Chocolate and Italian Wine (Music and Mayhem Book 1) (4 page)

Aaron said, “No problem. If you will come this way.” He led them into the door and through a long hallway adorned with Italian prints and to a closed mahogany door. “The private dining area,” he said.

At the door, Wolfe said, “I’ll be right outside this door, boss lady.”

“Okay,” Kari said, smiling at her protective bodyguard. He was an absolute necessity, though, as well as a close confident. “I’ll see you later, Wolfe.”

Aaron opened up the door for Karisma, and she walked in.

                                           ***

Ray Bryant lay in bed with two cuties he had taken home with him the previous night. He was a man who loved sex—lots of sex with lots of different women. He liked to say that the only thing better than pussy was new pussy. Ray looked over at his latest paramours. He couldn’t remember their names. His hand reached out to move the hair off of one of their faces, trying to recall the escapade. He couldn’t, but he knew it was satisfying…for the night at least.

Ray glanced at the other one, recollecting that she had a crazy sex purr that he’d jonesed over, but today was a new day. There were new conquests to be made.

The women stirred, reminding Ray that it wasn’t cool to let them stay overnight. He’d passed out, though, drunk and ready for anger releasing sex, and there had been some pretty powerful weed, too, which didn’t help.

“Hey,” Ray said to the no name sisters, “how bout you take care of this before you leave.” It wasn’t a question, as much as a command. Both girls giggled and moaned sleepily, but got to work on Ray’s boner.

Karisma’s face popped into his head while the women ignited his passion and he thought of how fine she looked last night. With her face fresh in his mind, he climaxed quickly, which was ideal because he wanted to get the girls out of there. Karisma was who he wanted in his bed when he woke up in the morning and he was going to make sure it happened again.

After catching his breath, he announced, “Okay, here’s some money for cab fare; the cab will be here in ten minutes.” Ray then walked out of the room, his muscular ass bared, and walked toward the shower. An associate of his made sure the girls left, leaving everything that didn’t belong to them behind.

Ray stood underneath the shower, washing away the remnants of hours of protected sex with the anonymous women who, if given the chance, would puncture his rubber and have his kid. He didn’t need any shit like that. No baby mama drama for Alleged. He made sure he could hit it and quit, ‘cause he was always wrapping it up. He was a dawg and knew it, but he made no apologies for it. He also knew he was incapable of being monogamous with any woman, even one the caliber of Karisma Montgomery. He definitely wanted to possess her and not have her be the same way, but to ask him to do it just wasn’t possible. His sexual appetite was insatiable and it had led to him losing Kari, mind and body. Yeah, he took full responsibility for the break up, but it was a situation that was too complicated for Kari to accept or understand.

Women threw themselves at him and he rarely turned away pussy. It was nuts, man, because Kari had the one pussy that more men wanted in this world than any other. Yet, he needed more than that, women who were willing to lose their composure and walk on the wild side.

The hot water of the shower didn’t relax Ray. It made him relive one of the worst days of his entire life. Karisma walking in and him looking up…that look on her face as she found him in mid stroke. He’d never forget it.

The queen of composure lost her cool real fast that day. The ass kicking fit she put on him while he was still naked was burned in his memory. Flipping her off his back and throwing her to the bed with a semi erect penis, he tried to subdue her. He pinned her arms above her head and she fought, tougher than a lioness protecting her cubs, spitting in his face while calling him every nasty thing she could think of, and her vocabulary was vast. Her bodyguard, that Wolfe motherfucker, had barreled into the room, and upon seeing him on top of Karisma and her struggling beneath him, commenced to beating the dog shit out of him.

The result had been painful physically as much as emotionally for Ray. He had blacked out a few times during the beating and suffered a concussion, four broken ribs, two black eyes, and a dislocated finger. He got a new nose out of the beat down, but he’d lost the girl. In a bruised and battered pulp, he’d hightailed his ass out of Karisma’s place and called a buddy, who took him to the hospital.

Three days in the hospital and a bogus story about a car accident was what the public knew. Only a few select people knew the truth and it was best that way. He had also been cautioned by Goldust attorneys that should he press charges, or if he disclosed what really happened, the woman that had been in bed with him was prepared to state that he had raped her. So he kept his mouth shut about what happened that day—no choice with a good outcome. He was also notified where he could find his belongings and that he was never to step foot on the property again.

Ray had never felt as shitty as he had in those days and immediately thereafter. He tried to make contact with Karisma, there was no restraining order after all, but for two months, she refused to have anything to do with him. Then one night he got a phone call from Kari’s business manager and father, Vaughn Montgomery. “
If you continue to harass her, you may or may not
live to regret it.”

The call hadn’t minced words and Ray knew they were keeping it real and not stating anything they wouldn’t do. It got his attention. Vaughn Montgomery had a lot of brothers and nephews. All were involved in the family business one way or another, and a few were shady characters, not above doing things according to their own code. With the money and connections they now had, he could wind up in an unmarked grave.

So he left her alone.

Back to reality and a burst of much needed cold water, Ray returned to the present and turned off the shower. He stepped out of it and onto his bath mat, thinking about the way that Karisma had looked at him last night…like he never meant anything to her. That’s why he walked away when Wolfe’s big ass showed up. And the guy she was with, that stung. Why was Karisma standing there like that, all into some white dude? He thought she was lying low after the break up, with the gossip columnists and rag mags making up all sorts of reasons as to why they were no longer together. Of course, some of them had guessed right.

Now, Ray was hoping for a way to get the best of both worlds and that included having Karisma back. He wasn’t over her and would always want her, but it just couldn’t be exclusive. He had a lot to offer. Why wasn’t it enough? He didn’t get it.

A sudden rage of anger came over him and Ray slammed his fist on the white marble counter of his bathroom vanity. “Damn it, that girl’s meant for me and only me.”

3

Paolo paced the private room, wondering if it would have been wiser to go out and personally greet Karisma. He didn’t, because he was quite certain that the paparazzi would be there and start speculating about the meeting, which was something he did not want. Plus, they made her life difficult and he didn’t wish to add to that burden.

There was a soft knock on the large double doors and they swung open. There she was. She was magnificent. Paolo sighed, as a fresh swarm of butterflies entered his stomach with a noticeable flutter.

He drank her in. She stood there, hiding behind her oversized black sunglasses and wearing her signature color—red. She had on a simple, sexy maxi dress and it fit her to custom made perfection.

They still hadn’t said so much as a hello and Paolo just watched as she walked toward him. He noticed that the breast pocket of her jean jacket actually had “SEXY” spelled out in red rhinestones.
She sure is,
he thought. His eyes couldn’t help but travel down her legs to the wooden, strappy platform heels that she wore. She glided across the floor quietly, which made her presence that much louder to him. Karisma was a visual buffet.

Finally, Paolo summoned his voice. “Kari, I’m glad you made it in safely.” He approached her with worshipping eyes, smiling, wanting to touch her in some way. He extended his hand and she did hers, and he kissed it softly, appreciating the subtleness of the floral scent she wore.

As for Karisma, she was staring at Paolo and struggling for words. What a reaction she had to him. It was crazy. She couldn’t take her eyes off of him as he walked over to her with killer swag. Damn, and when he touched her, she felt more electricity travel through her than if she’d stuck her finger in a light socket. “Paolo, hello,” she managed to say, staring into his sapphire gaze. He looked even sexier than he had last night and she thought that was impossible. After all, a man in a tux was usually pretty scrumptious. That close cut beard made his good looks rugged. She felt turned on immediately. Her breathing became deeper the closer he moved to her.

“It’s great to see you. You look amazing,” Paolo said. He thought about it and knew that she couldn’t have gotten that much sleep, yet she looked like a million dollars, fresh faced and fine. He zoned in on her lips and licked his own, noticing that she saw him do it.
Don’t act like a dog in heat,
he cautioned himself.

“Thanks, so do you,” Kari said to him.

Paolo was still holding Kari’s hand and now his thumb was slowly rubbing her palm. He didn’t want to remove it. Then, without warning and certainly unplanned, he leaned in and kissed her forehead softly. “Thank you for accepting my invitation. I’m sorry about the paparazzi out front.”

“Oh, don’t be. Welcome to my life. It’s just part of the deal, Paolo.”

He chuckled. “Are you okay? Forgive me, I should have gone out to see about you myself. I thought I might make things less complicated by remaining inside,” he said.

Karisma was touched by his thoughtfulness. She liked him. “No worries, it’s cool. You had some serious backup out there. They handled it and got me inside safely.”

They stared at each other for a moment longer and then he moved his hand to the small of her back. “Why don’t we go sit down,” he said softly.

“Okay, and thank you for the roses, by the way. They’re absolutely stunning. Yellow, too, my favorite.”

“Which is odd since you’re known for red,” Paolo said.

“You’ve been doing your research,” Karisma said with a smile.
Touché
, she thought.

              “Guilty as charged,” Paolo said, holding the chair out for Kari to sit down in. “Would you like me to take your jacket?”

“That’s okay, it’s a bit chilly in here. I’ll keep it on.”

Paolo was heating up, not feeling cold. “Let me adjust the thermostat,” he said quickly.

“No, Paolo, I’m good. Really. I’ll warm up.” She observed that the tablecloth and napkins were beige linen, but everything else, including the cutlery and china, were trimmed in gold. Even the centerpiece candles were gold. “This room looks a lot like the ballroom from last night.” She saw him smile and then a flash of awareness dawned on her face. “Oh, I get it now. A lovely re-creation, and on such short notice.”

“Too much?” he asked, sitting down. 

“Not at all. It’s beautiful and thoughtful.”

“I had time to take in the look from last night waiting for you to show up,” Paolo said.

“Some would say the diva has to make a grand appearance, but that really isn’t the case. There are just always so many things to tend to,” Karisma said. She wasn’t about to confess that she always got a bit anxious before such events and needed a few minutes to prepare for them.

There was a slight lull and Kari looked around. “So this is yours, huh? The restaurant?”

“The family’s, yes, for about a year now.” Paolo was seated across from Kari so he could look at her and observe all her mannerisms.

As if rehearsed, a waiter came in through the door at that exact moment with a bottle of champagne and two flutes. Paolo looked over to the waiter briefly, sensing Karisma taking advantage of that fleeting moment to look at him. When he looked back at her, she smiled at him, with an adorable blush. Busted!

“Do you like champagne, Karisma? It’s a Bollinger,” Paolo said. 

“Very much,” she replied. 

The waiter poured the champagne into both glasses and Paolo raised his glass to hers. She returned the salute, and they took a sip.

Another server walked into the room with two bottles of Perrier water. “Thank you,” Karisma said. She smiled at the waiter and noticed that he was looking at her appreciatively, staring at her, momentarily distracted from his work. Flipping over the water goblets, he twisted off the bottle caps and poured the carbonated liquid with smooth, swift accuracy.

“Very nice,” she said, taking another drink and looking toward the windows. They went from the floor to the ceiling. There wasn’t much of a view, just other establishments, and people hurrying to and fro, up and down the Sunset Strip. She was glad the windows were tinted and one way, as it helped to ensure their privacy. She didn’t want any gawkers watching her eat. Then she looked up and saw a large crystal chandelier looming above them. “Earthquake country,” she said simply. That elicited a bout of laughter from him.

“Do you want me to move the table?” he asked her. 

“No, we probably won’t have one. Earthquake, that is.” She smiled broadly at him. He grinned back at her and chortled into his drinking glass. 

“You are beautiful, Miss Montgomery,” he said directly as he smiled and shook his head.

She blushed
and her long eyelashes
fluttered. “So, you’ve recently acquired FutureShock. I’d like to hear about how that happened,” she said, attempting to change the subject.

“Well,” he began, “one day, the opportunity presented itself, and being the businessman that I am, I couldn’t turn it down. I run it with Davit and Daniel.”

“Ah, the twins. Are there just the three of you?” she inquired. 

“We have two older brothers back home. I’m the middle son,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Where’s home?” she asked, playing it off like she hadn’t read anything about him.

“Home is Italy. Reggio, Calabria. My parents and older brothers are there.” He nodded, and then added, “Davit, Danny, and I have been in the US for about a decade. We went to college here. My two older brothers were educated in Italy. One’s a priest.” He broke out into a grin with the statement.

“Wow, a priest! What made him want to be a priest?” she asked.

He frowned like he remembered something painful before answering. “Probably because of the day he decided to nail me to a cross.”

He took a sip of water and a waiter re-entered the room, leaving Karisma hanging in suspense. Was he serious? She had to find out. She leaned in to the table and asked, incredulously, “Did you just say that your brother nailed you to a cross?”

              “You heard me correctly. You should see your face,” he laughed. “As you can see, I’m fine now, no visible scars.”

“Visible…hmm,” she said, laughing. She couldn’t allow her imagination to get carried away with where the hidden scars might be on that fine physique.

Paolo nodded to the waiter. “We’ll have the appetizers now,” he said.

The waiter nodded first at Paolo and then to Karisma, and then walked out.

“Okay, back to this cross thing. Why did he do that?” She was frowning, but wanted to laugh, too. Who’d ever heard of such a thing?

Paolo uncrossed one leg and crossed the other while unbuttoning his grey silk suit jacket. He snickered. “He was a bully growing up. Liked to fight. Would always tell my parents we were ‘boxing’ when he’d get caught. They made him stop so he started a game called Jesus and The Romans.”

Karisma frowned and raised an eyebrow. Was he playing her?

“True story,” Paolo added. “So one day we decided to make a cross. And we did, out of these wood planks we found in the garage. We got some nails and a hammer and made that sucker. When we were finished, he asked me and my brother Raffaelo, ‘So, which one of you is gonna be Jesus?’  Rafie was like, ‘Not me.’  As for me, well, I always wanted to show him I was as tough as he was so when he looked at me, I said, ‘I’ll be Jesus.’  So I laid on the cross and Armando said, ‘I’m gonna nail you to the cross, but it won’t hurt, okay?’”

“And you believed him?” Karisma asked.

“Sadly, yes, I did. Anyway, I was looking at the hammer and nails and at Rafie, who looked real scared, but I still did it, just adding that I didn’t want him to hit my hand hard.”

“Oh, my gawd! How old were you?” she asked.

“I was eight, Armando was eleven. So he said, ‘You ready?’ and before I could even answer he drove the nail into my hand. I screamed bloody fucking murder and Rafie took off running and screaming. Mando didn’t hit me again because he was freaked out, too. He panicked and pulled the nail out and threw it. It hadn’t gone through all the way, but it hurt like hell. I was crying and screaming and holding my hand. I got up and started running to the house and was met by my mom and aunts, who were running toward me. One of my aunts had a dishtowel and wrapped it around my hand and then drove me into town to the hospital to get stitches. Well, when we got back, it wasn’t done, yet. My mom had kicked Mando’s butt and gave me one harsh scolding for being so stupid as to do what he said…and now, he’s Father Armando. He has a church in Brancaleone, Calabria. See, I still have my scar. Just like Jesus.”

He raised his left hand to show her and she shivered. “I thought you said no visible scars?”

“I’m so used to it that I think of it as more a part of me than anything else,” Paolo justified.

“Oh my gawd!” she exclaimed. “That’s crazy. Are you two okay? You tight?”

“Well, as tight as one can be with a priest. We’re fine, though. It’s a classic story, one that he’s told to his congregation and now, it’s also one I use when I’m trying to get to know the highly attractive Karisma Montgomery.”

Karisma started laughing. “You have a way about you, Paolo, that’s for certain.” Then she shivered again, but from adrenaline, not a chill, but he didn’t take it that way.

“Turn up the thermostat. Miss Montgomery is cold.” 

“Si,” the waiter said and walked out. 

“Now, you are the oldest of three, right?” he asked her.

“Yes, there’s me, Karlton and Karla Ann. They’re twins, like your brothers,” she winked and sipped her champagne.

“That’s quite the coincidence. So which of your parents’ name begins with a K?” he asked, his lips twitching with amusement.

“Neither. They’re Liane and Vaughn. Go figure,” she shrugged her small shoulders. She brushed a wayward strand of hair from her face.

He wanted to stroke her hair and face. Instead, he sat up, clearing his throat and said, “Your brother is a great football player. He plays for my alma mater.”

“USC?” she asked, as if she didn’t already know.

“Yep,” he nodded with a smile that showed all of his teeth. She smiled back at him and they gazed at one another a long while, feeling very comfortable in each other’s presence.

Within a few minutes they were eating fried risotto balls and balsamic bruschetta. It was delicious and the light conversation was intoxicating to Karisma. Or was it the champagne? She wasn’t much of a drinker and she felt a tad bit light headed as she sipped down the last of her second glass.
Lord, please don’t let me start giggling,
 she thought. She set down the flute and reached for the water.

“This food is amazing,” Karisma said. “I love it.”

“We have some wonderful chefs. Why is it that you have never eaten here before?” Paolo asked.

She looked into his jeweled eyes and what she felt wasn’t really curiosity about the question, so much as an intensity in him that was very alluring. He was focused on her, solely and completely, like she was the only woman in the world. 

“I’m not sure, really. I’ve seen it before, and I probably intended to get in here at some point, but I can’t tell you what kept me from it. I’m 
very
 pleasantly surprised.”