ROMAN
Glowering at Gunner doesn’t do a thing. He smirks at me and lets me follow to the kitchen, where he pulls an antique decanter of whiskey down. He refills his glass and takes a long drink. I arch an eyebrow at him. “Had to make that happen, did you?”
“I felt left out.” He shrugs. “Feeling possessive already?”
I snort. “Me? Possessive?”
“Yeah. That was stupid.” Gunner nods, taking another drink.
They’ve all seen what I’m like in a monogamous relationship. I get annoyed when I get texts or phone calls nonstop. I don’t like having to completely adjust a schedule to make someone happy. I don’t like feeling tethered to someone. When you’re tethered, there’s a chance of pain. If you have more than one partner, and they do, too, then it’s easier for everyone involved.
“I only have two concerns.” I hold up my fingers.
Gunner squints to look at my fingers and nods. “That’s two, alright.”
I narrow my eyes and drop my pointer finger. Gunner chuckles and rolls his eyes. “I’m going. I’m going. I can tell you’re not in the mood for fun tonight.”
Really, I’m not in the mood for his sass while I’m trying to reign myself in. Wanting her is twisting me up. She’s off-limits. We knew that before she arrived, and yet I still couldn’t resist having a taste. Apparently, that taste is damning. Because now I want to feast on her, not just settle for a stolen moment.
“Be good.” Gunner teases
I roll my eyes. “You’re drunk. Lay off the booze for one night.”
“I resent that. I’m the perfect level of tipsy.” He groans and grips his glass tightly. He exhales after a long moment and shakes his head. “What, Roman?”
“Let’s keep our promise to Miles.” I nod. “Keep Neal away.”
“Easy enough. Little shit is terrified of us.” Gunner chuckles. “And I like watching him squirm.”
“Sadist.” I tease.
Gunner winks at me. “You bring it out in me, cupcake.”
I roll my eyes. “Pour yourself into bed.”
Gunner snorts at me and glances in the direction of his bed, then we both look up as Holden comes out. He barely sees us, which means he’s dealing with worse shit than I want to think of. He walks away like a ghost, silent, unseeing, not real.
“Yeah. Bed it is.” Gunner says, setting his empty glass down.
I pat Gunner on the back. “You’ll get to fuck with Neal tomorrow. That should keep a smile on your face.”
“Yeah … yeah.”
And that settles it, even if he can’t be trusted when it comes to remembering this. Holden may wear his own trauma on his sleeve, but Gunner’s only slightly better. When he doesn’t have a project or something to do with his hands, he finds his way to alcohol, cigars, other vices, and unhealthy outlets. Anything to make the hazy memories a little hazier.
I pat his shoulder and head to bed.
When I get up, Gunner, Holden, and Nick are all in the kitchen. I look around for Miles, wanting to share the idea I had last night after putting Gunner to bed. The best way to keep Neal’s hands-off, Sophia, and … honestly, for me to get more time with her is to pull her from her office.
Maybe if Neal sees her with us, he’ll get it through his thick head that she’s not for him to fuck and toss.
I clear my throat. “ I think Sophie should shadow each of us, get to know us, and allow us to get to know her.”
“Why,” Nick growls, looking me over as if he knows that I want my hands on her and want to steal more alone time with her.
“She wants to run the company someday,” Gunner says. “This might be a way for her to take on more and give us a little slack. It would be nice to have three days off.”
“Please, she’s swamped. No way Miles says yes.” Nick disagrees, looking around. “The emails alone-”
“No. He’ll approve,” Holden promises.
“And that means we’ll each have lunch with her and keep her away from the slimy son of a-”
“Before the Italian kicks in.” Gunner pats my shoulder. “Neal. Let’s bring that fucktard to heel.”
Holden sighs and scratches the back of his neck. I feel bad. He hates the office, and I know it. Just like I know, he has trouble being out on the road where anyone and everyone can see him. Once Matt started talking about the wedding and all the people there, I could practically see him retreating into his shell.
“She’ll shadow you here, Hold.” I encourage him.
No one argues.
“Alright. Pitch it to Miles and leave it in his hands.” Nick huffs.
“One of you take today. I need some shut-eye.” Holden grumbles before heading back to his room – the closest to the kitchen – since that’s pretty much the only reason he leaves his quarters.
I nod and we talk it through until it’s decided it should be me. My idea – me first. Feels like a reward, and I’m more than happy to take advantage of the time offered.
Once I get to the office, I slide into Miles’ office. He’s on the phone, as usual, but wraps it up when he can see my impatience. He sets his phone to the side and folds his hands under his chin. “Yes?”
I explain the situation and what the guys came up with. When he continues to stare at me, I shrug. “What do you think? She wants to learn it from the ground up.”
“Great.”
“I’ll take her under my wing today.” I offer.
Miles smiles and stands to pat my shoulder. “I couldn’t ask for better men to look after my little girl.”
It strikes my heart for a moment, knowing what I want to do with his daughter, but it’s easy enough to brush off. I nod and turn from the room, walking to Sophia’s office with only a few second thoughts.
All of which evaporates when I see Neal sitting on her desk. Mine echoes in my head. Neal leans towards her, a hand outstretched, and I clear my throat loudly. “You’ll be shadowing me today, Sophia.”
She jumps slightly, and her cheeks flush pink when she looks at me. Neal looks between us, schools his features, and walks out. I shut the door behind him, ignoring the lingering smell of his cheap cologne and his squinted glare. Sophia stands, revealing she has on a black pencil skirt that hugs her hips and a buttoned-up blouse that looks soft to the touch and reveals cleavage.
“Roman … Mr. Agosti.” She corrects, stabling herself in her heels.
They shape her legs so gorgeously. I want to see her in just those heels and thigh highs. I pinch myself to stay focused. “Now, Sophia.”
She blinks a few times but follows without questioning my harsh tone. She hovers close as I teach her what I do – the analytics and tech side to ensure that security isn’t breached. She nods, asks questions, grasps things quickly.
When she leans forward, reaching towards the mouse, then hesitates. I realize why a second too late. My hand strokes over the back of her thigh, under her skirt. She shivers, swallows, then gently guides the mouse to the admin profile and brings up a few things we were just talking about as if I’m not doing anything at all...
I smirk and stroke further up her thigh.
She presses into my hand and exhales shakily. “Roman.”
“I like the way you say my name,” I murmur.
Her eyes flick to me, and then Italian flicks off her tongue. “I like the way you speak Italian.”
I groan, stand, and push her against my desk. My hand strokes over her lacy panties as I press my forehead to hers. She blushes and puts her hand flat against my chest. Blinking twice, her eyes drop to my chest, and she swallows.
I lean closer, rubbing my nose over hers. Her breath rushes across my face as I press myself tighter against her. Her legs spread to accommodate me, pushing that skirt further up, revealing the top of her garter belt. I want to tear it all off her.
“Mr. Agosti.” She pants.
And I don’t know if she wants me to continue or stop. Lifting my hand from under her skirt, I stroke over her hip, up along her side, and brush the outside of my fingers along the curve of her breast.
Her cheeks flush red, but her eyes flick between my mouth and my eyes. Her lips part, and I can’t stop myself from leaning forward. My lips brush hers, seeding a buzz of electricity through my mouth and down to my cock.
“We should get lunch.” Because I don’t want to be a worm like Neal. She deserves respect. She deserves to know what she’s getting into. And mostly because it’s the last thing I want to do.
But we go to lunch, and I see her continue to blush when our eyes meet, and I can’t stand it. Screw it. “Tell me about you, Sophia.”
She swallows the food in her mouth, licks her lips, wipes the corners of her mouth with her napkin, and shrugs. “I graduated college, and now I’m here.”
“No fun in college?”
“I wasn’t the party type. I focused on my schoolwork.” She tucks her hair behind her ear. “Not to say I had no fun, but … what about you?”
“I was with your father in combat. Then decided to use my brain and computer knowledge.” I shrug. “And decided to stick with the men I know. I like the stakes staying high while the danger stays low.”
“Why do I feel like you enjoy danger?” She asks softly.
“Because you have excellent instincts, Bambina. What else do you feel?” I rub the toe of my shoe along her foot.
Her cheeks go pink, and she shakes her head. “Other than … that. I feel worried about my dad. He’s doing so much, and with his age and diet, I just worry.”
I take her hand, lacing my fingers in hers. “Because you’re a good person.”
She shrugs. “Everyone can be.”
“Some more than others.”
By the end of lunch, she’s laughing brightly and doesn’t mind the soft touches I manage to get. As we approach the office, I clear my throat. “About … my office.”
Her face goes red, and she swallows. “Maybe I stay on the other side of the desk.”
That lasts until she has a question, then she’s up and so close. I drag her onto my lap for the sake of ease. I try to tell myself I only do it so she can see, but I know it’s because I’m greedy. I won’t get to have her the rest of this week, and I want each moment to count. It’s been so long since I’ve had this reaction to a woman.
I get hard when she rocks forward to point at something innocently. She freezes when she leans back against me and feels my cock. I watch her throat bob as she swallows and her eyes flick to mine. My hand strokes over her hip, then along her thigh, playing with the hem of her skirt.
“We … shouldn’t.”
But she leans towards me all the same. Shivering, she rubs her hand over my shoulder. Heat rips through me, and I get even harder. Sophia’s nose brushes mine, but she’s just out of reach. Driving me insane. That’s what she does, and she does it so effortlessly.
My phone rings, jostling her. She sits back, looks at our position, then jumps up. Sophia straightens her skirt. “I … I, uh, learned a lot today. I should probably go and … review my notes.”
“Would you like a ride home.”
“S-sure.” She nods. “That sounds good.”
She stops just inside my door and turns to look at me again. Every curve of her body calls to me, teasing me with what I can’t have … yet. The long game. I’ll have her begging me for every touch soon enough.
“Later then?”
I smile. “Yes, Bambina. Soon.”
She grins, rubs the toe of her shoe across the back of her calf, revealing the top of her thigh highs, then heads out of my office, shutting the door like she knows exactly what I’m going to do.