Page 82 of Bellini Bound
“Day shift only. I don’t like the idea of you being there at night when all the crazies come out.”
“Hmm.” Her fingers walked a path up my chest. “You know, now that I think about it, I happen to recall one particularly striking tattooed beast of a man lurking in our waiting room in the middle of the night not so long ago. Definitely the kind of guy a good girl like me should steer clear of.”
Growling, I flipped her onto her back, pinning her to the mattress. Bringing my lips to her ear, I rasped, “Don’t lie, sweetheart. You went home that night and touched yourself, picturing all the ways that bad boy would ruin you, didn’t you?”
She arched beneath me, moaning. “You know I did.”
“Did the fantasy live up to the reality?” I bit down on her earlobe, relishing the sound of her sharp gasp.
“Not even close.” Nails scored a path down my back as she tried to bring our bodies closer, even though there wasn’t a single inch of space between us. “Ruin me, Enzo,” she begged. “Please.”
As I gave in to her breathless plea, I realized that maybe it was she who was ruining me.
Chapter 21
Allie
“Idon’tknowwhyI thought this was a good idea,” Summer groaned, scanning the lavish luncheon set up in the ballroom of the Blaze Imperial Hotel in downtown Chicago. “I bet these women will be able to sniff out that I’m a fraud fresh out of the trailer park who married into money within minutes.”
“Nah.” I bumped shoulders with her. “They’ll be too busy kissing your ass for a generous donation to care.”
She hummed. “It’s strange being on this side of things when, for most of my life, I was the recipient of aid from charitable foundations and government programs.”
“That makes you the perfect person to get involved. You have firsthand experience of what it’s like to be a child living below the poverty line and can provide valuable insight into their needs to help direct funds in a way that will be most impactful.”
She looped her arm around mine, humor in her voice. “I’m sure my rags-to-riches story, where I rescued a little girl from drowning before chewing out a mafia don for his negligence, will be the perfect ice breaker.”
I threw my head back and laughed. “Now that’s the attitude.”
Summer leaned into my side. “Thank you for coming with me. I really appreciate it.”
“Of course. What kind of friend would I be if I let you walk into this den of trophy wives and old money snobs all alone?”
“Hate to break it to you, Allie,” she teased, “but everyone in this room would consider us to be trophy wives.”
I snorted. “You, maybe. I’ve got a little too much boob, belly, and butt to earn that distinction.”
She turned to glare at me. “Okay, I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that because one, you’re freaking gorgeous, and two, I wouldkillfor your curves.”
My gaze dropped to my feet. “You’re just saying that to be nice.”
“Allie.” She sighed. “Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. I know it’s hard to believe, given that our generation has had it shoved down our throats that the perfect body type is being so thin that you’re able to count all your ribs, while at the same time sifting clothing sizes upward to make the rest of us feel like shit about ourselves, but it’s true. And I can almost guarantee every woman in this room has something about their body they don’t like that no one else would even notice. You need to hold your head up high, knowing that your husband is outright obsessed with every full-figured inch, and that you’re having hotter sex than half the women here who are married to old men who can’t even get it up.”
That last part had me cracking a smile. “You’re probably right about that.”
“No probably about it, babe,” Summer shot back. “I’ve heard you through the penthouse wall, remember?”
Heat flooded my cheeks. “Oh yeah.”
“Come on.” She tugged me further into the ballroom, her earlier apprehension over feeling out of place seemingly forgotten. “We have overpriced salads waiting for us.”
Surprisingly, we were not the youngest women in attendance. As we mingled, it became clear that a few of them were the daughters of wealthy men, rather than their wives, which was a relief, considering several looked barely legal.
Both of us handed over six-figure checks to support the urban community center, which provided free meals, before- and after-school care, tutoring, and sports programs for kids. This was a cause near and dear to Summer’s heart, as she’d been the beneficiary of a similar program in Southern Illinois while growing up. That’s where she’d learned to swim, laying the foundation for her to become a collegiate swimmer, a time in her life she cherished dearly.
We then moved on to the tables featuring the silent auction, taking a lap to view all the offerings before making any bids.
There were so many incredible items—a hot air balloon ride, a private chef dinner at the hottest new restaurant in the city, a high-end spa package, and even a weeklong trip for two on a yacht in the Mediterranean—I wanted to bid on them all.
