For Angelo (Full-Length Standalone Italian Billionaire Romance) (10 page)

BOOK: For Angelo (Full-Length Standalone Italian Billionaire Romance)
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“Maybe,” she said slowly, “in other cases it would be, but not this. So why not?” And Lane held her breath, wondering if he was going to spring some awful surprise on her, like maybe he had a secret girlfriend hidden somewhere, and that she was just the rebound—

Angelo leaned forward and nipped her lip.

Oh!

When he pulled away, he murmured, “Punishment for thinking silly thoughts.”

Oh.

Gosh.

Was it bad if she was already thinking of ways to get punished again? Then she saw the way he was smirking, and she knew he had read her thoughts. She blushed, he laughed, and she sighed, muttering, “You’re such a sadist.”
 

He only smiled. “When you say that, my Lane, I know you only mean to say,
I am everything you want.
” He inclined his head in acknowledgment of the compliment. “So thank you for the words.”

His arrogance left her speechless, but eventually amusement won, and she said helplessly, “You’ll always have the last word, won’t you?”

“Naturally. It is how things should be between us—”

An idea occurred to her, and she said carefully, “Because you like torturing me?”

He eyed her curiously. “Is this a trick question?”

“You do, right?”

“If I say yes?”

“Then…” She took a deep breath and said cunningly, “If you let me stay in your place, just think about it! You can always torture me—”

Angelo laughed. “Tempting, my Lane, but no.”

“But think of the endless opportunities,” she insisted.

“It’s heartbreaking to say no, but…no.”

“But—”

“I’m saying no for your sake,” he said bluntly. “The kind of lifestyle I lead is not for someone like you,
tesoro
.”

“Are you talking about…
that
?”

She paled. “Are you talking about being…
that
?”

His eyes bored through hers. “You can’t even say it, and yet you want to live with
me
, the embodiment of…that?” He mimicked her tone with the last word.

She didn’t hesitate, saying in a rush, “Sadist, masochist, sadist, masochist, sadist, masochist,” and practically turning them into a tongue twister. “There, I’ve said it.
Now
can I stay with you?”
 

He shook his head.
 


Please
.”

Ah.
Angelo crossed his arms over his chest as he studied her broodingly. She might not be knowledgeable about the ways of a Sub, but she was already doing just fine. No master could resist that kind of look coming from his Sub, and clearly, his Lane instinctively knew this.

“May I say make something clear first?”

She nodded slowly, his courteous tone putting her on guard.

“You do understand,
tesoro,
that although I intend to be your lover, and we will be exclusive while we are together, it does not mean you are my girlfriend?”

Oh.

She could only think of one thing to say. “Ouch.”

His face remained inscrutable. “And now that you are aware of this, do you still want to stay at my place?”

She didn’t even have to think about it. “Yes.”

“I see.” His gaze turned contemplative.
 

“Did you…expect me to say no?”

“Yes.”

She lifted her chin. “Well, sorry, but I don’t give up so easily.”

His lips twitched. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“And what you don’t want to give up on is – me?”

“Umm…” Now this was embarrassing. She didn’t meet his gaze as she said, “Yes.”

“And are you willing to do anything to prove this, my Lane?”

Uh oh.
What had his sadistic mind conjured this time?

She said warily, “Yes.”

“Alright then, let’s see you prove it.”
 

Here we go,
she thought.

“First is that if you do stay with me, you must promise to obey my every command.”

She choked out, “
Every
command?”
 

Instead of answering her, Angelo reached for his phone in his pocket and made a few swipes on the screen before handing it to her.
 

Lane blinked when she realized what she was staring at. “A lease contract?”
 

His lips twitched. “Not exactly.”

Wondering what he found so amusing, she adjusted the glasses on her nose and squinted.
 

The first few lines were the usual, but then—

Oh.

“Is this a joke?” she blurted out.

“No.” He gestured to the phone. “Go on, read it. This contract is nothing like what you’ve probably seen in movies or read in books. It’s pretty straightforward, nothing kinky. It’s merely a way to protect us both as well as give you the assurance that nothing I command you to do will ever be harmful.”

“I see.” But she was starting to feel bothered about something else. “Do you have all your partners sign this?”

“No.” Angelo’s smile was humorless as he thought about the women who had signed the contract, which was practically everyone who had spent more than a few nights in his bed, and the one woman in his life who had
not
even known the contract existed.

The one woman
, he thought sardonically, who had shared his life for the longest time without knowing the truth about him.

He glanced back at Lane, who was already signing the contract electronically. When she handed his phone back to him, he commented lightly, “You didn’t take much time thinking about this,
tesoro
.”

“I didn’t have to.”

“You are certain?”

She nodded.

“Are you ready to hear about the second condition?”

“How many conditions are there?” It was a lame attempt at joking, but Angelo laughed anyway, and her heart tripped over itself when she heard the sound of his laughter.
 

It reminded Lane of that first day, reminded her why he was so special to her.
 

Angelo Valencia was her fallen angel.

Just like Laura was.

When she thought about it that way, there was really no need to worry about anything.

This, whatever it was between them, deserved a chance.


Tesoro
?”

She blinked. “Sorry, I was just, umm, preparing myself for your next condition.”

“Just one last,” he said solemnly, “and I’m all yours.”

She turned red. “Angelo!”
Gosh
. How did he always know what to say to make her blush?
 

Angelo was asking one of the staff for an extra straw, and she frowned. Did he want some of her milkshake but didn’t want to take a sip using her straw? She hadn’t thought he was the fussy type.

Angelo faced her again when he had his extra straw in hand. “Our second condition,” he told her as he reached for her milkshake, placing it between them.
 

He put his straw in. “Shall we share?”

“Oh.” She was bemused. “That’s the second condition?”

“Partly,” Angelo murmured, his smile revealing nothing.

Okaaaay.

She nervously took hold of her straw and almost choked on her milkshake when Angelo did the same, which brought his face inordinately close—

Too close actually,
she thought, and she sipped on her straw so fast that her brain froze.

She immediately pulled back with a groan, her eyes squeezing shut at the pain.

“Brain freeze?” Angelo murmured sympathetically.

“Yes.” Gosh, her brain. She opened her eyes when the pain finally receded, saying awkwardly, “Sorry about that.”

“It’s nothing. You looked very cute while in pain,” Angelo said charmingly.

“Umm…” If it had been anyone else, she would have probably thought she was dealing with a psycho. But since this was
her
sadistic future lover, she could only smile weakly at him.
 

And that was when she noticed the milk marks around his mouth.

“You, umm—”

“What is it?” Angelo asked innocently even knowing full well what it was.

She pointed to his mouth.

He blinked. “What?”

 
“Umm, you’ve got milk there.” She circled her mouth to let him know where the marks were.

“Where?”

Perplexed, she pointed to his mouth. “
There
.” Where else would it be but around his mouth?

“Here?” He pointed to his cheek.

“Umm…” Could milkshake turn geniuses into idiots? She took a napkin from the holder and handed it to him. “Here.”

“Thank you.” He took the napkin and placed it on the table.

Oh. Maybe milkshakes could dumb certain people down.

She looked at Angelo and was even more confused when she saw he was laughing at her with his eyes.

And then Angelo leaned forward. “Can you help me?”

Become smarter?
she wondered.

But out loud, all she said was, “Sure.”

“Can you lick it off,
tesoro
?”

She stared at him.

He stared back at her.

Did he just say—
 

Her jaw dropped open, but when he only gazed at her steadily, she finally found her voice, stuttering, “I couldn’t possibly…”

Angelo raised a brow, and his voice was sly when he asked, “Even if this is the second condition?”

Oh.

Her jaw snapped shut.

What. A. Sadist.

“If you want to stay with me,” she heard her fallen angel murmur, “then you should be ready to play these games with me.” His tone was light, but his gaze was serious.

“If you can do this…” His tone lowered, and the way he was gazing at her made Lane’s heart beat so loud she was terrified the entire diner might hear it.

“I can promise you we’ll play games like this…”

Her toes curled hard, and oh, she could feel her entire body starting to ache in a strange, painfully beautiful way.
 


Every day.”

Oooooooh.

Gosh.

He was seducing her.

And she was being seduced.
 

She couldn’t say anything, could only swallow convulsively before she started to lean forward.
 

Angelo remained still, his gaze watchful and challenging.

Oh gosh, she was so close to him again, so darn close that the ache in her body grew, demanding for something that she didn’t know how to explain—

“But if you can’t do it…”
 

She watched in horror as his thin, beautiful lips parted, as if he was prepared to lick the milk marks off on his own—

Nooooo!

Her tongue was suddenly touching the corner of his lip, and she heard Angelo suck his breath in.

She was shocked, too, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. She didn’t know how it happened, knew only that it had, and now there was no turning back.
 

Trembling with a mixture of fear and growing excitement, Lane slowly licked a circle around his mouth. She found herself gripping the edge of the table as she licked him, feeling like she needed to hold on to something to keep her upright.

BOOK: For Angelo (Full-Length Standalone Italian Billionaire Romance)
9.02Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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