Free I Want To Be Yours by D.M. Mortier Page A

mahogany conference table. Otherwise, the tent in his pants would be visible to all. It was difficult to stay away from her as long as he had, and for as long as he would have to.
    In addition to Celina making his life a living hell in recent months, he’d been unable to release his pent-up frustration via sex. Having had a taste of this dark beauty, his dick refused to perform for any other woman. In fact, his boy shied away, almost withdrawing back into his balls in retreat, whenever he tried taking another woman to his bed.
    He wasn’t ready for the serious relationship Mari would want from him. And she deserved to have that. But the bitterness and poison invading his heart from the duplicity of Celina wouldn’t allow him to deal honestly with any woman.
    Celina was hell-bent on making their divorce as unpleasant as possible. And he intended to fight her every step of the way; she didn’t deserve any consideration. At the moment, she refused to move out of his ancestral home. His parents had temporarily moved to his mother’s estates in Florence, Italy, to get away for the hostile atmosphere at the vineyard. Unfortunately, his sisters and brother were not so lucky. They had to live with the situation in order to continue running the winery.
    He was determine to get her out of his life, while giving her as little of his fortune as possible. Not because he couldn’t afford it, but because she was a scheming, amoral bitch!
    Given the recent revelation about his inability to father a child, he was even more pissed. He grimaced at the black thoughts and strengthened his resolve to stay away from Mari. His bitterness would only hurt her.
     
    The meeting went on for the remainder of the day, with lunch delivered late in the afternoon. It was the hardest meeting of Mari’s life. She couldn’t believe how hyper-sensitive she was to Nico’s presence. Just looking at him made her throb in places that had no business throbbing in this professional setting. Her underwear suffered the most, a testament to her lustful thoughts and irrepressible need. Totally incapable of controlling her body’s instant responses, she drowned in his domineering aura, his voice, his occasional sardonic laugh. Her clean-up visits to the restroom were frequent throughout the day. Thank God she carried replacement panty shields, allowing her to destroy the incriminating evidence of the inappropriate responses.
    The team finally concluded at eight, with the agreement to purchase the bank and have a select management team put in place early to bring the operation quickly in line with the company’s standard business practices.
    A celebratory dinner was held at Luciano’s as usual, with the team in a jovial mood. For a while, the occasion felt like any other dinner they’d had together. It was fun and everyone got on well, with a lot of ribbing going back and forth among them. But not once did Mari address Nico directly. Nor did he engage her in one-on-one conversation. What she felt was too raw, too intense. One glance or touch could, in an instant, shatter the entire illusion she projected for the other team members.
     
    Everyone was on a high from a successful meeting, and no one wanted to end the day after dinner. Nico took the team to a club owned by a friend of his. It was noisy, dark, and crowded. Exactly the cover he wanted and needed. He had long since given up on his ability to walk away from Mari again. He had to get her in his arms before the night was out—to hell with the consequences.
    Selfish bastard! Yeah, he’d already acknowledged that. He felt the need to reaffirm his manhood. And since his dick refused to perform for other women, Mari had just run out of luck. He had to have her again. He was going to have her!
    They were given a table in a private corner of the club. Nico opened a tab for drinks for them. Too bad Mari was the only member of the team who never drank alcohol. He would have enjoyed watching her lose some of her