Page 54 of Anastasia

I wasn’t sure if I could actually believe him, but he walked out of the room, leaving me in there all alone. The second he was gone, I ran to the restroom, where I looked at the diamond necklace. My finger traced it as a smile graced my face. I just wish Alex could see it.

I walked out of his room and toward the closet, where I looked at the beautiful red mermaid dress. It was off-the-shoulder and seemed to be of very tight material.

Walking into the restroom, I took my hair out of the bun. It wasn’t a great sight at all, so I searched everywhere for a straightener. Coming to the realization that it wasn’t my bathroom, I hurriedly walked out of his bedroom and into my room, where I grabbed the iron before taking it back to Valentino’s room.

It probably would’ve been more logical to just stay in my room, but getting ready in Valentino’s space felt more official. A smile made its way onto my face as I thought back to our previous conversation.

Plugging up the flat-iron, I let it heat up before running it through my hair.

* * *

I was completely dressedexcept that my dress wasn’t zipped up yet. My makeup was light and presentable. I looked classy, yet very sexy.

Just as I finished, Valentino walked in. The moment his eyes moved up my entire body, I couldn’t help but smile. There was a darkness in his eyes as he took me in. Turning around, I held my hair up as an indication that I needed him to zip up my dress.

He walked up to me and slowly zipped up the fabric before turning me around and planting a kiss on my cheek. “You look beautiful.”

“You look even better,” I whispered as my eyes drank in his appearance. He looked absolutely mouthwatering. Actually, no matter what he managed to do—he never disappointed as far as looks went.

“I doubt it,” he said, his lips skimming across my ear. Grabbing his suit, I pulled his lips toward me. His hand crept down to cup my ass as I pressed myself closer.

“We have to stop. We have reservations,” he groaned against my lips before kissing down my neck.

“Fuck reservations. I want you right now, Valentino,” I whispered into his ear. His hand moved up from my bottom to grip my boob in his tight hold. A moan came out of me as he caressed it in such a soothing manner.

“After,” he uttered. I loved how he was telling me to stop but never managed to conclude his manipulation on me. Grabbing his hair, I moved my lips against his before allowing my tongue to enter his mouth.

“Now,” I told him. Suddenly, he smacked my ass hard. I flinched and pulled away from the kiss.

“Later.” He smirked. I let out an irritated groan and he chuckled lightly. He pressed the pad of his thumb against my red lips before lightly moving across them. He had red lipstick all over his lips, and I chuckled before attempting to wipe it away.

“Fine, let’s go,” I muttered, turning around and walking toward the door. His hand was on my lower back as he guided me through the house and out of the door. A smile graced my features at the sight of the huge black BMW parked in front of us. There was a driver inside who I had never met, but I was ready to.

* * *

The car ridewas boring only because Valentino had to yell in Italian the whole time. He was talking on the phone, ‘handling business.’ I knew he felt bad because he kept glancing over at me and pecking my cheek before returning to his phone.

As soon as we arrived, a man quickly sat us in the back, where there was a private section of the restaurant all to ourselves. Everything always felt so secluded, and I actually kind of enjoyed that aspect.

“If it’s important, we could always go home and you can find another way to make it up to me,” I suggested, causing him to smile.

“No, you’re more important,” he stated.

“I’m not used to you being so nice to me. Actually, I’m not used to you being nice at all. You act like such a jerk, but I know you. I know you enough to see that you arewaymore than what you let on. You may have your organization fooled, your brother fooled, but not me,” I told him truthfully before leaning back in the chair, watching him.

“You don’t know me well enough then,” he said so quietly that I almost didn’t hear him.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“I am trusting you with information and I expect you to keep it, do you understand?” he asked with an arched brow.

I nodded my head slowly, as my heartbeat increased.

“Words, Anastasia. I need words,” he said.

I quickly parted my lips, ready to speak. “Yes, I understand.”

He sighed. “I am after Orabella’s father, Dmitri Ivanov. Orabella believes her father is a good guy who died in a car accident, but it’s false. Her father is responsible for the death of my family, which is why there is no mercy in my heart to say that we are only using her to get to her father.”

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