The Irresistible Bundle (16 page)

Chapter Fifteen

Carina took advantage of her parents' previous commitments and caught up with friends. She called and checked in with Desirae every day. She and Jaxon texted often; rather than playing phone tag. It didn't matter anyway. All Jaxon wanted to do was complain about what they could be doing together if she'd spent the holiday with him; that or he'd want to have phone sex.

Carina stared at her smart phone wondering if she should be bothered that she missed Desirae more than Jaxon. Regardless she appreciated the effort he was making to stay in touch during the break.

Thanksgiving morning she got out of bed knowing that she'd be in the kitchen a good portion of the day. She didn't mind though, it was tradition and the family was together. Carina pulled on her favorite yoga pants, a thin long-sleeve shirt, and tied up her hair. She scurried downstairs knowing that her mother was already preparing the big items. They worked together to make dishes while simultaneously making brunch.

Ignacio enjoyed a cup of coffee as the women set the table. Diego hustled into the foyer just as the food was served. "I'm on time right" he greeted making them laugh. The family sat down to enjoy brunch together. Everyone feasted knowing this was their only meal until the formal dinner later in the day.

The men cleared the table just as the doorbell rang. Diego ran to answer it. Carina stared at the foyer listening as Diego thanked someone. He brought in a beautiful bouquet of pink and red roses. He looked between Carina and Yolanda.

"Isn't there a card with it?" Ignacio inquired. He hadn't sent flowers to either of his beautiful ladies.

Diego dug through the large arrangement finally finding the card, "Ah... muñeca, these are for you."

Carina's jaw dropped. Jaxon had actually sent her flowers on Thanksgiving?! Her heart battered against her ribs. They'd been arguing so much in the last week she hadn't imagined him pulling something like this off. She'd wanted to avoid mentioning Jaxon at all but this was the perfect way to introduce him to the family.

She grabbed the card from Diego before he read it. She blinked in surprise at the unexpected name.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family

I'd love to see you again in the near future

Valentino DeLuca

"Who are they from hija?" Her mother asked. Carina looked up at her expectant family. She'd wanted to avoid talking about Jaxon so how the hell was she going to explain Valentino?

"From an acquaintance" She paused knowing that wouldn't be enough for her family. "He owns a prestigious club downtown and I got to know him through mutual friends." She held her breath praying they wouldn't ask for further details. Her parents allowed her freedom and flexibility. Although she was in college, she didn't want to disappoint them because of her poor decisions. Diego opened his mouth causing her to cringe. She knew her explanation wasn't enough.

"Like a bar" Diego retorted. Their parents' eyes widened with understanding.

Carina bit her lip. "Yes, it's one of those fancy places that have the red velvet rope to get in and a mile-long wait. He had an exclusive Halloween party. I met him at that time through mutual friends. We haven't spoken much since then. I'm surprised that he even sent these." She shrugged trying to discourage further interrogations.

"Does he send all his new acquaintances roses?" Diego challenged with brows raised nearly to his hairline. He was most certainly intrigued with this new development. Club owner meant wealth, lots of women, and a potentially older man.

"I wouldn't know" She practically growled. "He doesn't even have my phone number. He must've asked one of my friends."

"Well, that was very nice of him" Yolanda hesitantly added. She too was wary of this unknown admirer. Carina hadn't spoken about any boyfriends in college but it didn't mean she didn't have one.

The ringing of her phone interrupted the heavy silence. She swallowed the brick in her throat as she grabbed her phone. Now was not the time for Jaxon to actually call. She could barely explain Valentino to them. Carina sucked in her breath as she stared at the screen. She'd saved Valentino's number into her phone because she'd discarded his business card. She didn't need Jaxon finding it and throwing a fit. The phone continued to ring as she stared at the flashing name.

"Aren't you going to answer that muñeca? You've never ignored your phone before." Diego taunted. By the expression on her face this was going to be good. If she walked away he planned to follow her.

Carina nodded pressing the 'accept' button. "Hello" she answered. She looked everywhere but at her family. This was awkward to the umpteenth degree. She never imagined breathing Valentino's name in their presence.

"Happy Thanksgiving beautiful" the velvety voice on the other line greeted. Carina gritted her teeth. Jaxon called her the same thing just in Spanish. Could they not get more creative?

"Happy Thanksgiving, Valentino! The roses are beautiful. How did you know where to send them?" She wanted to ask how he got her number too, but she suspected Sati was the culprit. Desirae would've mentioned running into the sexy club owner.

"I'm a resourceful man. Sati gave me your number and the rest fell into place."

Carina nodded although she knew he couldn't see it. She didn't dare move from where she stood. Her family watched enraptured as she continued her conversation with Valentino.

"Is the club open today?" She asked trying to make small talk before making an excuse to let him go.

Valentino's husky laughter sent shivers down her spine. Diego's eyes narrowed noticing his sister's reaction. "No gorgeous. Even I don't make my staff work 365 days a year."

Carina laughed. "Are you spending the holiday with family?" Her fingers rubbed circles on the back of the card. It was thick, high-quality stock; nothing but the best when it came to Valentino DeLuca.

"Yes I am" he stated. "But I wish I would've gotten to see you before you left. It's been a few weeks. Did you forget me already?"

Carina bit her lip shaking her head. No one could forget him. He exuded sexuality and power. "I haven't. A lot's been going on at school and I haven't had a chance to stop by the club again."

She noticed his hesitation. They both knew that she hadn't called at all. But she couldn't explain that she was seeing Jaxon, not now while her family listened to her every word. "Will you be here for New Year's?" He asked. She didn't miss the optimism in his voice.

"We will be. Classes start right after that and I have major paper due."

"The VIP section will be reserved for you specifically. Bring the girls again if you want."

Carina battled the overwhelming excitement she felt along with some discomfort. She couldn't bring Jaxon to Valentino's club. It felt disrespectful. But she also didn't want to put up with Chelsea's bitchiness. "Especially Sati" She teased. She wondered if Valentino considered them a packaged deal.

"She came to see me before she headed out for break" he casually responded.

Carina tensed. She swallowed the bit of jealousy that reared its ugly green head. Sati was available and Valentino had told them both to call anytime. She shouldn't be surprised about the hook up. "That's good" She attempted to put as much enthusiasm behind her voice without sounding fake.

"She isn't you though" Valentino quietly responded. She wasn't sure what he meant by that. Hell, she wasn't sure if Sati got something more elaborate as her 'Happy Thanksgiving' tribute.

"Valentino, thank you again for the flowers; I'll let the girls know about the VIP invite. It's good to hear from you." Carina stated trying to graciously end the call. She'd already been talking too long with him. She tried ignoring her restless family as Valentino said goodbye.

"My pleasure Carina; I hope to see you soon..."

Carina hung up the phone and tucked the card away. She wasn't sure what to make of this. She needed to discuss it with Desirae.

"Well, he sounded nice" Yolanda beamed. The men looked like they wanted to murder the man on the other line.

"What VIP invite?" Diego demanded. Warning bells screamed at him. Carina wasn't saying much.

"Valentino invited me and my friends to his New Year's bash. He's reserved the VIP section. Same thing like the Halloween event... invitation only" She shrugged trying to play nonchalant.

"How'd you get into VIP the first time?" Diego inquired. He glared at his sister. He knew what many girls had to do to get into exclusive places or backstage at concerts. It left a sour taste in his mouth.

"The owner of the costume shop got us the invite. In exchange for us advertising her business she got us into the most exclusive party."

"How did you advertise her business?" Ignacio asked with a pained expression on his face.

"She got to pick our costumes but we had the final say so. She did our hair and makeup. We just had to tell everyone where we got our outfits from. If we won a category that night we had to tell the audience."

"Did you girls win a category" her parents genuinely asked.

This was the tricky part. Carina didn't want to disclose what everyone was wearing. She revealed the partial truth. "Yes, I won 'most historically accurate' for my cave woman outfit. It was made with real fur; styled just like many history books relay and the boots were real animal skin. Our group of eight won 'crowd favorite' and we were known as 'Yvette's 8'. Yvette is the owner of the shop. We did her proud."

"Muy bien!" Yolanda proudly beamed. Diego raised his eyebrows knowing that Halloween parties with college age kids weren't as innocent as she just made it sound.

Carina finished clearing the table thus ending the conversation. Her father and brother sat on the couch to watch football as she texted friends. Desirae was the first to know about her flower delivery. She quickly scurried to her room to share what transpired.

Chapter Sixteen

Carina knew it was too good to be true. Diego hadn't pressed any further about Valentino after their Thanksgiving dinner. Thinking she was in the clear she headed to bed. It was almost midnight when her phone beeped with an incoming message.

Diego: What's his name?

She stared at the phone for a minute. She tapped the screen irritated. She could play dumb or just get it over with.

Carina: VALENTINO

Diego: Full name asshole

Carina scowled at the phone. Diego was obviously irritated.

Carina: Valentino DeLuca

Diego: How old is he?

Carina: IDK

Her phone immediately rang. She answered it already knowing this was going to be a long night. "Yes Diego..." she sighed.

"How do you not know how old he is?" He demanded.

"We're not dating Diego." She snapped. That was the absolute truth.

"What's the name of his club?"

Her brother was relentless. She scrunched her face grateful that Diego was on the phone and not in person. This was the question, aside from any inquiries about Jaxon, that she was dreading. She didn't know why the hell he'd decided to name the club by its chosen name. No doubt Diego would make automatic assumptions.

"Club 69" she muttered.

"What" he shouted. She pulled the phone away from her ear. She shushed him praying that he couldn't be heard throughout the city. Really what did Diego think that she was still a little girl?

"I'll talk to you later" he growled abruptly hanging up. Carina stared at the phone in disbelief. This was not going to go well and he didn't even know about Jaxon yet.

She fell into a restless sleep. Her trip was almost over and she didn't want to end things on a bad note. Diego was one of the most important people in her life. She couldn't tell him everything but she wanted to make him feel more comfortable about the situation.

~

Carina went downstairs to breakfast. She swallowed her disappointment when she learned that Diego was having breakfast with friends. He'd spent every waking moment with her since they'd arrived. She fought the tears that wanted to fall. How could he be angry with her for associating with a club owner?

Ignacio and Yolanda headed out for their annual Black Friday traditions. Carina passed and texted Diego in hopes of spending the day with him since she was leaving the next night. His silence unnerved her. She slumped her shoulders in defeat and headed upstairs trying to pass the time.

Carina meticulously packed her bag. She grabbed a few more dresses from her untouched closet and threw in a selection of tops. She boxed several shoes with the intention of mailing them to her dorm; a girl could never have too many shoes.

She stared at her phone willing it to do something. Jaxon hadn't contacted her since the day before and Diego hadn't yet responded to her text. She wanted to text Desirae but her roommate was busy with charity work.

"I thought your flight was leaving tomorrow" Diego softly stated from the doorway.

"It is... I just wanted to get everything ready with plenty of time." She shrugged looking at Diego. He was quiet but not angry. "Are you still mad at me?"

Diego's eyes widened with surprise. "Why would I be mad at you muñeca?"

Carina shrugged again trying to rein in her emotions. "You didn't eat with us this morning."

His expression softened. Diego walked into her room and wrapped her in his arms. "I promised my friends that I'd go out to breakfast with them one day before heading back. Figured today was the best day since I was here all day yesterday and we both leave tomorrow."

She nodded. That made sense. Diego wasn't one to hold a grudge.

"I'm hanging out at Griffin's place today... want to come?"

Carina smiled, relieved that they would spend their last day together. She hadn't made much of an effort to see her high school friends but they hadn't either. She thought she'd feel a sense of loss with the drifting friendships but she found that what she had with Desirae was far richer than any friendship she had throughout high school.

She changed into tight fitting teal-colored jeans and a grey boat neck sweater. Diego waited as she slipped into matching wedges. She followed her brother out of the house and into his car. They drove in companionable silence to his friend's place.

Several cars lined the driveway as they found somewhere to park. It was barely midday and the place looked like there was already a party going on. Carina bit her cheek hoping this wasn't going to be a drunk-fest by late afternoon.

Diego wrapped his arm around his sister's shoulders. Their time together was winding down. Luckily they had winter break and she was coming home again. Perhaps he'd extend their time together and follow her back for a few days. He wanted to meet the new people in her life.

Diego opened the door without knocking. "Is this where you're staying?" Carina asked. Why else would he just waltz in somewhere unannounced? She tried to stifle the gasp at the luxurious home. His friend was obviously very wealthy.

"Yeah... Lots more room here than at dad and mom's place." He smirked. They laughed in agreement.

"Yo Diego is that you" a voice called from another room.

"Yeah" He called back following the voice. He motioned for Carina to follow. The driveway had several cars but the place didn't sound like anything big was happening. Her first impression of that many cars was an automatic party but now that she was inside she could see that there was plenty of space to just hang out.

"Wait till you see what your little sister has been up to" the voice crowed. Carina stiffened as Diego sped up. He practically dragged her with him. She followed him into the room dreading what had been dug up. She knew for sure that her karaoke performance was online but she wasn't sure what else. This was one of the reasons why she hated social networking sites. Nothing was sacred nowadays.

"Griffin" Diego growled. "Meet Carina"

The room full of people gaped as she entered. She flushed bright red and bit her lip wondering what the hell they'd found. There couldn't be a sex tape between her and Jaxon. Why did some look at her with awe?

"You've been a busy girl" Griffin teased. Diego pushed his friend out of his seat. Carina hesitantly followed. Several groups sat around laptops. She looked around in dismay realizing that everyone was on the same page. Club 69 apparently had a professional website with pictures from the Halloween bash. She grudgingly remembered posing for pictures.

Diego choked seeing her Halloween costume. "You made your outfit sound innocent." He accused.

"I said it won historically accurate" She responded tartly. She refused to be reprimanded by Diego, especially in front of all his friends.

"This says 'Yvette's Irresistible 8' not what you told mom and dad."

"Do you really think I'm going to tell them that? Notice that I'm one of the most conservatively dressed Diego!"

"You barely have anything on" He scoffed. He couldn't believe his sister's audacity. That scrap of material couldn't constitute as an outfit. She showed a hell of a lot of skin!

Carina growled in frustration. "Let's take a look shall we. Shall I introduce them as I did to the club owner?"

Diego curtly nodded. "Well then boys... meet Ariel the alluring mermaid, Desirae the divine dominatrix, Beatriz the tantalizing Playboy Bunny, Andrea the sensuous Goddess of sex, Chelsea the hellacious Naughty Nun, Melissa the vixen school girl, and Sati the sensual belly dancer."

"How'd you introduce yourself?" Griffin teased ignoring Diego's fuming demeanor.

Carina shrugged. "I told them my name and costume and welcomed any suggestions for my moniker."

The group laughed. They continued to scroll through pictures. Carina heard the gasps as they saw the lack of costumes on some and the level of skankiness on others.

"Is this Valentino?" Diego quietly asked. She looked at the picture he was referring to instantly wanting to melt into a puddle on the floor. The picture showed Sati on one arm and her on the other. Valentino looked handsome and powerful with the two dark-haired beauties by his side.

"Yes" She calmly replied. Diego continued to stare at the picture. It was obvious from the background that the party had dwindled down to few patrons.

"What were you doing with him?" Diego tilted his head. The rest of her group was not in this picture. The two women in the photograph were exquisite beauties. He had no doubt what was on that man's mind.

"Heading back to his place to have a threesome" She replied. Her expression dared him to say something. The room howled with cheers. Griffin offered Carina a beer but she declined.

"You're serious about this" Diego stuttered. "You mentioned the name Sati when you talked to him yesterday."

"I'm no virgin Diego" She wasn't willing to say she wasn't an innocent. He looked like he couldn't handle much more.

"Hey look, she's on YouTube!" Someone called out from a nearby group. Carina nodded knowing what this one should be about. Diego looked at her with dismay, dreading what would be revealed.

"Damn you got a set of pipes" the same person exclaimed.

"Thanks" She mumbled. She wasn't generally shy about her singing but these were Diego's friends. Griffin hooked up his laptop to the big screen TV. Everyone watched with quiet rapture as she belted the emotional ballad. Carina looked away knowing that she might cry if she stared long enough. Jaxon was right; she was pouring her heart out with this song. The message was infinitely clear.

"Was that dedicated to Valentino?" Diego asked approaching her. She shook her head. He was so far off base he didn't even know it.

"Hey, who's Jaxon Wright?" Griffin asked as his mouse paused over the link with Jaxon's name.

Cold dread ripped through Carina. This was not good. Why the hell would someone link Jaxon's name with her performance? They could all talk shit but to actually link them via the World Wide Web was a whole different ballgame. The picture with her, Sati, and Valentino was child's play compared to what the internet could reveal about Jaxon.

"Nobody" She spluttered. She attempted to get to Griffin but he was too fast. He clicked the link scrolling through various options. Jaxon Wright had pages of information about him. The first few links were regarding his social networking sites. Others were about his rowing accomplishments. But it didn't take much digging to see the more interesting links affiliated with him. Countless images showed him in party scenes; never with the same girl. A video footage caught their attention. Griffin clicked the link; the room instantly fell silent watching it.

The scene showed a small room. Jaxon and some of his entourage were passing through when a girl squealed with excitement. One of Jaxon's goons recorded everything with his cell phone. They knew just being in Jaxon's proximity guaranteed worthy footage. The girl came into view.

Carina cursed loud enough to get Diego's attention. He looked between the TV and his sister dreading what was about to be revealed. She wasn't the girl onscreen but it didn't mean that she wouldn't be too far behind. She'd just confessed to having a threesome with that club owner.

"Is this about to get a hell of a lot worse" He growled. He didn't need everyone watching if She was about to make an appearance on the screen.

"I'm not the star of the show if that's what you're asking Diego; might as well watch it now with me here."

Griffin looked torn between stopping the footage and proceeding. The decision was made for him. Carina watched as she now recognized the skank, Catherine, onscreen begging Jaxon to fuck her as she stripped. His hyena pack howled as Jaxon hesitated. Carina saw it, if only briefly. Jaxon really wasn't interested but he couldn't say no to his goons. He smirked at the hussy as he unzipped his pants. Carina chortled noticing that his dick was only at half mast.

"You're gonna have to work for this honey. Doesn't look like you've impressed Jaxon much..." Pete's voice gloated from the background.

She shook her head in disgust. This obviously wasn't the first time he'd performed in front of his entourage. She swallowed hard knowing what was coming. The camera did a quick sweep as the hallway filled with eager spectators. Pete stood right next to the camera man.

Carina looked around the room. The guys were obviously eager while some of the girls looked uncomfortable. Diego gave her a puzzled look trying to understand why her name was linked to this footage. He wouldn't have to wait for long.

As the room watched in silence the TV screen projected the heavy breathing of the spectators in the hallway. Catherine was sloppy and loud. She obviously didn't give good head. Irritated, Jaxon pulled her face away. Carina winced hearing the 'pop' as Catherine-the-skank's mouth disconnected from his semi-hard erection. Jaxon turned Catherine around and made her touch her toes. The crowd cheered, causing Jaxon's dick to harden. Carina couldn't look away. He had an opportunity to put a rubber on. He had a chance to walk away. But he chose neither option. Instead, he thrust into her bareback. Carina closed her eyes fighting the bile that threatened to come up. Diego and his friends would soon get to experience her humiliation. Her heart thudded in her chest. She couldn't stop the flush against her skin.