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The phone started ringing, an annoyingly upbeat ringtone and my head snapped up. No. No. He couldn’t be ringing me.
“Merda!” I panicked as I jumped up from the toilet and quickly sorted myself out to get to the phone in time to see the unknown number on the caller ID. Grabbing it, I stared, cursing every Italian swear word under the sun as it rang out. I slammed my hand over my forehead. A mixture of relief and disappointment that I hadn’t answered.
But then a text flashed: Answer.
And then it started ringing again. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, why was I sweating so much? I fanned my face and tried to calm my breathing and nerves as I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed the green button.
“It wasn’t true,” his dominant, sexy as hell voice rippled through the earpiece and I slumped down on the bed as my knees gave way.
“What?”
“The complaint I made about you. I didn’t think you had to prove your place at La Casetta. I just wanted to see you again. So, I made it up.”
My lips parted and my eyes widened as I fell back on my Egyptian cotton sheets, staring up at the ceiling. Was he for real?
“Are you still there?” he asked.
“Yeah. Um… I- so you didn’t think I was bad at my job?”
He chuckled deeply, the sound sending a wave of pleasure rippling through me to my core. I gulped and licked my lips.
“No, I did think you were terrible at your job. Unless you were having an orgasm. Then you were outstanding.” I sat up, my cheeks flushed with embarrassment but luckily, he couldn’t see. “But then you proved last night that you were the most desirable and sexy as fuck woman in that club. The best worker I have ever come across. But I am glad you quit and I am glad you want to give it up.”
I frowned deeply, rubbing my hand into my brow. I didn’t understand this man. “So, what are you saying exactly?”
“That I want to see you again. Regardless.” I could tell he was smiling from the way his voice lifted slightly.
My heart was pounding and my palms were sweating. Those words just made me melt into a literal puddle. The idea of seeing him again, without the masks, without the club, it was so fucking tempting but it could never happen. I had already taken this too far.
“I- I can’t.”
“Why?” he growled.
I burst out laughing at the insanity of this. “Because… you want Flora. You want that girl. I am not her outside of the club. It was fun while it lasted but that’s it.”
“That’s it?” he husked, his tone dropping low and dangerous. “What if I don’t want Flora. What if I just want you. The real you.”
“You don’t even know who I am!” I shouted, dropping my hand out to my side dramatically. “You are just an arrogant, self-centred man who I am guessing has never heard the word ‘no’ in his life!”
“Oh, I have heard it. I just don’t accept it,” he chuckled, causing irritation to once again crawl through my veins. How did he get under my skin so easily? “You really don’t want to see me? You’re not even the least bit curious as to who the man behind the mask is?”
“Honestly, no. I like the mystery,” I lied. Picturing his face was all I had been obsessing about since the day I met him.
“You are an awful liar. Has anyone ever told you that?”
“Actually, I am an incredible liar!” I growled, thinking of all the lies I had told to my family over the last two days.
“Then you are just terrible at lying to me,” he replied, that cocky tone making me want to punch something.
“What do you want from me, Panther?” I hissed, repeating my words from last night as I tried to calm myself and enter that collected and controlled state of badassery I projected as Flora.
There were a few seconds of silence and I held my breath.
“Well, I want to fuck you. Fuck you until you can’t walk away from me ever again.” I inhaled a sharp breath as his filthy honesty sent a bolt of desire straight to my core. “But as I have only a few hours left in this city and you are being stubborn, that is looking unlikely. So… I will settle for the next best thing.”
“Which is?” I breathed; my voice raspier than usual. I kicked myself for not being able to hide his effect on me, even over the phone.
“This. Let’s try this talking shit. Get to know each other. And then when I come back to Venice… that’s when I will fuck you. Not Flora.”
