Alexandr's Cherished Submissive (25 page)

She fought the bemused smile that seemed to want to curve her lips. “Yes, sir.”

His cock twitched when she said that, and he had her close enough that she could feel him pressed against her belly. “I like it when you speak those words,
prinsessa moya
. I would like even more when you call me Master.”

The light in her eyes dimmed, as did her smile. “I heard that about you. Quite a few of the bartenders liked to talk about…serving you.”

The fucking bitches Jessica worked with had been running their mouths. Instead of responding, he placed a gentle kiss on the tip of her nose and tried to diffuse the situation. “Look at you, hours on a plane, a hard night, a hard fuck, and you are fresh as spring rain.”

“Uh...thank you.” She looked down, and her hand fluttered up to her cheek, her voice going husky. “I-I tried to cover it up the best I could. I hate the way people look at you like you did this to me. It pisses me off.”

He’d noticed that, of course, and didn’t give a fuck less, but it angered him that it had bothered Jessica. “People like to make snap judgments, quick assumptions. Is the easy way of life. Just go with personal experiences and prejudices and you will never have to think, or notice things. The observant man would know that someone like me would never hurt you, only protect you.”

“Still, I want to yell at them that you didn’t do it.”

Amused by the fierce tone of her voice, he ran his knuckles along the delicate column of her throat. “I appreciate your defense of my virtue, but I assure you is all right.”

Giving him a light punch in the ribs, she then looked away and crossed her arms. “I don’t like how they stared at me.”

“They stare because you are the most striking woman they have ever seen. An exotic beauty.”

“Alex...”—she groaned and looked up to meet his gaze again—“...the side of my face is black and blue. It’s hideous.”

“
Dorogoya
, you are divine. I would not lie. If you had spinach in teeth, I would tell.”

Her startled laugh bubbled out of her, the tension draining away, proving once again that his Jessica was born happy. He caught Dimitri, Laz, and Melanie all turning to look at them. With a smile, he lifted his chin up to his friends. “Would you like to join us for brunch at the hotel?”

“Of course.” Melanie responded in English, and Jessica startled next to him.

“Are you American?”

The charming smile Melanie gave Jessica made her husband grin as he watched his wife flirt. “I am. I’m from California, the San Diego area. Where are you from?”

“Iowa. One of the most boring places on earth.”

With a low laugh, Melanie stood then walked over to them with a definite sway of her hips. She took Jessica’s hands in hers and gave her a mischievous look. “Well, sweetheart, you’re in Rome now, and I am going to make sure you have so much fun you’ll never stop smiling. This city is fabulous, and I’m not just saying that because I’m married to the mayor.”

Alex pulled Jessica back to his side and gave Melanie a stern look out of Jessica’s line of sight. Really, the woman was practically drooling all over his girl. Dimitri joined them and looked pointedly at Melanie, who was talking with Jessica about shopping. She was smiling bright and seemed oblivious to the way Melanie kept giving her little touches. Laz was on the phone on the other side of the room, talking quietly but keeping an eye on his wife. Laz met Alex’s gaze, and he raised his brows, his dirty grin indicating he’d noticed his wife’s obvious flirting and Jessica’s blushing response.

An hour later, they were sitting back and enjoying their drinks, surrounded by people talking and laughing at their tables on the huge patio. Jessica was seated in the shade of the building in deference to her fair skin, but the rest of them enjoyed the sun on this warm winter day. Hanging baskets full of red and white geraniums dangled off the decorative wrought iron railing that revealed an impressive view of Rome lying out before them. Because the hotel was seated higher than most of city, the view seemed to stretch on forever, and Alex took in the monuments scattered here and there, ancient buildings that were each amazing in their own right.

He could not wait to show Jessica the world that now belonged to her.

If he could pry her away from Melanie.

The blonde woman, now wearing a fashionable white and black hat that shaded her face from the sun, sipped her coffee, set it down, and grinned. “So we’ll do shopping and a spa day? I know the most fabulous place where they give the best hot stone massages.”

“I’d love to.” Jessica hesitated, then bit her lip, and looked over at Alex, the uncertainty clear on her expressive face. “Is that okay with you?”

He’d be a fool to turn down Melanie’s offer. No one, anywhere, would shoot at Jessica while she was with Melanie. Not after the horrible example Alex and Laz had made of the men who’d kidnapped her. The woman was a multi-millionaire in her own right with a father who was part of the Russian mafia and an uncle by marriage in the Yakuza. Not to mention her husband’s political power and good standing with the Italian mafia.

Plus, Alex and Dimitri had a virtual meeting tomorrow with his father, and he didn’t want Jessica there. Eventually he’d have to tell her the truth about his family, but not yet. He wanted to squeeze out as much time as possible with her before he revealed she’d fallen in love with a monster and pray their bond was strong enough at that point to withstand the blow.

“Is okay,
prinsessa moya
.” He tucked a few silken strands of her hair behind her delicate ear. “Buy whatever you want. I have already contacted my credit card companies. You have full use.”

“I have my own money.”

Offended, he stared at her. “You will not use your money. You will use mine.”

She glared at him before turning to Melanie and saying with a fake smile, “Fine, then I’ll just go and do some window shopping.”

“What is that? Window shopping?” Laz said while smiling and raising a hand in greeting to someone sitting across the patio.

Melanie laughed, the sun catching the huge diamond sparkling on her ring finger. “It’s when a woman only looks through windows at things she likes and doesn’t buy anything.”

Shaking his head, Laz gave his wife a teasing smile. “I do not know that word, because my wife always buys.”

Alex could see Jessica getting geared up to argue with him over this. They needed to have a discussion about money, but not in front of his friends. So he stood and placed his napkin on his chair, then held his hand out to Jessica.

“It has been so nice to see you again, but it has been a long day of traveling for us, and we both need to recuperate.”

Taking the hint, Melanie stood, kissed his cheeks, and then did the same with Jessica. She whispered something in Jessica’s ear, and his girl giggled then gave Melanie a decidedly naughty wink.

Adorable.

“I will see you sometime this week?”

Smiling, Jessica slipped her hand into his. “Absolutely. You have my cell phone number. Just text me the details.”

After they made their goodbyes, their vacated seats were immediately taken by people wishing to talk to the mayor and his wife. Alex pulled Jessica to his side and placed a kiss atop her head. She looked up at him, and he found himself drowning in her exotic gaze.

“You did good.”

She relaxed a little more as they made their way to the elevator. The hotel was busier now than when they’d checked in, and the noise level had increased due to the high ceilings. To her surprise, she noticed a larger variety of people now. Anyone who stayed here was wealthy, but that didn’t mean they had class. A woman with obviously dyed red hair, dripping in tacky gold, and sporting a huge amount of cleavage sauntered up to wait for the elevator with them. She gave Alex a blatantly flirty smile, which he ignored. How she could possibly think he’d want her when he had Jessica baffled him.

Once they were in the elevator, Alex stood behind Jessica with his arms wrapped around her, basically using her body as a barrier to keep the other woman away. This didn’t seem to dissuade her much, and she kept staring at him. Thankfully, the woman left after a few floors with a disappointed pout, and Alex finally relaxed. Jessica snickered and patted his arm.

“There, the bad lady is gone. You can let go of me now.”

He laughed, glad she understood him so well, even if her perception was a little too good. It wouldn’t be long before she’d start questioning him about things she would see or hear, things that would tip her off to the true nature of his world. The thought sobered him, and he silently led her out of the elevator. He worried about what he was going to say to her, but when she paused at the spot they’d made love earlier and gave him a shy smile, his mind was drawn back to the present. He’d never met anyone who could keep him grounded like this, and he found it to be extremely refreshing. Usually, he was thinking about the future, trying to prepare for every threat that could be headed his way, but with Jessica, he enjoyed being with her so much he couldn’t do anything but live in the moment.

Especially when she was so close. So warm, alive, and his. Fuck, he was lost in her and couldn’t bring himself to give a shit. He wondered if she knew how securely she had him wrapped around her finger. She didn’t even know how special she was and had no idea yet of her power as a woman. She was young enough to still be curious and old enough to enjoy the intense pleasures he could offer her. A mental flash of her body writhing against him as he fucked her sizzled through him, and he his dick tingled as it started to harden.

Once they were in the foyer of their suite, she sighed then tugged on his jacket. “Hold still.”

She braced her hand on him, leaned down, took off first one shoe, then the other with a low groan while she wiggled her toes in the thick red carpet. Her bare feet were so tiny next his, and he liked her rose red toenail polish. “Oh God, so much better.”

“You do not like the shoes?”

“What? No, I love them. Are you kidding? Thanks to you, I now have seven pairs of the most beautiful, ridiculously expensive, amazing high heels and high heeled boots I’ve ever seen in my closet. Dior, Firmani,
Giuseppe Zanotti, Prada. Basically the rock stars of women’s shoes.
” She gave a sigh that was close to the sound she made while he was deep inside of her. “They’re so pretty, Alex. I want to wear them all, which means I have to get used to high heels again.”

He knew better than to argue with her. Even if he didn’t have a lot of experience in having a girlfriend, he had been with a lot of women who considered themselves fashion divas. It seemed like women worldwide liked their footwear. He certainly liked the way it looked on her.

He looked down at her with a small smile. “Are you tired?”

“Very. Those drinks and all that good food knocked me out. Do you think we can take a nap?”

The gleam in her eyes clued him into the nature of the ‘nap’ she wanted, as did her hard nipples pressing against her dress. Such sweet little tits and such beautiful nipples. He loved how they got rose-red after he’d been rough with them. For a moment, he could taste her skin against his tongue, and his cock began to throb. The need to have her consumed him, but he refused to rush it again. This time, they had a big bed, and he was going to use it to explore the beautiful body that had been hidden from him and denied to him for so long. Time to revel in the spoils of his delicious victory.

Alex gently pushed her back. “Go, wash up, and put on one of your nightgowns. I will be back in a few minutes.”

She stole a glance at him, and heat rushed through her when she saw the lusty gleam in his eyes. “Okay.”

“And Jessica?”

“Yes?”

“Make sure you cleanse your ass well, because I will have my tongue and fingers up it later.

Jessica reclined on the sumptuous, crimson watered silk sofa, looking out the wide windows of the master bedroom, which showed a skyline she could fall in love with. She couldn’t wait to see the view tonight, all lit up and sparkling like a scene out of a fairy tale. Hell, she kind of felt like she was living in a fairy tale right now—a rather dirty one. She’d been taken from her normal, boring life and thrust into this world of class and elegance.

Rome, for god’s sake.

With Alex.

Who seemed to adore her.

It was all very surreal.

She was still lazily musing about her situation when Alex came out of the bathroom dressed in only a pair of black suit pants with the top button undone. Her gaze ever so slowly devoured him from his dark, thick hair down to his firm lips, following the trail of hair on his chest, past the slabs of his pectorals, and down to where his dick strained against his pants. A rush of heat sizzled along her nerves, and she felt herself grow damp with want.

“Jessica,” Alex said in a soft, chiding voice. “Look at me,
prinsessa moya.
We need to discuss how your life will be from now on.”

That snapped her out of her erotic daydream, and she sat up straight, the silken lilac nightgown with its hip-high slits on either side sliding over her skin. And, because her lack of curves, the straps almost fell off. Alex watched with great interest as her breast was almost revealed, showing the faintest hint of pink from her nipple. His admiration made her forget herself, but she wasn’t sure she liked what Alex had just implied.

Maybe it was a translation issue.

“What do you mean, how it will be? Do I get a choice in it?”

“Absolutely,” he responded at once. “I will never take away your free will. I want you with me willingly, always. But you must know, you belong to me now.”

“Uh...what?” She frowned and tugged her top back in place, feeling like she needed to be clothed for this conversation. “I don’t belong to anyone.”

“Wrong. He took a step closer, and her heart rate increased. “You belong to me now, and I will cherish you always, but you are mine.”

Totally confused, she shook her head and looked down at the ground then let loose with all the questions that had been piling up in her mind. “I don’t get it. How can I belong to you? Are we dating? What are we doing? Why am I here? Why did you bring me with you? What do you want from me?”