Page 75 of Dangerous Contract: Part 1

Chapter Fifteen

MONIQUE

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It felt good to be home.

It felt good to shower in her own shower. It felt good to eat food out of her own kitchen. It felt good to relax in her own bedroom. Basically, having her own things and being amongst them felt good. So why was her mind still at Cattaneo’s Casino and Resort?

Seated on the small recliner in her living room, staring at the television but not seeing it, Monique sighed. An hour had passed since Orazio dropped her off, and she still hadn’t stopped thinking about him.

Which was crazy because a few hours ago, she’d wanted to stab him in his left nut. A few hours before that, she’d had his right nut in her mouth. Now, she missed him and both his nuts. She smiled, remembering the way he’d walked her to her door.

He’d insisted they hold hands like a real couple. Not just during the walk to her door. They’d held hands the entire drive to her house. She’d told him he was being silly. But honestly, she’d liked it.

He’d seemed so nervous during the drive. It had been an endearing yet stark contrast to the confident and cocky man he’dbeen at his casino. When they arrived at her house, he’d insisted on coming inside to make sure her home was safe.

The meticulous man even checked the backyard, stating she was too important to him for him to do a half-assed job of protecting her. Before leaving, he’d kissed her on the forehead and told her he’d see her at nine p.m.

Monique grabbed her phone from the armrest of her recliner to check the time.Three more hours.She’d see him again in three more hours. Monique sighed again. Three hours seemed so far away.

“Earth to Monique!” Meka snapped her fingers. “Girl, snap out of it. We’ve been here for ten minutes, and you haven’t told us what happened yet.”

Monique glanced over at her friends who were seated on the couch across from her, eating popcorn, waiting for her to give them the tea. She’d almost forgotten they were there. Where was her head?Oh, right. With Orazio Cattaneo.

Toya laughed. “Leave her alone, Meka. Can’t you see she’s in a trance? That’s what we dick connoisseurs calldickmatized. That’s when the dick is so good it leaves you in a trance for hours. Sometimes days. I once had a dick so good that I woke up a week later and didn’t know where I was or how I’d gotten there.”

“Bitch, that’s called getting drugged,” Meka pointed out while rolling her eyes. “You should have that bastard arrested. What’s his name? I’ll get someone to handle him for you.”

Toya playfully shoved Meka’s shoulder. “You know what I mean. Our friend got dicked down good. She needed it. Look at her, cheesing for no apparent reason.”

“We know the reason,” Meka joked. “And it begins with a C.”

“Cock?” Toya guessed.

“Cattaneo,” Meka corrected her. “But cock works too!”

Both of her friends burst out laughing. Monique chuckled. Was she cheesing for no reason? She hadn’t realized she was smiling. Her mind was off in LaLa land.Wait. Was this the early stages of a crush?

Monique laughed. She hadn’t had a crush in years. She’d forgotten what it felt like. But she was pretty sure this was it. She felt foolish for feeling this way. She was too old to be cheesing for no apparent reason.

Yet, there she sat, smiling as she thought about Orazio and as she remembered how scared he’d looked at the thought of her leaving and never seeing him again. That look was what prompted her to change her mind and give him a chance.

Her friends were waiting on the tea. And she’d called them over to give them the tea after she’d listened to all the voicemails they’d left her. But after spilling the tea, would her friends still feel this excited for her? Or would they worry about her sanity for wanting to be with a man who’d kidnapped her for a few hours?

“Look at her,” Meka drawled. “Our girl has fallen in love.”

Monique rolled her eyes. “That’s not true. I’m not in love. I’m in no hurry to fall in love with anyone. I’m just...”

What was the word for what she felt for Orazio? It damn sure wasn’t love. But, it was a little more than like.

“You don’t have to put a label on it until you’re ready,” Toya told her. “We’re at the age where labels aren’t that important.”

“I disagree,” Meka interjected. “We’re at that age where we need everything to be in black and white, so there’s no confusion.”

“She just said she’s not looking for love,” Toya argued. “Therefore, she doesn’t want any labels.”

“So, you don’t consider friends with benefits a label?” Meka asked.

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