To Love a Shifter: A Paranormal Romance Boxed Set (11 page)

“I need privacy.”

Janice’s nipples were now pebble hard, and they poked against the thin cotton of her black dress, practically begging for attention. “For what, sir?”

“I need to talk to Misty Wall privately. I know she’s in the ladies restroom at the end of the hall. I need you to keep everyone away. Will you do that for me, Janice?”

At his words, fury wiped away the lust from Janice’s expression, but her voice was perfectly bland. “Of course, Mr. Moretti.”

“Thank you.”

He walked away without looking back. Domenico reached the ladies’ room in seconds, and immediately pressed a finger to his lips when the three women standing in front of the mirror gaped at him.

“Not a word to anyone please,” he whispered, even though he knew they wouldn’t do as he said. “I need to talk to Misty alone.” In the mood Misty was in, he knew that she wouldn’t hear a word of what he was saying, too busy crying to be aware of anything else except her hurt.

Soon, darling, I’ll make it up to you,
Domenico promised to both Misty and himself.

For now--

Domenico kept smiling as the women filed past him nervously, the excitement on their faces telling him that they were about to spread the word of his presence and what they thought it had to do with Misty Wall.

As he waited patiently for Misty to come out, Domenico thought Janice would have probably shredded Misty’s reputation to pieces by now. It didn’t matter. He would take care of Janice Rudely soon enough.

Finally, Misty’s door creaked open. At the sight of her red-rimmed eyes, Domenico couldn’t help letting out a little growl of anger. He had expected her to cry. Of course he had. What he had not expected was how affected he would be at the sight of it.

She looked up at the sound, gasping when she saw him. “What are you--”

Domenico was on her in a flash, holding her still before bending down to kiss her.

“Are you cra -- mmph!” Her words were lost in his mouth.

Misty struggled as hard as she could, but with every second that passed, she could feel her resistance waning and her body yielding bit by bit to Domenico’s drugging passion. When Domenico’s tongue swept inside her mouth, she succumbed to his touch with a little whimper that had Domenico growling and kissing her harder. His kiss was even better than she remembered, sweeter and hotter at the same time. The taste and feel of it made Misty’s head float.

Domenico pushed her against the wall. Without breaking their kiss, he unclipped her hair then pinned her arms above her head. When he threaded his fingers through her hair, she moaned, the sheer pleasure of it causing moisture to form between her thighs. How such a simple touch could turn her on so much was impossible for Misty to explain. All she knew was that in Domenico’s arms, she always felt like she was a hair’s breadth away from having an orgasm.

Dimly, she heard a stall door open, followed by a little squeak of surprise, then hasty footsteps that ended with the door slamming.

She tried one last futile time to ask what he was planning. “Mr. Moret --”

“Domenico,” he murmured against her lips before sucking on her tongue.

“
Aa-ahhh.”

Domenico was unbuttoning the first two buttons of her blouse and she shivered as he pushed the loosened fabric off one shoulder, his lips trailing down to kiss the skin he had just exposed. He nuzzled the valley of her breasts, his hands dipping inside the lace cups of her bra to fondle them.

“Domenico,” she gasped, unable to help it, her head swinging from one side to another as he gave her breasts a hard squeeze.

“I love it when you say my name,” he whispered just before he kissed his way back up, stopping at the side of her neck before sucking long and hard.

“Oh!” Her head lolling back, Misty arched toward him to give him more access.

When he pulled away, she could only stare at him in utter bemusement as he unbuttoned the first two buttons of his shirt as well. He pushed some of the cloth downwards to reveal more of his smooth, tanned skin. “Now it’s your turn.”

“I…ah…what--” She didn’t get to finish her thought; he was already pulling her close. Soon enough, instinct took over and she did what he said. She sucked on the skin of his neck gently at first, gradually sucking and nipping harder, loving how he groaned. She was marking him as he had her.

She lost track of time. Literally. She lost track of everything else. For the first time in Misty’s life, the worries of earning a living disappeared from her mind, and all she could concentrate on was the absolute wonder of Domenico’s touch.

Domenico pulled away with an effort, knowing that if she spent a moment longer kissing him he would be having her against the wall. And though that seemed more and more like a good plan, he knew he would regret it afterwards. Misty’s virginity was meant to be savored and not taken away just anywhere, especially not in a public restroom.

He studied her appearance with satisfaction. She had the look of a well-pleasured woman, which was exactly what he wanted.

“Now…” He went down on one knee, knowing Misty would love the romantic aspect of his action even though he personally felt it was overkill. Weddings were special events in a woman’s life, however, and Domenico didn’t want to shortchange Misty on anything as much as he could help it. He already felt a tiny amount of guilt for taking away her chance of falling in love. If proposing on bended knee could go even a small way to making her memories of marriage rosier, he was willing to do it.

Domenico glanced up and was startled to see the look of panic in Misty’s face. “Misty?”

She blushed.

That was enough to tell him what she was thinking. Domenico almost smiled. She was the most adorably naïve woman he had ever met. “Ah, Misty. Although I truly feel it would be lovely to have us reach third base now, that’s not why I’m on my knee.”

“I-I-I didn’t think anything like that!”

Ignoring the obvious lie, he took the box from his pocket, snapped it open, and lifted it to her so she could see the gold band with a glittering cluster of diamonds shaped into a fang. It was an ancestral piece, symbolizing the passion of the Morettis and the fierceness with which they fought for what was rightfully theirs.

She gasped then blushed harder.

It was more difficult not to smile now, but Domenico managed to keep his amusement at bay. Taking out the ring and sliding the box back into his pocket, he said, “Misty, will you do me the honor of being my wife and standing beside me for the rest of our lives?”

For a moment, they could only stare at each other. Domenico saw the thousands of questions and doubts clouding her gaze before she deliberately blinked them away, taking a deep breath as she did.

“Yes.”

It was only when Misty whispered her answer that Domenico realized he had been holding his breath the entire time. Unable to smile because he was suddenly uncomfortable with the immense relief sweeping through him, he came to his feet in one graceful movement. Domenico slid the ring onto her hand and raised it to his lips.

“Mine,” he couldn’t help but say.

She nodded shyly. “Yours.”

Domenico snatched her back into his arms after that, loving how she yielded to him so sweetly. His kiss was not as gentle as he had wanted it to be. It was rough and wild, but she seemed to like it, molding herself closer to him as she put her arms around his neck.

Not long after, it was up to Domenico again to pull away first. Keeping her to his side with an arm around her waist, his hand splayed on her hip in a possessive clasp, he guided her out of the restroom and into the scene he had so carefully orchestrated.

Misty gasped when she saw the crowd awaiting them outside, staring at them with open-mouthed shock. When the murmurs became louder and more chaotic, Domenico knew it was because of their appearance, which spoke volumes of what had transpired earlier. He had deliberately walked out with his shirt still unbuttoned, necktie loose, and Misty’s mark on his neck on blatant display.

Quietly, Domenico took his time tucking several strands of Misty’s hair behind her ear, nuzzling her neck as he did so. When he pulled away, a collective gasp went through the gasp as he revealed his mark on Misty’s neck. Domenico bit her ear, making Misty yelp. He could feel her skin heating up in embarrassment and he nuzzled her neck even more, but only to hide his smile. He couldn’t remember the last time he had wanted to smile this often, at least not since--

Domenico straightened right away, deliberately changing his mental track. “You okay, darling?”

She smiled weakly.

He squeezed her waist reassuringly as he guided her forward. Domenico knew the exact moment when she realized everyone could see that little love mark he had branded her with and the even larger mark she had made on his neck. She made a little squeak, her fingers clutching his shirt. He knew she was doing her very best not to cover her neck as if she had been bitten by a vampire.

“Relax,” he whispered to Misty’s ear. “This is what you wanted, right? Proof of my sexual infatuation for everyone to see?”

“Let’s just say this has taught me to keep my big mouth shut,” she mumbled.

He laughed before finally facing the crowd with another deliberately disarming smile. “Ladies and gentlemen, I won’t beat around the bush. It’s hard to when everyone’s aware of…” He coughed delicately and everyone laughed. He wanted to laugh, too, because he could feel Misty melting in a pool of embarrassment beside him.

He took pity on her and retained his politely charming façade. “I present to you my fiancée and wife in one month’s time. The future Mrs. Domenico Moretti.”

Everyone broke into applause.

Oh, but he wasn’t done yet. This was his future wife and he wanted to make it clear to everyone that a woman of his should be respected in all ways.

He turned to Janice, whose look of hatred quickly melted into a sugary sweet smile upon seeing him walk towards her with Misty at his side.

Pretending he couldn’t feel Misty tugging at his shirt insistently, demanding his attention, he said softly, “I see you failed to give me the privacy I asked for.”

Janice paled.

When she opened her mouth to speak, he said easily, “I’m sure you did your best. After all, I’ve heard lots of things about you from Misty.”

Janice’s mouth snapped shut, tightening in an uncertain but furious line.

Misty’s eyes darted suspiciously toward him even as she gushed, “Oh, yes, I told him so much about you.”

            Domenico turned to Misty, licking her ear just so she would squirm. She gasped and tried to move away, but he pulled her hard against his side, biting the lobe of her ear yet again just so she would gasp once more. When he finally let her go to face Janice, her face was stony, her eyes coldly furious.