Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
I stared at her open-mouthed. I had never met a woman who so easily put me under her spell. Hell, I had barely even interacted with her, and yet I found myself craving her, wanting nothing more than to be close to her.
This time I didn’t wait to call her. As soon as I got back to the compound, I called. As I expected, she didn’t pick up, but this time I was sure to leave a message. “Hey, Natalia, it’s me, Tallon. I would love to take you out on Friday. What’s your favorite restaurant? I’ll take you there. Just let me know what time you’re available. I’m free on Saturday too! Just let me know. Okay, bye.” I forced myself to end the call before I could ramble any longer.
Fuck, this woman was going to be the death of me.
The weekend came and went, but Natalia never called me back. I was beginning to think she enjoyed this little game of cat and mouse that we had going, but I wondered if it would ever end. Was it possible that I had any chance with this woman? Either way, the ball was in her court. I wasn’t about to call and leave a second voicemail.
Sunday afternoon, my phone buzzed and Natalia’s name flashed across the screen. I grabbed it and opened her text.
“Sorry I never called back. I was busy.”
I stared at the words, willing her to type more. I had no idea what the hell to say back to her, but after ten minutes, it was clear that this was all she intended to say.
“That’s alright. I hope you had a good weekend.” I finally typed out, hoping it sounded more casual than my beating heart felt.
The little check mark popped up to indicate that she had seen the text, but she didn’t start typing again. I slid my phone back into my pocket with a sigh. It seemed that she was always just barely out of reach.
That night, I dreamed of Natalia. I dreamed of her body pressed against me and her curves under my hands. I woke up just before I had the chance to kiss her. I got out of bed and went directly to take an ice-cold shower.
This was getting ridiculous. I was pining after her like a teenage boy. I had never been the type to fall head over heels for a woman. There had been women here and there, but nothing like the electric pull I felt toward Natalia.
The next weekend, I was moping around the kitchen when Vinny walked in.
“What has gotten into you?” he asked when he noticed that I was still in my pajamas instead of my usual suit. “No, no. Don’t tell me you’re still hung up on that girl!”
I sighed, unable to work up the energy to come up with a compelling lie.
“Holy shit, Tallon. This is getting out of hand. Alright, you and me, we’re going out tonight. And we’re going to find a couple of gorgeous women to dance with and we’re going to get trashed.”
His plan sounded horrible. I didn’t want to dance with a random woman. I wanted to dance with Natalia.
“I am not taking no for an answer. Now, go get dressed so we can get some food first.”
I knew if I didn’t give in, he’d just hound me for the rest of the night. It was easier to go along. Before I knew it we were being driven to one of Vinny’s favorite bars. It was a classy place, but in recent years, some of the local university students had started to make it their usual spot. It was interesting to see how the younger crowd mingled with the old guys like Vinny and me. Sometimes I wondered where all the time had gone; I didn’t really feel much older than I had at twenty-one, but somehow the time had passed and brought me with it.
“Two negronis, and keep ’em coming,” Vinny told the bartender.
The ancient, solid oak bar was at odds with the house music that was blaring over the speakers, but I enjoyed the juxtaposition.
The bartender handed us our drinks and I drank deeply from mine, enjoying the way the bitter liquid burned just slightly as it went down. As I sat my drink down, a brunette sidled up next to me. I looked down but was disappointed to see that she was a stranger.
“What are you drinking?” She had to yell slightly to be heard over the music.
“Oh, uh, just a negroni.” I tried to be polite, but I had no interest in talking to this woman.
“Oh, I’ve always wondered what those taste like!” She looked at me with expectation in her eyes, but there was no way I was going to let her share my drink.
“You should order one!” I told her, and then I turned back to Vinny.
I felt like a massive asshole, but really I was doing her a favor. Ending our conversation prematurely would keep her from wasting her evening talking to someone who had no interest in her.
Unfortunately for me, Vinny was in the middle of a heated debate with a gorgeous blonde woman.
“I’m telling you, Ringo was the best Beatle!” Vinny practically yelled at her.
“That is just ridiculous. That’s like saying the basil leaf is the best part of a Caprese. Does it add to the overall great flavor of the dish? Absolutely! But you would never consume it all on its own. Tell me for real, have you ever even listened to one of Ringo’s solos?”
Vinny was speechless.
“Thank you,” I leaned over to talk to the blonde. “We’ve been having this argument for years, and I think you’ve finally ended it.”
She laughed and smiled up at Vinny, clearly enjoying his company. I decided to walk around and give them a little space.
Before I knew it, I found myself being jostled around on the dance floor. I tried to let loose a bit and lose myself in the music, but I was too wound up to really let go–until I felt a hand wrap around my waist. I whipped my head down and was elated to see Natalia. I had no fucking clue how she had found me, but I didn’t care.
“Hey,” she said, as if we had been planning to meet here.
“Hey!” I said stupidly, unable to make my brain work correctly as long as I was staring into her mesmerizing eyes.
“Want to dance?” she asked.
I nodded, unwilling to open my mouth in case I said something else embarrassing. I was not used to feeling this out of my element with a woman.
She smiled and turned so that her back was pressed against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and followed her movement. I was in heaven. Finally, I had Natalia against me, my hands running over her curves and my body moving with hers.
I leaned forward and pressed a kiss against the side of her throat. She shivered against me, sending shockwaves through my body at every place hers touched.
Before I knew it, she had turned around so that we were facing each other. Unable to stop myself, I kissed her. I held back a bit in case this wasn’t what she wanted, but she wrapped her hand behind my neck and pulled me closer.
Still, I let her lead. I forced myself to maintain a respectful amount of control. That is, until she slicked her tongue against my bottom lip and then bit it ever so slightly. I groaned into her mouth and reached up to hold her face in my hands, then kissed her fiercely, pushing my tongue into her mouth and loving the way it felt to be inside her, even in this small way. She matched my energy, and our kiss quickly turned into a wild tangle of lips and tongues and teeth.
Too soon, she pulled away. I dropped my hands down to hold hers, but she pulled away.
“I can’t do this,” she muttered so quietly that I wasn’t sure if I had heard her correctly.
“Do what?” I asked, wondering what was wrong.
Instead of answering, she turned quickly and weaved through the crowd until I couldn’t see her. I had no idea why she’d left so abruptly, but I knew one thing for sure–I desperately wanted Natalia to be mine.
*Natalia*
I looked at the missed call that had made my phone go off in class, even though I already knew who it would be from. I sighed as I saw Tallon’s name listed over and over on my call log. It had been three days since I kissed Tallon and then ran away from him, and he had called me every single day, sometimes more than once.
The messages he left me were ridiculously sweet, always respectful but also extremely obvious that he was desperate to hear back from me. I listened to the message he’d just left for me as I walked to my next class.
“Natalia, it’s me. I was thinking about you this morning because I was walking in my garden and I saw a bleeding heart plant. At first, I was annoyed, because I’ve told my groundskeeper so many times that I only want Italian plants in my gardens, but bleeding hearts are native to Korea. Italy has such beautiful plant life. There’s no need to supplement with anything else. And so I’m standing there, annoyed at this gorgeous flower, when I started to think about you and how you are a gorgeous flower who refuses to be tamed, much like this bleeding heart. And now you’ve planted yourself in my life, and no matter what I do, I can’t seem to stop thinking about you. That kiss was… well, to be honest, it was indescribable. And dancing with you was the most fun I’ve had in a long time. I’ve tried to play it cool with you so you wouldn’t think I was an idiot, but I’ll be honest, Natalia, it’s impossible for me. You consume my thoughts, and I like it that way. Please call me back soon.”
My heart twisted at the earnestness in his tone. A part of me was pleased that he was falling for me because if I was being honest with myself, I was falling for him too. But that just made me feel even more horrible about what I was doing.
It was true that I was from America and was in Italy to study abroad, but what Tallon didn’t know was that my family had ties to his… horrible ties, ties that would make him never want to speak to me again if he knew about them.
It was my cousins who had kidnapped his sister Dahlia years ago, and my uncle who had started a years-long war between the Valentino family and the Russian mafia. Worst of all, it was my family that was currently picking up the pieces of what Tallon and his family had tried to destroy.
Tallon thought that they’d been successful in permanently removing all Russian influences from Italy, but he didn’t know that for the past fifteen years, my family had been lying in wait for the perfect opportunity to infiltrate the Valentino family. It turned out that I was that opportunity.
