Chapter 31
G enevieve
And just like that, I felt the first hint of something that could be conceived as love.
Clunky? Yes.
Impractical? Without a doubt.
Giving me whiplash? You bet.
The thought was disturbing even as I was stuffing my face with my fourth donut. Or maybe it was my fifth. Nope. My sixth. My lucky number. I’d almost lost count after making a promise these calories didn’t count and I’d start counting them again tomorrow.
Probably not since I had full intentions of taking at least six dozen back with us. If I didn’t eat two dozen of them, I’d be able to share all the different flavors with Bella and Marco.
Jago’s grin was confounding and adorable. He was sitting the same way he always did, as if the whole world had ceased to exist around him. On his second cup of coffee, all he’d done for the last five minutes was to stare at me.
“What?” I asked between bites, still chewing while tossing out the single word.
“I’ve never seen you this way.”
I took the last bite and immediately reached for a chocolate glazed one this time.
When I realized he was still staring at me, I lifted my gaze.
A wash of shame broke my feeding frenzy concentration, but not completely.
I slowly brought it back to the paper plate like he couldn’t see what I was doing.
His chuckle brought out his dimples.
“What way?” I asked, now more sheepish than I’d ever been in my life.
“As if you could devour the entire table. It’s cute.”
Frowning, I debated tossing the donut back into the box, but the ooey-gooey richness of the chocolate called to me.
Eat me. Eat! Me!
So I did, shoving almost a third into my mouth.
I took my time chewing so I could come up with a funny if not plausible comeback. “So what?” Oh, yeah. That was cool. I was cool.
“So,” he said as he leaned across the table, “I don’t think if I’d bought you diamonds and rubies, you’d be this happy.”
“Nope. Not a chance.” I couldn’t help myself, shoving the remainder of the donut into his mouth. The way his eyes opened wide made me burst into laughter. “Oops. You have chocolate all over your face.”
He chewed and swallowed quickly, immediately grabbing my arm. With the devil in his eyes, he pulled my fingers to his mouth, driving all four inside.
There was no reason for me to be in awe of what he was doing, but seeing this side of him was as attractive as the dangerous man with the permanently furrowed eyebrows. This was sensual to the extreme.
By the time he’d finished cleaning every finger, licking up every drop of icing or cream filling, I was hot and wet all over. Perhaps it was just a silly analogy, but I had a vision of being covered in chocolate and cream, his tongue and mouth exploring every inch.
I shook my head but couldn’t manage to get the image out of my mind.
“What do you think?” I asked in a raspy voice.
“Mmm… Tasty. Sweet. Although I know something much sweeter.”
He would have me melting into a puddle if he wasn’t careful.
Why did the man cause me to blush when he made comments like that?
“I don’t know. You haven’t tried the strawberry donut,” I teased in return. “Would you like one?”
“Maybe later.” His grin was lopsided, something I’d yet to see as well.
I sat back, rubbing my stomach.
“Would you like another donut or five?”
My glare was harsh enough he chimed in with laughter. “No, but I want to take some home with me.”
He glanced up at the man behind the counter, nodding at him. “Already taken care of.”
Licking my lips, I leaned over the table, so close to the man I was instantly intoxicated by his choice of aftershave.
While he almost seemed relaxed, he’d positioned himself so he could see the street from three sides, constantly glancing from one to the other.
I’d also seen the weapon he’d attempted to conceal by shoving it into the waistband of his trousers, wearing the shirt over his belt.
He’d failed. The outline was pretty damn clear.
“What happened last night?” I asked, although somewhat sheepishly.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you were in a mood this morning. Did you get a phone call in the middle of the night?”
He glanced out the window. Why the big secret? “Do you remember what you said to me last night?”
“When?”
“Just as you were going to sleep.”
I laughed. “Are you kidding me? Wine. Champagne. I’m lucky I was conscious when we were…” I glanced over my shoulder at the man fussing with something behind the counter and lowered my voice to a whisper. “Fucking.”
Jago drummed his fingers on the table. “You were tired.”
“So you’re not going to tell me what horrible thing I said to you?” I lifted my eyebrows and instantly blushed when he raked his finger across my cheek, showing me the glob of chocolate. Instead of sucking his finger, he wiped the stain on a napkin. Whatever I’d said had seriously pissed him off.
It was too bad I couldn’t remember.
“Not important,” he stated in the tone that meant that part of our conversation was over.
Fine. Hardheaded bastard.
“Spill the secret. Bella told you about my love of donuts. Didn’t she?”
“She might have mentioned it. Now, you tell me. What did you think we were doing?”
“I thought you’d set up a business meeting, using the excuse of coming to Madrid to lock me into a contract.”
“You mean taking over.”
“Yes.”
“As I said before, sweet Genevieve, you’ll need to learn to trust me. I’m no longer your enemy.”
If only I could believe that. If only I could trust he wouldn’t rip my little world to pieces.
Shattering my heart in the process.
“Are you certain you can handle those?” Jago asked when he noticed the boxes starting to slip from my grasp.
“Trust me. I’ve never lost a single donut in my life.”
“I bet you haven’t.”
“Are you making fun of me again?”
“Maybe.” He took his time moving closer to me, although it was difficult to crowd my space when we both had boxes in our hands.
Somehow he managed, holding his collection, or my collection, in his one hand and placing his other palm on the steel panel next to me. While forced to hold his body stubbornly away from me by several inches, he was still as oppressive and dominating as before. Maybe even more so.
The closeness was suffocating, but not in the same way.
I felt as if I was floating on a cloud, every extremity tingling.
“Not fair,” I breathed, tilting my head, which I definitely shouldn’t have done. His lips were far too rosy and appealing. Heat poured off him and directly into my throbbing pussy.
Why did I have the distinct feeling he could just as easily trash the donuts to have sex in the elevator then turn around and have the donut man deliver me new ones?
He lowered his head and I’ll be damned if our lips didn’t touch.
“Life isn’t fair, mi dulce regalo ,” he breathed and nipped my lower lip.
Which caused me to shudder. I was his sweet treat, huh?
The pinging of the elevator coincided with the hard roll of my eyes. I did that a lot around him. I pushed him away and he acted as if he was going to stumble.
I knew better.
“Such an asshole.” I strode down the hallway toward the suite while he lumbered along behind me. I wasn’t about to tell him I’d had the best morning in a very long time. He didn’t deserve that kind of treatment.
At least not yet.
Sure, my tummy was full and I had a remembrance of my sugar drunken stupidity while studying for exams, but this had been an easy task for him.
All he’d needed to do was arrange for a store meant to open a day later to open just for us, baking a solid fifteen kinds of donuts for me to choose from.
But still, the act was peanuts in comparison to all the other sexy things he could do just for me.
Still, my heart was as warm as my tummy and that deeply concerned me. Why was he trying so hard? And why had he been able to worm his way into a tiny portion of my heart?
His phone rang, breaking my reverie as well as my sugar high. Business would always come first.
“Darling,” he said with saccharin lacing his tone. “Can you take these and I’ll be right in?” He didn’t technically wait for me to answer, shoving the boxes into my arms. Now I could barely see over them, but I would not drop even one. They were far too precious.
At least he opened the door for me, thankfully holding it open until I was safely inside.
What a gentleman. He even closed the door afterwards. I wondered who he was talking to but reminded myself he also had a business to run.
Meanwhile, I’d been forced to leave my father’s business in limbo. While Emiliano and Antonio were watching over the shipments, I wasn’t there to handle calls.
Not that I had a freaking clue what I was doing. Or that the employees at the corporate offices were doing anything other than sucking down moo juice and coffee. Even my new assistant Rodolpho had only contacted me once, but I’d heard he and Antonio had a special bond.
How nice for the two of them.
All that would need to be sorted out once we returned to Barcelona.
Maybe I could convince Jago to stay a few days longer. Krispy Kreme every day!
I laughed and moved into the living room, still juggling the boxes so I wouldn’t drop them.
Plink.
The sound caught my attention first and I was immediately driven on edge. I shot my head up, prepared to scream. There was nothing like catching sight of someone inside your locked suite.
“Oh, hello. Can I help you?” Keeping my eye on the guy in the bellman’s uniform, I slowly placed the boxes on the coffee table.
The young man finally turned away from what he was doing.
Ah. Jago had ordered champagne. He’d thought of everything.
“Room service,” the hotel employee finally answered.
I took a deep breath, glancing toward the door, uncertain when he’d had the time to do this, but knowing my… husband, the sneaky bastard that he was, I wouldn’t put anything past him.
“That’s very nice.” I opened my clutch, grateful I had a few euros stuffed inside along with my ID.
“Let me see what I have.” I was busy trying to figure out how much I could tip him, so my face was staring down at the level of his hands.
When there was movement right in front of me, I shifted my eyes.
And noticed Arabic symbols on his fingers.
Panic struck, constricting my chest like a snake shooting its venomous poison directly into my veins.
“Fuck,” I managed.
Between one second and the next, the bellboy with a really bad haircut launched himself in my direction.