In the Arms of the Dragon Princes

by Jessica Miller

  When I got home, my dad had asked me how it went and I was so close to tears that this had spilled me over the edge. He’d taken it as I’d found something bad out, and I was too embarrassed to correct him, so things had been going bad business wise ever since.

  I was glad about that part. The Abattellis couldn’t be trusted, but I did feel a little bad for not being honest.

  But as I sat on my bed, feeling the depression engulf me, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d made all the wrong choices. If I’d misjudged all over again.

  I suddenly heard screaming and yelling coming from downstairs, which made my heart race as I jumped up. My father never shouted in this house, and it was totally bizarre to hear it.

  I raced down the stairs, running two at a time, desperate to know what had him so riled up. It had to be Prudence – maybe she’d broken off another engagement in the way that she always did when she got bored.

  I was excited to see the drama unfold yet again, it was the only thing that might be able to shake me from my funk.

  “…and now he’s been arrested.” I heard him scream. “Where the hell does that leave us?”

  “What’s going on daddy?” I asked quietly from the kitchen door. I shrank in on myself, feeling as if I was reverting to a childlike version of myself.

  “You were the only one that saw it,” he announced confused, racing to my side and throwing his arms around me. “If it wasn’t for you, I would have merged our businesses, and we would be going down too.”

  “What are you on about?” All of this sounded really serious, but I couldn’t quite work out what it was.

  “Mr. Abattelli,” he said simply, spinning me around to look me in the eye. “He’s been arrested. He’s involved in some massive organized criminal scheme…”

  “What?” I gasped, breathless and shocked. Sure, I’d sensed that they weren’t the best people in the world, but I never would have guessed that.

  “His entire company is a cover up operation – he probably wanted to include ours as a part of that. Maybe for money laundering and stuff. It’s in the newspaper today.”

  “Oh my…” The world started to spin around me, I began to feel nauseated and dizzy. I clutched onto my stomach, feeling like I could have thrown up at any moment. “I don’t…”

  And then everything went black.

  ***

  When I came back around, I could hear more yelling. This time, my parents were worrying about me, wondering what they should do next.

  “I… I’m okay,” I muttered, forcing myself into a sitting position. “I just need a drink.”

  Once I sipped down the cold water, another emotion began to flood through me. Anger. Enrico must know about his father’s dealings, and he didn’t tell me on our date. Instead of helping me save my father’s business, he tried to seduce me instead.

  How fucking inappropriate!

  Maybe he knew what he was doing; maybe he was a massive part of it.

  I stomp out of the room, and leave the house behind me without even looking back. I could hear my parents shouting out to me, but I simply sent them a dismissive wave, and continued on my journey.

  I had a score to settle, and I was going to damn well settle it!

  I stormed through the streets until I reached Mr. Abattelli’s office – which luckily wasn’t too far away from my home – and I pushed my way through the doors, completely ignoring the police tape everywhere.

  Once inside, I realized that it was like a ghost town. Completely deserted. It was bizarre. But my mood didn’t dull. Enrico was here, I was certain of it.

  “Hello?” I called out, trying to draw him out to me. “Enrico?”

  “What?” a groggy voice replied, leading me into one of the medium sized corner offices.

  There I found him looking red faced and stressed, almost as if he hadn’t slept for a long time.

  But I tried not to let that derail me.

  “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?” I snapped. “You could have cost my family everything, everything. Does that mean nothing to you?” His head fell into his hands, but he didn’t give me a response. “My dad has worked his whole life, and your dad just… just…”

  But then his shoulders began to shake, and I realized that he was actually really upset. That he was crying.

  “I knew my dad wasn’t squeaky clean,” he admitted. “But I had no idea how deep all of this ran. I really didn’t. I know you won’t believe me…”

  But somehow, I did. Enrico just didn’t seem the type. There was something more to him, something underneath.

  I slumped into the chair on the other side of his desk, completely stumped.

  “My heart doesn’t lie in this business,” he continued, looking up to meet my eye. “I love art. I don’t want anything to do with all of this, I hate it. I always have.”

  And my heart stopped. I knew exactly what he meant. I had always harbored a dream to become a writer, but that had been quashed from a very young age. My parents had spent a lot of time instilling into me that my job was to find a rich man to marry, then to pop out some kids.

  And this only got worse when Pru started to act the way she did.

  But the dream was still there, going nowhere…

  “Wow,” I said quietly. “I… I’m sorry I guess. I just thought…”

  “At least your dad didn’t sign anything, right?”

  He smiled weakly at me through shiny wet eyes. I nodded numbly, not wanting to say too much. After all, I still had my dad, we did still have everything. It could have gone wrong, but it didn’t.

  Enrico had nothing.

  He stood up, walking over to me, emotion consuming him. Then, he grabbed my face in his hands, held my eyes for a few seconds, before leaning forward and claiming my mouth with his own.

  *****

  Enrico

  After all that I’d been through in the past forty eight hours, the sight of Bella coming into the office had been like a ray of sunshine. Now she was here, in front of me, listening to me pour my heart out, and actually looking as if she understood.

  As I stared at her, I decided that I wanted to kiss her. Once that thought was in my head, I decided to just act upon it before I had the chance to talk myself out of it.

  Sure, she could just reject me once more, but I was willing to take that chance. I’d already lost everything else.

  But as soon as our lips connected, and fireworks burst through my whole body, I knew that she wasn’t going anywhere. I knew that she was mine.

  She responded enthusiastically, running her hands around the back of my neck, claiming me as much as I claimed her. This time there was no running away, this time she wanted me as much as I did her, and nothing was going to stop her.

  I tugged her upright, until she was standing in front of me, then I pushed her back until she was perched on my desk. I’d never been with anyone in here before, or in the office at all, and it was kind of exciting.

  Of course, I’d never done it before because this place was normally a busy hive of activity, whereas now without dad it was like a ghost town.

  But that was perfect, that was just what I needed.

  Bella moaned into my mouth – a sound which sprung straight to my cock, causing me to strain painfully against my trousers. I couldn’t control myself any longer, I reached around her and grabbed her ass, wanting to get a feel of her.

  “Oh God,” she cried, as I moved my hand around to her thigh. “Enrico.”

  I couldn’t believe that she was actually responding to me! After last time, I knew that I was lucky to even get a kiss, never mind… well, whatever could be about to happen.

  I ran my fingers up her legs, finally reaching the outline of her panties. There, I could feel her wet heat emanating, and I grew even more desperate to feel her. I wanted to plunge into her and thrust over and over again.

  Not only would that help me forget all of my problems, but I’d also be giving myself exactly what I wanted. I already knew that Be
lla wouldn’t be just some random fuck. We wouldn’t do this, then I’d never speak to her again. We’d do this, and I’d want to do it again and again. After having a few days without speaking to her, I already realized that I don’t want to go through that again.

  But just as I was about to make my move, Bella pushed me off panting heavily. “No, no, stop,” she gasped, trying to get a hold of herself. “Wait I…”

  “Uurggh,” I groaned, unable to believe that I’d been cock blocked again.

  “I… I’m sorry…” she gasped. “I just…”

  “No it’s okay.” I didn’t want her to feel bad. Of course if she didn’t want to do this, I understood, but that didn’t mean that I wasn’t gutted.

  “I have something to tell you,” she confessed. “I…” Her face flushed bright red as she was clearly embarrassed about what she had to say. “I’m a virgin.”

  “What?” I cried out, unable to believe what she was telling me. How could such a gorgeous girl have gotten so far in life without hooking up with someone? Was that why she was so prissy and buttoned up? “Oh.”

  “I still want to,” she eventually said coyly. “I… I’ve been waiting for the right person, and I know this seems mad but I feel like we have something. That there’s a connection here. I know that it might seem crazy because we don’t really know each other, but I feel like…” she trailed off, as if she wasn’t sure how I’d react to all of this.

  “I feel it too,” I confessed. I really did. There was something here, I’d already recognized that, which was why I’d allowed this to go this far. Of course Bella didn’t know that I was turning over a new leaf, that I wanted to let her in because I wanted to keep her there.

  “Will you be my first?” she asked, biting down on her lip.

  She had no idea what that question did to me, how it made me feel. Not only did it turn me on more than anything ever before, but it also made me feel special, desired, needed.

  And I liked that, a lot.

  “Of course.”

  *****

  Bella

  The next thing I knew, we were making out like horny teenagers, unable to get enough of each other. My hands were tangled up in his hair, and his were everywhere, all over my body, sending pricks of pleasure coursing through my veins.

  I’d never been so sure of anything in my life.

  As soon as I’d seen that spark of vulnerability, that speck of the true Enrico, I made up my mind.

  I knew that it was rash for someone who’d held onto her virginity, waiting for the right person – but Enrico did feel right, and this strange, unusual moment felt right too.

  He pushed me back until I was lying across his desk, and he stared down at me, letting me in via his deep hazelnut eyes once more, showing me into his soul.

  “Are you sure?” he whispered, and I nodded confidently as a reply. My body felt like it was screaming out for him, I was sure!

  As if to prove my point, I arched my back and reached out for him, tugging him back to my lips, where we kissed some more.

  Damn, I loved kissing him! He alternated between soft and hard, fast and slow, in a way that got me really riled up.

  And then he made it even worse, by rubbing my entrance through my lace panties with his fingertips, sending a whole bunch of unexpected, wild sensations bursting right through me. A hot pool formed in my stomach, and started to trickle through my entire body.

  I began panting wildly against his lips, showing him what he was doing to me, even if I wanted to keep it to myself. It was a little embarrassing that I couldn’t contain myself, but Enrico didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he seemed quite excited by it!

  I wasn’t planning on staring at his bulging erection, but every so often I caught sight of it and it filled me with excitement and fear equally.

  He was just so big!

  “I need these gone,” he suddenly growled into my ear, yanking my underwear down until I heard them fall to the floor.

  I felt an anxious thrill race through me as I realized how cold and exposed I was for him. He could now see all of me – things that no one ever had before – there was no going back.

  “Beautiful,” he exclaimed, examining me.

  I gulped, as his fingers edged closer to me. I was hot, I was wet, and I wasn’t sure if he was going to like it.

  But then he slipped a finger in and he moaned as if it was the sexiest thing ever, and I allowed my head to roll back in ecstasy. It felt amazing!

  Seeing how much I was enjoying this, he slid in another finger experimentally, exploring me to find out what I liked. Then another…

  “So tight,” he murmured, leaning in towards my stomach. “So wet.”

  He placed on chaste kiss on my torso, then another, slowly working his way down. I had no idea what he was doing, I was just lying there enjoying the sensations.

  Until his tongue darted inside of my entrance, and I buckled with the crazy rush that I immediately felt.

  “You like that, huh?” he sounded pleased with himself. I tried to get my breath long enough to reply, but it was if it had been sucked right from me, and that only got worse as he flicked his tongue all over me, finding places that I didn’t even know I had.

  Just as I could feel myself building up to something huge, just as I felt like I was about to explode, he pulled back leaving me cold and alone.

  “What…?” I started to sit up, wanting to discover what he was playing at, but then I found him unzipping his pants, finally releasing that thick, throbbing erection, so I slowly lay back down, expectantly waiting…

  And then he was hovering over me once more. My chest was tight, but with anticipation. This was really going to happen, and I couldn’t wait for it.

  “Are you ready?” he asked, trying to gauge my reaction.

  I gulped down and nodded. Then I felt him tentatively teasing my entrance, trying to see how much I could take.

  “Go on,” I whispered, ready for more, and he gave me just what I wanted. It stung at first as he pushed in, but because he’d already gotten me so worked up, it was much easier than I expected it to be.

  He thrust slowly at first, trying to work out what was right for me, but as he sped things up, the pool of desire that was sitting in my stomach started to spread, started to engulf me, and it wasn’t long before the waves were crashing over me and I was thrashing and crying out underneath Enrico’s expert touch.

  *****

  Enrico

  “Are you okay?” I asked Bella for the hundredth time. I knew that I was driving her mad, but I couldn’t stop myself. She’d just given me herself, given me everything, and I didn’t want her to think that I didn’t appreciate that.

  I appreciated the hell out of it.

  As I watched her gathering herself together, dressing herself once more, I started to imagine a future with this beauty. I could see myself really, seriously falling for her, and that didn’t terrify me as much as I thought it would.

  I saw us together, happy, both of us following our true dreams rather than dealing with our families’ expectations. And that idea was amazing.

  “Can I paint you?” I blurted out unexpectedly, causing her to turn and stare at me like I was a madman. “I just…”

  “Yes,” she gasped, looking as if she’d actually surprised herself. “Here?”

  I had a secret stash of art stuff at work, just to touch now and again, just to keep me comfortable, so I nodded hesitantly. I knew that this was insane, we’d gone on one weird set up date and now I was about to show her my most vulnerable side ever, but since she’d given me her virginity it felt right to do so.

  Plus, I really wanted to.

  I felt like I was slowly peeling back her layers, getting past the bitchy girl, and seeing the truth underneath. That was the Bella that I wanted to get on paper.

  “Just sit there,” I nodded to the desk, wanting to capture the moment where I’d just taken her virginity. I wanted to catch the moment, all of it. No one else would know w
hat that place meant to us, but we would. I’d always see it every time I looked at the painting, and that thought filled me with a secret thrill.

  “Like this?” She was sitting awkwardly, looking more than a little uncomfortable.

  “Try to relax.” I smiled at her, grateful that she was allowing this to happen – this whole crazy day!

  As I started to draw with the pencil, she tensed up once more, so I started to ask her questions, to get her talking, and she began to fall into a more natural stance. I also got to learn more about her, which was also cool. The more I got to know, the more I saw the truth of her, the more I liked her.

  I knew that I was in danger of falling for her hard, and that filled me with an intense joy.

  ***

  I added paint sporadically over the next few days, enjoying seeing her face on paper, even if I couldn’t in person. Since that day, it had been too awkward – things had gotten really crazy here with the business and everything – but luckily she understood. We were texting and talking constantly, and it was helping us get through that.

  I couldn’t wait for Bella to see the finished product. She hadn’t seen the picture at all yet, and I was excited for her reaction. I’d captured a side of her that I wasn’t totally sure that she was aware of. She was sweet, kind, soft – nothing like the hard faced prissy chick that she presented to the rest of the world.

  I hoped that she would be glad that I could see that side of her.

  But then someone stepped into my office, and I had to stuff my artwork away from prying eyes once more.

  “Boris?” I asked quickly, trying to act like I’d been working. “You okay?”

  “Look Enrico,” he slid down into a chair. “I’m gunna level with you here.” His expression was erratic, which terrified me. Something very serious was happening here, and I wasn’t sure that I was going to like it. “Your dad wants you to take over where he left off, and everything is in place for that, but you need to decide where your loyalties lie.”