In a fucking palace by the sea with a man who wants to fuck me rotten for a week straight. Santino opens a door and the cool sweet-scented air hits me in a rush. It smells like rich people. That musky, floral scent that I imagine Beyoncé’s house smells like. The scent of money. So much of it they might soak it in sweet smelling herbs then light it on fire. I gulp. “Hey, ah, Santino. Luca is a nice guy, right?”
He laughs, shaking his head. That’s not good. “Yeah, he’s a nice guy.”
“I’m supposed to believe you when you say it like that?”
“Are you here because you want a nice guy?”
Woah, he just ball checked me. “Actually, sort of yes.” I’ll leave out the part about bringing a boyfriend home for Christmas because I have a feeling he’d laugh at me even harder than Luca did.
He narrows his eyes. “I can drive you back to the airport right now if you’d like.”
Welp, that’s about as close to an answer as I’m going to get. “I’d like to meet him first, but will that offer stand over the next week?”
“Mr. Bianchi is a lot of things, but he’s not into kidnapping. So yes, if you ask me, I will take you to the airport. Don’t ask unless you’re certain. He doesn’t take to losing things well.”
“I’m not a thing,” I hiss back.
His reply is a chuckle. Asshole. After we wind through hallways that I know will prove challenging to navigate alone, he pushes open double doors and then pulls my suitcase inside. There’s a doctor, or who I assume is a doctor because of the white coat and the bag at his feet.
Santino turns to me. “This is the room you’ll call home and that is Dr. Rossi. He’s going to do a quick blood test and STD panel. It will only take a few minutes.”
What in the ever-loving hell did I get myself into? “A blood test,” I stutter.
“Standard protocol. I’m sure you understand,” Dr. Rossi says when he glimpses my open mouth and glassed over stare.
Santino lays a hand on my shoulder. “You’re in good hands. Let me go let the boss know you’re here and with the doctor. Settle in. There’s a phone in the kitchen you can call to get anything you’d like. Next to it is an NDA that you’ll have to sign, too.”
“Listen there, jolly man. I hate needles,” I choke out, looking at the doctor. “And why am I signing a non-disclosure agreement? Who is this guy?”
“It’s standard procedure.” How frequently are women coming in here like this?
“Yeah, yeah, so everyone says. What if I say no? To all of it? Luca didn’t say anything about any of this. I’m feeling a little nervous, scared and to be honest, freaked the fuck out. Where is he?”
“I’ll go get him,” Santino says, face grim.
My hands are shaking and I’m replaying scenes from a movie everyone loved, but I never saw all of.If he wants to beat me, I’m out,I think. The doctor smiles at me when Santino closes the door behind us.
“I’m a real easy stick,” he says. “One vial. I have an office here in the house and will have results quickly. It’s to keep Mr. Bianchi safe. You, too.”
My voice quivers. “What is he? Some sort of sex addict? Is this a revolving door?”
He shakes his head. “Not at all. Actually, he hasn’t had a woman outside of work for a long time. This time last year.”
“Outside of work? What is that supposed to mean?”
Dr. Rossi quirks a brow. “You really have no clue? Did you even look him up before you flew to a different country? Try to find out who you are going to spend time with?” Do I admit I didn’t even know his last name before Santino said it? That would make me seem desperate.
“Why don’t you search Lucas Ferrari on your phone while I prep to take the samples. It will distract you so much you won’t notice as much I need you to undress and put on the gown folded on the end of the bed too. Just a quick swab and I’ll be on my way. Luca won’t come in here until I’m finished. Santino just didn’t want to deal with you anymore.”
“What if I need him to drive me to the airport? He said he’d take me whenever I wanted!”
The doctor narrows his eyes. “Search the name. Do it now. Then tell me you want to go home.” Rossi seems amused. “It’s surprising you’re here and you don’t know of him.”
A wave of dizziness coats me and I sit down in a plush chair next to a hallway. A damn hallway inside a bedroom. The room is the size of Shay’s entire house in upstate New York. The search is quick and the first image that pops up it is X-rated. His dick. Even though I only saw it once during the video call, I’d recognize it anywhere. I scroll a bit more and there are tons of graphic images of him and other women.
“He’s a fucking porn star?” My eyes widen. “Why would I know that? Also, I’m glad you’re a doctor because I feel like I might pass out.”
He hands me a bottle of water and I press play on a video. Luca is staring at the camera, not that different than the angle I was privy to last night. Then the camera pans over a busty blonde with a perfect body. He approaches her slowly, spreads her thighs with one leg and hits his knees to eat her out. Tapping rapidly to close the video makes several confounded pop-ups litter my phone. “Any other questions?”
