Chapter 8
Laurie
Little Ricky brings the SUV to a stop outside the hotel, and I stare at the entrance, my brain struggling to process what I’m looking at.
The Mark.
I’ve never heard of it, but then again, I don’t really know much about hotels.
Valets come to open our doors, and I feel super awkward as I finally get to exit the SUV. When I step onto the sidewalk, my stomach twists.
Right now it feels like I’m on automatic pilot, just going along with whatever this crazy week decides to throw at me.
The doorman greets Adriano, his entire posture respectful. “Good afternoon, Mr. Rizzo. Welcome back.”
Adriano gives a slight nod like he’s heard it a thousand times before, then his hand settles on my lower back as he guides me into the hotel.
The moment we walk inside, my lips part.
Oh wow.
The lobby is massive, all polished marble floors, soft lighting, and towering flower arrangements.
There’s sleek black furniture that looks more like art than something someone would actually sit on, and the people seated on them look absurdly wealthy.
The men are all wearing tailored suits, and the women are draped in diamonds and designer dresses.
I’m the only one glancing around, telling me this level of wealth is normal for everyone else. For the second time today, I feel like I’m sticking out like a sore thumb.
My gaze lands on a man playing the piano, the music drifting gently through the air while guests speak in quiet voices that somehow make the entire place feel even more expensive.
Adriano fits into it so naturally it scares me a little, because it’s an indication of just how stinking rich he must be.
Staff greet him with respectful smiles, and a woman behind the marble front desk immediately straightens the second she spots Adriano. “Good afternoon, Mr. Rizzo.”
“I’ll be using the penthouse for the unforeseeable future,” Adriano says in an authoritative tone.
“Of course.” The woman reaches for a keycard without even looking at a computer. “The penthouse has already been prepared.”
My eyes flick to Adriano.
Prepared?
Like they were expecting him?
Nobody asks for any identification or form of payment, and none of the staff even look at me.
As we head toward what looks like a private elevator, a man presses the button, and by the time we reach it, the doors are open.
Adriano nudges my lower back, and after I step inside, he joins me, and Little Ricky follows with my suitcase.
“I can take that,” I say as I reach for my luggage, but Adriano grabs hold of my hand and tugs it to his side.
With a firm shake of his head, he silently tells me to leave the suitcase, and when he doesn’t let go of my hand but instead weaves our fingers, my pulse shoots through the roof.
Adriano glances down, a frown forming on his forehead as he stares at our joined hands.
A tense silence fills the elevator as it climbs the floors, and by the time the doors open, my stomach spins wildly with a nauseated feeling.
Stepping into the room for lack of a better word, my jaw drops because… Holy shit!
My God, this place is bigger than some houses.
Warm lighting spills across enormous cream-colored rugs and sleek furniture while floor-to-ceiling windows wrap around the entire space.
I can see Manhattan stretching beyond the glass in every direction.
My head whips from one side to the other as I take in the sheer opulence of the room.
There’s even a grand piano near the living room and fresh flowers everywhere, and the ceilings are so high they make me feel small standing beneath them.
The air even smells expensive.
Pristine, luxurious, and filthy rich.
I walk farther inside without meaning to, my eyes flitting over every detail because there’s too much to take in all at once.
That’s when I notice a dark gray suit jacket draped over the back of one of the chairs, and a frown forms on my forehead.
“Whose jacket is that?”
Adriano walks to a glass table where three expensive-looking bottles of alcohol stand. “Mine.”
“You live here?” I gasp.
His expression doesn’t change while he pours two tumblers of amber liquid. “No, I only stay here when I have business in the city.”
He makes it sound like having a penthouse permanently ready for him in what is clearly a very expensive hotel in Manhattan is completely normal.
Unable to stop myself, I walk toward the windows, and my breath catches in my throat at the striking view.
The city stretches endlessly below us, sunlight reflecting off the glass skyscrapers while streams of yellow cabs and cars crawl through the streets.
I can see Central Park in the distance!
Adriano stops behind me, close enough that I feel the heat coming off his body.
“Do you like it?” he asks, his tone much quieter after all the shouting, growling, and threatening.
I let out an incredulous-sounding chuckle, and still staring at the skyline, I ask, “Do people actually live like this?”
“Yes.” I turn around and watch as he takes a sip, his eyes locked on my face like a heat-seeking missile. “You can live like this too.”
Another chuckle escapes me as I roll my eyes. “Phft…right.” Moving away from him, I say, “As long as I do anything you want, right?”
“Yes.”
“Mmm…” I look at Little Ricky, who’s paging through a leather-bound booklet, then ask, “What’s the catch?”
“I’ve already told you.” Adriano’s gaze follows me like a hawk watching its prey. “You belong to me.”
The way he says it makes it sound like a done deal, and I shake my head. “I haven’t signed anything…yet.”
My words seem to anger him, and narrowing his eyes, he tosses the rest of the alcohol down his throat before walking to the glass table and setting down the tumbler.
The next instant, Adriano stalks to me, and grabbing hold of my wrist, he tugs me in the direction of what I can only assume is the bedroom.
I dig my heels into the expensive carpet and yank back against his hold, but that only makes him jerk me so hard that I plow into his muscled body.
“What the hell?!” I shriek right before I go airborne and I’m hauled over his shoulder.
My eyes touch on Little Ricky, who’s watching us with an amused expression, and knowing he won’t help me, I begin to slam my fists against Adriano’s back, shouting at the top of my lungs, “You asshole! Put me down!”
Adriano stalks into the bedroom and kicks the door shut before hauling me down his front, and as I take a deep breath to scream my head off, I’m shoved up against the nearest wall.
Just as I begin to fear that he’s going to demand I have sex with him, he grips hold of my jaw, and the next second his mouth crashes into mine.
It feels like my eyebrows shoot right off my forehead as shock shudders through every cell in my body and any brain function I have comes to a sudden halt.
Adriano’s lips take ownership of mine, and I’m kissed thoroughly, making any other kiss I’ve ever had feel like nothing more than a peck.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, a voice whispers for me to do something to stop this, but when his tongue strokes forcefully over mine, I struggle to remember my own name.
It feels like the particles in the air ignite and heat licks hungrily at my skin.
I’ve felt desire before, but as Adriano practically devours my mouth, something much more powerful rocks me to my core.
My abdomen clenches hard, and a kaleidoscope of butterflies erupt into flight, filling my stomach with intense flutters.
Just as I push my body against his, he rips his mouth away from mine and takes three steps backward.
I almost topple forward but catch myself in time, and while I desperately gasp for air, Adriano looks at me as if I’m some kind of extraterrestrial being.
His tone is filled with darkness and a promise that I will regret it if I do anything but obey his every command. “Eat. Shower. Sleep.”
After barking the orders at me, he rips the door open and stalks out of the bedroom.
What. In. The… Good God… Holy crap. Ahhhh.
Leaning back against the wall, I’m still breathless from the kiss he just laid on me. I try to gather myself, but the man just steamrolled the crap out of me, and I need a moment.
“Order food for Laurie,” I hear Adriano say, and as my breathing begins to return to normal, he also adds, “And get Marcus and Paulie to guard her.”
What?!
I push away from the wall and storm out of the bedroom, shouting, “You bastard!” Anger and the hopelessness that’s quickly becoming a constant companion pour through me, and not giving a shit anymore, I walk to the elevator while snapping, “You can’t hold me captive.”
I press the button, and when the doors slide open, I’m plucked off my feet for the third time today.
“Jesus!” I screech while twisting my upper body and slamming my elbow into his collarbone.
With everything I’ve been forced to endure, I lose my mind, and I begin to hit Adriano, but his strong arms easily clamp mine to my sides, and I’m only half aware when he sits down on one of the couches with me on his lap.
“Maybe tone things down a little,” Little Ricky says. “Don’t give me that look. You’re scaring the shit out of the woman.”
“Leave!” Adriano barks angrily, and seconds later, when I hear the elevator doors shut, my head whips in their direction.
Air bursts over my dry lips, and I can hear my heart pounding in my ears right before I dissolve into a fit of tears, because this week from hell is too much to handle.
“Shh…” Adriano presses my face into the space beneath his chin, and I feel his five o'clock shadow scratching against my forehead, his scent in every breath I take.
“Let’s just calm down, then we can talk things out.” He actually sounds reasonable, which scares me because how the hell is he able to go from hot to cold to hot at a drop of a hat?
“Let me go,” I whimper.
I’m surprised when his hold on me loosens and his arms open into a gesture of surrender.
I keep a cautious eye on him as I scoot off his lap before getting up and putting some distance between us.