Malik ignored her and walked toward her bedroom. Natasha followed him and found him rummaging through her closet. After a few minutes, Malik pulled out a little black dress and held it in front of Natasha.
“Honey, we ain’t going to church. Take your auntie’s clothes off.”
Natasha frowned at the dress. It was actually a dress that she wore doing a hotel prostitution mission.
Malik ignored the look she gave him and said, “You can keep those shoes. They’re not bad.”
He slung the dress on the bed and walked out of the bedroom. Natasha stared at the dress for a few seconds before she started to undress.
An hour later, they were walking into The Red Zone. Natasha noticed the attention that she was getting from the men and women alike. She felt as if she was under a microscope. The men were looking because she couldn’t hide a single curve in the tiny, little, tight as hell dress that she was wearing. The women were looking because they were sizing her up to see if they could take Malik from her. Malik grabbed her hand and led her through the crowd, to the bar. He ordered four shots of Patron and shot Natasha a mischievous glance.
Natasha narrowed her eyes at him.
“If you weren’t gay, I’d swear you were trying to get me drunk so that you could take advantage of me.”
“No, honey, I am trying to get you drunk, but not to take advantage of you. I wanna get you drunk enough so that I can pull that stick out of your ass,” he blurted out through laughter.
Natasha quickly turned away from him, but Malik gently grabbed her face and forced her to look at him.
“Tasha, I’m sorry, baby. I just want you to have some fun. You’re wound way too tight. I worry about you. Just do me a favor and let loose tonight,” he said sweetly.
Malik’s voice was filled with concern. Natasha decided that her friend was right. She did need to loosen up and have some fun. So when the bartender placed four shot glasses filled with tequila in front of them, she quickly downed her shots and ordered another round. Malik smiled and wrapped Natasha in his arms.
“That’s my boo,” he sang.
GIANNI
Gianni stood behind the velvet rope that enclosed the VIP section in his friend, Geno’s, nightclub and stared at the woman across the room. Yes, that was definitely Natasha Walker doing shots at the bar. This Natasha was completely different than the Natasha that he’d met at the hospital. Her messy ponytail was gone. Her hair hung straight and passed her shoulders. She had traded in her oversized sweatshirt and jeans for a body-hugging black dress that clung for dear life to her curvaceous body. At that very moment, his cock sprung to life. That is until some “pretty boy” pulled her into his arms. Gianni narrowed his eyes.
He grumbled out loud, “Who is this motherfucker?”
He turned from the scene in front of him, walked back to his seat, and poured himself another glass of Hennessy White. He attempted to focus on the ladies that were sitting in VIP, but not one of them served as a distraction. His gaze constantly landed on Natasha. He wanted her more than he should have. Even as a beautiful Asian woman sat on his lap and attempted to engage him in conversation, his eyes followed Natasha to the dance floor. He watched her laughing and gyrating with “pretty boy.” He stared at her ass as it wiggled and her tits bounced as she danced. “Pretty boy’s” hands were all over Natasha’s body, and he despised it.
He wondered, Am I actually jealous?
Eventually, the pretty woman gave up on her attempts to capture his attention and abandoned his lap.
Gianni watched as two men approached Natasha and tried to intrude on her dance.
She smiled, shook her head, and turned away from the men. One of the intruders must have said something that pissed her off, because she suddenly stopped dancing and turned back to the man.
“Pretty boy” grabbed her by the wrist and attempted to pull her from the dance floor. That’s when one of the assholes yanked Natasha by her other arm. Gianni jumped from his seat, ready to defend her, but Natasha hauled off and punched the asshole square in the nose. And apparently, she had hit him hard enough to drop him to his knees. The asshole’s friend reached for Natasha, which prompted “pretty boy” to put him in a choke hold. Natasha was so busy watching “pretty boy” with concern that she didn’t notice that the guy that she had punched had recovered, and was now on his feet. Gianni knocked over the pole holding the rope and ran toward Natasha, causing his friend Geno to jump from his seat. The asshole was practically snarling at Natasha. He looked down at the blood in his hand and back to her. Gianni reached him just as he was lunging at Natasha.
CHAPTER 4
NATASHA
Natasha watched as Malik choked one of the assholes into submission. She thought of jumping in, but Malik clearly didn’t need her assistance. However, she did want to stop her friend before he killed the guy. Suddenly, she saw a figure in her peripheral vision flying past her. Natasha turned in time to see the guy that she punched charging at her. But, before she could get into a defensive position, a big figure flew past her and punched her attacker with so much force that he fell flat on his back, taking two innocent gawkers down with him.
Natasha stared down at the guy sprawled out on the floor. He was perfectly still. If it weren’t for his chest moving up and down, she’d swear he was dead. When security finally arrived, they struggled to peel Malik’s strong arm from the other asshole’s neck. Then they dragged him and his unconscious buddy from the club.
Natasha turned to see who had come to her rescue. Her breath hitched as she stared into the gorgeous face of Gianni Storm. Gianni, still wearing a scowl, turned and walked away. Natasha watched him in awe, wonder, and disbelief as he returned to the VIP section, sat on a couch, and sipped his drink.
Natasha was still staring at Gianni when she heard Malik’s voice. “Gotdamn! He is fine!”
Natasha tore her gaze from Gianni and turned to Malik. He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the VIP section.
Natasha protested along the way with a voice laced with panic. “Wait! What are you doing?”
Despite her attempted protest, Malik continued to pull her toward Gianni.
“You’re going to thank the nice drop dead gorgeous man for coming to your rescue.”
When they made it to the VIP section, they were stopped by security. The man was the size of a wall. Malik pointed toward Gianni. When the security guard looked in Gianni’s direction, he nodded his approval. The guard allowed their entry. Malik and Natasha walked over and stood in front of Gianni, who sat casually on a sofa with one leg draped over the other.
Natasha noticed that Gianni didn’t seem as friendly as he was at the hospital. He looked down at their intertwined hands and then back to Natasha. For some reason, she felt as if she were standing naked in front of him. Malik lightly squeezed Natasha’s hand, attempting to snap her out her daze.
A slightly startled Natasha finally spoke first. “Hi, Gianni. Thanks for um... for that.” Gianni nodded without speaking, so Natasha continued. “This is my friend, Malik.”
Again, Gianni nodded. He was clearly uninterested in what she was saying and Natasha
was beginning to feel like an idiot, so she turned to walk away. Malik tugged at her hand to keep her in place.
“Hey, man, you can stop looking at me like that. I’m no competition to you. As a matter of fact, I’m looking at you the way you’re looking at her,” Malik chuckled and winked.
Natasha was stunned by Malik’s bold words, but Gianni’s demeanor instantly changed. He smiled, stood, shook Malik’s hand, and gestured for them both to have a seat. Natasha had no clue what just happened.
She wondered, was he jealous?
Gianni and Malik had reached some sort of understanding. They sat, and after finding out what they were drinking, Gianni had a bottle of Patron brought to the table. He continued to sip his White Hennessy as he and Malik drank and engaged in, what seemed like an interesting conversation. Except Natasha didn’t hear a word t
hat was said, because she was too captivated by Gianni. And though she didn’t know what they were actually discussing, Natasha couldn’t help that his strange accent was causing her to become aroused. In fact, everything about
Gianni Storm caused butterflies in her stomach and a tingling sensation in between her thighs. She was so busy staring at his gorgeous green eyes and full lips that she hadn’t noticed Malik calling her name.
“Tash!” He nudged her arm, tearing her away her from her desire to taste Gianni’s lips.
She was breathless. “Huh? What?”
Natasha realized that she was staring and, unfortunately, so did Gianni. She quickly looked away from him, to a grinning Malik.
“Yes?” She answered, hoping that neither of them would call her on it.
“I was just saying that I’ll be back. I’m going to the men’s room.”
“Oh ok.”
Natasha was a little nervous to be left alone with Gianni. And when Malik stood and walked away, Gianni wasted no time sliding close to Natasha. He flashed a smile that took her breath away.
“Why do you stare at me like that Natasha?” His voice meant to seduce. “Do you like what you see, Mademoiselle? Are you having the same fantasies that I am? Fantasies of you beneath me screaming my name?”
Natasha’s eyes widened at his bold statement, but she quickly recovered.
Narrowing her eyes, she asked, “Gianni, why do you feel that it’s ok for you to speak to me like this? Are you really that arrogant?”
Gianni’s eyes lowered to Natasha’s lips, and he softly licked his own. “Maybe I am that arrogant. Or, maybe I can smell your desire for me.”
Natasha had no witty comeback. Shit, he was right! She did desire him. Nevertheless, she was fully aware that she was way out of her league with this guy. She also had no intention of being the next notch on his bedpost.
“Come home with me Natasha,” he whispered in a deep drawl that made her shiver.
It was a statement, definitely not a question. For a brief moment, Natasha was seriously considering doing just that. She needed to get laid, badly.
Loosen up, Natasha. Be bad, she thought to herself.
But, what came out of her mouth was, “I’ll pass.”
As she stood to leave, he grabbed her hand. She felt an instant bolt of electricity pass between them. By the way he looked at their hands, she was sure that he felt it too. Gianni stood with her. Since he towered over her, she raised her head to look up to him. He slowly lowered his face to hers. His masculine scent had her frozen in place as he moved in closer. Gianni caressed her cheek as he placed his other hand in the small of her back, and pulled her closer. He gently connected their lips. His hold on her back tightened and he pulled her even closer to his body. Natasha couldn’t help the moan that escaped when their tongues touched. Gianni kissed her sweetly, causing her knees to go weak. He broke the kiss and slowly pulled away.
They silently stared into each other’s eyes until Gianni broke the silence by whispering, “I want you so bad.”
Before she could respond, Malik approached them and cleared his throat, startling
Natasha.
“Um... Thanks for the assistance Mike Tyson, but we gotta go,” she nervously joked with Gianni.
He asked with a deadly smile, “Are you running from me Natasha?”
The way he said her name, with that accent of his, made Natasha moist.
“Yes, Gianni. I’m running from you,” she answered truthfully, before turning and walking away. She grabbed Malik by the hand and headed out of the club without looking back.
GIANNI
Gianni watched Natasha as she walked out of the club. He hadn’t intended on kissing her, but he couldn’t help himself. When he found out that her friend was just a friend, Gianni was even more determined to have her. Not even the fact that she turned him down was a deterrence for him. When he held her and their lips touched, he could clearly sense her desire for him. She might have tried to fool herself, but Gianni knew that Natasha would be writhing beneath him before he left to go home to Paris.
CHAPTER 5
VICTORIA
Victoria was beyond frustrated with Jack. He’d been home for a week, and since he got home from the hospital, he simply refused to take it easy. Victoria felt like such nag for constantly begging him to get some rest. She was really worried about his recovery. She stood in the doorway of their home gym and frowned at Jack as he lightly jogged on the treadmill. Victoria would bet that had she not been home, he would’ve been sprinting instead of jogging. She scratched at the itchy stitches on her arm and walked over to the treadmill. She stood in front of the treadmill and placed her hands on her hips.
“It’s time to hit the shower,” she huffed.
“Ten more minutes,” he insisted with a pained look on his face.
Victoria could clearly see that he was overexerting himself.
“No! Now!” Victoria yelled over Nickleback’s Rock Star.
Jack stopped the treadmill and looked at Victoria like she had grown a third eye. He slowly stepped off of the treadmill and grabbed a towel. He dabbed at his forehead, grabbed the remote, and turned off the music. A clearly pissed off Jack stalked over to Victoria.
“Victoria, you will watch your tone when you speak to me,” he hissed before turning and walking out of the gym.
Victoria stood frozen in the same spot with tears threatening to fall from her eyes. Only two short weeks ago she feared that she’d lost her husband forever. And now that he was home and safe, they just couldn’t seem to connect. She was just so afraid that he was going to overdo it and windup back in the hospital. However, she knew all too well that Jack wasn’t the type of man that appreciated being told what to do. Therefore, it never went well when she fussed at him about pushing himself too hard. She was getting on his nerves and the tension in their home was thick. Victoria decided to give Jack a break. For all she knew, she was just being a hormonal basket case driving her husband crazy for no reason. She decided that Jack would be the first to know if he was pushing his body too hard. She swiped at the tear that escaped and abandoned her spot in front of the treadmill. She decided to give Jack some space. She could use a little relaxation herself. She’d been working hard, preparing for their baby. She was due in two weeks and her feet and back could definitely use a break. She planned to take a shower and whip out her Kindle to catch up on some reading before she went to bed.
After tidying up the gym, Victoria walked into the bedroom to find a freshly showered Jack sitting up in bed working from his laptop. Amy had sent Jack several files from his office to get him up to speed on everything that he missed while he was in the hospital. He was thoroughly impressed with the way that she’d been running his business while he was incapacitated. He was proud of his baby sister, but he was clearly ready to go back to work.
When Jack didn’t even bother to look up from his computer, Victoria quietly walked into the bathroom.
JACK
Victoria walked into the bathroom without a word. Jack looked up from his computer and inhaled. He felt like shit for the way he spoke to her in the gym. Truthfully, dealing with Victoria’s outbursts due to her raging hormones were driving him crazy, but he knew that he needed to do better. She was only concerned about his health. And, she had to be uncomfortable carrying around so much extra weight. Not to mention, she’d been working so hard trying to take care of him and prepare for their baby.
Victoria walked out of the shower wearing a towel that barely covered her protruding belly. To Jack, she had never been more beautiful, but she looked sad and exhausted. Victoria sat on the edge of her side of the bed and reached for her favorite moisturizer. Jack immediately closed his laptop and placed it on the nightstand.
He walked around the bed and reached for the bottle of lotion. “May I?”
Victoria handed over her lotion without looking up at Jack.
“Lie on your side baby.”
Victoria did as inst
ructed and positioned herself so that her back was to him.
Jack rubbed lotion on her body, spending extra time massaging her back and shoulders. Victoria moaned her relief as he expertly applied the perfect amount of pressure to her lower back. When he was done with her back, Jack propped her up with pillows. Once he had her in a comfortable sitting position, he massaged a generous amount of moisturizer on her breasts and belly. Jack worked his way down her legs. He squeezed more lotion into his hands, walked to the foot of the bed, and dropped to his knees. He began to massage her aching feet, causing her to moan even louder than before. The sound went straight to Jack’s cock. He couldn’t help the massive erection that was forming in his boxers. He wanted, desperately, to ease Victoria down, on his cock, so that she could ride him slowly.
Finished with her foot massage, he climbed into bed and laid down beside her. Jack rubbed her belly and whispered, “Baby, I’m so sorry that I was so short with you. I know that you’re just worried about me. I should’ve never spoken to you that way.”
His hand went lower, landing between her thighs.
“It’s ok, baby. I know I’m a hormonal monster these days. I’m sorry too.”
Jack separated her lower lips and massaged her swollen clit. The sensation caused her to throw her head back against the pillows.
“Oh God baby,” she purred.
His intention was to bring her to an explosive organism. Jack wanted her in a total state of bliss, because she needed, desperately, to relax. As Jack massaged and teased her clit, Victoria’s began to pant. He knew that she was close. Suddenly, a burst of wetness saturated Jack’s hand and soaked the bed beneath her. Victoria shot upright and her eyes widened.
Jack smiled brightly at her. “Damn, baby. You’re squirting hard.”
Beautiful Prey 2: The Storm Series (BWWM Romance) Page 3