Chapter 18

Jack

Picking up my fork, I focused on the cake for a moment to try and cool my body down. Although pretending to be Hunter had been spontaneous, it had instantly made me hotter than I wanted to be. If we weren't in public, I could easily have pinned her beneath me and claimed every inch of her.

Seeing her again after reading her book made me hunger for her in a way I hadn't expected.

It helped that she was wearing a much more relaxed but flattering outfit, her hair simply out and draped over her shoulders.

"Earth to Jack," she said a moment later before eating a mouthful of carrot cake. I watched her lips move, imagining her wrapping them around my hard cock.

Damn it, Jack, get your mind out of the gutter. She's just flirting with you. No way she's going to want you for any reason you want her to.

"Sorry," I said, trying to drag my gaze up to her eyes. "What was the question?"

"How did you find me?"

"Oh, it wasn't hard. You posted that you were stuck writing at a cafe on your social media and couldn't get the characters to do what you wanted. And when I asked my driver if he knew where it was, he told me he could find out, and then he drove me here."

"You got someone else to find out my favorite place to write, and then you had them drive you here? That has to be the laziest form of stalking I've ever heard of."

"I was bored," I replied, noticing that she grinned even though she was shaking her head.

"How's the lyric writing going?" she asked. "You still haven't given me an idea of when and what you want from me."

What I want from you? I want your hot body at my mercy, I thought but didn't dare say.

"Kitten got your tongue?" she asked as she smirked.

"Something like that. So, tell me, kitten, can I help you make your characters behave?"

"Do you have a talent for making people behave?"

"I've tried my hand at it a few times," I replied, fighting back the schoolboy grin that wanted to spread across my face.

She smiled and looked away, and I could have sworn her cheeks flushed. The waitress chose that moment to come and collect our empty plates. I caught the look she gave Juno and was pretty sure she'd figured out who I was.

"It might not be long before we're interrupted if we stay here," I said.

"Oh, she promised me she wouldn't say anything," Juno replied. "She figured out who you were when I got the cakes."

Both of us calmed as we talked about something more normal, but I noticed that she still didn't let me see her plot notes or talk about her book.

"Come on. Spit it out," I said a moment later. "What's wrong with the characters? I'm not easily embarrassed."

"Aren't you? Perhaps I am," she replied.

"You weren't too badly embarrassed on the talk show. What could be worse than that?"

"Good point," she replied before looking at her notes.

"I can make it a command if that makes it any easier?" I asked, the words coming tumbling out before I could stop myself.

"A command. Well, I'd better talk then, hadn't I? Or who knows what the Falcon will do to his kitten?" She paused, taking a deep breath before turning her notes around and pushing the paper toward me. "The main hero is supposed to be a Russian mafia lord, but he keeps wanting to be more…rock star."

"More rock star. I see. Could he be both?"

She let out a delighted laugh. "I don't know. You tell me. Can you be both?"

I thought for a moment, imagining a Russian version of the Godfather before looking her in the face.

"Nobody disobeys me. Everything around here belongs to me, including the women," I said, my accent mostly Russian, but a hint of Italian crept in. It made Juno smile and then laugh again.

"I guess that answers that question. Although I'm not sure it will help me write him the way I originally intended."

"Does he have to stay the same?"

"The fans might get a little upset if I deliver two books with the same main character."

"You already have a Russian rock star?" I asked, although I already knew she had meant me.

"No…" She averted her gaze again, although she didn't look down. Without thinking, I reached across the table and pulled her chin around to face me.

"No, what?"

"No, sir?" she responded, her eyes wide for a moment. Immediately, I let her go and chuckled.

"Not quite what I meant," I said, but I felt my groin stir. Did I want to hear her say those two words to me?

"No, I don't already have a Russian rock star. Just a rock star. I'm not sure I like you Russian."

"So, make him an Italian mafia don?" I suggested before doing my best impression of an over-the-top Italian.

Within seconds, she was laughing again but shaking her head.

"I'm not sure I'd call this helping," she said when she had calmed again.

"Okay, so tell me about his submissive. I assume he's going to have a kitten of his own?" I asked, leaning forward, not even looking at the words on the paper.

"I think so, but she's being even less accommodating. What sort of kitten do you think an Italian, Russian, mafia don, rock star would want?" she asked.

Chuckling again and finding myself unable to hold her gaze, I looked down. I was pretty sure "you" wasn't the right answer.

As I looked up again, our eyes locked, and I knew she'd read my mind.

"Why did you come to visit me today?" she asked, her voice suddenly serious. I appreciated the blunt directness, yet I knew she was also asking more than she'd implied.

"I was in London again. We've got this gig tomorrow evening. I didn't want to just wait around in London for it," I replied, trying to figure out exactly why I'd come as I told her.

"So you came to find me?" she asked, beginning to smile.

"So I came to find you and talk about kittens and their protective falcons," I replied.

I watched her inhale before she quickly stacked up her notebooks and shoved them into her bag, followed by her laptop. A moment later, she got up and took my hand, practically pulling me out of my seat.

Making sure my face was still mostly obscured, I let her lead me from the cafe, pretty sure this was a bold move for a submissive. If that was what she even wanted to be in real life.

When we got outside, however, she faltered.

"I walked here," she said and looked at me, almost like she expected me to suggest something.

Tightening my grip on her fingers, I pulled her toward the parking lot and the sleek black car she'd failed to notice. We were only a few feet away when my bodyguards got out and opened the back door.

"Oh, you brought the whole team, then," she said before greeting them.

They smiled at her, and Mick offered his hand to help her into the vehicle. She accepted, giving me a moment to appreciate the beauty of her body as she slipped into my car. Now, she was in my domain, and I was going to make sure she knew it.

"Hotel," I said quietly to Mick. "But take your time."

I followed Juno into the car, hearing rather than seeing Mick shut the door behind us. She was already sitting on the opposite side of the car, but rather than sitting beside or across from her, I went straight to her. Before she could move or act, I pushed her back against the seat and plunged my mouth down on hers, my lips claiming her softness.

She gasped against me but yielded, her whole body tasting and smelling heavenly. Instantly, my cock hardened and made it clear which way he wanted this to go.

As the car pulled off and I eased back a moment, Juno reached up and pressed her hands against my chest. Without hesitation, I took them in mine and pushed them above her head as I pulled her sideways and laid her down on the back seat.

Her eyes went wide, but she didn't fight my dominance, yielding to me as I pushed her legs open and settled myself over her. She was my kitten now, and I was going to make sure she knew it.