“Kind of,” he said hesitantly, looking caught. He hesitated and stepped closer, his rich voice lowering in a way that sent shivers up my spine. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me but being this close to him in a dark corner of the street peaked my senses even more. “I usually have Roberto looking after you but tonight I decided to come instead. I’m glad that I did.”
“Why?”
“Well because it looked like you needed me…”
“No, I mean why do you have him follow me?” I held my breath suddenly feeling like his answer would be meaningful to us in a new way.
“I like to watch over things that are important to me.” His eyes narrowed on my lips as he stepped closer into me. His scent lifted up to me and I swayed in my heels. Maybe it was those beers from earlier?Who are you kidding Samantha?
“I’m important to you? Am I that good of an assistant?” I needed him to explain this to me, it didn’t make any sense. “Or were you just bored…No parties tonight?” I meant it as a challenge but as soon as I said it I saw a glint of vulnerability in his eyes. He looked…. hurt? Lonely? Maybe. Either way I immediately felt bad.
He recovered quickly. “No Samantha, no parties tonight. Besides, it looks like all the fun is here.” His pretty blue eyes looked amused and the corners of his mouth quirked up. Then as usual, he ran his eyes down my body, igniting all of my senses like a torch. I should be creeped out that he was following me…stalking me? I suppose it’s disturbing if I think about it like that…but I wasn’t disturbed by it. I actually found it somewhat comforting considering what I’d been through in the past. I felt completely safe with him. I was as usual a little unnerved by him. But that wasn’t fear, it was simply his presence. He oozed masculinity and to be near him was to breathe it in on all levels. “Can I walk with you?” he asked. I smiled, thinking that no matter what I said, he’d follow me anyways.
“Okay.” We started walking, quietly drinking in the night. We kept pausing to look at each other and in my head volumes were being spoken with our eyes. The canals stretched through the city like sleeping cobras, hissing and tinkling every so often to break the silence. Crickets sing like background music as we walk and for a while, that was all the noise either of us needed. Alex broke the silence when we stopped in front of my apartment building.
“I’ve been thinking about you, Samantha.” It was different than the way he’d told me he followed me, or even that I was important to him. This was soft and tender and maybe even a little vulnerable. It was a side of my handsome boss that I’d never seen before. His simple lowering of the guard so to speak affected me somehow. The iron side of him I could deal with. But this gentle side?Fuck.
I felt desire pooling in my core…not the kind you feel because he’s pretty on the surface, but the kind that ignites fires in your belly that if tended to, can burn forever. I hadn’t responded to his admission when he reached out for my hand hesitantly. I let him take it and while he held it in his left hand he reached up with his right and let his fingers lightly brush against my cheek. It wasn’t a lustful kind of touch. It was almost reverent and it sent chills running down my spine. His fingers were rough and warm and I felt myself falling into him.
“I know that it’s hard for you to understand why I would be following you, or having people follow you. It’s hard for me to express myself in words, so I show the people I care about how I feel instead. You’re very important to me. For the past three months I’ve watched you give a hundred percent of yourself not only to your job…but to me. I’ve had good employees before. Mrs. Isabella is a good employee. But, she does what needs to be done and there’s no warmth in it. With you it’s different. I can feel your warmth and I’ve come to crave it.”
His fingers brushed over my bottom lip and I reached up to brace myself against his thick arm. His eyes burned and I caught a glimpse of vulnerability again.
I didn’t know what to say to that…but that was okay because I didn’t have time to wait long before his lips came crashing down into mine. He let his soft lips explore mine and taste them with whisper soft kisses that were thrilling to every sense in my body. The kiss intensified when I parted my lips and let his tongue slip inside. He began to taste and explore my mouth as he pulled me close. I had no breath in my lungs, but I wasn’t concerned about it. This was a kiss worth dying for. We swayed together and I pulled at the strands at the base of his neck. He adjusted his face against mine again and I pulled my arm around his neck. All my thoughts scattered when I heard him moan. I felt him everywhere. His hands drew up my hips and back tugging me in an arch against him. He tasted sweet and rich, like something divinely exotic and naughty.
Without warning, he broke the kiss and rested his forehead to mine as we both gasped for air in ragged gulps. As the air returned to my lungs and the blood to my head, I realized what I’d just done. I didn’t say anything to him. The ecstasy of the kiss had me light-headed and I was truly afraid if I continued to stand here in front, I might pass out. Or worse, ask him to come up.
I pried myself from his arms and felt him tug at me again. It pulled at my heart too as I felt his breath near my ear. “Samantha…” I turned on my heel and all but ran inside of my apartment building, leaving him standing there, likely confused and bewildered. My heart pounded in my ears as I leaned against my apartment door gasping for air. I touched my lips and felt a sharp pain.Did he bite me?Teresa was right. I was totally fucked.
ALEXANDER
I lounged back in my big, black leather office chair and closed my eyes. They’re burning from lack of sleep. After that kiss I shared with Samantha last night, I’ll be lucky if I ever sleep again. Each time I close my eyes I can see it…and feel it…and taste her all over again. Those lips… Samantha is gorgeous, but the first thing I saw when she walked into my office three months ago was those lips and they haven’t been far from my mind since.
I pictured her face when I told her that she was important to me. I hadn’t planned on revealing those things but she looked so beautiful framed against the streetlight. I saw something in her lovely tawny eyes that told me it was what she wanted to hear. I was incredibly tempted to tuck her long dark hair behind one of her ears and whisper more of what she wanted to hear as I let my lips graze across her smooth caramel skin. I shuddered at the thought and that one led to the next…being able to see and touch all of that soft, sensuous skin in the flesh. I let myself indulge for a few moments and then knowing my time alone was running out, I shook off the fantasies and forced myself back to the present. I opened my eyes and peered over at the clock. Any minute now…
“Three, two, one…” I whispered aloud bracing myself. Just as I knew they would, Samantha and Mrs. Isabella pushed through the door at precisely nine a.m. like I knew that they would. They’re both so efficient. Mrs. Isabella has been with Luca and me since we started the business. Sometimes she mothered us and other times she bullied…but she always got the job done.
“Good morning Mr. Barone!” Mrs. Isabella offered in her strictly professional voice.
“Good morning Mrs. Isabella. How are you today?”
“Fabulous sir, thank you for asking.” She began laying out the folders she held in her hands on the top of the desk in front of me. I took that opportunity to look over at Samantha. She was looking down at a file in her hand. It was obvious she didn’t want to make eye contact with me.
“Samantha.”
“Good morning Mr. Barone.”Her eyes flicked up to me before returning quickly to the folders at my desk. I wanted her to call me Alex. Wanted to hear her moan my name the way she had in my fantasies for the past few torturous weeks.
I wished that I knew what was going on inside her head. Ever the opportunist, I used the time both ladies were preoccupied to take in the beautiful sight of Samantha in her cream colored business attire. She was wearing a cream colored pencil skirt that stopped just above her pretty knees. It hugged the curves over her hips and nicely rounded back side. The matching blouse that was c
ut perfectly to show off her trim waist and leave the rest to the imagination. I had a mental image that I’d been working for three months now and as I look at her and imagine taking that suit that contrasts perfectly with her skin tone off of her and tossing it aside…I can feel my cock begin to stand up and take notice. I had to very quickly close my eyes and picture fifty-five year old Mrs. Isabella naked. That did the trick.
“Okay sir, so we have all of your meetings for the week scheduled. You have one with just you and Mr. Luca on Wednesday…a lunch meeting that one is. Then on Thursday you have a meeting with Mr. Luca and the board of directors as well. That one is to discuss last quarter's’ losses in the most newly acquired business, the seafood restaurant.”
“Joe’s?” I asked.
“Yes sir. They’re all keeping very busy, but we must be doing something wrong where our supplies or overhead are concerned because we’ve been in the red for the past two full quarters.”
“Well, Luca and I never claimed to be restaurateurs, but we do believe in Joe and his team. I’ll make a call today.” I glanced at Samantha who was occupying herself with a mark on the wall behind me. I smiled to myself. “What do you think our first step there should be, Samantha?” My question seemed to catch her off guard. She was too professional not to look me in the eye when she talked to me as I knew she would be. She glanced between Mrs. Isabella and I.
“Mr. Caffer’s previous work looked dull and unimaginative. Joe’s needs a some rebranding in the copy and menus. I suppose you might want to rehire a consultant who knows what they’re doing.”
“So you’re saying that my past judgement of his skills was wrong?”
“Yes.” She paused and added, “...sir.” As if that would make it better. It was short and curt and for a second it annoyed me. I felt like a child but I wanted her to flirt with me. She continued to stare at me with that signature stubborn look she thought she shielded so well. For some reason, that amused me. Mrs. Isabelle was talking again and I’d entirely missed it. At least she doesn’t seem to notice the tension between us.
The rest of the short meeting, Samantha was taking notes as Mrs. Isabelle did all of the talking. She went over the rest of my meetings, when and where and with whom. “One final thing sir, we’re you going to be RSVPing to the Gala?”
I looked at Samantha and forced her to look me back in the eye. When she did I said, “I’ll need you to work that night Samantha. Mr. Guidi will be introducing me to some very important new clients and you’ll need to take notes and cards for us to follow through.” I could actually see her throat tighten. I almost smiled, but I kept it to myself. She knew as well as I do that it’s a bullshit assignment…but I don’t care. I want her there.
She wanted to say something, but she wasn’t about to do it…at least in front of Mrs. Isabelle. I could see her biting on the inside of her cheek as she tried to stay silent. My eyes found her lips again and my mind went blank with the memory of that delicious kiss.
“Okay sir, that’s all we have,” Mrs. Isabelle said. She had her files all gathered up and underneath her arm. I hadn’t even seen her pick them up. “Is there anything else?”
I looked at Mrs. Isabelle and smiled. “No, thank you so much for being so efficient.” She smiled back and she and Samantha started for the door. “Samantha.” She turned back to look at me, her face unreadable. “You stay.” Mrs. Isabella quickly tried to neutralize her facial expression. It wasn’t working. She had to know there was something going on between Samantha and I. What she thought of that, I didn’t know.
Isabelle closed the door behind her and Samantha and I had our usual stand-off. She stared at me, dying to know what I wanted, but not willing to ask. I stood before her, and made her wait. When she finally seemed to be on the verge of saying something, I stepped in closer and cupped her chin in my hand. I stroked it with my thumb and I saw her eyes flutter. Her long eyelashes touched the curve of her high cheekbones when she closed her eyes. She wanted to give in, I could see it. Her stubbornness kicked in then and she took a step back away from me.
“Alex...”
I had to force myself not to smile at the way she said my name. My heart was pounding so hard inside my chest I thought it might just break free. I wanted to kiss her so badly that I could almost feel the heat of her lips against mine again. “I think you want to give me another kiss the way you did last night, Samantha.”
“Give you?” she snapped at me. “I didn’t give you anything. You took. ” She was breathing heavily and her chest was rising and falling rapidly. I couldn’t take my eyes off her golden skin there and I don’t think it was doing me any favors. When I did raise my eyes back up to hers she was looking at me accusingly. I had to clench my fists at my side to keep from reaching out for her.
“So I took that kiss from you, Sam? That’s how you remember it?”
“It’s exactly what happened.” She snaps. “You’re so used to getting what you want that you don’t even wait for an invitation.”
I smirked and I know that pissed her off as well. “You want to believe that I stole something from you…you go ahead and try to believe that. We both know the truth. You wanted that kiss as badly as I did. As a matter of fact, you want so much more.”
She looked livid and my cock started to harden. “So suddenly you know my thoughts and feelings better than I do? Maybe that’s because I’m your subordinate. This is never going to happen between us. I am not getting into any kind of personal relationship with my boss. Maybe you need to dwell onthat for a while.”
“So what if I wasn’t your boss?” Here we go.
She looked shocked. “Are you kidding? You would fire me just to fuck me? That I wrong on so many levels…”
“I wouldn’t fire you for sex…but I do have something else in mind.” She gave me a doubtful look. She was already ready to say no and she hadn’t even heard my proposition. I want one weekend away with you. One weekend where I’m not your boss and you’re not my employee. Where we’re just a man and a woman getting to know each other.”
She let out a big breath that she’d been holding and looked at me like I grew a second head. Regardless I saw a flicker of desire in her eyes. “Why in the hell would I go away with you Alex? One weekend won’t change a thing.”
“But it will. You want to start your own venture. You’re working here to learn and finance that. You’re smart, Samantha. You’ve learned all that you’re going to working in the capacity you’re in. You agree to this and I’ll give you all the startup money you need. You can leave this job and start your own business. But first, I want you to know me…not Alexander Barone the billionaire who also happens to be your boss. And, I want to know you, Samantha who is just a young, beautiful woman and not my employee. Agree to this and when the weekend is over I’m yours to keep along with the money…if you still want me.” My body buzzed with emotion and I held my breath to hear her response.
“Still?” she said breathlessly.
“Yes, still. I know it’s… unconventional. You’re capable of making your own money and starting your own business. Think about it, Sam. I promise I’ll make it fun. I leave for Capri the day after the gala. I really want you to be with me.”
“You’re serious.” Her brown eyes were wide with… desire?
“Look at me and see that I am.”
She walked away without saying a word. Placing on her hand on the steel knob she barely turned back to me. “I can’t make any promises but… I’ll consider it.”
SAMANTHA
I sat in the back of the limousine with Alex on the way to the Gala the following weekend and looked out the window as Venice flew by. I love this city. No place in the world is like Venice. People come here for the intricate canals and the romantic nights. But it’s so much more than that. Everything around us encompasses history and that impresses me. I’m impressed by history that can stand proud and tall because my own history. Although I’ve done well changing the path of my life, it follows me
wherever I go. I have to learn to let go of baggage that’s not necessary for my body and mind to operate. I have to learn to let go of anything that doesn’t bring me joy.
I looked at Alex out of the corner of my eye. He looked so freaking hot. He was wearing a tuxedo, of course. It was tailored so it fit every part of his body perfectly. He’d taken the jacket off and had it hanging next to him and his crisp, white, pleated shirt looked so good against his olive skin and with his dark hair. I hated that I want to touch him so badly. His cologne was light and masculine. I got a gentle whiff of it every now and again and I had to keep myself from lunging over and breathing him straight in.
He hadn’t shaved his face…at least not the stubble. My face was still scratched from that first kiss, yet in spite of that, I loved it. I could feel my legs shaking even sitting here still in the seat. He’s been in meetings all week and I’d hardly seen him. I’d never admit it to him…and I hardly admit it to myself, but I’ve missed him. I also have the feeling I hadn’t seen him was that when he wasn’t in meetings, he was doing his best to avoid me.
I was still looking at him…admiring how handsome he looked when he caught me. Our eyes met and his full lips pulled into a smile. “You look so beautiful, Samantha. You always look beautiful…but tonight there’s an extra glow to you.” Once again he let his eyes drop to my lips and linger there. I felt them go instantly dry and without thinking about it I let my tongue come out and lick along the bottom one. I saw his chest heave and something shifted in his eyes. He wanted to kiss me…and I wanted to let him.
“Thank you,” I said, searching for something, anything to get my mind off of it. I quickly turned back to the window so that I didn’t have to make awkward small talk with him. I shopped for this night for three days before I finally found this dress and shoes. As soon as the owner of the boutique I’d wandered into brought the dress out, I knew it was the one. She told me how great it would look with my caramel skin tone and eyes…I was picturing Alex’s face when he saw me in it. It’s a pale green cocktail dress with three quarter sleeves. The top of the shoulders are cut out and it has a plunging back that’s open to my waist. The skirt is A-line and stops just above my knees.
BWWM: OFF LIMITS: An Interracial Alpha Billionaire Romance (Urban African American Contemporary Series) Page 281