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Raw anger like I’ve never seen crosses his eyes, and he raises his hand. I shut my eyes, anticipating a hit, but what I get is an ecstatic flush of his lips on mine. Just like that, his lips crush mine, his hand holding my head steady and pushing me closer to him.
For a moment, I cannot move any part of my body in shock as his tongue parts my lips to compliance. His hand is suddenly at the small of my back, stroking.
I know he can feel the hardness of my instantly taut nipples pressing themselves against his robed chest. His free hand grabs one of my butt cheeks and squeezes it. “Fucking soft,” he groans against my lips.
Ah…I can’t deny how good his hands feel on me. Even my pussy concurs as moist liquid seeps from it, causing me to press my hips into his hard member.
I hate how my body melts in his arms, how it easily betrays my strong resolve not to let this man touch me simply because of a kiss.
His hardness rests against my thighs as he pulls me closer with his hand on my back, willing me to take as much from him as he is offering me.
He releases a groan and brings his hand behind my neck to deepen the kiss. I have no choice but to revel in the lushness of his lips as he leaves light nibbles along my bottom lip.
I moan as his hand glides from the small of my back to one of my breasts just as the phone buzzes again from his pocket. We both ignore it until he slides his fingers into the neckline of my dress and pulls it down with a tug, leaving my breasts bare and my back arching for his touch.
He purrs pleasantly as he pauses to take in my breasts. With a hand on one breast, he softly strokes my nipple. “Just as fucking perfect as I imagined.”
A moan falls through my lips as his other hand joins. I shut my eyes and arch my back even more until I feel a hard pinch on the other nipple, inciting a mix of pain and pleasure in my belly. My eyes shoot open, and there’s a sly grin on his face.
“You’ve been disrespectful,” he grunts, drawing me even closer with his hand around my waist.
I feel like I am losing all my self-control. I whimper breathlessly as his thumb rubs circles on the spot, soothing it. His lips return to a spot on my jaw, trailing hot kisses down my neck. I angle my neck, welcoming his lovely assaults.
When his hands reach down to stroke my nipples, the buzz comes again, longer this time, detaching us momentarily from the kiss.
The shock lifts as he fetches my phone from his pocket, and I realize that I am standing bare breasted in front of Elio Donatelli.
I snatch the phone away from his hands, tugging up my dress with my other hand.
“I actually have work to do,” I say, slipping under his arm to grab my purse, which I had dropped somewhere. When he turns to me, his face contorted in dissatisfaction, I give him what I hope is a half-smile.
“I have work, I swear. Your work…” I ramble on.
“Cortez will drop you off.” When he shoves his fists back into his pocket, I nearly groan from relief and a pinch −just a pinch− of disappointment.
“Thanks,” I say and hurry away from him before either of us changes our minds.
Chapter nine
Elio
Two raps sound at the door, then it swings open.
Cortez walks in with great strides, and a huge grin on his face. I lean back into my chair, allowing the swivel to swing me from side to side as his eyes lock with mine.
“Capo, you need to see this.” He drops the documents in front of me, standing beside me to peer into them as my fingers flip them open.
“What’s this?” I ask.
“The report from the ultra-modern hotel chain.”
My eyes skim over the large numbers and charts on the pages. The projections were good last year, but seeing this in reality is even better.
My hotels are running at an efficiency that no one in the industry can match.
We introduced AI-powered rooms that adjust lighting, temperature, scents and music based on a guest’s mood, a virtual concierge that learns a guest’s preferences across all hotel locations, and facial recognition check-in; no room keys or reception needed.
It’s all streamlined to perfection.