by S. Ann Cole
He stooped down by the bedside so that his eyes were level with mine, then brushed the pad of his thumb across my lips. “You’re beautiful, Axia. Wanna tell you all the time but I know you’re probably tired of hearing it … When I do tell you, it’s because I’m so mesmerized that I can’t hold it in. It may be safe and not too idiotic to say that you’re perfect.”
The urge to roll my eyes was strong because of my sudden shyness, but I tried not to and simply mumbled a “Thank you”. It was true, I did grow tired of hearing it sometimes, but hearing it from the right person will make any woman’s day. And coming from Lovello’s lips, the compliment wasn’t discarded, but cherished. The words “you’re beautiful”, from a man who looks like he does, was enough to make a woman high.
“So are you going to tell me where you’re going?”
A sheepish smile curved his lips. “To hand out scholarships.”
“Huh?”
Lovello gave a resigned sigh. “I have this foundation called L.O.V.E.: Leverage Of Voracious Education. It caters for the education of underprivileged kids up until they are eighteen. The aim is for them to work hard enough and earn grades that will get them accepted into good colleges. Once they do, I give them scholarships along with smart cars and laptops. That’s what today is about. Eleven of my kids got accepted into top colleges. So there’s a ceremony being held for them today. Certificates, awards, vouchers and all that shit.”
“‘And all that shit’? Why do you sound as if you’re ashamed of this? This is a good thing that you’re doing, Love. I never would’ve expect —”
Abruptly, he stood. “That’s it. You never would’ve expected me to do shit like that. And I prefer it that way. It’s nothing to fuss about.” He walked off a few paces and then spun back to face me. “Not many people know it’s my foundation because I don’t seek publicity. So zip it. Okay?”
I smirked at him. “Is this the only foundation you have where you do good deeds and ‘all that shit’, Pretty Bad Boy?”
Wind got knocked out of me when he dove down on top of me in the bed and brought my hands above my head. “I said, zip it!”
“Hmm … Mr. Deeds,” I laughed and teased. “Mr. Deedsy Doodsy Deeds.”
My laughter was uncontrollable as I continued to tease him. He obviously didn’t like that, and thus covered my giggling mouth with his firm, frustrated lips. The laughter died and the kiss took over, growing into hot, steamy passion. His breath was fresh of peppermint, and I’m pretty sure mine was stale with everything I’d eaten yesterday. But Lovello didn’t seem to care as he chased my tongue around my mouth, sucking it whole when he caught it. Intensely aroused, and desperate to feel him inside me, I tilted my pelvis upward, sending a clear signal that I needed him. Lovello groaned and pulled away. “I can’t, beauts. I’ve got to go. I’m gonna be late.”
“You have got to be the crappiest lover, ever,” I complained.
“I’m your lover now, am I?” he grinned. “I can’t recall us ever making love or even having sex, for that matter.”
“That’s what I’m trying to get you to do!”
He pressed a kiss on the tip of my nose and bustled off the bed. “Hold your horses, lady.” Straightening his tie and buttoning his jacket, he asked, “Are you gonna stay here until I get back? Please do.”
“What time are you getting back?”
“Around three.”
“No. My flight’s at that time.”
“Ah hell. I forgot you were leaving today. I’m not leaving till Tuesday. Stay here with me until then.”
I snorted. “The last time I checked, I had a business to run. Nowhere on my agenda does it list: ‘run around L.A. with Pretty Boy Nelson while he attends meetings, bike shows and hands out scholarships and cars’. My life is my life. Your life is your life. Pretty sure I know where to find you whenever I need a quick fix. Otherwise, there are always other … sources.”
Lovello’s jaw worked as he shot me a death-glare. “Axia, if we’re going to do this, then you need to stop saying shit like that. I’m not playing games with you.”
Holding the covers over my bosom, I sat up in bed to look squarely at him. All playfulness gone. The real Axia Blacksille was back. “What? What are we doing? I don’t want you to get all carried away here, Nelson. This is nothing more than what it is. Okay? I see you. You see me. You touch me. I moan and beg for more. You screw the living daylights outta me. We both leave in satisfaction. And that’s where it ends. Nothing more, nothing less. That’s all we’ll ever do. Got it?”
Lovello’s glare grew thunderous, and when he bit down on his lip, I knew he was fighting himself to stay controlled. Doubt he knew it, but his lip biting was always a give-away to his emotions.
Wordlessly, he strolled over to the music system and retrieved his iPod. Then he went to his dresser and pulled open a drawer, took out a neatly folded white kerchief, and carefully situated it in the pocket at the left breast on the outer part of his jacket so that the white triangular tip of the kerchief peeped out. It was the icing on the cake for his outfit — no, the mirror-aviators that he next used to cover his eyes were the cherry on top. Sweet sins, this was the sexiest man I’d ever, ever laid eyes on. The man looked like he was about to walk down a neon-lit runway. He should be in magazines and posing on red carpets. He was just … wow.
Sure he knew I was watching his every move, but he was too pissed at me to give a heck. He knew he was hot. He knew he was edible. And he knew I was there salivating for him.
With a serious face, chilled posture and covered eyes, he turned to me, and I could see my reflection clearly in his mirror-aviators. “There’s a new toothbrush and bath oil on top of a robe placed on the vanity in the bathroom for you. My T-shirts and boxers are in the chest, so when you shower you can drag on something clean. Whenever you’re ready to leave, there’s a key rack on the wall adjacent to the refrigerator in the kitchen, take any car from lots thirty-two to thirty-six in the garage. I’ll have it collected when —”
“No need. I’ll just call a cab.”
It was obvious he was struggling to hide his irritation and was close to losing it. His voice was as cold as the iceberg that sank the Titanic when he said, “Cool. Have a safe flight home” and sauntered out of the room. And with his departure, the chip of iceberg sank my heart, too.
I was a bitch.
“Axia, will you take your nose outta that damned thing and watch where you’re going? You’re going to get us killed!” Trudy yelled at me from the passenger side of my jeep.
It was Friday, and we were heading back from a hearty lunch to our respective workplaces. My nose, lips, tongue and fingers were currently wallowing in a bowl of pistachio ice cream while I steered and maneuvered the jeep with my elbows. Trudy wasn’t up for my recklessness, unfortunately, and her nagging was disrupting my monthly decadence, my favorite ice cream.
“Ugh, you’re such a baby, Trudy. We’re not gonna crash. That’s an insult, you know. I can drive with my eyes closed without hurting as much as a squirrel and you know it.”
“Not in this monster of a vehicle you won’t. I told you, stop coming to get me in this … thing. It takes up half the street, it’s as loud as hell, and it scares the shit outta me. Makes me feel like I’m in Iraq or something.”
Knowing her morbid fear of — well, everything, I popped on the lid of the bowl and chucked it onto her lap, then laughed when she scowled and tossed it on the back seat. “The way you exaggerate when you speak, girl! Stop hating on Rumby.”
Rumby was my Hummer H2, high and heavy in a military-green color. My big guy. Trudy hated it. She preferred my less intimidating Jeep Wrangler. She drove a Mini Cooper. The woman was close to six feet tall and she chose to squeeze herself into a goddamn Mini Cooper! Yet she tries to talk crap about my safe and accommodating Rumby.
“You can drive as loony as you want when you’re alone,” she yapped. “But I’m not ready to die just yet. When my boss starts on this new project, if all
goes well, within the next year or so I’m gonna be a wealthy bitch. And I wanna live to see it.”
A shrill dashed through me at the mention of him. Pretty Boy. Ever since his cold exit on Sunday morning, I hadn’t seen or heard from him. Figured he was still sulking or maybe wasn’t interested in me anymore. Probably had enough of my crap.
Being anything more than shag pals wasn’t something I wanted. And I’d thought a guy like him would prefer the same thing, too. I mean, what guy as deliciously yummy and wealthy as him wanted any entanglements with a woman? But the way he got all touchy on Sunday morning told me that I might have thought wrong. Might have.
He’d been back from L.A. since Tuesday and I’d been expecting him to get in contact with me by then, but he hadn’t. And, though I wanted him so desperately, urgently, longingly, I’d refrained from calling him because I was somewhat confused about what he wanted. I wasn’t capable of giving any more of myself than sweat, panting, hungry kisses and sheet tumbling.
“I see someone’s happy about their contract. I envy you.”
Trudy rolled her eyes with a shy smile. “Whatever. You know it’s what I’ve been dreaming of. Nelson can be really nice and understanding at times, you know. So casual, that sometimes I forget he’s the boss. Men of that status normally behave in such a superior manner with their workers, treating them as if they’re some annoying piece of gum sticking onto the bottom of their expensive shiny shoes. Acting as if our poor, tiny brains couldn’t possibly come up with a million-dollar idea, and therefore wouldn’t even give us the time of day. Nelson’s a really good boss and I guess that’s why he prospers as much.” She sighed in dismay while wagging her head. “Now if only he was the same with women…”
“Give yourself some credit, too,” I admonished. “You have a heck of a brain beneath that skull. Don’t doubt yourself. He’ll be gaining from you as much as you’ll be from him. He sees that. It’ll all be good. With a mastermind like Nelson backing you, it’ll definitely be good.”
As I pulled up to the curb of Coded Solutions to dispatch Trudy, I craned my neck to look up at the towering edifice and wondered just what my Pretty Boy might be doing at that moment. For some odd reason, I was in an extremely good mood today — not at all like me — and I felt like screwing around in someone’s air. Spending a day with Lovello will do that to you. Or maybe it was just an effect of my pistachio ice cream. Or, maybe it was because on Saturday night I’d gotten my first orgasm in thirteen months that wasn’t self-induced. Yep, it’s the latter.
And I wanted more. Much more.
“Is that good-better-best boss of yours in today?”
Trudy looked at me with wary eyes. “Why wouldn’t he be? He has a company to run, doesn’t he?”
Jeez, what’s her problem now? My shoulders lifted in a nonchalant shrug. “Just wondering. He’s more like the all-play-and-little-work kind of guy, isn’t he?”
“Ha!” Trudy scoffed. “Don’t let Nelson fool ya. He likes to pretend he’s not all that serious about work. But really, he’s a slaughterer of work. He just does it differently. He shuts out the world and dedicates all his time to what he’s drafting, plotting, creating, for a period of time. And when he resurfaces he takes long respites, which include lots of sport.” Trudy twisted to grab her purse from the back seat. “But we admire his work ethic, though, he knows when to step away. He never allows himself to be dragged down into a mire of stress. And I don’t blame him. If I was worth billions at his age, I’d be having monthly vacations!”
I laughed. “Let’s see if you’ll be doing that in the next two or so years.”
Instead of letting Trudy exit on the curb where I’d stopped, I drove off around to the parking lot.
“What are you doing?”
“Coming in to mess around with your boss a little,” I sang, then stopped at a thought. “You know if he’s in any meetings or anything right now?”
Trudy’s brows furrowed in displeasure. “Don’t know. I’d have to check with his assistant when I get in.” Her frown still residing, she tentatively broached, “Axia, I still think it’s weird that you’re dating my boss. It feels awkward every time he asks me about you.”
The parking lot had next to no spaces available and I tried to reverse Rumby between two cars without dinging any. It better fit. “I’m not dating him, Trudy.”
“Okay then. It’s weird that you’re screwing my boss.”
“I’m not screwing him either,” I said, checking my rear-view mirrors.
“Well, having oral sex with my boss.”
Finally squeezing the jeep into the space, I switched off the ignition and laughed. “That was one-sided. I told you.”
Trudy huffed in exasperation and I had to laugh again. The woman allowed anything and everything to bother her. “Whatever the hell it is that you two are doing, I don’t like it. Okay?”
“Well maybe you shouldn’t have given him any information about me,” I retorted.
“I didn’t think —”
“That’s right. You didn’t think.”
“Axia, I’m sorry. I’m just worried. I know what you’re like and I know what he’s like. Yes, he’s an amazing boss but he’s also a careless douche with women. And you, you’re the bitchiest bitch. The chances of you two working out together as a couple just don’t seem probable in my eyes. It’ll have a nasty ending and I don’t want it to affect my job or the relationship I’ve worked to build with him for so long. I’ve gone through three bosses to get to where I’m at. That now he’s no longer my boss’s boss’s boss’s boss. But my actual boss. You can’t screw this for me.”
Flipping down the visor mirror, I began cleaning my face of any ice cream remnants, moisturized my lips and ruffled my ponytail. “I really don’t know what you’re worried about, Trudy. Nelson and I aren’t trying to become a ‘couple’. You know I’m not in for all that shit. So there won’t be any ‘nasty ending’. Relax.” I flipped up the visor, hopped out of the jeep, and turned to look at Trudy who was still sitting in the passenger seat scowling at me. “I’m just going up there to mess around with him a bit, is all. I think it’s only fair. He’s done the same to me on numerous occasions. It’s payback. So are you gonna get me in to see the man or not? Be careful not to let the door hit the car next to you, there’s little space.”
Trudy moaned in misery and carefully slumped out of the jeep. “Why, oh, why did I sneak that Snickers in my bag that morning? All of this started because of that irresistible Snickers. And now I’m stuck in the middle with you two.”
Laughing — damn, I’d been doing that a lot since Saturday — I crooked my arm through Trudy’s and patted her shoulder with fake consolation. “I bet the next time you try to cheat-eat any prohibited food, you’ll think twice. You see, my dear friend, diet disobedience can cause you more than just calorie and fat problems.”
XI
“He’s currently in a meeting via Skype, Trudy. He, however, gave the green light for you to head on up in twenty minutes,” Lovello’s cute assistant informed Trudy. She was fair-skinned, with low-cut dark hair that waved in S-curls and was faded neatly around the sides. Her feline brown eyes gave her an exotic look. Eying her up and down, I wondered if Lovello had slept with her, too.
“Thanks, Carla,” Trudy acknowledged.
Carla lingered in the office doorway, staring expectantly at Trudy who was looking at anything else but her. Carla flicked her eyes to me, then pointedly back at Trudy, who then looked up at her with a pointed glare of her own. “I said: Thanks, Carla.“
Carla narrowed her eyes at Trudy, then at me, and then at Trudy again before stomping from the doorway. What the hell was that about?
“Nelson slept with her, too?” I blurted.
“No,” Trudy answered in firm assurance.
“How are you so sure of that?”
Her cheeks flushed and a nervous expression passed over her face before she snapped at me. “I just know, okay.”
Suspicion ling
ered on the turf, but I decided to make nothing more of it.
Not wanting Pretty Boy to know I was here, Trudy had told Carla to tell him that she was humbly requesting a brief consultation, all the while grimacing and worrying about how Nelson might react to this lie. By gad, she could worry her socks off! I was not sure what had gotten into me, though. Popping up and messing around with people was rather uncharacteristic of me. But knowing Lovello’s genial spirit, I had no qualms about it. I did, however, know that the last time I saw him he was pissed at me. And I therefore had to admit that I was a bit dubious about how receptive he would be of me and my idleness today.
The truth is, I missed him. Like crazy.
In L.A., I’d had unexpected fun with him. Had enjoyed every single second spent with him. And since I came home, I’d wanted nothing more than to be around him again. To hear his deep, masculine chuckle. To see him grin and do that sexy lip biting thing. To feel his touch again. His tongue. I missed him. But I’d managed to keep away and shrug off my girlish feelings in a prideful way that only I could. Upon being in front of his building, however, the compelling urge to come inside and see my pretty boy was a wrestle match that I lost.
After thirty forever minutes of hanging around and jabbering about nothing in Trudy’s office, Carla returned with tight lips and grim eyes to let Trudy know it now was okay to head on up to Nelson’s.
All the way up to the forty-sixth floor, Trudy voiced her worries, driving me into annoyance. I was beyond relieved when the elevator doors opened.
“His office is that way,” she said, pointing to her left. “The black door. It’s the only office on this floor.”
“What are those other two doors, then?” I asked, nodding in the other direction where there were two white doors on either side of the hall.
“Rooms. Kinda like his quarters when he has to work for days on end without going home. He hasn’t really left the building since his return on Tuesday. There are more than desired inactive accounts on Tellit, so he’s been working on new designs and features to refresh it.” Trudy frowned, then stepped back into the elevator and made a furious punch on the button for her floor. “Don’t ask me anything else.”