12. Tomas
12
TOMAS
A lina stands in the doorway, her hair tousled, her dressing gown slipping off her shoulder. For a long moment, I can only stare. At her, at those sleep-kissed brown eyes, at her swollen lips, and at the vibrator that’s clearly visible on the bedside table behind her.
A vibrator.
Her sheets are tangled in a bunch as if she had a restless night, and her skin glistens with a sheen of sweat. My mind conjures a fantasy of Alina lying naked on the bed, spread-eagled for me, begging me to use the vibrator on her, and my cock instantly hardens. I do my best to rip my gaze away from her vibrator, but my imagination won’t let it go. If I tug off her dressing gown and lift her T-shirt, will I find her cunt slick and swollen and ready?
Get yourself under control, for fuck’s sake.
I swallow a lump in my throat and wrench my thoughts out of the gutter. “Good morning.”
“It’s five in the morning.” She sounds outraged. “What the hell, Tomas?”
“Sorry.” Her question reminds me of the reason I’m really here. “The door to your stairwell was ajar, and I wanted to make sure you were okay.” I had a moment of pure panic when I saw the open door. If someone managed to break in… If someone hurt Alina… My heart is still racing, and my body is flooded with adrenaline.
Her expression turns sheepish. “Oh, right. I went out last night to get takeout. I must have forgotten to lock it when I came back. Sorry to give you a scare.” She stifles a yawn. “What are you doing here so early? I thought we were meeting at ten.”
“We were.” My fingers itch to stroke her silky shoulder. Kiss her nape, push her backward until the back of her knees hit her bed. I need to get the hell out of here before I do something I regret. “But something’s come up, and I’m going to be busy all day.”
Her eyebrows rise. “Taking Freccia to the spa?”
I bite back my laugh. God, that mouth of hers. “My cat loves a good pampering, but sadly, today is not her lucky day. I’ll be doing some financial analysis for Antonio. I came in to set up remote access, since I won’t be back until tomorrow night.”
“Okay. I’ll be here.”
I frown. She’s opened the gym every single day, and she’s usually there until closing. Six days a week, sixteen hours a day, and when she’s not teaching classes, she’s staffing the front desk. She’s got to be exhausted. “You’re working too hard. I don’t like it.”
Alina’s shoulders stiffen in outrage, but she ruins the effect by yawning again. She doesn’t let it stop her. “I know this is going to come as a shock, Tomas, but I don’t care. The hours I work are none of your business.”
“They are, actually. If you read the details of the contract, you’ll find that in exchange for a reduced profit share, I require you to be able to run the gym effectively. You’re useless to me if you collapse from overwork.”
Her eyes ignite with fire. “If you think you get to order me around because of that stupid contract?—”
She’s picturing wrapping her hands around my neck and squeezing, and I’m picturing her naked. God, I’d love to order her around. Spank that tight ass of hers every time she sasses me, shove my fingers inside her soaking wet cunt, and bring her to the edge, over and over. Sex with Alina would be amazing. All that fire, all that passion, all that burning intensity…
“Then I’d be right,” I finish her sentence. “We had a deal, one that requires both of us to honor our commitments. There are two hundred thousand euros in the bank account. You haven’t spent any of it. Why not?”
“I can’t spend it. I intend to buy you out.”
Maddening woman. “You’re working sixteen-hour days. You haven’t had time off in over two weeks. Hire someone to manage the front desk and bring on a couple of instructors.”
“And if I don’t obey your orders? What then?”
My cock is painfully hard. “I don’t make threats, dolcezza.” The term of endearment slips out before I can catch it. “I make promises. Hire some help before you drive yourself into an early grave.”