Carnevale and Subterfuge (2 page)

Wavy black hair was brushed back to show off a large silver hoop earring. His profile showed Ana tanned skin and a strong square jaw. The newcomer turned and her gaze locked on his lips, full but not overly so, and shaped in a Cupid’s bow. A large spiked collar encircled his throat; the wicked looking tips of the spikes glittered even in the dim light of the tavern.

Ana licked her lips and watched his Adam’s apple bob. He moved and his face was in front of her. She looked into pale green eyes, the color of olives from Earth. So beautiful and so guarded.

“See something you like?” he asked. A thick tendril of midnight hair fell into his eyes. Ana had the strongest urge to reach up and brush it away. She wanted to see his face so badly, but if this was him, that wasn’t part of the deal. He was allowed see her but she couldn’t see him. Ana licked her lips as she tried to remember what she was supposed to say to him.

“I am in
need
of gondolier to guide me tonight,” she said softly, surprised that her voice was husky.

The man’s gaze swept over her face and she felt a spark of heat under his scrutiny. He straightened up and she followed the movement. “Sorry, love, not a prossy. If you want one of those, I’m sure you’ll find them somewhere out there.” He nodded his head toward the door.

Horror—pure unadulterated humiliation—rose within Ana. Her throat closed up and words left her. She had just hit on a complete stranger. Her face burned and she turned away. Head hung low, she picked up her glass and downed the contents. Tears glittered in her vision, and she mutely placed five credits down to pay for the drink. It was much more than what would have been asked for but she didn’t care. The night had started off on a bad foot, and her plan to get tied down and fucked had just gone up in smoke. She had no desire to stick around and wait for her true gondolier. Ana doubted he would be as intriguing as the man standing next her.

“Thank you,” she muttered before hopping off the stool and heading for the door.

* * *

Diego watched the woman walk away. His cock pressed against his pants, urging him to go after the small package of deliciousness. He had to admit, he would have gone for her in a heartbeat if he hadn’t had somewhere to be. She was curved in all the right places. Her milk chocolate complexion had him wanting to see her naked and to run his hands over her body.

The beauty’s voice, soft and sweet, edged in huskiness, only enflamed him, and it had been so long since someone had caught his attention like that. A soft fire burned through his veins.

Screw it.

He paid for his drink and left the bar in search of her, despite the fact that he had a job to do. He hated the thought of some other man spending the night in her bed. The only problem he could see was whether or not she’d be interested in what he had to offer.

At first the crowd obscured his view of his prey. He looked left and then right. All he saw were masked revelers celebrating the planet’s annual
Carnevale
festivities. Frustration made him clench his jaw. He waded into the crowd of people, cursing himself for not going after her as soon as she’d left. There were too many people. With a sigh, he went around the side of the building into an alleyway, ignoring a couple currently fucking against the worn brick face.

Diego brought his wrist up to his mouth. “AI, show me all the hotels within a five mile radius.”

He lowered his arm and watched the mini device search its database.

“Closest hotel is two blocks away,” the AI’s soft female voice replied. “
San Marco
. Go west.”

“Thank you, AI. Send a message to my appointment that I will be late,” Diego ordered. He refused to say he wouldn’t be there.

“As you wish.” The machine automatically went into sleep mode, and he headed west. It didn’t take him long to come to one of the gaudy new metallic hotels that had been built by the
nuovi ricchi
of the city, who had wanted to modernize everything. He shook his head and went inside.

Diego made a beeline for the front desk. Once there he cursed himself. He didn’t know her name. The receptionist tuned to him, expectation on her face. Which approach should he use?

“Good evening, love. I’m new to the city and am in need of directions. I’m looking for the
Il Grifone
gardens? I’m hoping you could help me.” He gave her his most winning smile and watched as she grinned back at him. Her overly large violet eyes turned to her computer console and she typed in a few things. Frown lines creased her brow as she continued to type.

“I’m sorry, sir, I don’t see anything with that name.”

“Please,” he pleaded. “I must find this place. My grandmother, the Universe rest her soul…it was her favorite place in all of Il Doge. She asked me to see it for her and gaze up at the double moons on
Carnevale
night. She claimed it would bring me luck in love.” He knew he was laying it on a bit thick, but an honorable grandson worked better than a horny man.

The receptionist’s gaze softened. “I shall do whatever I need to do. Excuse me while I go check with my boss.”

Diego nodded and watched her retreat through the office door. That would keep her busy for quite some time, since there was no such place as the
Il Grifone
gardens. With a big grin, he rushed around the large counter. “AI, give the security team something to keep them busy. I’ll hack into the system and look for my girl.”

“Don’t you think you should just find someone else?” his AI asked.

Diego frowned. “Just do it. I don’t need your sass.”

He swore he could hear the device sigh. The lights dimmed and the various screens on the walls began showing porn. He couldn’t help but chuckle. He searched until he found the security footage and scrolled through the last hour until he found who he was looking for. He accessed and memorized her info. With that done, he ordered his AI to erase his tracks and dashed to the stairs.

By the time he got to her floor, sweat was dripping down his brow, making his skin itch behind the mask.

“She better be a good fuck, for all the trouble you’re going through,” his AI muttered, coming out of sleep mode.

“You can shut up before I put you in pause mode.” Diego threatened. His eyes roamed over the LED panels on the doors.

“You do that and I’ll take my sweet time coming back online when you need me,” she said.

“I should never have insisted you have an AI core. Keep this up and I won’t find you a body.” The AI had no come back to that.

Diego finally found Anarrae’s room and pondered whether to knock or break in.

“AI, access her file and find out why she was looking for a prossy.”

“First you threaten me and now I’m supposed to help you?
Cristo, cosa non faccio…”
she sighed and brought up the files.

The clear lens on Diego’s mask scrolled through the information. “Interesting. She’s come here for some sort of sexcapade. She wants to be tied down, fucked…oh, no names to be exchanged. Kidnapping optional.” Diego’s lips curled into a smile. “What the lady wants, she’ll get. Wait, what’s this? She’s a crewmember on the
Hades’ Helmet
. Oh, this night just keeps getting better and better.”

Diego pulled out a small plug on the side of the wrist computer and connected it into the monitor on the door. “AI, bypass the security systems, please.”

“Fine, fine, whatever you want,
sir
,” the AI grumped.

The screen flickered and then dimmed to black. A small click indicated the lock was undone. Diego slipped into the darkened room. “This is so much more fun than conning the rich and stupid at the Silver Ball. And much more interesting than fucking dumb socialites so I can get their gems.”

“Hey,
you
have to fuck them.
I
have to watch,” the AI whispered. “You better turn me off when you’re doing whatever it is you’re about to do her.”

“I wouldn’t do that to you. Besides, for her I want privacy.”

“Really? You’re gonna treat her like a person instead of a warm body? Nice. What’d you do, grow some feelings in the last few minutes? Last I checked, you’re still a conman right?”

Diego said nothing. Something about this woman intrigued him. He couldn’t tell whether it was the horror he had witnessed on her face at the bar when she’d been mistaken or the fact that she wasn’t like the spoiled brats he normally wooed and conned. Something about her made him want to see what was under the surface. He snorted silently to himself. Perhaps the AI was right. She wasn’t just a warm body to him.

He slipped carefully through the suite. He’d been in rooms like this hundreds of times. He’d never kidnapped a person before. He’d stolen large statues, large paintings, and even a suit of armor with ten arms, but never a person. He prayed his first kidnapping would go smoothly.

In the dark, with his cybernetic implants, his night vision was activated, and he saw large landscape paintings that could be found at any other high-end hotel. Diego refocused his attention on the task at hand. He was going to give the intriguing Anarrae the night of her life. With great care he passed through the sitting room, bypassed the kitchenette, and went into the bedroom, avoiding discarded boots, a uniform, some gloves, a com/GPS unit, a bra and some underwear.

“Oh, saints alive, she’s naked.” Diego’s cock pressed against the fly of his pants. He groaned as his stomach clenched. The pace of his heart increased as excitement rose within him.

“Get a grip, you moron. Focus and don’t let your dick do the thinking,” the AI said through a small com unit in the mask.

With a deep breath, Diego refocused his energy on getting to the bed. The soft rustle of sheets was like a gunshot in the silent room. He stilled and strained his cybernetics to hear her breathing patterns. Slow and steady. Relief washed over him and he began to move again. She wasn’t getting up. One single scream would send the sensors in the suite into panic mode, and security would be up to her room in flash, ruining his kidnapping attempt.

He approached her bed and paused to take in her sleeping form. The smell of jasmine from Earth, along with the barest hint of arousal, perfumed the air. It was a heady combination.

“Only screams and moans tonight,” he whispered before pulling the sheets back and scooping her body up in his arms. Then he stopped.

“She’s naked, idiot,” his AI said.

“I know.” Diego gazed down her body. She was fit, with small high breasts, flat stomach, and wide hips. Just gorgeous. Even her toes were perfect.

“Stop staring. Cover her up and then get out of here. Did you forget that you are wanted in three galaxies? Get her and get out of here, Casanova, or you’re dead meat.”

Diego pulled a sheet from the bed, laid her down on it, and wrapped her body up before picking her up again. She moaned but didn’t stir. It must have been the
Nastro azzurro
ale she had had at the bar. The alcohol on Il Doge was at least a hundred times more potent anywhere else in the galaxy. If she hadn’t eaten she’d be out for a while.

“This would be so much easier if you just woke her up and told her to get dressed,” his AI said.

“She’ll scream. Now find me the best route to get out of here. Also, screw with the security systems again.”

“Fine, fine. But when I get my body, it better be the best one they have. I want it all, you got me? I won’t be some freaking metallic monstrosity, with those weird-ass eyes and mechanical voice.”

“Yes, yes, whatever. Work your magic,” Diego said.

“Security system off. I’m logging off for the night.”

He felt the AI go offline. The slight buzz that usually went through his body was gone. Taking a deep breath, he left the suite and took his time going down the stairs, mindful that he had Anarrae in his arms. He managed to make it safely out of the hotel. It was
Carnevale.
No one would think twice about the sight they made. It was normal for this time of year. He carried her five blocks to his flat overlooking the river
Rivergaro
.

He managed to get into his building without the AI’s help and up to his apartment. Once there, he laid her carefully down on the bed, stripped her of the sheets, and shackled her to the iron headboard and footboard.

Her hair was spread out like a dark brown halo against his dark red, silk pillows. Her milk chocolate skin looked decadent, like an offering, surrounded by red and black striped silk. Diego couldn’t wait to feast on every inch of her body and make her scream and writhe in pleasure.

“You want a
Carnevale
you will never forget,
bella
? You got it,” he murmured, stripping out of his coat and throwing it on a nearby chair. For the next half hour he took great care choosing his implements of arousal for her. When she finally woke up, he grinned at her confused and sleepy eyes.

“Hello,
bella
, are you ready to be fucked within an inch of your life?” Diego asked in a gruff voice.

Chapter Two

Anarrae opened her eyes and lifted her head. Her gaze wandered around an unfamiliar room. Her mind felt swathed with cotton. She remembered checking into the hotel and feeling very sleepy. After that, nothing. Now, standing at the foot of the bed, was the man from the bar, shirtless and holding what looked like a riding crop. Her heart hammered against her rib cage as fear slammed into her.

She knew she was in trouble. Real trouble. Her breath came out in small pants. She struggled to get up from the bed only to find her ankles and wrists bound in leather cuffs. Tears welled in her eyes. There was nowhere she could go. Ana opened her mouth to try to scream, but all that came out was a strange, hoarse sound.

“Please,” she finally managed.

“Shhhhh, it’s OK. Relax. I’m not going to hurt you if you don’t want me to. I promise.” The man moved to sit down on the bed, still holding the riding crop. “You wanted a gondolier and here I am.”

Ana swallowed. “How…?” She had to stop; her voice was still hoarse. “Water.”