Page 16 of Rise of Temptation

“I’m not begging. Yet. But let’s talk to Enzo. I’m afraid my dick’s going to fall off soon.”

They both laugh at me, but fuck them. I know they’re just as desperate for her as I am. They have each other to take the edge off, but nothing compares to Elise.

“Frankie, you need to come up with a logical reason for why he should share her with us. Make him an offer he can’t refuse.”

“Why me?”

I roll my eyes. He’s supposed to be the smart one. “Because he listens to you. He respects your opinion.”

Sal jumps in and says, “What if we’re thinking about it wrong? Maybe we need to make sharing her sound fun. Put the idea in his mind in a way that makes it irresistible.”

“Enzo doesn’t have fun,” Frankie points out. “And that’s saying something, coming from me.”

“How about we just wait until an opportunity comes up naturally? Or try to catch him in a generous mood? We don’t want to force it.”

A skeptical look from Sal stops me in my tracks.

“What?”

“A generous mood? When it comes to Elise? He’s more possessive of her than Gollum is of that stupid ring.”

Frankie glares at Sal. “You know that ring is not stupid.”

Oh no, not this again. “My point,” I interrupt, saving us all from a repeat of their dumbest argument, “is that we need to work it into a conversation organically. Enzo will see right through us if we come at him with an ambush.”

“Joey’s right. We’ll just have to wait for our opportunity. It’ll come up sooner or later. It’s not like he’s hiding her.”

Sal and I nod, then he gets up to replace all of our beers. When Sal comes back, he and Frankie go back to their ridiculous debate, and I drift off into daydreams of Elise’s ass. I’m positive that I’ll die if I don’t get a taste of it soon.

Chapter 13

Elise

Iwake up feeling refreshed for the first time since moving into Enzo’s house. After our rough night together following the failed ambush, he ignored me all day yesterday and didn’t come into my room last night. Maybe I’ll be able to create a semblance of a normal life after all.

My mood only continues to improve after a long, luxurious shower. I’m glad I opted to keep the fancy bath products that Enzo provided for me instead of the cheaper versions I’d brought with me. There’s really no reason to punish myself for being in this situation, so I’m going to make the most of it.

Humming to myself, I move around the room while I get ready for the day. I haven’t heard from Enzo or any of the staff, so I assume I’ll have some time to myself this morning. When I slip my fingers around the knobs of my underwear drawer and pull it open, however, the illusion is shattered. The drawer is empty. Not a panty in sight.

Fury consumes me, and I toss on the first pair of sweatpants and sweatshirt that I find before marching out of my room and down the stairs. I check every room, finally finding Enzo in thegym, bench pressing some unimaginable weight.

“Where the fuck are my underwear?” I nearly shout at him.

He ignores me in favor of finishing the set of reps he’s in the middle of. Once the bar is safely back in the rack, I storm over and repeat my question.

He gets up and pushes past me, tossing over his shoulder, “You don’t need them.”

“Like hell I don’t! What am I supposed to wear?” I wouldn’t be surprised if steam was coming out of my ears.

He turns off the music and turns to face me. “I’m glad you asked. You’re going to wear dresses.”

“No. I’m not,” I promise.

“Fine. Then don’t wear anything.”

“You can’t tell me what to wear!”

“Of course I can. You work for me. I’m changing the uniform. Effective immediately.” He walks out, leaving me standing in the gym with my mouth hanging open.

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