Dark Masquerade: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance

by Michelle Love

  “Indio?” Elli’s head whirled, trying to wrap around the barrage of information. “He’s here?”

  Vivienne nodded, her face showing signs of tension. “He’s been a mess. He was devastated when he brought you in. The doctors warned us you might not make it …it took me a week to persuade him to change his shirt—it was covered in your blood. He never left the hospital.”

  “A week? How long have I been out?”

  Vivienne stroked her hair. “You’ve been in a coma for a month, darling. At first, they gave you a five percent chance of making it and told us to prepare ourselves. The knife severed your abdominal artery and you lost almost half your blood volume. It’s a miracle you made it, Elli. A miracle. What do you remember?”

  Elli stared at the ceiling. “Aldo stabbed me. He was so cold. He told me he meant to kill me all along, as revenge on Indio …” She gave a humorless laugh. “Revenge for ‘forcing’ Aldo to kill Yvetta. Aldo’s face when he stuck that knife in my gut …I’ll never forget it. Such hatred.”

  Vivienne dropped her head into her hands and gave a little sob. “When I think I encouraged you to be with him …I can never say sorry enough, Elli.”

  Elli reached out and took her hand. “Viv, he fooled us all. He was clever and manipulative. You know that first day, when I almost got hit by a car, slipped, and he helped me? It was his car that nearly hit me. He already knew who I was; he knew Indio and I had history and that we loved each other—love each other …please, Viv, I need to see him now.” Her voice broke and she began to cry silently.

  Vivienne held her, pushing the call button. When the nurse came in, Vivienne smiled at her. “Would you send someone to get Mr. Navaro, please? He’ll be in the cafeteria—look for the beautiful man who looks like a wreck. Tell him the love of his life wants to see him.”

  Two years later …

  “You evil little monster.”

  Elli stifled a laugh as Lily Storm launched herself at Dario Bartoli, who had just turned a very cold hosepipe on her. Dario grinned unrepentantly as Lily chased around the garden. Ori poked Elli in the ribs. “Don’t encourage him, Els.”

  “Nah,” Jess Storm grinned at them both. “He’s fine. Lily could do with a soaking.”

  Her daughter overheard her. “Mom!”

  The parents all laughed at the betrayal in her voice. They were sitting at the long wooden table in Elli and Indio’s garden, the men cooking on the outside grill and waving away offers of help from the women, who shrugged and left them to it. Elli looked at her friends and felt lucky. Lucky to be alive, lucky to be with these wonderful people, and lucky to have her love at her side. Indio saw her gazing at him and came over to steal a kiss.

  “This bikini top is coming off the minute we’re alone,” he said in a low whisper, but Tandy, sitting next to Elli, rolled her eyes.

  “Isn’t there some scientific theory that says couples move out of that nauseating loved-up phase after two years?”

  Elli grinned. “Will never happen,” she said as Indio shook his head. “Nope, not a possibility.”

  “Same here.” Jess put her hand up and then glared playfully at Theo until he agreed with a grin.

  “Didn’t happen for us.” Maceo wrapped his arms around his wife’s neck. Ori had only just recovered from being shot, having had extensive physiotherapy, but it hadn’t dampened her joie de vivre. She grinned at Tandy now.

  “You wait. It’ll be your turn soon.”

  “Ha, never,” Tandy said and got up to chase the children around the garden.

  The sun was setting when their friends finally left, driving the two hours back to stay in Venice. Elli and Indio took a stroll down through their olive groves and row and rows of grapes on the vine. Elli leaned against her husband, and he hooked his arm around her neck, crushing her lips under his. “God, I love you, Mrs. Navaro.”

  She grinned. “Well, you better …what a fantastic day.”

  “I know. Days like this …well …”

  Elli stopped and looked up at him curiously. “What?”

  Indio sighed, his green eyes bright and hopeful as he looked out over the countryside, then back at his beloved wife. “They make me excited. Excited for us and for what the future might bring.”

  He looked down and stroked her belly. “One day …”

  Elli nodded. “We’ll get there, Indio. I want to give you a dozen beautiful kids who look just like you.”

  “I’d much prefer they look like you, especially the girls,” he laughed. Elli smiled and pulled him down on the ground, kissing him and tangling her fingers in his hair. Indio covered her body with his and pushed her skirt up, pulling her panties down her legs as she giggled at his wicked grin.

  “Okay, well, seeing as we’re having a dozen …oh, god, Indio,” she gasped as his fingers stroked her clit, then dipped inside her. “Let’s say we’ll settle for six of each and …oh, oh ….”

  She didn’t finish her sentence as, with one long stroke, Indio’s cock was inside her and she forgot what they were talking about as they made love in the sultry Italian dusk.

  The End

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  Dark Masquerade Extended Epilogue

  A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance Extra

  By Michelle Love

  Elli Navaro let out a contented sigh as her husband’s lips trailed up her stomach and fixed upon her nipple. Outside of their farmhouse in the Italian countryside, the late August sun made everything hazy and sleep in the heat. Indio Navaro looked down at his wife as she lay beneath him, her glorious body honey-skinned and soft. “You are so fucking beautiful,” he said, and she laughed at his mischievous grin. He bent his head so he could kiss her mouth.

  Three years. Three years of this bliss after the terror that had reunited them. Indio stroked her belly, with the still-vivid scars from the stab wounds she had suffered at Aldo Constanza’s hands.

  But Elli, his beloved Elli, had survived, Constanza was dead, and for the last few years, they had lived out here in the beautiful Italian countryside, living and loving. His business, an architectural firm, was now run by his staff, so Indio could spend as much time with Elli as possible. Elli’s job at Italia Mondo, the magazine run by her friend Vivienne Marche, was as fulfilling for her as ever, except for the fact that, of late, Indio had noticed that her confidence had slipped. It made him wonder if Aldo Constanza still had an influence over her. Since Elli had discovered that Constanza had been manipulating her career for years, she had lost faith that her talent was the key to her success. Indio and Vivienne tried to tell her over and over that it was her talent, but Indio knew Elli didn’t believe it. Every time a new job came in, Elli would be like a tenacious terrier, doing research and background to find any link, however tenuous, to Constanza or his cronies, and if there were even the slightest hint of a connection, she would turn down the job. When the interviews went to another magazine, she would apologize to Viv, but be stalwart in her decision.

  “It’s not losing the story to another publication that bothers me,” Vivienne told Indio. “It’s that Elli was the best person for it. She’s self-sabotaging her career.”

  “Can you blame her?” Indio said softly, and Vivienne looked at him with sad eyes.

  “I don’t blame her for not wanting even the slightest hint of Constanza in her life. I don’t. I just wish she would move on. He’s dead; he can’t hurt her anymore.”

  Now, as he gazed down into her dark eyes, Indio made a decision. Tough love time.

  Elli was grinning up at him, expecting him to push her legs apart and plunge into her, but he stopped, a smile playing about his lips. “You want me?” He nipped at her lower lip with his teeth, and she giggled.

  “Always, big guy.” She wrapped her legs around him, and he teased her sex with the tip of his diamond-hard cock.

  “Elli …let’s play a game.”

  She wriggled with pleasure and frustration
, the need for him to be inside her making her impatient. “What game?”

  “It’s called, ‘Give an Inch.'”

  She chuckled. “Well, in your case, we could be here all night then …oh …” Indio had pushed into her …an inch.

  “Elli, you drive me crazy …but there’s something I need you to do for me. The longer you hear me out, the more of this you get.” He slid in a little more and Elli moaned in frustration.

  “I’ll listen to it all. Just, please, fuck me, Indio.”

  Indio’s mouth hitched up in a lop-sided grin. “Oh, I will, but just listen to me. It’s about your job.”

  Elli frowned, despite her arousal. “Not sexy.” Indio thrust in a little more, and she gasped. “But that is. Okay, hit me with it.”

  “The next interview offer that comes in?”

  “Okay.” Another inch.

  “You just say yes. No research, no background. You just do it.”

  Elli’s eyes were wary. “Why?”

  “Because you’re on a path, sweetheart, and you need to get off. No more scouring the world for any sign of Constanza. He’s dead. He’s gone. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

  Elli’s hands were on his chest, and for a second, Indio thought she was going to push him away. “Indio …”

  “My darling one,” he kissed her tenderly. “You’re letting him win. Your career is down to you and you alone, your talent, and your hard work. You’re doing yourself a disservice by being so afraid he might still exert an influence. He can’t. I put a bullet between his eyes. You survived his savage attack.” He stroked the scars on her belly. “Never again.”

  For a long moment, Elli closed her eyes, and Indio watched as her face went through a myriad of expressions: pain, hurt, humiliation, and fear. But when she opened her eyes and gazed up at him, she nodded. “I know. I know. I will try, Indio.”

  He kissed her, his lips soft against hers. “One job at a time, my love, is all I ask.”

  Elli’s arms wrapped around his neck. “Yes, Indio, I promise.” He smiled down at her and launched the rest of his massive cock deep into her.

  Elli groaned as he fucked her hard, pinning her hands on either side of her head. She arched her back as she came, her belly against his as he shot thick creamy cum into her belly.

  Afterward, they showered together, then ate breakfast out on their terrace, overlooking their land and the Italian hills. Elli grinned at Indio. “A lazy Sunday with my man.”

  Indio stroked her cheek, his beautiful green eyes crinkling at the edges. “What shall we do?”

  They both laughed. Even after all this time, they couldn’t get enough of each other; even their friends made fun of them for being so touchy-feely all the time. Indio put his hand on her belly, and she smiled.

  They had been talking about trying for a baby for a while now. Elli wanted to give Indio a son and a daughter, and hopefully more than just two, but since the stabbing, she had been seeing a doctor who had warned her it might not be possible. “We had to remove one ovary, Mrs. Navaro. The knife shredded it and damaged your womb. We would have to advise caution.”

  But in her soul, Elli knew she was meant to bear Indio’s child. But they had abandoned birth control at the beginning of the year, and now it was August and she still wasn’t pregnant, despite the fact that she and Indio made love every day, and sometimes multiple times in a day.

  Indio was pragmatic. “Baby, there’s always adoption.”

  She smiled at him. “I want a child that looks like you, baby.”

  Indio grinned. “We’ll just ask Maceo and Ori to have one for us.” It was a standing joke between them and their friends, Maceo and Ori Bartoli, that the physical similarities between Maceo and Indio, and Ori and Elli, were such that they were often mistaken for family. One time, when they took a vacation with their friends in Kos, they were asked the question and a mischievous Ori had answered that they were twins married to another set of twins, much to the amusement of the others. Elli had often wished that she and Ori were sisters—she adored the other woman.

  The thought of asking them to be surrogates had crossed Elli’s mind but, despite have two children of her own—eleven-year-old Dario and now three-year-old Lucy—Ori was herself a victim of a vicious stabbing and didn’t find conception or pregnancy easy. Now that she was in her late thirties, Ori had confided to Elli that she knew her breeding days were over. “And I’m slightly relieved,” she had grinned at her husband, “Just to enjoy the good part of it.”

  Ori and Maceo were as crazy about each other as ever after many years together, and they gave Elli hope that she and Indio would always be as happy as they were now.

  Elli and Indio did enjoy their Sunday together, Elli sketching and reading as Indio worked on the solid wood table he had been building for their kitchen. Elli watched as he cut and sanded the thick wood, his concentration complete. She smiled at the furrowed brow and the intense green eyes focused on his work. He caught her looking at him and grinned, his face becoming boyish and so beautiful she could barely stand it.

  Indio put down his hammer and came over to her, kneeling before her and reaching up to stroke her face. “You’re so beautiful,” he said softly, his smile curving up as his focus now entirely on her. Elli stroked his wild dark curls as he slowly unbuttoned her dress, pulling the fabric away from her abdomen and pressed his lips to her bare skin. His fingers snagged in the sides of her panties, and he drew them gently down her legs, pushing them apart and burying his face in her sex. Elli gasped as his teeth grazed her slit, his tongue lashing around it.

  “You taste like honey,” he murmured, and then his tongue was deep inside her, making her body tremble. Elli moaned, her head thrown back as he slid two fingers into her sodden cunt and moved them in and out of her until she was bucking against him. He clamped his hands on her hips so he could finish her with his tongue, and she came hard, crying out his name.

  “Indio …Indio …” She panted for air, then smiled at him. “Your turn, you gorgeous man.”

  Grinning, Indio stood so she could take him in her mouth, her hands gripping the root of him, his rock-hard long, thick cock almost purple with arousal. Elli’s tongue swept around the wide crest of his cock, tasting the salty pre-cum and feeling the silky skin over the hard muscle.

  She massaged his balls as she sucked at him, hollowing out her cheeks until he was groaning and coming into her mouth.

  They almost made it back to their bedroom before they could no longer wait, fucking on the cool tile floor of their kitchen until they were exhausted and laughing.

  Elli was still smiling about that memory as she dumped her bag on her desk the next morning. As usual, she was the first one into the office, so she made a pot of coffee and ran out to get some pastries for her breakfast and for her colleagues.

  When she got back, her boss and friend, Vivienne, was filling a cup with coffee. Viv grinned at Elli and kissed her cheek. “What would I do if you didn’t make the coffee every morning?”

  Elli laughed. “Expire on the spot. Here, have an apricot pastry.”

  Vivienne groaned. “You’re trying to make me fat.”

  Vivienne had the tall, angular figure of a super model, her dark auburn hair swept up in a chignon, and Elli looked at her askance. “Yeah, because that always worked.” Vivienne loved her food as much as Elli did, but never seemed to put on an ounce. Elli patted her own stomach. “It’s me that could do with losing a few pounds.”

  Vivienne rolled her eyes. “You have the figure of a goddess, Moretti. I wish I had your curves. Now, anyway, before we go down this path, I have some news. The festival is starting this week.”

  “Don’t I know it?” Elli grumbled, “The traffic was appalling this morning.” It was late August and the Venice Film Festival was about to open. Flocks of tourists, as well as movie people, were in town.

  Vivienne grinned at her. “Such a Grinch. Anyway, guess what. A Hollywood movie star has requested that you interview him.”
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br />   Elli’s walls immediately went up. “He asked for me?” She’d been here before. Aldo Constanza had specifically asked for her too, and he’d ended up sticking a knife in her gut.

  Vivienne sighed, and Elli realized she was expecting Elli to tell her no for that very reason. Remembering her promise to Indio, she smiled at her boss. “Fine.”

  Vivienne choked on her coffee a little. “Excuse me?”

  “I said fine. I’ll do it …who is it?”

  Still apparently surprised, Vivienne gave her a photo and biography. “Zane L’Amour.”

  Elli sniggered. “Seriously, that name? Really?” She looked at the photo. Zane L’Amour (real name Steve Miller) was the latest superstar of the cheesy rom-com—the blandly-handsome, wide-smiled pretty boy who was in the middle of a press tour and media saturation was high. Elli didn’t find anything interesting in his face or the brief resume which came with the photo. She grimaced a little and looked at Viv. “Yeah, this is fine—I can’t imagine we’ll be discussing nuclear physics, but then again …”

  “Because the rest of the movie world often does discuss that, you snob. Look, I know it’s going to be little more than a puff piece, but it's film festival time.”

  Elli shifted in her seat. “Usually when people of interest try and sneak the really good stories under the wire.”

  Vivienne sighed. “Yes, but I say this as a friend—you haven’t exactly been straining at the leash to get to them lately. This will ease you back in.”

  “Fine. I’ll get on it. Later.” Elli got up and went to her desk, flicking on her computer. While she waited for it to boot, she put in a call to L’Amour’s publicist and agreed to an interview time.

  “Mr. L’Amour will be very glad you called, Ms. Moretti. He’d like to meet you with you as soon as possible—would you be able to make this afternoon?”

  Elli was surprised. “Just let me check my calendar …I can do four p.m.?”