Page 27 of Merciless Attraction

“Send me the invitation and then I’ll send the footage.”

I nod. “No problem. Send your information to the email on that card. I’ll take care of it and someone will call you with the details. The minute you have that you send me the footage. Please don’t make me come back here to collect.”

I keep my voice stern and unwavering, using the permanent scowl etched across my eyebrows to my advantage, instilling fear inside of him. Good. Inside the car, Gemma’s on the phone with Natalie.

I let her vent to her friend as I drive into the night wondering what else can possibly happen.

Chapter 11: Gemma

“Stop worrying about the car, Gem.” Natalie’s insistence on making me feel better can be exhausting, but I think this feeling is just the day taking its toll. She emphasizes her point, telling me, “It’s just a car and you don’t know how bad it is yet. We have full coverage. Relax.”

“This is my fault.”

“It’s not,” she disagrees. “But if you feel that way, then you can pay the deductible to get it fixed. Okay?”

“It’s not just that, Natalie. I think the guy we saw looking in my window at our house came into Booked and Boozy tonight. Then he waited until we closed and followed me into the parking lot. It was fucking awful. I didn’t have my pepper spray with me or anything. He said something about Verducci.”

“Damian, put that scrub brush down.” Natalie shouts away from the phone.

“I need to clean or shoot. Give me something else to do with my hands and I will.” Damian’s reply is nerve-racking. He’s just as anxious as I am.

“I thought coming out here would be peaceful you know?” I tell her. “We had family out here so it would be safe. My brothers could stay in New York, and I could live my life.”

Antonio reaches over to rub my knee, sweet and gentle assurance that he understands where I’m coming from.

“You’re going to be fine, Gem.” Natalie says firmly. “We’re all going to be fine. Listen. Don’t worry about the car. We can have it towed to a body shop. You should probably ride with Antonio for the time being to be safe.”

“I am, I mean, I will as much as I can. I have a life, too. I don’t want to rely on anyone or make them feel obligated to chauffeur me around.” I tell her with a side glance at Antonio. The clenching of his jaw lets me know he takes offense to that, but I’m not going to take advantage of him or his car.

“Don’t be so stubborn, Gemma Marie. A car is just a thing. A ride is just a favor. When favors come from people who care about you, it’s not taking advantage. It’s called help, and it’s okay to need it sometimes. Me and Damian are pretty much glued at the hip, knee-deep in business contracts and whatnot, so I don’t need the car either. Stick with the doc.”

“I don’t have much of a choice in the matter now do I?”

She laughs. “Stop acting like you won’t guzzle his kids—”

“SHE WON’T WHAT!” Damian barks in the distance.

“Shit, I forgot he was here. Love you. Gotta go, bye girl.” Natalie ends the call with me fighting laughter.

“I’ll take you wherever you need to go,” Antonio says after I slip my phone into my pocket.

“Thank you.”

“As your fiancé, it’s my duty to keep you safe.” This time he wraps his hand around mine, brings it up to his mouth, and kisses the back of it. “What was Damian yelling about?”

I shake my head with a giggle. “Something inappropriate Natalie said about me.”

“I’ve wondered about how inappropriate we can get,” he says with the corner of his mouth turning up ever so slightly.

“You mean aside from you fingering my ass, using my own toy against me, and choking me while some pervert watches?” I can’t stop the sarcasm coating every syllable.

“The way you twisted your body when you came says you enjoyed it all. Pervert aside, would being watched be something you’re into?”

“I did enjoy it, and I don’t know,” I reply. “Is there somewhere like that for us to test things out?”

He nods. “A friend of mine knows another doctor, Dr. Mescal, who has places we can visit, but I’m not sure how things work with her. It might be a member’s only kind of set up.”

“How about we explore each other first before we think about taking our adventure on a tour as a spectacle? Wait, what does that mean for our fake relationship?”

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