“Well, no, I don’t, but I’m not used to being called beloved,” I mumbled.
“Get used to it, because from now on, you’re my beloved, Jay,” he declared.
“Beloved. Beloved.” I tested the new name on my tongue. It had a nice ring to it. I could get used to it. Well, anything was better than coffee machine .
I said the name a few more times until Giovanni started using that f-word again, and I was shaking like a leaf in excitement and anticipation.
I grabbed my phone, my intention clear. Giovanni was distracting me. If I focused all my attention on my new phone, I wouldn’t be tempted by him. But just as my finger touched the phone, he tore it away from me.
I watched in horror as he threw my beloved phone across the room. Thankfully, it landed on the couch. I directed my evil glare at him. “Boss—”
“Hush!” He pressed a finger to my lips and shut me up, right before I could voice my anger. “You don’t need it. Tonight, you only need me.”
Thump! That was the sound of my heart kicking against my rib cage.
Tonight, you only need me.
These were simple words I had read in those romance novels, but when they were directed at me, they held a totally different meaning. My body turned into a puddle of goo, and all I wanted to do was jump Giovanni and ride him.
How had I become this captivated? Now I could fully appreciate how those heroines acted all mushy and sweet when the hero whispered obscene words into their ears.
But I reined back my desire. This was definitely not the time to indulge in sweet sexual desire. I needed to have a good night’s sleep, a minimum of eight hours; otherwise, I’d perform badly on my exam tomorrow. And I didn’t need a crystal ball to predict the future. This would be the outcome if I followed this path.
“But Boss, I have—”
Giovanni didn’t listen to my protest. He was too cool for that. Instead, he sealed my lips with his own, kissing me with all the emotion he possessed. And his action spoke all. Fisting his fingers into my hair, he pinned me to the bed.
He wanted me, just as I wanted him. Our bodies resonated against each other, just as our tongues collided and fought with one another, both searching for that nectar we craved. When our lips finally disconnected, my heart still pounded after our intoxicating kiss.
His breathing grew heavy, and seductive lust spread through his eyes. He growled, “No more words tonight. All I want to hear is the sound of your moans and the screams of my name on your lips. Can you do that for me?”
“Just once, okay? I have an exam tomorrow,” I told him, more so to remind myself that I was only allowed one serving of him. Any more and it would affect my exam performance tomorrow.
Giovanni agreed. “Just once, my beloved.”
Hearing him say my beloved made my breathing hitch by another notch. I pouted my lips, waiting for him to kiss me again. Giovanni didn’t waste a moment, quickly closing the gap between us. The second his lips touched mine, sensory fibers alerted every cell in my entire body. My toes curled up, and butterflies swarmed in my belly.
How many times had he kissed me? Each time it only got better and better. Actually, it was better than better. It was addicting, intoxicating, and I was drowning. I couldn’t get enough of this drug. I wanted more, needed more.
My hands crushed into his hair, dragging his lips back to me when he descended to my throat. But only for a second. He drifted down to my neck again, this time nuzzling my nape.
Giovanni enjoyed teasing me. He was taking his time, seducing me with his fingers, his lips, and whispering words of seduction next to my ear.
“Beloved. You are my beloved.” Those words echoed in my mind.
I glowed under his touch. He made me feel like I was his treasure, his beloved. His hands continued to caress my sensitive skin, with light feathery touches. My body grew hot and flustered. My need for him grew urgent. I didn’t know how long I could wait. I needed him now.
“Boss, please,” I begged. He answered me by sealing his lips to mine again, reducing my voice to moans and groans.
He loved it, digging his fingers into my soft flesh. I returned the favor, my nails scratching his back.
I was beyond the point of no return. My need for him grew more urgent, and I was whispering obscene words into his ear, asking him to do things to me I would never say when I was not intoxicated.
A rumble escaped from his chest, and he growled, kissing me more urgently, too. He caught my eyes, locking our gazes together. Our fingers intertwined, and slowly he took me, entering me at a slow pace.
“Faster, please,” I begged him.
And Giovanni gave it to me. Hard and fast. Just what I liked. My head spun; my world tilted. Splashes of light flashed before my eyes, and I was chasing it, this feeling of euphoria, when finally, I reached it, this cliff edge.
I fell, descending at a fast pace, down and down, then suddenly I was flying through the sky. This was euphoria, my euphoria. Nothing could beat this intoxicating feeling. I was in heaven.
Chapter 11
Welcome to My World
Oh, the sweet and bitter taste of love. But this was definitely love. I loved Giovanni, loved him enough to cross the ocean to be with him, where I would be immersed in his world.
Right after my final exam, we boarded his private jet. Nineteen hours later, we arrived in beautiful tropical Singapore. I said tropical because they had beautiful colorful flowers everywhere. Not to mention the air was hot and musty, a different kind of heat to what New York City was during the summer.
I had only managed to inhale three large breaths full of air before Giovanni whisked me off to the hotel and into the spa clinic, not wasting even a second for me to recover. Not that I needed any rest since I had slept through our long journey.
I had a complete makeover at the spa, with manicure, makeup, and hair done, then was put into a designer dress and now driven to this fancy French restaurant. Everything was just a blur. I hadn’t a clue what was going on. And it wasn’t until he whispered in my ear, that my world came into focus.
“Welcome to my world.”
Giovanni took my hand, leading me into the high-class restaurant, with chandelier lights and glittering wine glasses greeting me on the way.
The hostess slash waitress—I wasn’t sure what she was called—led us into a private room. Giovanni guided me in, his warm hand on the small of my back. I was nervous. I had told him so numerous times before, even before we landed in Singapore. And now my nerves had increased tenfold.
As soon as the door to the private room was open, I was met with three hot men and one beautiful woman. They all glanced at us when we neared their table, but it was the woman who got up from her seat and approached me, extending her arms wide, bringing me in for a hug like I was her long-lost sister.
“Giovanni. Giovanni.” She clucked her tongue, shaking her long voluminous hair from side to side, smiling at me through her bright-green eyes and rouge-red lips. “Finally, you have decided to introduce her to us. Hello,” she addressed me like I was a wee kitten. “My name is Kimberly. What’s your name?”
“I’m Jenny Stone,” I answered back, in awe of everyone and everything around me. Never had I seen such beautiful people in one setting. For a minute there, I thought I was on a film set, surrounded by movie stars. Because that’s what these people were like: hot, drool-worthy, glamorous people with movie-star good looks.
“Wow, Jenny. You are such a cute wee thing. No wonder Giovanni couldn’t stop talking about you.” She surveyed me up and down, making me blush under her inspection.
I felt a bit self-conscious actually, what with my measly self on display. No way could I compare to her. She was as beautiful as a goddess, as sexy as a siren, especially with the red dress she had on, and that revealing neckline, golly, it only enhanced her cleavage even more. No wonder she used the word cute on me. As for her, she was a total bombshell.
“Isn’t she a pretty wee thing, Julian?” she c
hatted away, and my eyes immediately lit up with recognition.
“Sir Julian, hello,” I harped excitedly. Finally, someone I knew amongst these beautiful strange faces.
“Hello, Jenny,” he greeted back warmly.
“Sir Julian...” Kimberly frowned. I watched her give the man a once-over before her gaze flipped back to me. “You called him Sir Julian, Jenny?”
“Yes,” I nodded. “He came to visit us at Cory Mansion a few months back.”
Kimberly went into a laughing fit.
Did I say something funny?
I turned to Giovanni, silently asking him for help. He responded with a shrug of his shoulders and a devilish grin to his face. The damned devil left me to fend for myself.
What could I expect? I was minding my own business a few months back, and now here I was, dropped in the middle of a glittering room, rubbing shoulders among the elite. I had thought being presented to the queen would be a hard task. But this was way harder. I didn’t really know how to behave or respond in this kind of situation.
Kimberly stopped her mini laughter and took me at arm’s length. Like a big sister, she gave me her advice. “Now, Jenny, you call him Julian. He’s no sir. He hasn’t been knighted by the queen yet. He is just an ordinary guy.”
From across the room, I could hear Julian’s voice. “Am I really an ordinary guy?”
I observed Kimberly throwing her gaze over her shoulder, and Julian caught it. Even from this distance, I could feel that electric pulsating tension between them. I sensed their relationship was a special one. And it was confirmed when Kimberly mouthed, “Definitely ordinary.”
I knew it. They were lovers. No way would they lock eyes with each other—for what felt like eternity—if they weren’t special to each other.
Kimberly finally broke eye contact first and took me to my seat. But not before I ended up in a game of tug-of-war between Giovanni and Kimberly. Of course, I was the rope.
“Kimberly, who said you could take my girl?” Giovanni started the first round, reaching out and tugging me back into his arm.
“Oh, Giovanni, don’t be such an ass. Jenny needs a friend. Look at this room. Four fully grown men. It’s intimidating for her.” And Kimberly took my other arm, tugging me back to her side.
“Jay sits next to me,” Giovanni said, unrelenting, and I ended up being pulled back to Giovanni’s side. If this carried on any longer, I would end up like a licorice, stretched to the maximum.
I wanted to sit next to Kimberly, but before I could voice my opinion, she made her decision.
“Fine. I give up,” she said, letting my hand go, and I immediately bounced back into Giovanni’s arms. “No one can ever get in your way when you love something.”
Love? Did Kimberly just say the word love? Did that mean Giovanni loved me? But he never really said that word in front of me. Still, after hearing Kimberly say that, I couldn’t help blushing, because just maybe Giovanni did love me, and maybe I was not just his mere plaything.
I glanced up at Giovanni at that moment, and he grinned, that devious one that always made my insides melt. Yes, maybe he really loved me. I hoped no one could see my red cheeks under this lighting.
Kimberly walked to her seat. I felt a bit disappointed at that moment. She sounded cool. If I could sit next to her, I could learn a few tricks from her, especially on how to behave in this high-class setting. And maybe, if I was lucky, we could become friends. How cool would that be.
Of course, Kimberly surprised me once again when she clapped her hands, grabbing the attention of all the men in the room along with myself. “Boys. Move seats. I’m sitting next to Jenny.”
Oh, she was splendid. I had to give it to her. Before I could though, a blond-haired man sitting beside Julian beat me to it. He slapped Julian on the back and said, “Your partner is one sexy dynamite. How did you tame her?”
“Dawson,” she addressed the blond-haired man, “Julian, didn’t tame me. I tamed him.”
Of course, this earned a laugh from the rest of us. That being said, they all stood up and shifted their seats like schoolboys per Kimberly’s instruction, while Julian cleared his throat and tried to tame his girlfriend by saying, “Kimberly, come sit down,” only to get pegged down by her.
“Okay. Okay. I’m coming,” she said, taking my elbow in her hand and leading me to the vacant seat beside her. She had such style when she walked, sashaying her backside and gracefully gliding into her own seat. “Sit here. Let me introduce you to everyone. Giovanni, you’re fine if I introduce Jenny to the others?” It wasn’t a question of permission, merely a statement of intention.
I agreed with Dawson. Kimberly really was dynamite. And I had expected Giovanni to make a comeback since he always liked to be in charge. But he seemed at ease with it all, letting Kimberly take the lead while he casually poured himself a drink, sitting leisurely back against his chair, relaxing, with one hand stretched out to cradle the back of my chair.
“Be my guest.” He gestured with his chin.
Was this how he behaved with his friends? He was so different in this setting, as if he was in his element, unlike at home when he had to deal with all his business stuff. I now saw Giovanni in a new light.
I waited for Kimberly’s introduction. Would I be Giovanni’s maid or his lover?
“Everyone, this is Jenny, Giovanni’s girl.”
Oh! I’m his girl? Doesn’t sound too bad, at all.
I wanted to swat that smile off my face, but my heart was bursting at full bloom, and that smile of mine just stretched from ear to ear.
“We heard Jenny the first time, Kimberly.” Thankfully, Dawson drew everyone’s attention, and my face was well hidden in the dim light. “Now, sit down,” he urged Kimberly.
But Kimberly really was a woman of the modern world. She simply reprimanded him like he was a little schoolboy.
“Tsk, tsk, Dawson,” she scolded him. “That’s no way to talk to a woman. No wonder you haven’t got a girl.”
“Who said I love girls? Men are more my thing.”
“Yes, Dawson, how could I forget. Weren’t you in the news the other day for jilting your male lover?”
“You pay too much attention to that news. And for the record, he wasn’t my lover. Shouldn’t you be introducing me to the little one?”
“Sorry, Jenny, got sidetracked.” Kimberly cleared her throat, then put on her hostess voice. “This man here is Dawson Kensington. His family are aristocrats, part of a noble family from England.”
“Hello, little one.” The man named Dawson spoke, edging himself back into his chair and lifting his hand to wave at me. “Don’t believe Kimberly. I don’t have any noble blood in me. And I’m no aristocrat. If anything, I’m just an ordinary American citizen. Although, I mainly live here in Singapore.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that. He was so cheerful and friendly, detailing all his life in that one speech, so I just said hi.
“This is Justin Valenti.” Kimberly gestured to the black-haired man sitting beside Dawson.
“Hi,” I said, smiling at the man with the angular face and eyes as blue as the ocean.
The man was quiet and demure, the total opposite to Dawson’s cheerful personality. In fact, if Dawson was the light, Justin was the dark. He’d barely spoken a word since our arrival. Of course, his greeting was a slight nod to the head.
“And of course, the man sitting beside me here is my partner, Julian Devereux, which you already know.”
My eyes shifted to Julian, and I smiled.
“How are you enjoying Singapore so far? Have you been to Garden by the Bay, yet?” he asked.
“No. Not yet. We just arrived today. I think we are going there tomorrow, right bo... ah... I mean Gio.”
Phew! That was close. I almost spilled out the word ‘boss’ in front of his friends. Giovanni did say not to call him ‘boss’ while we were here.
“Yes,” Giovanni confirmed, smiling warmly at me, one hand rubbing my shoulder. “
We’ll go to the Flower Dome, too. You’ll like that, Jay.”
“It’s beautiful,” Kimberly chimed in. “You’ll love it. Don’t forget to take lots of pictures as souvenirs.”
“Oh, I will. Gio bought me a new phone. I’ll be sure to take lots of pictures.”
“You do that, little one. Take pictures of Giovanni, too. He hates that.”
“Dawson—” Giovanni started before Dawson cut in, offering me his precious advice.
“And make sure Giovanni doesn’t annoy you too much. Singapore is a romantic city, especially at night. You don’t know where it might lead you.”
“Hey, hey,” Giovanni managed to let his words out this time. “This is definitely a holiday for Jay. I’ll be sure she enjoys every second of it.”
I understood what they were implying, and my face blushed an even darker shade of pink. Giovanni saw it this time, and he grinned, slowly caressing my arm, rapidly making the heat radiate all the way up to the tips of my ears.
I knew what he was thinking. But this was not the time for that. I swatted his arm away. Thankfully, he diverted his attention elsewhere, and I had time to calm myself down.
A while later, the topic of our conversation shifted to business talk. Kimberly was also deep in conversation with Julian. This gave me ample opportunity to survey my new surroundings. My eyes flicked around the room.
Everything was beautiful and amazing. If only I felt the same way. This just wasn’t my territory. I didn’t sign up for this elegant setting and these flashy drinks. In fact, I was satisfied with just staying at home, back in Cory Mansion, New York, serving Giovanni his coffee and kissing him good night before going to bed. This was way beyond my world. But this was his world, full of bright lights, men in tuxedos, and expensive wine. And I’d better get used to it if I were to continue to be his lover.
A sudden thought struck me. Giovanni was mafia. Did that mean his friends were mafia, too? I couldn’t picture any of them meeting in shady places though, selling drugs and killing people, especially with their impeccable outfits and waxed back hair. If anything, they resembled people in the high-class elite, like those reality TV shows of multibillionaire business owners I used to watch on television when I was younger.
Totally Intoxicated Page 8
