Castello
“I missed your wedding Reina. Believe me I tried so hard to get on the available flight back but the airlines shifted our flights by almost twenty-four hours. The jet was occupied. Your husband was so pissed that I booked a last minute flight.” He shrugged. “I was held up by certain business deals. But I got back this morning.”
I stared at him, blank, trying to figure out who he was, before he extended his head for a handshake. “Castello, your husband is my cousin.”
“Oh my God!” I exclaimed as recognition hit me. I’ve never seen him before but I’ve heard his name from Hollis and from Isabella. “Castello, my husband has told me so much about you.”
“Nice things?”
“You bet.” I replied.
“So you want to check the throne out?”
He had a sly grin came on his face, as if he was daring me to go inside. I glanced down the hall for Hollis and when I noticed he wasn’t close by. I took Castello up on his dare and stepped tentatively into the room.
“Why is there a throne in the room?” I asked. It seemed a little weird.
“Why not.” he replied casually, like it was obvious. I swallowed and felt him lean closer, his warm breath brushed against my ear as he whispered, “Try it.”
“Me? Hell no. I’m not really a throne type of girl.” I protested.
“How can you be so sure if you’ve never tried it?”
I paused, and looked back at him. He was challenging me, and I couldn’t quite tell if I really liked him or sort of hated him for that. But I never turn down a challenge. “Go ahead,” he added.
Crossing the room, I climbed up the step and touched the brown arms of the broad chair. The first thought in my head was that the throne was for kings and masters. But as my fingers glided along the edges, I corrected my train of thoughts.
Turning around, I settled my weight into the seat, and the moment the back of my thighs hit the crushed red velvet, it felt so good. Crossing my legs, I stared down at the room, Castello leaned against the doorframe, watching me with a look of approval on his face.
“How do I look?” I asked.Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.
Judging by the way he was staring at me, I expected another compliment, and he opened his mouth as if to deliver one. But he stopped, closing his lips, almost as if he wasn’t allowed.
Instead, he ambled forward, stopping in front of me. He circled around me and said. “Now imagine how it would feel to have someone kneeling at your feet, worshiping you, bowing to your presence.”
“Let’s try that.” I giggled, enjoying myself a little bit too much and refusing to strain my head with imaginations.
Castello flashed a wry smile and stepped in front of me. He let out a laugh and replied, “As you wish, ma’am.”
Then he faced me and dropped to his knees with his eyes on my face. As he lowered his gaze, I watched him bend his head downward and bowed down to me, sending a surge of power and strength right through me.
There was no chemistry between us, but there was also a warm buzz of arousal coursing down my spine at the sensation, the feeling of having such a powerful man bowing to me. It was intoxicating, power!
I let myself imagine someone else in Castello’s place, someone called Hollis.
As Castello lifted up his head, he touched my leg, sliding his fingers up the side of my calf, “now imagine what someone can do from this position,” he said quietly.
The raspy tone of his voice felt like it was echoing through my bones. And when I looked down at him, I imagined another pair of eyes looking back at me. Castello’s attention moved downward to the apex of my crossed legs.
“What are you doing?” A voice thundered from the doorway, and I jumped about three feet in the air.
Hollis was glaring at us as I erupted from the chair. His arms were crossed, his fists clenched, and those wolf-like eyes were trained on me with so much anger.
“Hollis,” I stammered, waltzing across the room and trying to remain as casual as I could. It’s not like I was interested in Castello. I mean, he’s gorgeous, but I just met him and I don’t even know him.
Castello turned to his cousin. “Your wife was curious,” he replied casually as if the room wasn’t drenched in tension. “I had to let her see for herself. It wasn’t a big deal.”
Hollis’s gaze landed on me and I swallowed, trying not to shrink in his presence. Slowly, his gaze moved to my face, and when neither of us moved toward the door, Castello excused himself, leaving me alone with my fuming husband.
Castello’s footsteps disappeared down the hall, and Hollis slammed the door, cornering me against the deep-blue wall.
“I thought I told you that I don’t want you involved with the men here.”
“That’s your cousin, and I wasn’t doing anything wrong.” My mouth verbalized what my wild mind would have said. “If you didn’t want me talking to him, then you shouldn’t have brought me here.” I said, forcing my voice to hide the tremble.
He was towering over me, and I was momentarily overwhelmed with his proximity. “Would you have stopped pushing it If I told you no?”
Well, he was right. I would have kept pushing and disturbing until he brought me. He stared down at me and for the first time I felt the height difference between us. I felt that intoxicating cologne, the deep rumble of his voice, the cold, harsh expression on his face which somehow made me want to crumble to my knees.
I wasn’t even sure of what I did wrong anymore. “I don’t think this is going to work out,” I said in a quivering whisper, but when I tried to escape from the room, his warm grasp on my arm stopped me.
“No,” he barked.
“Yes.” I struggled to say.
“No, you can’t quit. But if you ever come to the club again, I don’t want you leaving my side nor do I want you talking to anyone other than me, understand?”
“That’s not fair.” I lamented.
“I’m not saying this as your husband, Ugo, I’m saying it as your…” His voice trailed.