Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 49968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
I wasn’t sure what to make of his closeness. His protectiveness. I hoped it meant the same to him as it did to me. He was open, answering my questions as we lay together. He talked about his parents, losing them. Working with Roman. The vast scope of his businesses and the trust Roman placed in him. He made me laugh reciting the story of Luca and his fiancée/wife. The plans for their wedding to satisfy her family and keep peace.
Roman’s reaction to it all.
I pulled a knee up to my chest, sipping my coffee. I glanced down with a frown. My big toe had a chip in the polish. I would have to redo my toenails today.
“I have a pedicure booked for you this morning,” Aldo said, his voice gravelly from sleep.
I looked up, meeting his dark eyes. “Oh.”
“And a massage. You’re tense. I thought you’d enjoy it. You can head up to the room after and relax before your shift.”
His caring and generosity touched me. “Thank you.”
He sat up, stretching, the blanket falling to his waist. It showed all his muscles as they rippled while he moved. “We should have used the goddamn bed.”
I laughed. “You’re the one who pulled me to the sofa.”
He stood, and I tried not to ogle him as he headed toward me, his cock already at attention. He stopped in front of me, taking my cup and draining it, then bending down and kissing me. I slid my hand between us, and he groaned. “Stop. Unless you want me to nail you on the floor or against the wall. That damn sofa wouldn’t make it out alive once I start with you.”
I laughed. It had protested loudly last night when he’d joined me on the sofa. I wasn’t sure it would still be in one piece if he fucked me on it. The twin bed I’d bought wasn’t much better. The noises it made when he lay on it were scary.
I slid to my knees. “There is a third option, big man.”
He groaned loudly as I took him in my mouth.
“I love how your mind works.”
I was more relaxed during my shift, my anxiety lessening as time went by. It had been a few nights since the incident with the asshole customer—or Ernest Morton, as I now knew his name to be. As I suspected, he had been reacting to whatever had been upsetting him at the moment and had no doubt moved on. Even if he could come back, I doubted he would. If I had acted that way, I would avoid the place it happened completely, far too embarrassed to show my face again. He probably regretted his behavior.
Aldo was covering tonight, so when I finished, I headed down to my car. As I approached it, I felt a shiver run through me. I looked around but noticed nothing out of the ordinary. A few other staff headed to their cars, the distant sound of other vehicles leaving on various levels. Nothing out of the ordinary, yet my nerves returned. I got to my car, unlocked it, and slid in. I turned to put my purse on the seat beside me and froze. Lying on the passenger seat was a dead rat. With the door shut, I could smell the putrid stench, and I grabbed at the door handle to open it, shocked when it wouldn’t budge. Then I saw him. Standing next to the car, holding the door shut with the weight of his hands pressed on the metal. Ernest Morton.
“That’s what happens to people who cross me,” he said, loudly enough for me to hear through the glass. I covered my nose, the odor hitting me. I leaned on the horn, the sound loud in the garage. He leered at me, then let go, laughing as he strolled away.
I opened the door, stepping out, shaking.
I looked over at the rat, furious and upset. Obviously, I was wrong about him moving on. He was still angry.
But what kind of sicko did something like this?
I grabbed my phone and called Aldo. He answered right away, his voice concerned.
“Vi, baby—you okay?”
“N-no.”
I could hear him running. “Where are you?”
“At my car.”
“Five minutes.”
He was there in four. He looked at me, in my car, and was on the phone, talking fast, his voice low and furious.
He hung up and pulled me into his arms. We waited only another couple of minutes. Aldo handed my keys to a younger man. “Get rid of it.”
“Not my car,” I gasped. “I need it.”
“The rat,” he explained. “And get the car detailed.”
He tugged me close, and we headed to the elevator. “I’ll take a cab home.”
“You’re staying here.”
I didn’t argue.
In the room, he poured us each a scotch, and he sat beside me. “Tell me exactly what happened.”
I did and he listened. “You’re parking in the VIP section from now on.” He held up his hand before I could argue. “It’s locked with security. And I’m going to find this asshole and teach him a lesson.”