21. Antonio
21
ANTONIO
“G afur is going to retaliate,” I tell my lieutenants Wednesday afternoon. Dante, Joao, Tomas, and Leo are here in person, and Valentina is logged in remotely. “They might have gotten two containers past us, but they’re not going to get any more. Dante, alert our people in Padua, Verona, and Brescia. I want them on high alert for weapons passing through their territory.”
“Yes, Padrino.” Dante’s nickname is the Broker. Nobody is better at persuading people to cooperate than he is, which is why I’m sending him on this mission.
I turn to my financial wizard. “Tomas, eliminate risk from our portfolios. We’re about to be under attack, and it could come from anywhere.”
He looks less than thrilled. “We’ll take some losses,” he warns.
“Crippling losses?”
“No, but?—”
“Do it, then. I’ll leave the details to you. If war is coming—and it is coming—we’ll need to be on as secure a financial footing as possible.” I turn to my security expert. “Leo, alert the troops. I want everyone ready for open hostilities.”
A disquieting thought strikes me. I visited Lucia at the Palazzo Ducale, and we ate lunch together. If Gafur has eyes on me—and I have no reason to think they wouldn’t—I’ve potentially identified her as a target.
I push down the jolt of fear that goes through me at the thought of anything happening to her. “You have eyes on Lucia Petrucci, yes? Double the team on her.”
If Leo is surprised, he doesn’t show it. “Yes, Padrino,” he replies. “I’ll personally see to it.”
Just then, there’s a knock at the door, and Goran sticks his head in. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but Lucia Petrucci is here to see you.”
She is? She must have gotten my gift. I get to my feet, my mood improving immediately. “We’re done for the day. Goran, please show Lucia in.”
My lieutenants file out, and Goran ushers Lucia in. “Little thief,” I greet her. She glares at me, and my smile widens. “This is an unexpected pleasure.”
“Sorry I interrupted your meeting,” she says through clenched teeth, polite even when she’s seething.
“No need to apologize, tesoro,” I assure her. “I always have time for you. Would you like a drink?”
“No.” She thrusts the box she’s carrying into my hands. “You sent me lingerie at work. The department assistant handed this parcel to me and all but demanded to know who the sender was. What the fuck, Antonio?”
I close in on her. “Did you like it?” She smells of lavender and roses, soft and subtle, and her eyes radiate pure fire. A woman of dazzling contradictions .
“That’s completely irrelevant.”
“I disagree. I think it’s the only question that matters.” I lift the slip out of the box and hold it up. “It matches the color of your eyes.” I tug her to me and turn her around so her back is pressed against my chest. “Try it on,” I whisper into her ear.
“Are you out of your mind?”
Holding her like this, my erection presses insistently against her ass. “You know you want to.”
“You know nothing of the sort,” she says with a toss of her head. “I told you to leave me alone.”
“Not exactly.” I kiss her neck, and she sucks in a breath. “You told me not to call you.” I nibble her earlobe. “You told me not to drop by the museum unannounced. I followed your wishes to the letter.”
“That’s a technicality, and you know it.”
I kiss her again. “You could have ignored my gift, but you didn’t. Instead, you marched over here to throw the lingerie in my face.” Her nipples are hard, and her breathing is shallow. Her body betrays her. A gentleman would pretend he didn’t notice, but nobody ever accused me of being one. “Admit it, little thief. You want me.”
“Not even if you were the last man in Venice,” she retorts defiantly.
She is spitting fire at me, her eyes flashing like emeralds and her voice as hard as a diamond. But I didn’t bring her here, and I’m not holding her captive. She’s free to walk out any time.
My little thief likes the chase.
“Now, now,” I murmur into her ear, my hand wrapping around her neck. “Is that any way to talk to me?”
She inhales sharply.
“You barge in here unannounced,” I continue. Her hair is up in a prim knot, and I pull the hairpins out, one by one, dropping them on the floor until her glorious tresses hang free. “Interrupt my meeting.” I kiss the beating vein at the side of her neck and lick that silky spot. “Throw my gift back in my face.” I nudge her jacket aside and cup her breast through her sweater. “You’ve been a bad girl, Lucia. Do you know what happens to bad girls?”
“What?”
Her voice is a whisper threaded with need, and when I hear her breathy arousal, my cock gets even harder.
“They get punished.” I glide my thumb over her lower lip. “Did you like the lingerie?”
“Yes,” she breathes.
“Good girl.” I reach into the box for the panties and hold them up in front of her face. “Try it on.”
“Why?” she challenges. “Are you going to give me the Titian if I do?”
I chuckle. No one could argue that Lucia loses focus. “No, little thief. I’ll do better. I’ll sit you on this desk and spread your legs apart.” I move her until her ass hits my desk, and then I hoist her up on the wooden surface and pull her thighs apart. “And lick your pretty little pussy until you come.”
She flushes and bites her lower lip. “And if I don’t obey?”
“You leave here without an orgasm.”
“That’s not much of a threat,” she throws back. “I have fingers. I can take care of my own needs.”
I know a bluff when I hear one. Lucia has no intention of leaving, and I have no intention of letting her. I have to taste her. I need her to come on my tongue.
“Yes, you’ll take care of yourself.” I slide my hand up her thigh. Her legs fall open, her skirt bunching around her hips. “But tell me, tesoro. Will you be satiated?”
She glares at me. “You’re so arrogant.”
“Guilty as charged.” I can afford to be confident; the chemistry between us is combustible, like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. Leaning in, I cover her mouth with mine. I nibble her lower lip and lick the seam, demanding entrance. She parts her lips and fuck. She tastes like ambrosia, like the best kind of dark chocolate, lush and delicious.
Addictive.
I palm her pussy. Her panties are drenched with her arousal, and hot satisfaction explodes inside me. “I think you like this.”
She levels another glare at me but spreads her legs wider. My sweet little thief is dying to be fucked, and it takes all my willpower not to push her back on the desk, unzip my pants and plow into her.
“You want this, tesoro?” I ask instead. I hold up the panties again. “You know what to do.”
“Oh, fine,” she huffs. She slides off the table and lifts her sweater over her head. Underneath, she is wearing an ivory silk shirt, the fabric translucent, and I can clearly see the outline of her bra underneath.
She’s so beautiful. As bright as the moon in a starless night sky, and when I’m with her, I feel like I’m in the quiet eye of a hurricane. The world outside can rage and rant, but with Lucia, I feel calm and content.
She reaches behind her back and undoes the button on her waistband. She starts to lower the zipper but then looks up at me, an irresistible smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “Turn around.”
“Shy?”
“Anticipation is the best foreplay, Antonio.”
She has no idea how much I want this. “I’ve been anticipating this moment for ten years.”
She sucks in a breath, her eyes widening. “You can’t say something like that to me,” she whispers.
She’s right. I can’t. I shouldn’t. I’m used to being in control, maintaining a poker face, and never revealing more than is strictly necessary. But with Lucia, everything is unexpected. I feel like a teenager being with someone for the very first time, and it’s more than a little terrifying.
I do as she asks and turn around. I’m not doing it to protect her modesty; we both know that I’m good to have her naked in the next three minutes. No, this is for one reason and one reason only. I need to shield myself.
“What would you prefer I say? Should I tell you that if you aren’t wearing those panties in the next minute, I’m going to bend you over my desk and spank that round little ass of yours?”
She doesn’t reply immediately. Fabric falls to the floor in a rustle, and I wish futilely that there were mirrors on the walls. “Okay,” she says. “You can look now.”
I turn around, and my cock turns to steel. She’s wearing the panties and nothing else. Her breasts are perfect, round and firm, and her nipples are puckered and begging for my mouth.
“Show me.” My voice comes out hoarse. “Turn around.”
She does a little twirl, and my mouth goes dry. The moment I saw them in the store window, I knew the panties were perfect for Lucia. They’re short enough that her ass cheeks peek out from underneath the fabric. She looks naughty, sassy, and completely fucking hot.
I need to control myself; I’m practically drooling.
“I believe I owe you a reward.” I crook two fingers at her. “Come here.”
I lift her back onto the desk. Spread her legs. Suck those pertly puckered nipples into my mouth, lap them with the flat of my tongue, and scrape them with my teeth. Her skin is like satin, smooth and impossibly soft, and I could do this all day.
Except I keep catching tantalizing glimpses of her pussy, and I can’t resist. Not much longer.
Pushing the gusset of her panties aside, I bend down and lick her. Arousal jolts through me the moment my tongue touches her sweetness. Fuck me. She tastes like honey and caramel and sin, and I’m already addicted.
I lift her feet off the floor and place them flat on the table to give me better access to her. She’s wet already, wet for me. “You like this, tesoro.” I kiss the inside of her thigh. “You want me to chase you, don’t you?” I catch her clit between my lips, and her head falls back, her eyes squeezing shut. A smothered moon escapes her clenched teeth. “So why not ask for what you want?”
I lean down and swipe my tongue through her folds, and then lightly spank her pussy. She jerks and thrusts her hips into my face. Yes. I clench my hands into fists and fight the urge to plunge my cock into her softness. Not yet. I promised her an orgasm first.
“I should punish you,” I growl as I slide a finger inside her, her muscles clamping tight around me. I slowly circle her clit with my tongue, and her breathing quickens.
She’s slick and ready. Her thighs tremble as I increase the intensity, licking her clit with focused attention, adding another finger and thrusting deep. “Please,” she groans. “Antonio. . .”
Hearing her moan my name is an aphrodisiac like none other. A possessive thrill shoots up my spine. “Please,” she begs again, arching her back and pushing closer to my face. I suck her clit between my lips and lash it with my tongue. Her breathing is heavy, her cheeks flushed. I run my hand up her leg, needing to touch her—feel her—as she falls over the edge. My cock aches, but I ignore it and focus single-mindedly on her pleasure, licking her over and over and thrusting into her with my fingers.
“Oh God,” she cries out, her body rigid as she comes. Her thighs tighten around my head, and I push my fingers deep into her, twisting around to find her G-spot and doing my best to prolong her orgasm. I continue to lick gently until her shockwaves die down, then I give her pussy one last kiss and reluctantly straighten.
I’m never going to be able to work here again without remembering her scent in my nostrils, her taste on my tongue.
She’s so beautiful, lying in a sated heap on my desk. Her chest rises and falls as her breathing steadies, and I kiss the curve of her shoulder, unable to keep from touching her. Strands of hair cling to her forehead, and I fight the temptation to stroke them back, to kiss her again, to drag her into my arms and never let go.
“Have dinner with me.” It’s phrased as a statement, but it’s really a request. A plea.
She looks tempted, but she shakes her head. “I should go.” She sits up, and her eyes fall to the bulge of my erection. “But first, I need to return the favor.”
Something sours inside me. I like to keep my relationships with women uncomplicated, and I should be delighted that Lucia doesn’t want to get involved. But I’m not. She’s happy to get on her knees and suck my cock, but she won’t eat dinner with me. She doesn’t want her colleagues to gossip about my gift.
I feel like her dirty little secret, and I hate it. I’m not surprised by her refusal, but her rejection still stings. I’ve learned the hard way not to let the opinions of other people bother me, but Lucia not wanting to have a meal with me hits in the same place that my mother’s abandonment did, and that wound will always be a little raw. It doesn’t matter that I understand why she’s saying what she does—my response comes from a deep, wounded place.
“No, you don’t,” I say curtly, backing away from her. “If you’re not staying for dinner, leave. I have things to do.”
There’s a flash of hurt in her eyes, and it makes me feel like a complete jerk. Then her hurt changes to anger. “Fine,” she snaps, jumping to her feet. “I’m leaving.”
She tears the panties off her body as if they’re made of sandpaper and dresses quickly in her clothes. This time, I don’t turn away. A better man would apologize, but instead, I watch her slide her feet into her heels, and what comes out of my mouth is, “Don’t forget the lingerie.”
“Fuck you.”
I shrug. “You can either take it, or it goes into the trash. Your choice.”
She gives me a truly poisonous glare. “You are such an asshole,” she hisses. Grabbing the box off my table, she sweeps out.
Leaving me in my office, my mouth smeared with her juices, with the realization that I want more.
More than the pleasure I coaxed out of her.
More than a grudging orgasm.
I want everything.