Page 89 of Beautiful Desire

“He’s hanging around looking for something he can use against you, so youwilldo what he wants. My guess is that’s why he ran into Elle today. Put the feelers out to see how close you two are and whether or not he could use her as bait. He was waiting to see if she would tell you, and if she did, he knows you would reach out and threaten him to stay away from her. My suggestion is, don’t play into his hand. As much as you want to punch the living shit out of him, just ignore him. Have Enrico do some digging, and I’ll have Marco look into him as well. Now is the time to tell me if there’s anything you’re hiding from me that he can use against you.”

“No. What the hell would I be hiding? You know everything he could possibly use against me.”

“Just checking,” he says.

I hear Gia’s faint voice in the background mumbling something.

“Gotta go, man. Dinner’s ready. Remember, don’t act on your impulses. Just ignore him, and he should go away once he realizes he has nothing to hold over you.”

“Thanks, m—” I start to say before he hangs up on me.

Shaking my head, I set my phone back down on my coffee table and lie back against my couch cushion. Closing my eyes, I drift off and pray I can get more than an hour of sleep tonight.

CHAPTER26

DOM

This morning has beena rough start. I turned my alarm off since I couldn’t fall asleep, only to pass out at the time I needed to be getting up. If it wasn’t for Bill’s nonstop calls to ask me where I was, I would have been late for work.

Something’s got to give, because I can’t keep going on like this. I’m on edge from Nero still being in the city, wondering what he’s trying to plan. Is he still after Fabi, or is he going to try something with Elle now? As much as Fab is like a brother to me, if Nero so much as looks at my fiore again, I’ll kill him. And this time, I won’t hesitate to pull the trigger.

I’m also grumpy due to lack of sleep, and because of that, I’m forgetful now too. I know I’m thirty-seven, but I’m not at the age where memory loss should be happening. It’s also unprofessional, and even though I only bought this company because Nero forced me to so he could launder his money here, I refuse to let my stellar reputation tank because of that asshole.

I haven’t gotten much work done since I got to the office four hours ago. When I logged in and saw my schedule today, I did a double take. I only had two meetings today. One at ten a.m., and another at two thirty in the afternoon. I don’t know if it’s always been like this or if this was the doing of one Elle Parker. My bet is the latter.

I’ve been sitting behind my desk staring at my computer screen for the last twenty minutes, trying to read over the file for my afternoon meeting, but the words on the monitor are blurry and not making any sense. I’m beyond exhausted, and if I were to close my eyes right now, I would be out instantly.

I’m about to do just that when a knock sounds at the door. Before I can grant access to the person on the other side, it swings open, and my fiore is standing there looking more beautiful than ever. She’s dressed in a form-fitting white sleeveless dress that goes to just below her knees, her long blonde locks hang down past her chest, and the afternoon sun is shining behind at the perfect angle, encasing her in it, making her look like the angel she is.

Myangel.

She looks so beautiful and serene that I don’t know if she’s really there or if I’m imagining her. Maybe I’m hallucinating. I rub my eyes to see if this is a dream, and when my vision refocuses, she’s still standing there – only this time, her face is displaying a frown.

“Whoa, D, you don’t look so good. Are you okay? Do you need anything?” she asks as she steps into my office, worry evident in her tone.

I know she asked me something, but all I heard was her calling meD. She only does that in intimate times. Maybe she still feels this too.

Waving her hand in front of my face, she speaks again. “Dom, seriously, are you sick? Do you need me to call Bill to come get you and take you home?”

Not waiting for my response, she bends over my desk, raising her arm as she places the back of her hand on my forehead. My eyes roam down her face and land on her ample cleavage that is now smack in my face.

I’m not warm temperature-wise, but between the feeling of her touch on my skin and her tits in my face, I’m hot all over. And I’m not the only one, because when I raise my head back up to hers, her breath catches and her breathing becomes more shallow.

Dropping her hand from my forehead as if I’ve just burned her, she straightens herself back up and takes a few steps back. As if distance can help the electricity and magnetic pull between us.

Clearing her throat, she stutters as she speaks, causing a smile to tug at my lips.

“Y-you d-don’t feel warm, sir.” Her eyes go wide as she realizes what she just said.

The wordsirsends a jolt directly to my cock, causing it to twitch in my pants.

“Did you purposely only schedule two meetings for me today so we could have some more time together, or did you cancel them last minute because you were worried about me?” I ask as I push away from my desk and slowly walk over to her.

“I…uh…what?” she says, flustered.

Seeing her nervous makes the semi I’m sporting go to full mast. Stopping just before her where our feet are just touching, I raise my right arm and run two fingers down her silky-smooth cheek. Her eyes close, and she hums as she leans into my touch. If my life has taught me anything, it’s that you never know what tomorrow can bring.

Elle and I have been drawn to each other from the moment we saw one another at Peter and Christine’s wedding. Life may have had other plans for us at the time, butfatekeeps bringing us back together. I know we agreed to keep things strictly professional at the office and leave what happened between us in the past, but I can’t deny our chemistry or my feelings for her any longer.

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