide.
With Me in Seattle Bundle Two Page 85
