Page 34 of Fierce Protector

“How did you two meet?” I ask, desperate to encourage anyone other than Doctor Jenkins to speak but she clams up, and he launches into a long and uninteresting story about meeting at a medical equipment conference where he was a keynote speaker which he quickly devolves into yet more self-aggrandising bullshit. I throw an apologetic shrug her way and don’t miss the frustration she’s trying to hide. There’s not enough wine in the world to make this man palatable in a social setting.

Bless her, she makes it another twenty minutes and four attempts by other people at the table to get him to shut up before she gives up. She lasted longer than I would have put money on, but he barely notices when she excuses herself to the bathroom. He’s oblivious when she casts an apologetic nod my way and heads straight to the exit. There’s nothing I can do other than raise my glass to her.

“Hats off to the girl. She put up with him longer than I would have,” Stefano mumbles beside me.

I can see from the quirk of his lips Doctor Hendrix is fully aware that our sixth will not be returning, and I don’t miss the moment when he leans over and quietly informs his wife. From that point on, everyone bar Doctor Jenkins enters into an unspoken secret game,wondering how long it will take him to notice she’s not coming back. While I’m not usually one to relish other people’s misfortune, it can’t really be considered misfortune if the person in question is so oblivious to it.

Besides, the man is a twat.

How he hasn’t had complaints made against his atrocious bedside manner or unprofessional treatment of the staff under him I’ll never understand. I think the only reason I tolerate his behaviour is because I know if he really fucked me off, I could have him killed.

There are perks to being a capo’s daughter.

It becomes harder and harder for everyone at the table to keep a straight face. We’re barely holding it together when dessert arrives, and he finally notices the chair to his right is still empty.

“If you’ll excuse me, I need to see what’s keeping…” he falters briefly, and I grit my teeth in disgust at his disinterest in his date.

“Alison,” I bite out, only slightly more pointedly than I intend to.

We all stare after him in disbelief. It’s only when he’s out of earshot that there’s a collective collapse of restraint and we burst into laughter. For the first time, I see Doctor Hendrix smile and as he’s wiping a small tear from his eye, he turns to his wife and says, “Vicki if I ever behave like that you have my permission to divorce me and take me for every penny.” He’s still smiling as he kisses her gently on the temple.

“Thanks, honey, but honestly, you’re worth more to me dead,” she says, barely able to contain her laughter.

“Twisty,” Stefano says with a laugh. “I like you two.Let me buy you a drink,” he adds, motioning to the bar. “I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not be here when he realises she ran out on him.”

Everyone is quick to agree, and we make our escape from the stuffiness of the formal dinner to hit the cocktails at the bar. Time flies and it’s a while before we notice we’ve missed the speeches, having been too engrossed in the hilarious story of how Vicki and Doctor Hendrix met—or Simon, as he insists I call him now.

We’re several martinis in at this point and now that we’ve escaped from the clutches of Doctor Boring, the evening is turning into one of the most enjoyable evenings I think I’ve ever had with my colleagues. Once the music starts, the dance floor soon fills up and Stefano drags me out to the floor.

I haven’t seen the man dance since Aurora’s wedding and that’s a damn shame. There’s something about the way he moves that’s always been a weakness of mine. He doesn’t just move his feet; there’s a fluidity to him that makes you want to meld yourself to his body. Exactly the way he’s dancing now.

Holding my palm against his chest with one hand and resting the other just above my hips, he’s commanding me around the floor, interrupting the steps only occasionally to unfurl me in a sensual spin, stealing my breath every time he draws me back and we collide together.

We might as well be here alone for all the awareness I have of my surroundings. Nothing exists outside of the magnetic gaze I’m trapped in. I couldn’t tell you how long we dance for, but as he twirls me around the floor, Ilean into every touch and hope it lasts forever. At the end of the last song of the night, he says, “One day I’ll dance all night with you at our wedding.”

I’m speechless, but he doesn’t give me time to overthink his words and doesn’t let me ruin the moment with whatever flustered and nonsensical reply threatens to spill from my lips. He silences my thoughts with a kiss, and I let myself drift on a cloud of fantasies and half-baked dreams I never thought I’d experience.

There’s a gentle tap on my shoulder and I see that Simon and Vicki are calling it a night. I pull Vicki in for a hug but draw back to a handshake to say goodnight to Simon. He laughs, saying, “I get I haven’t been the easiest person to get to know at work, but I hope you’ll consider me a friend and not a colleague going forward.”

“Deal,” I reply, shaking his hand firmly and patting his arm. “When you have colleagues like Jenkins, it makes it hard to want to get to know anyone.”

“True,” he laughs. “Just don’t go spreading it around. The last thing I want is pricks like Jenkins thinking I’m approachable.”

“Don’t go selling me down the river either. It’s taken me years to convince everyone I’m a stone-cold bitch.”

“I got you. See you next shift,” he says with a grin, steering his slightly wobbly and entirely fabulous wife off the dance floor.

We’re encouraged off the dance floor by the waitstaff as they start clearing up—the universal sign for ‘you can fuck off now’ at a party. I really don’t want the evening to be over yet so taking Stefano’s hand in mine, I lead him towards a door at the back of the room, and afterchecking the coast is clear, I drag him with me into the maze of corridors.

We’re barely through the door when Stefano pushes me back against the wall, sliding his hand along the flare of my waist, around to the curve of my ass. His broad hand squeezes my cheek before moving forward to slip between the folds of the hip-level slit in the silk. He grasps my thigh firmly, hoisting it up, hooking my leg around his waist, and stepping into me, pressing the undeniably hard ridge of his cock against me.

With one hand holding firmly around his neck and shoulder, the other reaches for the tie that hangs nonchalantly around his open collar. I’ve been salivating over how sinfully hot he looks in a tux, but I think I prefer this slightly dishevelled and unrestrained version of him more. I snatch at the black satin, grasping a handful of his shirt with it and groaning when it pops open another button. The hint of salt and pepper hair reminds me of how the coarseness of his chest teases against my nipples when he pins me down and fucks me like he owns me.

“It’s been torture watching you in this dress all evening. Having to hold myself back every time I saw someone undress you with their eyes.”

“Have you been getting hot under the collar,vecchietto?” I tease, pulling on the tie and kissing him with every ounce of passion he’s igniting within me. There’s no finesse to the way our lips clash and every frenzied roll of his tongue against mine lets me know he’s as desperate for me as I am for him.

Sparks of electricity jolt through my core as he pullsback the curtain of fabric and feathers his touch over my damp satin panties. I don’t bother to stifle the moan that he pulls from me as he finds my clit and taps it delicately. “How wet are you for me right now, baby girl? If I got on my knees for you, would you fall apart for me? Would it turn you on knowing that anyone could find us?”

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