12. Renato
CHAPTER TWELVE
RENATO
In a dark club in California, I first heard the legend of the Dragon.
Salvatore Gennaro’s voice had been casual as he described his treasure, a striking man with eyes like arctic ice and a body built for sin.
The Don’s words painted an intriguing picture, but the photograph he slid across the table ignited my interest. He was classically handsome with a dangerous edge, his smile both an invitation and a warning.
“He’s my top earner,” Salvatore had said, watching my reaction. “People pay obscene amounts for a single hour with my son.”
I’d kept my expression neutral. “And you’re telling me this why?”
“Because I’m expanding. Looking for new talent.” His fingers had tapped the photograph. “Someone who might complement what I already have.”
I understood the game immediately. Salvatore wanted fresh faces to pair with his star attraction, creating a new fantasy to sell to his wealthiest clientele.
Little did he know I had my own agenda.
I accepted his invitation to interview in Manhattan despite having plenty of money and no shortage of people who wanted to fuck me. Dragon was a kindred spirit worth pursuing.
Having tasted him now, I knew my instincts were right. Dragon was beyond exquisite. The way he’d come undone with my cock inside him confirmed what I’d suspected from the beginning.
He was mine. He just didn’t know it yet.
After he shut the bathroom door behind us, I caged him against it, one arm braced above his head, the other tracing his jaw.
The harsh fluorescent light stripped away the seductive shadows of the bedroom, revealing the faint flush still coloring his cheeks and the tremble in his hands as he pushed damp hair from his forehead.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Admiring you,” I answered. Without the performance for Salvatore, I wanted to see what remained.
He scoffed, attempting to sidestep me. “We’re done here.”
I blocked his path. “What do I have to do to be with you again?”
Irritation flashed in his eyes. “If you’re hired, convince your clients to have a threesome or make them want to watch us together. That’s how it works here.”
“And if I don’t want to share you?” I let my gaze drop to his mouth. “What if I want you all to myself?”
“Then you’re in the wrong establishment.” He tilted his chin up. “Everything here has a price tag, and exclusivity costs more than anyone can afford. I belong to only one person, and he does not take kindly to interference.”
The claim served as a challenge. “What about outside these walls?”
“Not going to happen.” The response was immediate, but I caught the hesitation before he spoke.
“You’re a terrible liar,” I murmured, moving closer.
His eyes narrowed. “And you’re delusional if you believe whatever happened in that room was anything more than a performance.”
“Really?” I traced a finger along the side of his neck. “Because your body tells a different story. The way you came apart for me wasn’t acting.”
He caught my wrist in a painful grip. “Don’t mistake a physical response for emotional investment. I’ve been trained to come on command.”
The crude dismissal was meant to push me away, but it was a clear defensive maneuver. “Then why are you still trembling?”
“Fuck you,” he snarled, shoving me back.
I laughed, delighted by his fire. “That’s the plan. Though I prefer being inside you.”
“Who do you think you are?” Dragon asked, but his gaze dropped to my mouth, lingering there a beat too long.
“I’m persistent,” I corrected, closing the distance again. “When I see something I want, I pursue it relentlessly.”
He backed up a step, his lower back hitting the sink. “I’m not a thing to be acquired.” His voice entering a dangerous range that would have intimidated a lesser man. “You’re wasting your time. I don’t do attachments. People pay me to fuck, end of story.”
I advanced until our bodies were inches apart. “Then let me hire you.” I caged him in place with an arm on either side of him. “I’ll pay whatever your rate is. Thousands are nothing to me.”
“It’s against the rules.”
“Fuck the rules. I want you. And despite your efforts to pretend otherwise, I know you want me, too.”
He lifted his chin. “Everyone wants me. It doesn’t mean they get to have me.”
“Unlike them, I won’t stop until you’re mine.” I didn’t touch him yet, letting the promise hang between us.
“Yours?” He laughed, the sound brittle. “Do you have any idea who I am? Who I work for? This isn’t some romantic comedy where you sweep in and romance the sex worker with a heart of gold.”
“And yet you’re desperate for a way out.”
His expression hardened. “Stop talking as if you know me and my situation.”
“I know enough,” I countered. “I know the way you taste. The way you sound when you come. The way your body responds to mine as if it was made for me.”
“You and every other person who has paid for me.”
“Then I’ll free you from this hell so you never have to suffer another person who isn’t worthy of you.”
A shiver ran through him. “You’re either incredibly brave or suicidally stupid.”
“I prefer to think of it as determined.” I brushed my lips against his ear. “Tell me you didn’t feel that connection when I was inside you. Tell me you’ve felt that before with anyone else.”
“It was just sex.”
“Liar.” I pulled back to meet his gaze. “Your body remembers mine. Even now, you’re fighting the urge to touch me.”
“You’re awfully confident for someone who fucked on camera for a job interview,” he snapped.
“It’s easy to be confident when I know you want me.” I traced the outline of his lower lip with my thumb. “You’ll drive yourself to madness thinking about me later. Once will never be enough. Soon, you’ll be begging for me.”
“You talk too much,” he finally said.
“Make me stop,” I challenged.
For a moment, I thought he might punch me. Instead, he surprised me by grabbing my ass with both hands, pulling me hard against him. “I’d much rather make you beg right now,” he said.
He pinned me against the door with his thigh wedged between my legs. “Not so cocky now, are you? You assume you’re in control here, but you don’t know who you’re dealing with.”
His reaction thrilled me. “Who’s the confident one now?”
“The difference is my confidence is earned. I have years of experience in making men like you fall apart under my hands.” His fingers tightened on my ass, the pressure bordering on pain. That suited me fine.
“You’re nothing but another pretty face who thinks his cock is special.”
“You say that, but you’re already trying to rally for a third round. That’s how fucking good I am.”
“But you’re not better than me.” His beautiful arrogance made me want him more. “My hands have made princes weep and politicians beg.”
“Those are big words when you’re finding it harder to resist me than you expected.”
“Because I’m good at my job. It’s nothing more than that.”
I slid my hand up his chest to play with one of his nipples. “Keep telling yourself that.”
He gripped my wrist. He used the leverage to pull me closer, his other hand tangling in my hair. “You think you’ve got me all figured out. That I’m going to fall at your feet because you made me come.”
“Twice,” I corrected. “And spectacularly, if I say so myself.”
“Do you honestly believe you’ve broken through my professional detachment with your magical cock?”
“You can’t deny that you’re curious about me,” I countered, my free hand moving to grip his hip. “You’re dying to know if what happened was a fluke or if it could happen again.”
“Clinical curiosity at best.”
“Then satisfy your curiosity.” I leaned forward, my lips brushing against his, daring him to kiss me. “Fuck me. Right here. No audience. Just us.”
He glared at me. “Do you think I’d risk Salvatore’s wrath for a quick fuck in a bathroom?”
I nipped at his earlobe, gratified when a small sound escaped him. “If you’re going to get in trouble for it, you might as well go all the way.”
“You have no idea what you’re asking for.” He tightened his hold. “You’re playing a dangerous game.”
“I like games.” I pressed closer until our lips were a breath apart. “And I love danger. I run toward it, not away from it.”
“What makes you think I want to play?”
“Because you could have walked away the moment we entered this room, but instead, you’re pressing against me like you can’t get enough.”
“Maybe I want to put you in your place.”
“And where is that? Under you? Over you? Inside you? I’m flexible.” My cheeky smirk earned me an eye roll. “I’m not above begging if it gets me what I want. Please, Dragon. I need to be with you again.”
His hand in my hair tightened, pulling my head back to expose my throat. I wanted him to bite me.
A sharp knock on the door interrupted us.
“President Dragon, Master requests your presence upstairs at once,” a woman called out.
His expression shuttered. “Understood.” He lowered his voice to a whisper only I could hear. “You need to move.”
I was unwilling to surrender the ground I’d gained. “Not before I get one last taste.” I captured his mouth in a hard kiss.
He resisted for a fraction of a second before surrendering, his lips parting on a soft moan. It was brutal and perfect as our tongues warred for dominance. I poured every ounce of my desire into it, making it a promise of pleasures to come.
“This isn’t over,” I promised when he pushed me away.
“It never began,” he countered, though his voice was hoarse.
He composed himself, straightened his shoulders, and opened the door. The Japanese woman waiting outside handed him his robe, her expression revealing nothing as she helped him into it.
Alone in the bathroom, I studied my reflection in the mirror. My lips were swollen from his kisses and my neck marked where his teeth had grazed my skin. His fierce control and buried fire called to me.
Salvatore thought he was using me as a new toy for his prized possession. He didn’t realize I planned to take his best asset.
Dragon might think himself beyond my reach, but he was wrong.
Salvatore be damned, I wouldn’t stop until Dragon was mine.