Page 223 of Daddy, Take Me Away
“Ah. yes. We definitely want to do that.” I smile, especially since I’m avoiding some exes myself.
I give her directions to a private meeting spot from the back of the building and with one final glance at her sandals scattered near her pile of luggage, we part ways.
Chapter Three
Zoë
I’m admiring the gardens when Mr. Pellegrino approaches. He sort of takes my breath away the moment I see him. In board shorts and one of those athletic t-shirts that wick moisture but also cascades over every hill and valley of his well-formed chest, he looks ten years younger.
“Wow,” I say aloud, unintentionally, as he leads the way through a path, disregarding the sign that says ‘no trespassing’.
He smiles crookedly down at me. “What?”
“Confession?” I ask, and he shrugs, holding back a large palm frond for me.
“Go for it.”
I walk past him, stepping up the incline of earth and rocks. “You look totally different without the suit and tie.” I glance back, shooting him my sassiest smile. “Almost like when you removed it, the stick came out.”
He barks a laugh and I catch my top lip between my teeth. “Sorry, sometimes, particularly outdoors, in the sun and fresh air, my filter doesn’t work.” I lift my arms and turn around admiring the lush beauty around us. “It’s such a gorgeous place.”
“I can appreciate a broken filter now and then—like when I’m outdoors, in the sun and fresh air, but… confession?”
I nod, smiling at the easy way we’re communicating. He’s nothing like the stuffy grump he was in his office and more like the man I’ve been chatting with the last few months.
“Most of the time,” he cocks his head, “I’d say ninety-nine percent of the time, it irritates the fuck out of me and actually brings out my dominant side.”
My brow shoots up. Dominant? “Like dominant with a capital D?” The incline is getting steeper and I feel it in my breathing. The air is heavy with humidity amongst the flora and fauna of the jungled path. Or maybe… I can’t catch my breath for another reason.
“Are you fifty shades of fucked-up, Mr. Pellegrino?” I ask with a smirk, grasping a gnarled branch to hoist myself further up.
“Is this a pop-culture reference?” he asks, a little too innocently.
I shrug. “A book series.”
He grunts. “You read?”
“I’m adventurous in all things, Mr. Pellegrino. Including my taste in books.” That’s not exactly the truth. The reading, yes, but I likely have the least adventurous sex life known to man. Oh, I’ve had kinky, adventurous fantasies, but never acted on them.
Mark was as straight-laced as can be in the bedroom. With me at least. I mean he did bend my sister over some rocks in a public park. We weren’t strictly missionary, but we weren’t far off. And he was my only sexual partner.
“You can call me Amadeo again.”
“Okay, Amadeo,” I reply, and smirk, knowing I’ve been forgiven. Reaching for a rock I pull myself up a near ninety-degree angle.
“Another confession?”
“Yes, please,” I prod, eagerly. “I like this impromptu confession sesh we’ve got going on here.” I puff out on a labored breath, this time pulling myself up with a root. It comes loose and I slip.
Steadying me, Amadeo says, “Your comment made my palm twitch.”
Now I bark the laugh. He’s totally read Fifty Shades or at least watched the movies.
“As did the pile of your stuff in my office, your rumpled clothes for our meeting, and the way you kicked off your sandals and left them in two different spots in my office.” His grimace makes me laugh harder.
“Oh my god, that stick was so huge!” I giggle. “It must have hurt like hell coming out.”
He smirks. “Enormous, indeed.”
