Page 14 of Bastard Prince
“Alright,” he said firmly. “You’ve got thirty days. I wanna see some fuckin’ impressive numbers, Lexi, or I’m shutting this down.” Glancing at Derek’s excited face, Enzo shook his head. “Never in my whole life thought I’d be peddling cock.”
“Hey,” Derek interjected. “I’ll have you know that I plan to be a class act. I’m here to tantalize, not scandalize.” He gave a little shimmy of his shoulders, his eyebrows waggling. “It’s gonna take a long while before I show anyone my gentleman sausage.”
Beside him, D’Andre shook his head, his baritone chuckle rolling over us all as he watched Derek’s antics.
“Welcome to the new world, boss man,” Lexi chirped, and I laughed. “Where there’s cock for everyone!”
“I got what you need right here, baby,” Derek crooned, licking his lips suggestively at Lexi.
“Well, then, come on, big boy, and I’ll show you what to do with it.” With that, Lexi and Derek turned and headed to the empty booths at the far end of the room.
D’Andre chuckled. “I’ll go make sure no one ends up pregnant. See y’all in a bit.”
Then it was just Enzo and I standing in the aisle, surrounded by empty porn cubicles.
Glancing around the room, Enzo suddenly scooped up my hand, towing me behind him, my shorter legs struggling to keep up. I tried to pull my hand free, but his iron grip kept me locked to his side, and I had no choice but to follow. He moved us to the same small boardroom from the week before, then straight through into another smaller office. This one had a desk, two guest chairs, and a large black leather couch against one wall.
Once the door closed, Enzo spun on me. “You did it again, Francesca.”
“Did what?”
“Disappeared.”
“No I didn’t,” I protested. “I sent you a text.” Granted, it wasn’t until I was in theTaste of Edenparking lot, but still.
“And you think that’s enough for me?” he asked, his voice doing that whiskey over glass thing again, and I tried to contain my shiver as Enzo continued to herd me toward the couch. “You think leaving the house with out saying goodbye and then dropping one measly, stupidly vague text is gonna suffice when it comes to you? Tous?”
My heart was pounding, the look in his eyes dark and dangerous, but also so fucking sexy. Enzo looked like a predator, and even though I was certain he was going to eat me alive, I couldn’t find a reason to run.
“I think we need to establish some rules,” Enzo said, reaching out to toy with the strap of my dress. I had worn one of the outfits I picked up with Lexi, the flirty halter-style dress with the gold belt and buttons, and as Enzo ran his finger under the strap, goosebumps broke out along the exposed skin of my neck.
“Rules?” I replied, trying to sound incredulous, but failing miserably. “What kind of rules?”
“Don’t worry; these are rules you’ll like. I promise.” His words said one thing, but his tone insinuated another, and I realized I was totally down for both.
“Rule number one,” Enzo drawled, his warm hands sliding up my neck to cup the underside of my jaw, holding me in place. “You don’t leave without a kiss goodbye.” Pulling me to him, Enzo kissed me savagely, lifting my face to his and forcing me to go up on my toes to cover the distance.
He kissed me until my head spun, then leaned back, smirking at what I assumed was the dazed look on my face. After giving me a moment to compose myself, he went on.
“Rule number two,” he murmured, watching his thumb as he dragged it across my now-puffy lower lip. “When you do leave, I want to know where you’re going. None of this ‘I’ll be back later’ bullshit in a text.” He scowled, letting me know he was actually pissed about that. “This isn’t a joke, Francesca,” he said seriously. “I’m not trying to be some fuckin’ caveman here.”
I arched an eyebrow at that comment, and he let out a dark chuckle. “Alright. I’m notonlytrying to be some fuckin’ caveman.” Sobering, Enzo stared into my eyes, his gaze stormy. “This shit is serious, Francesca. I have to know where you are, not because I don’t trust you, or because I want to be a controlling bastard, but because I have to know that you’re safe. Ineedto know that you’re safe.”
“Alright, Enzo.” The look on his face was so earnest, there was no way I could deny him.
“Rule three,” he continued, moving his hands to my shoulders and giving a quick push. I gasped, and went to step back, not realizing he had maneuvered me to the arm of the couch and had justshovedme backwards over it. I landed with a squeak on the soft leather cushions, my butt sitting higher than my torso due to being propped on the arm, my legs hanging over the side.
“Oh, gross, Enzo,” I muttered, wrinkling my nose. “Is this your casting couch?”
Enzo snorted. “They wish.” He shook his head, dragging my ass toward him and perching me on the edge of the arm. “Nah, babe. You’re the first woman to see this couch in action.”
“Well, uh, thanks, I guess.”
“Smartass,” he growled. “Now, rule three is that if you break any of my other rules, I get to punish you.”
“Punish me?” I squawked, scrambling to push myself up on my elbows so I could see him better. “How the hell are you going to punish me?”
The look he gave me, standing between my awkwardly spread legs, was one of pure lust, and any hope I had at being angry about rule three vanished in a puff of smoke.
