31
Make smart choices.Toby’s words echoed in my head as I moved my feet in swirling, wide circles beneath the water. I had no idea how long I had been sitting by the pool. Toby had left me a while ago though, and I could feel that the skin on my feet was beginning to turn wrinkly.I huffed, got up, and made my way back to the locker room, hopeful that whoever the hideous workout set that I had ‘borrowed’ belonged to wasn’t in there to kick off at me. The lockers at the gym were far too easy to break in to, but I wished that I had found a better set. I supposed I should’ve just been thankful that it had fit, otherwise I’d still be wearing my blood and dirt covered leggings and t-shirt.I opened the locker in the far corner where I had stuffed my ruined clothes earlier on. I threw my jacket on and slid my still damp feet into my heavy boots. I looked ridiculous, but I had parked on the curb out the front of the gym, so I didn’t have to worry too much about being seen.I hurried out of the gym, pushing though the aching pain that had spread from my back to my arms, and was shocked to find my car still waiting for me, and with no tickets. Although, in Westeroak the police had more interesting things to deal with than illegally parked cars.My phone buzzed in my jacket pocket, and I winced as I looked at the notifications on the screen. Seven missed calls from Cooper, and one text, from Lorenzo.
LorenzoI’m coming over.
Shit.I checked the time stamp on the message, glad to find that it was only from a minute before, so I should have enough time to get to my place before he did.I pulled up Coopers number and put him on speakerphone as I shoved my phone into the cup holder and started my engine.“Where the fuck are you?” he shouted when he picked up.“Gym. Heading home, are you okay?” I pulled away from the curb and drove in the direction of my apartment.“I’m fine, of course I’m fine. What the hell were you thinking?” He was still shouting; I had never heard him so angry before.“Cooper, chill the fuck out. Why are you so angry?”“Because I’m worried about my best friend, you fucking idiot.” He softened a little, then bit again. “I’ll ask you again, what the hell were you thinking?”I blew out a frustrated breath, not really wanting to speak about what had happened earlier on, but I knew Coop wouldn’t drop it. “I wasn’t thinking. But nothing happened, and nothing has changed. Lorenzo is on his way to mine now. I’ll make this right. I’ll be smart,” I said, and rolled my eyes.Make smart choices.“Tread carefully. I don’t know if he’s calmed down or not,” he said, his voice back to its normal volume.“I will. Oh, Coop…” I smiled to myself. “Thanks for worrying.”I ended the call and picked up speed. The roads were empty, and I was pulling into the underground car park in no time at all.Stepping out of my car, I noticed the steel grey McLaren parked a few spaces away. I closed the door and leaned against the side of my car as I waited for the stunning, terrifying man to climb out. He looked flawless, as always, and I cringed as he cast his gaze over me.“Boss,” I said as he approached me slowly, his deep brown eyes fixed on mine. He looked like a predator hunting his prey, and I that knew I was in more trouble than I’d bargained for.How the fuck was I going to get out of this?“Don’t ‘boss’ me, amore,” he growled, and walked past me towards the elevator. I followed him, apologising quietly as we waited.We travelled up to my floor in uncomfortable silence, the tension in the small elevator was suffocating. He stepped out first, then stopped by my door. I opened it and unzipped my jacket as I walked in. Lorenzo grabbed my wrist as the door closed, and pulled me backwards, holding me tight against him with my back pressed against his firm torso.“You said you’d try,” he snarled in my ear. “You told me there was no one else. You are mine. No one touches what is mine.”His hands moved to my shoulders, and he pulled off my jacket before spinning me to face him.“Mine,” he repeated as his hands looped around my back, and I tilted my head to look up at him. Taking in every line of his face as he stared at me like I was the most important, yet irritating thing in the world.
Make smart choices.“Yours,” I whispered and pushed up onto my tip toes.Lorenzo was the smart choice, deep down I knew that. I didn’t want Adonis. I couldn’t have Toby. Lorenzo could—and would—give me everything. Yet a small part of me questioned whether I was about to walk into something that I should’ve been running away from.No. I knew that this was the direction my life should take. I could push down my doubts, because this would be the best choice for me.“Lorenzo, I’m yours.”He glared at me, our lips a breath apart, but he didn’t close the gap. His hand slid up my back and pushed into my hair, fisting a handful, and pulling hard. My head jolted back, and I couldn’t stop the rush of heat that ignited between my thighs.“You wanted Adonis,” he said through his teeth, and I tried to shake my head, but his grip held me still.“I want you,” I insisted.“I saw the way you looked at him.”“I pulled away, Lorenzo. I hate him,” I snapped.He searched my face, looking for a lie that I was certain he wouldn’t find. Because I was telling the truth. I hated Adonis Corone with every fibre of my being.“I’m telling you what I want. It’s you.”He tilted his head, then raised his brows, and I knew what he needed from me.“The gala, I’ll go with you,” I offered my answer to his silent, lingering question. “Everyone will see who I belong to,” I added, giving him exactly what he wanted.His mouth twitched as he struggled to hide a smile, and he pursed his lips to cover it up.“Amore mio,” he murmured, then his lips found mine, his hands pulling me into a brutal, possessive kiss that left me breathless and desperate.“Mine,” he said as his hands travelled over my body. “For the whole world to see.”I nodded and let out a shuddering breath. Everything was fine. We were fine. And I had made a choice. In the next twenty-four hours, everything would change. The lives that I’d worked so hard to keep separate would collide. Everyone would know who I was, who I was with, and what I was a part of.
My Brothers would find out our secret. How would they react?My head spun as I realised the enormity of what I had agreed to, and my knees buckled.“Woah,” Lorenzo exclaimed as his arms wrapped around my waist and I reached up to grip his shoulders.“Fuck,” I whispered. “I need to sit down.”He agreed and lifted me into his arms, cradling me with my head tucked into his neck.“Which door?” he asked, and I realised that Lorenzo had never been inside my apartment.“Straight ahead.” I gestured down the hallway to my lounge door and prayed that I had left it tidy. I had spent so little time in my apartment recently that I couldn’t remember if I had cleaned up the last time I had stayed.Luckily, as Lorenzo pushed open the door, I saw that the room was in an acceptable state. There were a couple of empty cups sitting by the sink in the connecting kitchen, and an empty Chinese takeout box on the counter. The only mess in the lounge was a scatter of sheet music on the coffee table.Lorenzo placed me down on the sofa and paced the room.“You only said all of that to stop me being mad at you, didn’t you?” he asked, a harsh coldness in his voice. “You don’t want this.” He stopped pacing and looked at me.“I do,” I said quietly, then I raised my voice a little as I felt the initial panic begin to calm. “I’m not taking it back, Lorenzo.”“Then what?” He began to pace again. “Why do you look like…” He waved his hand at me. “That?”“Tomorrow it all changes. Everything will be so different. I’ll have two lives colliding,” I explained and took a long breath.He moved to perch on the edge of the coffee table in front of me, pushing the sheet music to one side and placing a hand on my leg. “Are you scared?”“Yes,” I admitted.“Then I’m failing before we’ve even begun,” he sighed.I placed my hand on top of his and squeezed. “You can’t stop me from being scared, Lorenzo.”He frowned, and I leaned forward to cup his face in my hand. The incredible man before me had no idea how to help me.“Distract me,” I prompted him. “I’ll calm down if you distract me.”His gaze softened, then turned dark, and I knew exactly what he had in mind.“We really should be celebrating,” he said in a low voice as his hand slid up my thigh.I licked my lips and focused on his touch, silencing my thoughts as I tried to be present. He was trying, and I could deal with thoughts and feelings later, internally.“Let’s get you out of these,” he said and tugged on the waistband of my stolen gym shorts.I lifted my ass, and he pulled them off, dragging my panties down too. His gaze fixed on my bare pussy, and he pushed my knees wide apart. He dropped from the coffee table to the floor, getting on his knees and looking up at me. His finger brushed down from just above my clit, and he groaned as he swirled his fingertip through my arousal.“Is this for me?” he asked as he lifted a wet fingertip for me to see. “Am I the only man who gets you this fucking wet?”I should’ve hated it, the subtle dig at what had almost happened tonight, but I didn’t. The more possessively he acted, the more turned on I became.“Yes. You are the only one, Lorenzo,” I lied.“Good girl. Questo è mio, fino al giorno in cui morirai,” he growled and pushed his face between my thighs. His tongue dipped into me, and I let out a whimper. He was rough and frantic as he devoured my pussy. The perfect distraction. His teeth grazed my clit, and he sucked and lapped like a man possessed. I could feel the residing anger rise up in him as he used his mouth to let it all out, his hands pushing my legs wider, his fingers digging painfully into my pale skin.
The pain was lost with the pleasure, and I cried out as I chased a violent orgasm, releasing in crashing waves onto his tongue.He raised his head as I collapsed back into the cushions, a panting mess.“That worked,” I said between heavy breaths, and he hummed his agreement.“Go get changed,” he commanded softly. “We’re going home.”I opened my mouth to correct him, to tell him that I was home, but as he stood up and offered me his hand I reconsidered. I didn’t need to ruin the evening again. So instead of pointing out that I didn’t live in the mansion he owned, I accepted his hand and disappeared to my bedroom, trembling slightly on my unstable, post-orgasm legs.Once I was dressed in my own clothes, and had grabbed a few items to last me a couple of days away from home, I headed back to my lounge. Lorenzo was sitting on the edge of my sofa, and I noticed that he had placed the papers from the coffee table in a neat pile on the stand on my small piano.“Ready?” he asked as he made his way over to me.“Almost, I just want to straighten up the kitchen,” I said, and he shook his head.“Leave it, I’ll get one of the girls to come and clean up for you. You don’t do housework anymore, Il mio tesoro,” he said, ushering me towards my front door.I frowned. but once again, chose to keep my mouth shut. This was a battle I could fight later when his mood was a little more stable. I was in no way comfortable with anyone doing basic household tasks for me though, not when I was capable of doing them myself. It was the one part of staying at Lorenzo’s that I hadn’t managed to get used to, but it was his house, so I had to respect his ways. But I wasn’t going to allow it in my apartment. No chance.Lorenzo held the door open for me and I passed through, then locked up behind us. As we travelled back down to the parking garage, he eyed me up and down, then took my bag from my arm.“Tomorrow we will go shopping,” he began as we stepped out of the elevator. “We can start with a dress, then head to the salon, and then to the jewellers.”“I have dresses, and jewellery,” I protested weakly.“My woman deserves the best. Especially for our first social appearance together. Accept my treat, amore mio,” he said in a tone that screamed ‘do not argue with me’.I rolled my eyes as he walked a pace ahead of me and opened the passenger door of his car.“Fine,” I whispered, then squealed as his hand cracked against my ass before I dropped into my seat.“Good girl,” he whispered as he closed the door.“Fuck you,” I muttered into the empty car. But as he climbed into the driver’s seat, he gave me a heated look, and I knew he knew what I’d said. And I knew that I was in trouble. “Shit.”