Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

R aphaella

"I'm going to feast on every inch of you. When I'm finished, I'll start again. After you're wet and trembling, only then will I drive my cock deep into your sweet pussy," he whispered, the dark and husky tone setting my skin on fire.

"What if I don't allow you?" I asked, almost laughing at how ridiculous the question was.

He wrapped his hand around my throat, lifting my chin with his thumb. As he leaned in, the feel of his hot breath cascading across my face was incredible. Now, my core was on fire, every nerve standing on end.

"You seem to forget no one says no to me. Plus, I take what I want. And right now, that's you."

"Shit," I whispered, the delicious but ridiculous fantasy just one of many since I'd returned to his car after our drink together.

Why was it I was even having trouble mumbling his name?

Playing with fire.

You hate him. Remember?

That was the best mantra to use.

My mother had warned me against my typical behavior more than once. I needed the job, but I hadn't planned on being so attracted to my boss. The internet pictures didn't do him justice. I also hadn't anticipated he'd give me the time of day. He was a busy man, his expertise sought after far and wide.

Yet as I walked up the stairs leading to the shared apartment, all I could think about was how lush his lips were and how chiseled his jaw was. It was entirely unprofessional of me and I'd worked very hard to get this job, but spending time over a drink had caught me off guard. He wasn't as nasty as I'd heard he was.

However, I was so surprised I was thinking about him sexually so quickly. I'd all but made a decision to swear off men, at least for now. I guess I could consider him eye candy and nothing else. A low moan escaped my lips. If I continued to be a nervous wreck around him, I doubted it would matter as I wouldn't have a job very long.

As I unlocked the door, I allowed myself a smile. I felt good about the day, even if I'd been tongue tied most of it, making a fool of myself.

Even if the man had spanked me.

Hopefully, I'd get over the nasty event. At least I'd told him I didn't want to talk about it. Putting my foot down was the best thing to do. One thing I couldn't do was mention it to the girls. They'd call me crazy, encouraging me to file a complaint. I doubted it would matter if I did. No one dared cross the man.

As soon as I walked in, Jackie bounded in my direction. Of my two roommates, she was the most dramatic, partially because acting ran in her blood. And because she was doing everything in her power to succeed on Broadway.

"How was it? You're late. Did something happen?"

Angie wasn't far behind, an already open bottle of wine and three glasses in her hand.

"Aww. What did you guys do?" I asked as I glanced from one to the other.

"We just knew how nervous you were. So, we have takeout Chinese coming and Jackie, the babe, was good enough to stop and purchase a carton of our favorite ice cream."

"Wow, you ladies went all out."

"Come on. Spill the beans. You have to tell us everything," Jackie insisted.

"Have you noticed how much she looks like a top executive?" Angie teased.

Which prompted Jackie to touch me with her index finger. "The look works but you appear stodgy as well."

"I work in a conversative field," I chided.

"Does it need to be boring?" Angie pushed. "You look not like yourself."

I had to concede. Boring blue wasn't my favorite. When I heard a knock on the door, I grinned. There was nothing better than Chinese food from our favorite takeout place. It was our one real luxury this past year.

With Angie waiting tables to try to make her way through Columbia and Jackie making peanuts in her roles, we were lucky to share a box of mac-n-cheese. At least my father had insisted one of his flunkies bring a box of food every couple of weeks, something I'd hated at first but the three of us had grown grateful for.

My father didn't approve of me being on my own, but he'd relented since I was his princess, as he'd called me since I was a child. It was a term I'd once adored but now hated. When he used the phrase, it was now more often than not used in a derogatory manner. I could swear the man believed I couldn't handle my life on my own.

"Tell you what. Let me change clothes." I scurried away, finding it more and more difficult to keep my mind out of the gutter. I flung off the suit, loathing how constricting it was. It was a far cry from my usual attire of jeans and a shirt of some kind.

I kicked my shoes into the closet, almost ripping my blouse in my hurry to get it off. I grabbed my favorite Bon Jovi tee shirt and my comfiest pair of well-worn jeans. After plopping on my tennis shoes, I yanked the pin from my hair, tossing it onto the dresser. Only then did I realize I still had my glasses on. Another maybe silly attempt at disguising my real identity. I'd been a little surprised Aleksander hadn't mentioned my family background, but maybe he really didn't care about last names.

He certainly did inside a courtroom.

I moved into the hallway, grateful that through my dad's connections we'd managed to secure the place. The former warehouse had been converted into various-sized apartments and condos. With the open floor plan and very tall industrial-style windows, the light added a beautiful ambiance our eclectic design couldn't. I moved to my studio, marveling in the fact I'd enjoyed hours of creating, most items only half finished.

My dreams had been somewhere else, imagining a sensational career creating works of art. It had definitely been against my father's wishes, his requirements to either join the family business or work within the system of law enforcement. Which meant he wanted to be able to control that aspect of my life in its entirety.

After one of my father's men, who I'd had a crush on, had been railroaded by what Daddy had called a corrupt prosecutor, I'd parlayed all my attention into becoming a paralegal. But that hadn't been enough. One day, I could see myself as a practicing attorney. Still, I missed my art. Just talking about it with Aleks had stabbed something very sharp into my heart.

As I headed back into the living room, the aroma of Kung Pao chicken made my mouth water. Who needed a man when you could have the world's finest Chinese food? The girls had already gotten plates, all three wineglasses filled. Music blared in the background. While our furnishings might leave a little to be desired, I felt more comfortable here than I had in my own house growing up.

The girls knew who I was. They couldn't care less. Of course they had no clue how dangerous my father was. In my mind, I was grateful they'd chosen to ignore the real Raphaella Bernardi.

"Okay, what's your boss like?" Jackie pressed before handing me a glass of wine. She even teased me, acting as if she wasn't going to hand me the cheap crystal stem.

I gave her a hard look in return, close to ripping it from her hand. "Mr. Semenov is a hottie." I was shocked at my easy admittance.

"Ooh-la-la. Isn't he a real bigwig in this town?" Angie asked, already helping herself to chicken fried rice. They'd taken my new job seriously, purchasing way too much food on their nickel. But I was eternally grateful for it right now. I'd bagged it with an apple and a peanut butter sandwich. It had been a long time since I could indulge in lunches out.

"He's very good at what he does." There. At least I was being a bit more conscientious in what I was telling them.

"Bor-ring. Spill the real beans."

I turned my glare back to Jackie, trying not to laugh. "Okay, he's more handsome than his pictures show. He's very intelligent and sophisticated and actually, shockingly, a nice guy."

Jackie coughed. "You sound as if the man is just another guy. He's like the city's most eligible bachelor."

I took a sip of wine, my thoughts reverting to the time I'd spent with the man. "Really? I didn't know."

"Where have you been, girl?" Angie was in her usual teasing mood. "That man is fuckable up one side of the street and down the other."

I almost spit out my wine, forced to wipe beads from my chin. "Oh, that's just what I need to hear prior to returning to work tomorrow. I need to concentrate on my work."

"You are a fuddy-duddy. Technical term." Jackie shook her head. "It's okay to think of your boss as a hot man."

"And to have sexy fantasies about him." Angie was already laughing.

"Both of you are terrible. Just terrible. He's my boss. It's a forbidden kind of thing. You know?" I doled out a heaping spoonful of my favorite food, inhaling the aroma until I felt like I was drunk on the sauce.

"Forbidden? In what language?"

I casually gave Jackie a stare, unable to keep from grinning. "In just about every single romance novel."

"That's your problem," Angie pushed as she pointed a finger at me. "You live vicariously through romance books. You need to actually experience life. You're not getting any younger."

"Oh, thanks. I feel so much better now." At least the three of us could laugh. Meanwhile, the bad girl inside of me was drifting back to the highly sexual thoughts I'd had about the man.

"I wonder what his cock looks like," Jackie added so out of the blue that I did spit out some food.

I couldn't grab a napkin fast enough. The terrible thing was that I'd been wondering about that since I'd walked into his office. "Jackie. That is not appropriate. That could get me fired."

Angie huffed. "Please. You are a find for anyone. He'd be flattered."

"What, if I asked him to show me?" The two women were much more amorous than I was. But neither one of them had hung around a man for longer than a few weeks, Angie forced to endure a not so nice guy a couple of months before.

"Yes," Angie said with that evil grin on her face.

"No. And stop it before I have a panic attack. I need to face him tomorrow."

"Come on. You can't tell us that you didn't have at least one inappropriate thought about the man. Just one little one." Angie held up her finger, placing it against her lips. We knew each other's secrets, our likes and dislikes. I'd been the one to allow them to cry on my shoulder while suggesting whatever asshole in question hadn't been good enough for them.

I munched on a bite, allowing my mind to swirl around his sexy smile and expressive eyes. He did have a way of evoking wicked fantasies.

As he pulled me onto all fours, I gasped and clawed the bedding. The man had full control of my body, something that should frighten me but didn't.

"I'm going to fuck you like a sweet little whore. That is what you want, Raphaella. Yes? Do not lie to me."

"Never."

He cracked his hand against my bottom, the action startling. "Try again, princess."

"Fine. Yes. Yes." He had no idea how much I wanted that.

"Good girl. Now, I'll reward you for your honesty." As soon as he thrust the entire length of his cock inside, I let out an intense moan.

Which is exactly what I did in real life.

"Oh, boy. You are having fantasies." Jackie was flushed, fanning her face on purpose.

"Confession time or else."

Angie winked again and I shivered. "Okay, fine. So I've had a few… maybe a dozen naughty images floating in front of my mind. Mostly about his big, thick cock. Happy now?"

Their squeals indicated way too much excitement, but it felt good to share my pure wickedness with them.

"You'll need to confess more but that will do for starters. By the way, you do look hot in the glasses. It creates the illusion of a sexy yet deprived intern in need of having her virtue taken." Angie jerked back before I could slap her.

The last thing I could do was go to bed with Aleksander.

But a girl could dream.