by Marian Tee
“Oh, he likes reprimanding Prince Domenico, too, but everyone knows – and that includes Domenico – that it’s just his way of showing he cares.”
The CB radio clipped to her pants suddenly buzzed and unclipping it, Avery plugged one ear with an earphone. “What is it?” She paused. “I see.” She glanced at Misty. “Prince Domenico’s coming up and I don’t think it’s safe to unleash him to this crowd. It might get him to start drinking, and we absolutely do not want that to happen, not until after the king’s seen him at least. Do you think you could handle him and take him to somewhere private?”
“Somewhere…private?” Misty didn’t know which she felt more: giddy or nervous. Whichever it was, the emotion was making her hands perspire and her throat dry. Vajayjay, she reminded herself bracingly. It all boiled down to the vajayjay – or her vajayjay, for that matter.
“We have a room reserved on the floor below. A guard’s already waiting there. You up for it?” Avery’s serious face softened a bit. “If you’ve never had a chance to make him notice you, this could be it.”
Misty glanced at her wrist and only then did she notice a digital watch circling it, its display set to a 24-hour timer. Right now, it was down to 23:02. Twenty-three hours to seduce and make Domenico Moretti fall in love with her.
Closing her eyes, Misty mentally recited a prayer. Afterwards, she asked Avery, “What do you want me to do?”
****
Domenico Moretti had died and gone to heaven.
That was the only thing he could think of the moment the elevator doors opened and he saw the sexiest little bunny standing in front of the elevator.
He forgot about the fact that he was here to make it to the board meeting virtually and that he had actually invited a hundred people to his penthouse suite for a celebratory party. Tonight had been his greatest coup, Domenico managing to close the biggest deal for Moretti Inc. It was his surprise that would make his father finally proud of him. Maybe this time, they could mend their fences for good. Danilo had been right, after all. None of them were getting any younger and it was time to let the past stay in the past, where it belonged.
However, all such thoughts went to the back of Domenico’s mind when he saw the woman standing in front of him. Her dark hair was held back with a band that had bunny ears, and her deliciously bountiful breasts looked like they were about to spill out of her costume any second. Although she was a tiny beauty, she had the most wondrously shaped legs, the kind that made him want to kiss every inch of it.
Before he could ask what her name was, she smiled at him. One that was both naturally coy and shy at the same time. He was enchanted.
When she stepped inside the elevator, he immediately pressed the CLOSE button. Wherever she was going, he would be following. He had to have her tonight. Right this minute, preferably. He checked his watch. Ten minutes, he promised himself. Ten minutes to seduce her and then he would find a way to make it to his meeting.
He looked at the woman with hooded eyes, not bothering to hide his desire for her.
Misty’s heart slammed against her chest. Oh. My. God. That look.
“Where to?” Domenico asked huskily.
It took a while for Misty to answer. “34th.” Her voice came out all throaty, and by the way Domenico’s green gaze darkened, Misty knew he thought she was already working on seducing him. Well, that was good. At least he didn’t know her bedroom voice was because of sheer nerves. She tried her best not to stare at him, but it was hard. He was so gorgeous, but more than that, Domenico looked more…playful. Wickedly so, but still. He had none of the intimidatingly serious aura that he usually had.
Even his taste in clothes was different, Misty mused. In their world, Domenico was usually dressed in neutral colors, but here he was very fashionable, with his silver-lined jacket, skinny jeans, and expensive leather shoes. He wore it with such incredibly arrogant flair Misty had a feeling it was another way for Domenico to get back at his father. If Dio here was the same as he was back in their world, this kind of thing would definitely get to the older Moretti.
She couldn’t stop staring at him. Did he really not remember her? She knew that was what the jinn said, but it was hard to fathom that he could forget her. She didn’t mind that the others did, but…Domenico was different. Domenico was her heart, as she was his. Couldn’t even the smallest part of him recognize her?
“You like what you see?” His purring had her swallowing.
“Y-yes?” God, it was hard not to throw herself at Domenico when he was being this…seductive.
“What’s your name?”
“Misty.” She was more than a little surprised he had to ask. She had assumed she was working for Domenico, just like how it was in their world. But apparently she wasn’t, which meant…who was she really working for?
“Misty.” Domenico savored saying her name, finding it strangely appropriate. She felt elusive to him, like a mist he wanted to own even knowing it was impossible.
She thought about asking his name but didn’t know if she could lie about not knowing it. In the end, she stayed silent, unable to decide what to do or say next. She glanced at her watch. 22:40. Over twenty-two hours still. No need to panic yet—
There was a sudden groaning sound, and the elevator shook to a stop before everything was plunged into darkness.
Misty screamed.
One firm hand grabbed hold of her, squeezing reassuringly. “I’m here.”
“W-what happened?” Misty immediately inched closer to Domenico.
A second later, back up lights of the elevator switched into operation.
“I guess the power’s gone out.” Domenico shrugged out of his jacket and hung it on the rail. He did so carefully, taking his time, wanting to be certain that Misty would not realize how the darkness got to him. “I’m not sure how long before it comes back or before they figure out we’re here.”
“It’s okay,” Misty hastened to assure him, not wanting Domenico to feel he was stuck with a potential crybaby. “I’m not claustrophobic or anything.”
“I see.”
Minutes passed.
Misty blurted out, “Are you okay?”
“Why do you ask?” Domenico tried not to sound defensive.
She thought about telling him she knew all his mannerisms, and that Domenico shaking his hand as if getting ready to punch someone meant he was uneasy. But then if she told him that, he’d probably think she was either crazy or an obsessed stalker.
In the end, she said weakly, “You don’t, umm, sound good?”
His chilly look told her what he thought of her words.
Riiiight. Domenico had always hated showing any kind of weakness, and apparently a change of worlds didn’t change that fact about him either.
As more minutes passed and Domenico’s tension grew and his pallor became pale, Misty desperately racked her brains for a way to make him relax. As far as she knew, Domenico wasn’t claustrophobic, but maybe something here had happened to make him that way.
“Umm, do you want to hear a joke?”
Domenico blinked. When it seemed what he heard was exactly what his curvy little bunny had said, he said slowly, “Did you just say something about a joke?”
“Err, yes? I was told that I tell really good ones.” God, what a lie. Actually, Domenico liked to tell Misty he only laughed at her jokes because he loved her.
When she gazed up at him expectantly, Domenico asked bluntly, “Are you high?”
She choked. “I’m not. I’m serious. Let me tell you a joke, and I promise you won’t be cla—” At his narrowed gaze, she managed to stop herself from saying ‘claustrophobic’. “I meant, I promise you would be clapping your hands in laughter.”
Domenico wasn’t amused. “That was fucking lame.”
She ignored that. “So, umm, can I tell you a joke now?”
He shrugged.
But he was also still a little pale, so Misty hurriedly said, “One day, a first-grade math teacher thou
ght about giving her kids an oral quiz…”
‘What do you have when you combine 16 books with 28 books, Matthew?’ the teacher asked.
‘Forty-four books,’ Matthew promptly answered.
‘Correct.’ The teacher moved on to the next student. ‘Sara, what do you get when you have 68 books and 79 books together?’
Sara paused before answering, ‘147 books.’
‘That’s great, Sara.’ The teacher moved to the third student, who had been napping the whole time. ‘Joe, wake up.’
‘Huh?’
The teacher scowled. ‘What do you get when you have 356 books and 293 books together?’
Joe answered sleepily, ‘A library?’
Domenico felt a grin tugging at his lips when Misty actually burst into peals of laughter at her own joke.
When Misty caught the grin on Domenico’s face, she asked eagerly, “You’re okay now? You’re no longer claustrophobic?” As soon as the words slipped past her lips, she knew she had said the wrong thing.
She held her breath, waiting…
But the explosion didn’t come.
She peeked at his face.
Domenico’s thin, beautiful lips had curved into a self-deprecating smile.
“You’re not mad?”
Slowly, Domenico shook his head. “No. I’m not.” The elevator still felt like it was shrinking to him, but he didn’t feel as…cramped as he had been feeling earlier, and he knew the reason behind that. He looked at Misty and found himself admitting to her something he rarely spoke about. “I’m claustrophobic.” Misty nodded, and Domenico privately gave her props for trying to look like she had just discovered that about him.
“It’s a not entirely cured trauma after being kidnapped.” He unbuttoned the first button of his shirt, hoping it would make him feel less like he was being strangled by the hot air around him.
Misty didn’t have to pretend she was shocked. “You were kidnapped?” In their world, Domenico hadn’t ever been abducted – or at least not that she knew of.
“Part and parcel of being a Moretti,” Domenico dismissed. “It’s a long story, but the gist of it is that my brother managed to save me. However, in the minutes that I was locked inside the trunk of the kidnappers’ car—” He stopped speaking abruptly, the weight of the memories making him feel like he was a helpless boy again.
“Owwwwww!”
The cry snatched him back to the present, and Domenico saw his curvy companion taking off her heels.
“I…t-think…I had some kind of sprain…I’m not used to wearing heels like this…” She looked up at Domenico. “D-do you think we could sit on the floor?”
Misty knew she was a shabby actress, but she had to try. The look on Domenico’s face worried her, but she knew mentioning how pale he looked would only have him stubbornly refusing her plea for him to sit on the floor.
“Of course.” Domenico took a seat beside Misty, and after stretching his legs, he told her casually, “You’re a bad actress, by the way.”
Shick. But out loud, she said primly, “I have no idea what you mean, sir.”
He raised a brow. “Sir?”
“Did I also forget to mention the fact that I work for your family?”
Her sheepish smile enchanted him. “Yes. You did. Does that mean you’ll do everything I want?”
She almost said no before she remembered something—
Domenico, telling her that her “vajayjay” was the first thing he noticed about her.
Did that mean she should make the moves on him this time? But…she had never tried to seduce anyone. She had no idea where or how to start—
“Misty?”
She cleared her throat.
The serious look on her face sent a wave of disappointment crashing over him. That was in no way the look of a girl who was planning to come on to him. He knew she was no gold-digger or slut – Domenico could smell their type miles away – but he had been hoping all the same that he would have a chance to taste Misty’s sweet, succulent breasts.
Domenico, you better mean what you said, Misty thought.
Dark eyes met green. “On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate—”
Domenico let out a low, choking laugh. “Misty…” He shook his head. No one was like her. No one. Laughter was said to be the best medicine. He had never believed that, but now that this beautiful girl had actually managed to make him laugh his claustrophobia away, he damn well believed it. Only this girl would make a line from an animated movie sound so fucking suggestive, and he didn’t know whether the fact impressed or amused him more.
“Are you saying what I think you mean?”
She asked huskily, “What I mean is – what can I do to ease your pain?”
One moment they were just staring at each other’s eyes.
The next thing she knew he had dragged her onto his lap, his fingers digging through her hair. “Like this,” he growled just before pulling her head down for a hungry kiss.
Misty gasped against Domenico’s mouth. For a moment, she couldn’t even think of responding, stunned to find herself straddling his lap. She knew she shouldn’t be self-conscious. This was her husband, never mind if he didn’t remember her. But even so, acute embarrassment had Misty pressing her fists to his chest, a part of her instinctively wanting to push him away because things were happening too fast—
“You taste so good, love,” Domenico groaned before deepening his kiss. And she did, better than anything he had tasted. Sweet, exciting, and strangely familiar. It was like the sensation of boarding a rollercoaster for the nth time – the thrill was familiar, but even so it never failed to excite. Again and again—
His hunger only grew and grew the longer he kissed her, and pulling Misty closer to him, he said hoarsely, “Kiss me back, Misty.”
The sweet words had Misty closing her eyes, melting her resistance. She never could refuse Domenico when he talked to her like that. She kissed him back, her eyes closing in surrender. Her own fingers sank into his hair, savoring its familiar texture. Their tongues touched, danced, her breasts brushing against his chest. Her nipples hardened at each contact, causing her to whimper and strain against him. Under her, Domenico’s cock pulsed strongly, making Misty press her thighs closer to his. Another whimper was torn out of her as Domenico cupped her breasts.
Domenico kneaded Misty’s breasts, loving their weight. Over him, Misty was rubbing herself against his cock, making him squeeze his eyes shut at the sheer pleasure of it. Her touch felt innocent and experienced at the same time, making him wonder absently if she was still a virgin. If she was, that was it – he would never let her go. He didn’t give a fuck what that made him. All he knew was that Misty was his to taste, and he would kill any man who would dare touch her.
“Oh God, Domenico…” She moaned as he began sucking her nipple through her bunny uniform. She rocked harder against him, wanting more of the way his cock teased her clit into stiffening.
He sucked harder at her nipple, loving the way it made Misty chant his name over and over. Domenico. Domenico. Domenico. He wanted to hear her say it forever.
He lifted his head, rasping, “If you’re going to stop me, now’s the time to do it.”
Her dazed eyes met his. “W-what?”
His voice hard, he said, “Can I fuck you now?”
She shook her head, stammering, “W-we’re not yet fucking?”
Before he could answer, the elevator shuddered as if coming to life. Domenico had never moved faster in his life. As he got them both to their feet, even combing her hair with his fingers for her, only one thought was uppermost on his mind: no goddamn way would he allow anyone to see her with that look of desire in her eyes.
When the elevator doors opened, Misty was properly hidden behind him. And it was a good thing she was since the last people he wanted to see were exactly the ones who stood before him. His perfect twin brother Danilo Moretti and his father Dio, who was murderously furious.
“We ha
d a meeting. Did you not remember that?” Dio’s contemptuous gaze didn’t miss the girl standing stiffly behind his son. “Or maybe you were too busy fucking your brains out like you always do?”
Domenico’s intention to explain about the elevator getting stuck, about the surprise he had for his father – all of it disappeared at his father’s derisive tone.
“Yes,” Domenico bit out. “It’s exactly as you say.” His tone was mocking, but inside he was cold. Why? Why did Dio keep thinking the worst about him?
Dio glanced at his other son. “I told you, Danilo. Your brother is a lost cause.” Without another word, he spun around, heading to the stairs.
Danilo shook his head. “You stubborn fool. Why didn’t you tell him?”
It didn’t surprise Domenico that his twin knew of his surprise. Aside from the family, work was the only other thing Danilo lived for. He only shrugged in answer, not wanting to risk exposing his pain with even a single word.
“I’ll try to talk to him—”
“Don’t bother.”
But his twin only shook his head again. “You two are too stubborn.”
When Danilo followed their father to the stairs, the doors swinging shut behind him, Misty tentatively touched Domenico’s back.
He turned to her right away, but it was obvious by the way he looked at her that he had forgotten she was even around.
“Domenico—”
Suddenly, everything about Misty reminded him of his every failure, every instance he had appeared weak and useless to his father. He said coldly, “That’s ‘sir’ to you.” The pain on her face made him want to take the words back, but he forced himself not to say anything. To walk away. To stop showing weakness, like he always ended up doing with Dio.
The words hurt, but Misty reminded herself that this had happened before. It didn’t mean Domenico didn’t care for her. It only meant he was hurt. She went after him even though every step made her feel like a slut.
“Domenico—”
He spun around. “Will you stop stalking me? Or do you want me to call security?”