Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

I ’ve been living on cloud nine. To say Alistair is attentive would be an understatement. I feel like our relationship has gone into a different zone this past week. Ever since our date on the Melbourne Star, he’s been… different. I can’t pinpoint what it is—or maybe it’s just me who’s changed?

Who knows? But whatever it is, I like it.

I honestly didn’t think I could feel this way for another man after the whole Hunter fiasco. I thought I’d die an old spinster for sure. It’s still early days, of course, but there is something there with Alistair.

It’s more than the sexual chemistry; although that is off-the-charts wild. And I mean wild . The things I’ve done with him, well, let’s just say I never would have dreamed of doing. I never would have thought I’d enjoy those things either. Letting him take control, command me in the bedroom, is freeing in a way I never expected. I can just be. I can appreciate the moment. I live for it. I’m always waiting for our next time.

Like right now. It’s five p.m. on a Friday afternoon and I know Alistair has something planned for us tonight. The anticipation is killing me. He won’t tell me what we’re doing. The only hint he gave was that we were going to see a show.

Maybe we’re going to the movies? The theatre? A concert? Argh, I wish he’d just tell me already.

My phone lights up on the desk, and Eloise’s name flashes across the screen. I pick it up. She doesn’t usually call me during work hours. She’s always so busy herself.

“Hey, is everything okay?” I ask her.

“Um, yeah, are you free for lunch?”

“For you, always,” I tell her.

“Great, I’ll send you the address of the café I’m at. See you soon.” She hangs up.

“Okay, why have you dragged me out here?” I question Eloise when she greets me with a hug. I have no idea why she’s picked a café thirty minutes outside the city. I shouldn’t be away from the office this long. When she asked to meet for lunch, I expected her to be somewhere close.

“I’ve been seeing someone for the past two months,” she blurts out before letting me go.

I pull away and stare at her. “You what?”

“Sit down.” She waves a hand at the table. “I met someone, and I was going to tell you about him, but I didn’t. And now I feel like I’ve been living this horrible double life and keeping secrets and—oh gosh, I’m an awful friend,” she rambles on.

“Eloise, stop. It’s okay. Start from the beginning. Where did you meet this someone?” I ask her.

“I sold him a property.”

“Oh, okay. So he’s a wealthy someone.”

“Beyond measure.” She shrugs.

“Does he have a name?”

“He does, but if I tell you, you have to promise me you won’t Google him,” she says.

“Why would I Google him? Actually, why shouldn’t I Google him?” I ask.

“I can’t tell you, but his job is… unconventional,” she says cryptically.

“What is he? A hitman?”

“Not exactly…”

“Not exactly? Are you in trouble, El? Do you need me to hide you?” I’m half joking and half serious.

“No, I’m not. It’s just… I really love him, Dani. Like head-over-heels, would take a bullet for him kind of love.”

“Let’s hope it never comes to that. We have plans to be old widows together, remember?”

“We will be the life of the nursing home.” She laughs.

The waitress comes and takes our orders. “So why did you not want to tell me?” I ask Eloise as soon as we’re alone again.

“I didn’t want to see your disappointment or have you try to talk me out of being with him.”

“If he makes you happy, and you approve of whatever it is he does, then that’s all that matters to me.”

“It’s not that I approve of his business. I just accept him for him.”

“El, what exactly does he do?” I push again.

She leans in closer. “He’s a mob boss,” she whispers.

I laugh out loud. “Oh, sure, you’ve gone and gotten yourself involved with the mob. Okay.” My laughter dies off when I look at her face and see her solemn expression. “Shit, you’re serious,” I say.

“I am,” she admits. “Fuck. Pretend you don’t know a thing. I haven’t told you anything, Dani. Promise me,” she whispers while glaring at something over my shoulder.

“Okay, my lips are sealed.”

“Ellie, I didn’t know you’d be here,” a deep voice says from behind me.

“Gio, this is my friend Dani. Dani, Gio, my…”

“Boyfriend,” the guy says, finishing her sentence while offering me his hand. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Dani. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Hi. Wish I could say the same, but I haven’t heard a thing about you.” I smile politely and return the greeting.

“Well, I’ll leave you two to catch up,” Gio says before leaning down and kissing Eloise like no one else is watching. I clear my throat when I don’t think the two are going to stop anytime soon. Gio straightens and walks away. I watch as he exits through the door that’s labelled staff only.

“You failed to mention he was hotter than the devil himself, El. That’s what you should have led with. God, I almost combusted on the spot just watching you two kiss,” I tell her.

“That’s ?cause you get off on watching.” She smirks.

I shrug. She’s not wrong. “Are you sure this is what you want?” I ask her.

“I want him,” she says.

“Okay.”

“Thank you for not judging me.”

“I’d never judge you, El. Ever. I will always be here for you,” I tell her.

My mind hasn’t been able to focus on work again since I left Eloise at the café. She seems fine. She is fine. I keep telling myself that she’s smart. She wouldn’t have blindly fallen into something she wasn’t willing to do.

Still, my best friend is dating a mob boss.

This is the kind of stuff that only happens in books or movies. Why on earth would the mob even be in Melbourne? I mean, it’s Melbourne . I’ve never once thought that the mafia could be around here.

“What has you so lost in thought?” Alistair asks.

I jump. I didn’t even notice him come in. “Holy shit, how long have you been standing there like a creeper?” I question him.

“Long enough to know it’s not me on your mind,” he says.

“How do you know that?”

“Because if it were me, your nipples would be hard, your skin would be flushed, your chest would be rising faster… You’d be turned on,” he explains as though it’s fact.

Well, shit, if I weren’t turned on before, I am now. Bloody lady Viagra, I tell you. All this man has to do is breathe in my direction.

“See? You’re thinking about how good it would feel if I bent you over the desk and fucked you with the blinds open for everyone to see.”

“I wasn’t, but I am now,” I admit.

“Come on. I have plans tonight. We can’t be late.”

“Oh, right, the show.” I shut down my computer and pack everything into my bag. “Where was it again?” I ask him.

“Nice try.” He laughs.

“It was worth a shot.” I shake my head and pout.

“I can’t believe this is the show you were talking about,” I whisper to Alistair.

“This is where I first saw you. What could be better?” he says.

We’re sitting in the very same viewing room that we met in, watching a scene with a man and woman through the window. The man has that electric wand thingy and he’s rubbing it all over her body.

“She really likes that,” I observe.

“You’d love it. We’ll try it.”

“What? Now?” I ask him.

“I wasn’t thinking now. But if you want, I can take you into one of these rooms, let people watch us? We’d give them a much better show than this one,” he says.

“Oh my god, you’re serious.” I turn to him.

Am I really considering his proposal?

“Let’s go,” he says before pulling me to my feet and tugging me along behind him.

Butterflies swarm my stomach as I follow Alistair down a hall. He escorts me to a room, illuminated by dimmed red lighting, and quickly shuts the door behind me. “You know you don’t have to do this, Dani.”

“You don’t have to do this either, sir,” I reply.

Alistair chuckles. “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to get you in here,” he says. “Come.” That one word sends shivers right down my spine. It’s a command I want to follow in more ways than one. Alistair leads me over to a wooden chair. “Sit,” he says in that authoritative tone of his.

“Yes, sir,” I reply, taking a seat.

“Reach your hands behind the chair,” he instructs.

I clasp my hands together behind me and watch as Alistair walks over to a bench in the far corner. He picks up a small black rope. Then his breath tickles the back of my neck as he wraps the rope around my wrists.

“See that window ahead of you. That’s where people are sitting. Watching. They’re all going to be watching, Dani,” he says.

His hands reach over my shoulder as he takes hold of my blouse and rips it open. Buttons fly everywhere. Alistair pulls the shredded fabric down my arms. My chest rises and falls faster while he undoes the front clasp on my bra. My breasts fall from the lace as he pushes the straps over my shoulders. Then he cups my breasts in his hands, his fingers pulling and tweaking at my nipples.

“Are you wet, Dani? Does it make your pussy weep knowing they’re all watching?” His voice is husky in my ear.

“Yes.”

“Good girl. Don’t move.” He kisses the top of my head, the tender gesture a contradiction to how out in the open I feel right now.

The overhead lights in the room come on. The window clears, and I can see them. The people who are watching me. There are three couples, all in little private booths of their own. They’re all staring back at me. I’ve never felt more exposed in my life. More exhilarated. More alive. It’s not our audience who makes me feel this way though. It’s Alistair. The look in his eyes as he walks back over to me.

He holds up a silk cloth. “I’m going to blindfold you. I don’t want you seeing anyone who isn’t me when I make you come,” he says.

“It’s only you,” I tell him.

“So fucking perfect,” he says, covering my eyes. “You have no idea how good you look, bound and blindfolded for me right now.” He takes hold of my chin, and his lips connect with mine. “Mmmm, I think I need to taste more of you,” he groans before pulling away.

My hands struggle against my bindings. I want to reach out. I want to grab on to him and tug him back to me.