Page 45 of The Capo

I was exasperated from sleep deprivation and the continuing vivid fantasies of Francois’ carved muscles standing in the moonlight in the middle of my room. I could still hear echoes of the words he’d said, dark and very sinful whispers about stripping me bare, licking every inch of my body before thrusting his cock deep inside my tight pussy.

Leave it to my vivid imagination to create a wave of desire so thick that I could barely breathe.

The arrogant ass seemed taken aback. Then he laughed.

“Honey. I’ve heard every story in the book. Yours is mundane. However, your bodyguard called and threatened me,” Quince said in a haughty tone. “He told me he’d break my bones if I bothered you again.”

There was a tiny thrill coursing through me knowing that Francois would go to that extreme, but he was such an arrogant bastard that I forced myself to be angry with him all over again.

“As I said, he’s been hired by my father to protect me.”

“I don’t give a shit what he was hired to do, no one threatens me. I’m going to save him the trouble of sending his goons out to break my legs. You’re fired. I don’t need the kind of trouble youbring to the table any longer. From where I stand in sunny LA, it would seem you got yourself in the middle of this mess, running away to Daddy for a fix. Maybe you need to consider getting yourself out of the business altogether. You are almost twenty-five, far too old for modeling.”

Fuck. You.

God, the two words were on the tip of my tongue but burning bridges wasn’t in my best interest, no matter what I decided to do with the rest of my life.

While the news wasn’t something I wanted to hear, in truth, I was almost relieved. “Fine. But allow me to take the opportunity to tell you what a chauvinistic son of a bitch I think you are. The reason you’re angry with me is because I refused to sleep with you. Here’s the thing. The reason I didn’t, other than you’re a son of a bitch jerk, is that I realized early on I couldn’t find your dick if I searched with a powerful flashlight and a pitchfork.”

Oops, I failed in my convictions again. What a shame. I rolled my eyes, realizing my breathing was heavier.

They’d been words I’d longed to say for a hell of a long time. I grinned, pumping my fist into the air.

All was quiet. Maybe I’d burst his bubble once and for all.

“Well. I’m so glad you told me, little doll. Here’s my response. I’m going to make certain you never work in this town again.”

I wanted to laugh, to scream, but I felt nothing inside. All the work, the hours spent gone. I didn’t bother saying anything because I couldn’t. Quince had already ended the call.

Why was it that all men liked to use the term doll? That pissed me off almost as badly as losing my career. Poof. Gone. But itsure felt good to tell the creep off. How many times had he come onto me, pawing me and promising I’d become a million-dollar star. Meanwhile, I’d been told not to cross him, or he’d make my life hell. Well, he obviously had no real understanding of what I was going through.

Tossing the phone onto the floor, I rolled over in bed, staring at the clock. It was after nine in the morning and I’d been unable to get any sleep. And why? Not because I’d been terrified of nightmares or creatures slipping through cracks in the floorboards.

My insomnia had been all about the pompous man with the body of a god. I didn’t dare think this any longer for fear of turning into a marshmallow or worse. My knees knocked every time I was around the stunning man, which was ridiculous, but I wanted the man with everything I had inside of me.

Danger.

I’d understood what he was saying. I just couldn’t process the damning information adequately. I felt as if I was being suffocated, unable to focus on anything. I wrapped my fingers around my throat, envisioning the way he’d done it hours before. He’d done so as if the damning act was the most natural thing in the world to him.

What I’d been forced to realize was that he truly had my life in his hands. Whether I liked it or not. The fact I’d almost kissed him remained a sore point in the back of my mind. He didn’t deserve it. When I rolled over again, I was reminded of the spanking he’d given me, the ache remaining. The pain hadn’t been insufferable, but the embarrassment had. What if someone had walked into the front door?

Who was I kidding? What had bothered me the most was that he’d called me on the carpet for acting like a child. And I’d been enthralled by his commanding actions. It was all so insane in my mind.

At least in my sleeplessness, I’d been able to send my dad off on his trip to Europe, sharing a cup of coffee with him. He was still nervous, more anxious than I’d seen him in a long time. I could tell he had a lot on his mind, including the fact his wayward daughter had returned home with baggage. What would he do if he found out about Francois? Ugh. I couldn’t allow that to happen.

I should have known better than to lie back down. At least I was still in my shorts and tee shirt I’d slipped into, although I needed to do some laundry and buy some new clothes. I wondered which burly soldier would be the one to take me shopping.

It certainly wouldn’t be my fantasy man.

I rolled my eyes and crawled out of bed, my stomach rumbling. Given the terse exchange with Francois the night before, I’d done everything in my power to stay out of his way. Including when he’d had a brief but pointed conversation with my father before walking the man to his car. Now I was starving.

After brushing my teeth and hair, I headed for the door. When I heard a strange sound, I immediately backed away. Was there someone in the house? After hearing nothing else for a few seconds, I moved closer. Then I laughed. The slight woof had been followed with a scratch on my door.

I threw it open and Sadie bounded into my arms, knocking me backward and onto the bed. Laughing, I wrestled with her, receiving more than a dozen kisses.

“Good morning to you all over again, furball.” I couldn’t remember the last time I’d spent any time around dogs, but Sadie was full of energy.

Woof.

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