I release a shuddering breath.
“Don’t make me a monster. I don’t want to be that man with you, but Iwillbe if you push me. Your absolute obedience is not only expected, it’s necessary. For the safety of us all.” He drags a hand through his wet hair, and tiny droplets cascade down his broad shoulders and across the white bandage. “This deal could be beneficial for both of us, trust me.” His warm breath ghosts over my lips.
He inches closer and something smooth and hard nudges my belly. The desire to look down is overwhelming, but Luca keeps my eyes pinned to his, fingers locked on my chin. My heart pounds out a ragged beat. “Now, answer me, Stella. Do you want me to punish you?”
My thoughts flicker back to the town car and that spank. To the feel of his palm on my ass, and the heat that had raged as a result of it. I’d never been spanked … not in the sexy way anyway. Now it’s all I can think about.
“No,” I finally grit out. “I’m not some disobedient child. I don’t need to be disciplined.”
He grunts. “You’re certainly acting like one.”
The elevator doors glide open, and he takes a step back, freeing me from his intoxicating presence. I draw in a breath untainted by his musky scent, and my heart stops thundering. He spins around, giving me a close-up view of his magnificent ass, and my traitorous eyes trail his perfect form. More scars riddle his back, but somehow they only enhance his raw, untamed beauty.
I swallow hard and force my feet to move. Where exactly? I’m not sure. Maybe he’s right, and I should just suck it up for the next month. If I behave, I’ll be free. How bad could it be to live in this penthouse and go to a couple of fancy parties? It certainly beats Bo’s proposal.
“Come with me.” Luca’s command echoes across the quiet hallway.
As I cross the living room, a thought niggles to the forefront of my mind. “How did you get downstairs so fast?”
Luca stops in front of the guest room door and swings it open. “I have my own private elevator in my bedroom. Having only one exit would be risky in my line of work.”
“Which is what exactly?” I cross my arms over my chest and meet his hard gaze.
“C.E.O. of King Industries.”
Holy cannoli. How did I not make the connection before? Probably because my life was enough to handle without understanding the inner workings of the mob. I may not know much about big business in Manhattan, but even I’d heard of King Industries. That name was stamped all across New York City, including that brand new towering skyscraper on Park Avenue.
And Luca was the C.E.O.? He must’ve been a freaking millionaire, and from the look of him, he probably only had about five years on me.
I must have been staring like a gaping idiot because his finger ends up under my chin again, tipping it up this time. My jaw snaps shut. His hand slides from my face down to my upper arm before he finally releases me.
He watches me for an endless moment. “Any more questions, princess?”
I inhale a steadying breath and force out the words I’ve been too nervous to voice. “If Ibehave, you promise not to hurt me?”
“I don’t hurt women,” he barks, his tone so sharp my head snaps back. As if he senses my discomfort, he clears his throat, and the tense set of his jaw softens. “You still want that shower?”
I nod quickly and he tows me into the bathroom once again, the scent of stale scotch swimming beneath my nostrils.
He reaches for a towel and wraps it around his narrow hips, and a deep, dark part of me is disappointed. I tell that lusty little vixen to shut up. Then he jumps up on the countertop, and with a wicked grin, ticks his head at the glass stall. “Go ahead.”
“Excuse me?”
“You lost your privilege of showering alone.”
“Sei un pezzo di merda, Signor Valentino,” I growl.
“I’m a piece of shit?” His grin only grows wider. “Trust me, with that stunt you pulled, this is the gentlest punishment anyone’s ever endured. If one of my guys had disobeyed me like you did….” He shakes his head, an evil glimmer in his eyes.
“So now I’m an employee?”
His head dips slowly. “Mmm, yes. I like the sound of that, princess.”
“You just promised not to hurt me,” I snap.
“Have I touched you? Laid a hand on that beautiful face or perfect body?” He grins. “Some would enjoy a steamy hot shower.”
I cross my arms over my chest and scowl at the smirkingbastardo. “I’m not stripping in front of you. That was not part of the deal.”
