“Vulnerable. Now that’s a word choice I wouldn’t agree with. Sex is powerful, Elizabeth. There’s nothing vulnerable about it. Especially with you. You hold all the power. Clothes, no clothes, dick inside you, empty. All the power is yours.” He rinses his hair out, scrubbing his hands back and forth. “I will agree to privacy, though. If that’s what you’d like.”
Why don’t I feel powerful?Luca makes me sound like a warrior queen when I don’t feel anything close to that. “I’d like that. Sharing isn’t my favorite. You could say I never grew out of it in childhood.”
He looks sullenly to the left as he soaps his body. I wash my hair, content to remain in silence for the rest of the shower.
“What will you do for work when you get back to New York?”
Of course he knows I’m jobless. “There’s a lead or two I’m chasing. It’s a hard market right now. The larger companies do their social media in-house and rarely farm it out. They don’t want to pay the higher prices.”
Washing between my legs is painful, and I hiss between my teeth. Luca drops a kiss on my shoulder and then returns to his shower head in front of me. “We do social media in-house, but I’d be willing to hire a professional to bring a fresh look to the brand.”
That gets my attention. “Are you rebranding?”
He tilts his head left and right. “I’ve been thinking about making some changes. Going in a cleaner direction.”
I smirk. “You are in the dirtiest business there is, and you want a cleaner image?”
“Streamlining is always in the best interest of a company. I founded LF Productions nearly a decade ago and the industry has gone through at least a hundred enormous changes in that time.”
“I could take a look at your platforms if you wanted another opinion. I’m sure you have consultants for that with a company as large as yours.” I’m making an assumption on the size of his empire from general statements made by him and Dr. Rossi. “It would be neat to see how it’s run.”
“Kieran, the woman you cast from our bedroom can give you a rundown if you’d like. I’m thinking of taking a step back and focusing more on the business end of things.” He turns off his water and grabs a towel from the hook right outside. “I think you have a talent, I’ve seen your work. I hope you don’t mind that I know about that… too.”
“What else do you know about me?” I flare my eyes wide. “I don’t mind, but I feel at a disadvantage. You know everything about me and I’m learning stuff on the fly. Not that it matters, I guess. That’s the crux of this. It’s just a business exchange of a different kind.”
He glances at me over my shoulder. “Did it feel like business when I was inside you?”
I swallow hard and wring my hair out. He tosses me a towel and it hits me in the chest. “No. But you have particular tastes, and I’m more of the girl next door.”
“Do you think I’m disappointed in you in some way? The industry has particular tastes. It is my job to meet them.” His voice is a rough, rolling timbre.
Wrapping myself slowly, I think about the best way to respond. “I never said that, but when I think about how much experience you have with women, I know that you know exactly what you want.”
“Because I fuck a lot doesn’t mean I’ve magically figured out life’s secret to perpetual happiness. It’s not like that at all. I am not disappointed in anything about you. In fact, quite the opposite. I’m trying to figure out what it is about you that is driving me insane. Insane in a way I’ve never felt before. I do have particular tastes in regard to what Idon’twant in a partner. I know I want you, Elizabeth. It’s not business with you.” He cocks his head to the side. “I was going to offer you a contract to take over social media for my corporation, because you are qualified, but if you’d rather not, I understand.”
Mind-blowing orgasms followed by a job opportunity of a lifetime? What planet am I on? “You’re serious? Me?”
He slicks his hair in front of a mirror—a suave move that makes him look like he’s on the silver screen right now. “I rarely joke,” he replies, meeting my eyes in the mirror. “Want to walk the beach after we eat?”
“Sure,” I reply, heading down I amble to the other sink and mirror where I’ve placed my bathroom stuff. I’d be a fool to accept a job before I know what it entails, how big of an account I’ll be dealing with.Fake it until you make it, Lizzy, I remind myself. This trip is going to be life-changing for more than one reason. I ask him if there will be time to talk to Kieran in between his plans for me, and he agrees. He needs a couple hours to work out and go over paperwork. I find myself just as giddy for that conversation as I do for more sex with him.
“Kieran is my ex, by the way. I’m sure she’ll tell you, but wanted to let you know so you’re not blindsided… again.” Porn star. Royal. Works with his ex. All valid freak out points.
My mouth must be hanging open because he saunters forward and raises my chin with one finger. Then he kisses me passionately. I can feel his smile against my lips.
Chapter Seven
The royals
“HOW MANY OFLuca’s exes work for him?” I ask Kieran.
She slides me her laptop so I can see the statistics she has pulled up on the screen. “Just me. It’s not weird for you, is it?” Kieran raises one sculpted eyebrow. On top of her perfect eyeball, inside her perfect face. “Because you’re Luca’s type. I never was. I was his vacation four years ago. We make better partners in the office than in the bedroom.” With a wink, she starts explaining the data. I’m trying to listen, I am. She’s unloading more than information on me, though.
“Wait, how is it possible you weren’t compatible in the bedroom? He’s compatible with everyone. Isn’t that his job? To basically be compatible with the entire world?”
With a laugh, she shakes her blonde hair around her shoulders. “Trust me, it wasn’t good. By the looks of things earlier, they’re good for you two, so don’t sweat it. It’s going to be a great vacation. Or more,” she says, turning her gaze to the ceiling. “I booked everyone tickets to New York over Christmas. Is that to be with you?” She taps her chin. “I didn’t put two and two together. He usually doesn’t do that.”
“Do what?” I keep it vague. I want more information about him. I want it all and this woman has it. She controls his calendar—hell, she controls his world.
