Camouflage (Predator and Prey #1) (4 page)

That night, I lay in bed, doing nothing but fantasizing about Daniello. He wanted to share time? I already knew I would agree to what he offered. What I was pondering on were his conditions. Though he disguised it in a gentlemen’s way, and only after he’d spit his cum down my throat, he’d given me a clear indication that he would be in charge. That was something I’d never given to anyone other than Lazarus, and that in itself had resulted in our downfall.

I could very easily let him objectify my body, but giving him the ability to control our situation and the nature of our relationship down to the point of where it would end, that was an entirely different kind of power.

Still, I loved having his silky, huge cock in my mouth. Even then, I wasn’t in control. I’d spent hours cursing my stupidity and inability to handle myself.

But wasn’t that what I was looking for? A man who could easily take the reins as I lost myself in him? I’d given him so much power over me in showing my arousal, my need for him, my eagerness to please him.

Daniello was a force to be reckoned with. Could this finally be the man who topped me in every way?

Had I let him make a fool out of me or had I simply given into what I wanted?

Indecisiveness was not my forte.

I could keep things strictly sexual. That wasn’t an issue for me, never had been. Lazarus was really my only experience with matters of the heart, besides the one and only man I’d entertained at Harvard. At one point, I’d actually agreed to marry him, but that was more out of an obligation to fit in further to the new life I had attempted to create. Greg was handsome, ridiculously intelligent, wealthy, well-endowed, and he’d loved me. But he didn’t really
know
me, and I didn’t know if I could go through the rest of my life being only half of my true self. Men like Greg could never fully grasp where I came from and how I got to where I was. My marriage would have been a lie the minute we signed the certificate. I knew some day I’d maybe want more for myself than a satisfying fuck, but it wasn’t an ambition of mine. Reluctantly, I broke his heart. He stayed close to me until graduation and even after, but finally met someone and ended our friendship. Looking back, I knew the new part of me truly cared for him, but I didn’t feel it everywhere or with every part of me. I figured I was missing something.

I’d never, not once in my life, uttered the word love.

So Daniello wanted to share time with me. He’d clearly told me he was a dangerous man. And from what he’d gathered from me so far, I was all bark and no bite. I actually liked that fact.

It could make things extremely interesting.

Okay, Mr. Di Giovanni, let’s share some time.

“You son of a bitch,” I heard Nina yell from her office as I passed by it the next morning. I laughed along with Devin as I heard a small crash and the breaking of glass. I paused by the door to make sure my girl was holding her own.

“Do not throw that, Nina. I simply asked you a question.” I could hear the amusement in Devin’s voice.

“And the answer is no. Get out of my office!”

“Jesus, woman, you are insane,” he scoffed as the knob twisted and the door opened. Devin gave me a raised brow as he caught me eavesdropping.

“Good Morning, Devin.” I smiled as Nina fumed behind him. “I see you are leaving her in a good mood for me today.”

Devin was a beautiful man. I’d always thought so, even when I was tempted to kill him for the hell he’d put Nina through. I noted his impeccable dress as he shook his head slowly back and forth while Nina muttered obscenities behind him.

He gave me a smug grin as he spoke. “You know, you think the woman would be grateful to be asked to be the next Mrs. McIntyre.”

“Well ...” I paused trying to hide my chuckle. “The last one did end up in the nut house.”

“True.” He grinned wickedly as he looked back at Nina. “So I take it that’s a no?” He winced as she lifted her stapler. “Okay, baby, see you at home.” He turned to me with a nod. “Taylor.”

“Give her time.” I winked as he retreated down the hall toward the elevator.

I turned to Nina and couldn’t hide my smile as her chest rose and fell in hurried breaths.

“Is he crazy!?”

I took a step into her office. “No, Nina, he’s in love and wants to make an honest woman out of you. Congratulations.”

“It’s barely been a month,” she huffed as she paced her floor.

“What do you want?” I asked as I took a seat.

“I want to marry him, of course,” she snapped. “But he’s still the man who lied to me for almost a year and then kept some pretty serious shit from me for the remaining time I’d known him. No way. Not now.” She crossed her hands and pulled them away quickly in gesture.

“I forgot to leave this,” Devin said softly, unaffected by her rant as he crossed the room with an open Tiffany’s box and placed it on her desk.

“You’re broke. You can’t afford that,” she snapped without looking at the ring.

“I plan on marrying a millionaire,” he said as he stood in front of her now, lifting a single finger to stroke her cheek. “Stop being such an ungrateful bitch about this.” I saw her face soften as he leaned in and brushed her lips with his. I stood to leave. “Taylor, you stay, he leaves.” Devin pressed his lips into a thin line and again made his way out the door. “Later, Mrs. McIntyre.”

“That name is a curse,” she called after him. “You can keep it.”

“Hyphenate,” he called back over his shoulder. “I love you.” I heard the elevator and turned to her with a smile. They were absolutely perfect for each other and I knew no matter how much she resisted there would be a wedding sometime in Nina’s future.

“What are you so afraid of?” I asked as she looked at the box.

She gave me an ‘are you kidding me?’ look.

“Okay, aside from the obvious nightmare you two endured to finally be together. Would it be so bad to live with the man you love?”

“I already live with him. He hasn’t gone home since we got back from the Keys. I actually asked him to stay with me.” She sighed as she paced, fighting herself on an answer she knew she wanted to give.

“And how’s it been?” She picked up the ring with tears in her eyes and slipped it on.

“Perfect. But, Taylor, I swore I’d never get married again. I don’t need that. I don’t have to be his wife.”

“Maybe
he
has to be your husband,” I suggested. “His track record is just as tainted.”

“I know, trust me. I didn’t think he would ever even talk about marriage.” She looked up to me with a smile. “He wants to marry me.”

“Well, my job here is done.” She laughed at my retreating back. She knew I was uncomfortable with these talks and let me off the hook. “We have the Bledsoe meeting in an hour,” I reminded before I shut her door, her eyes glued to her finger.

“Un huh,” she answered absently.

Walking back to my desk, I willed away the sick feeling in my stomach. The day Greg proposed it felt incredible and real, but deep down I knew better. Still, the feeling I remembered having at that moment when he slid to his knee, I hadn’t had since. It validated all the hard work I’d put into my efforts of becoming someone else, someone better than the helpless red head who had committed her first felony at age fifteen.

Cedric, my only friend from my past, and Nina’s bodyguard, was the only one who knew me both as the penniless piece of white trash and the business mogul. He’d never judged me, making moves himself to get out of the timeless hell we’d lived in. But he was never anyone I could love or ever have sexual interest in. He had been like a brother to me until I disappeared from Tennessee, and he had done the same himself a year later to join the Army to better his situation. From what Cedric told me, all of our friends from those days were either dead, in jail, or still up to the same shit they had been when we’d escaped. Now, I had only one thing keeping me tied to Tennessee.

And one day soon, I would have to face my demons to rid myself of that life once and for all.

I wanted the way Devin looked at Nina for myself one day, but deep down I knew the man who would wholly capture my heart would have to know all the parts of me, and the truth was I knew I would never share that part of myself with
anyone
. Love had and always would be an illusion for me. I wasn’t incapable, my circumstances were. And I honestly didn’t know if I would ever let myself become a victim to it.

So it was time to put away the ridiculous notion that it could happen for me. Suddenly, I was excited about the no strings arrangement with Daniello. Little did he know he was already giving me exactly what I needed.

Walking out of work that evening, I felt confident in my decisions about my future. As lonely as it might be to keep my past out of my present, I couldn’t commit. I refused to live another lie, so I was walking tall before I reached my Stinger. I smiled as I noticed the black SUV idling next to it, waiting for me. The chauffeur opened the back door as I approached and I slipped in without hesitation and sat opposite of Daniello. We greeted each other with appreciative eye appraisals. He was dressed in jeans and a designer black shirt that accentuated his perfectly cut chest and showcased his thick, muscular arms. I kicked off my stilettos and tucked my feet beneath me, making myself comfortable, which seemed to please him.

“Have you thought about what I proposed?”

“Oh, you mean the scenario where you are in charge of absolutely everything and I am supposed to just accept it and enjoy the ride?”

He let out a heavy breath with a quick, “Exactly.”

“You are extremely arrogant,” I said with a smirk.

“I do not deny this,” he replied with a devilish grin.

“How often are you taken up on this offer?” I asked out of curiosity, and to simply irritate him. I could tell he got his way often, if not always. So did I. The thought already had me hot.

“Every time.”

“Then I’ll be the exception,” I said, noting the irritation in his face. His eyes trailed down my body in hot survey as my pussy coated in welcome to him.

“Then we have no more to discuss?” he asked, slightly confused.

“Sure we do. Take me to dinner, I’m starving.”

He grinned and I could tell he thought he would sway me, but I had only one point to negotiate. “
Either
of us can end it at any time. I’m no one’s possession and I’ll
choose
to submit, but I have the right to opt out whenever I want. If you can live with that, then I’ll share time with you.”