Italian Billionaire's Black Love (BWWM Interracial Romance) (4 page)

Three excruciating hours later and it was finally safe for him to leave, but it was too late to head to the Hollywood Hills. Besides, he was sure to be met with an angry stare and a slap to the face, if Eve answered the door at all. Now, he would have to start over from scratch.

He knew just what to do.

***

Eve hadn’t heard from Alessandro all week and she was okay with it. She really was, even if at times she was a little disappointed that he hadn’t even bothered to apologize for his neglect. Then again, he just confirmed pretty much everything she thought about him. He was a billionaire businessman and that was it. He wasn’t boyfriend or date material. He made money and made women come, end of story.

Sure, she might have been interested in being one of the women who got to experience his sexual prowess, but she wasn’t interested enough to play his game. Unfortunately, despite his radio silence, Alessandro was not to be forgotten or ignored. Every day, a delivery man arrived with a delicious meal for lunch for the entire salon. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t always at the same salon, he somehow knew where she would be and was determined to feed her.

Eve ate the food and smiled as her employees tried to figure out who the mysterious benefactor was, but she ignored basic etiquette and refused to call or thank him by text. Nope, he could make all the grand and not so grand gestures he wanted. She was done. She had plenty of things on her plate, including setting up the new salon, hiring employees, and renovating her deck. Yep, plenty of things to keep her busy without worrying about some sultry-eyed billionaire playing mind games.

Since she couldn’t get any work done with all the
not
thinking about Alessandro, she packed up and decided to go home. “I’m heading out for the day, Samantha. Can you lock up for me?” She looked around when there was no answer and found the entire salon staring at her. “What?”

“There’s a big, tall drink of sexy waiting for you at your car,” answered Leah, one of the salon’s regular clients. “If you don’t want him, tell him Leah will treat him right.”

The salon exploded in laughter and Eve smiled as she walked out the door. Out on the sidewalk, she took a moment to let the sun sink into her skin and warm it through. She was not prepared to deal with him again. Not. At. All.

“You can’t ignore me forever, you know.”

Her teeth clenched, fists balled as she tried to reign in her temper. “I can sure as hell try.” She kept her eyes closed, knowing that one glance of his handsome face with the dancing eyes and one look at his perfectly tailored suits hugging his big body and she would be little more than a pile of goo on the sidewalk.

“I’ll be right here whenever you decide you need to leave.” Amusement rang clear in his voice.

“Ugh fine, whatever!” She dug out her sunglasses and they were on her face before she turned to face him. Of course, the shades did nothing to shield her from the power of his good looks.
Damn him!
Keys in her hand she stopped far enough away so he couldn’t reach out and touch her. “Okay, so say whatever it is you have to say.”

Alessandro pushed his weight from the car and reached out to her, but she stepped back. “I’m sorry, Eve. Really fucking sorry.” His hand raked through his hair several times.

She could see the sincerity in his eyes and hear it in his voice, but dammit, she wanted to stay angry with him. It was easier. Anger would let her keep her distance from him. So, she pushed down the anger until she couldn’t reach it and pasted on a smile. “Thanks for that, Alessandro. Apology accepted.”

“Dammit, Eve, I’m trying to apologize! Why are you making it so difficult?”

Inside, she smiled at his frustration. “I’ve already accepted your apology, Alessandro. What more do you want?”

When he smiled, she knew she’d walked into his well laid trap. “Another chance.”

“No, thank you.”

His shoulders fell as disappointment wafted over him. “Why?”

“We’re not suited, Alessandro, and I think you’re too blinded by lust to see it. You regularly go to shindigs like that gala and I
hate
them. Not to mention my idea of a good date is not sitting alone at a table full of rabid women who want to rip you apart and abscond with your date, while young rich guys with a black girl fetish hit on me.”

He stared at her so long she wondered if he would ever speak again. “God, I’m so sorry, Eve. I had no idea.”

She crossed her arms. “Yeah, that’s kind of my point. If you had been a proper date, you would have known.” She skirted around him and tossed her purse in the car and lowered the windows. “Our ideas of a good time greatly differ, so I don’t think another date will accomplish anything.”

“It will allow us to get to know one another. But that’s exactly the problem, isn’t it? We get to know each other and we like each other and you have to find a million other reasons why we can’t be together.”

She shrugged as though it didn’t matter, when even she knew it did. “I don’t need to
find
reasons, Alessandro. They’re just there. You assumed I was a gold digger after your money when we first met and then you showed up at my house uninvited. Let’s not even talk about that ridiculous gala that spent more than those STEM girls will ever get.” She raised an eyebrow at him as if saying,
are those enough reasons for you?

Shit.
What he could say to combat any of that? It was all true, but it still didn’t feel right. “So that’s it, you don’t even want to try again, even those that kiss between us was scorching?”

She groaned loudly. “Is that what this is about, Alessandro? You still want to fuck me?” She closed the gap between them and laid her hands on his chest. “That’s the one part of your plan I’m down with. So you can come over Friday and we’ll take care of you and little Alessandro. Okay?” She started her car and drove away, giving him a little wave as she turned onto the street.

***

Alessandro was pretty sure he was losing his mind. The fact that a smoking hot woman wanted to have sex with him was causing him to freak out like a teenage girl. The fact that the only thing said
sexy woman
wanted from him was sex should have him swinging from the rafters and shouting for joy. Instead, he was sitting in his downtown office staring at the bleak concrete nothingness of Los Angeles and sulking. Yep, he was officially a pussy.

Did that mean he wasn’t going to show up tomorrow night? Hell no! He would be there scrubbed clean and ready to rock her world until she wanted nothing more than to spend night after night wrapped around his body. He was definitely going to fuck her until she couldn’t walk and couldn’t talk from screaming his name all over the Hollywood Hills.

She didn’t want to date him, but tomorrow night that’s exactly what she would do. He would bring the date to her and show her they could have a great time together. He could see now how badly he’d probably come across to her. Despite his good looks and his wealth, Eve was not impressed by what she knew of him so far. He respected that about her, even if it also frustrated the hell out of him.

Alessandro smiled to himself, pleased with his new plan of action. Eve wouldn’t know what hit her.

Chapter Five

“Are you seriously doing this tonight?” Carla sat on Eve’s bed, watching as she tried on clothes for her evening with Alessandro.

“Why wouldn’t I?” she asked, looking herself over the full-length mirror, pleased by the pink chiffon confection she was currently wearing. “What do you think? Is this Sandra Dee and not enough Rizzo?”

“Did you seriously just ask me that? What are you, 50?” Carla laughed loudly at her friend and she laughed even harder when a peach chiffon nightie landed on her face. “Seriously, you want more bad girl than good girl if you’re trying to convince yourselves this is just sex.”

Eve narrowed her gaze at her friend in the mirror. “It
is
just sex.”

“Girl, please. Lie to yourself all you want, but don’t lie to me. Alessandro Scotti doesn’t chance women. Period. He’s been chasing you for weeks and you’re finally giving him a taste of your brown sugar. If you think that means this is just sex, I feel sorry for you.”

Her shoulders slumped, and she could barely bring herself to look at the teal lace teddy she wore. “So, what you’re saying is I should cancel? You’re right, I should.”

“That’s the one. Wear that one.” She reached for a black robe with teal piping around the edges and handed it to her friend. “Even if you do cancel, wear that because trust me, he will show up.”

“But why me, Carla? Why is he so interested in me?” That was the part she couldn’t figure out and it was bothering the hell out of her. What would a handsome billionaire want with a small time businesswoman? She didn’t have anything he could possibly want and she wasn’t after anything he was offering.

“Why not you? You’re hotter than shit, smarter than anyone I know, and you’re not impressed by him.”

She turned and held her hair up and then down in a silent question. “So, this is all just a game?”

“Goodness, woman, no! I’m saying that you’re not impressed by the things women are typically impressed by, which means you don’t want him for his money or his connections.”

“I could just be really good at faking it.”

“Honey, no one is that good. He bought you an outfit worth almost a half million dollars and you still walked out on him. You can’t fake that.”

She touched up her waves and turned for the final okay from her friend. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. I’m going to sleep with him all night, get him out of my system, and go on with my life. Easy. Simple.”

Carla laughed. “Are you trying to convince me or yourself?”

“Carla,” she warned.

“Fine,” she said, lifting her arms in surrender. “I’m not saying another word. Other than this: have fun and be safe.” She kissed her cheek and flew out of her bedroom and front door before Eve could protest.

She gave herself another once over in the mirror, spritzed herself with a lavender and bergamot perfume, and went to double check the rest of the house. Her bed was made, the floor was vacuumed, and the pillows were perfectly fluffed and lined up in the living room. With less than ten minutes until Alessandro was scheduled to arrive, she put on some low gritty music and poured a glass of wine.

She was relaxed, more relaxed than she’d been since Alessandro entered her life. The wine lulled her further into a state of deep relaxation. Her eyes closed and she rested her head on the cushions, anticipating the night ahead. She had no doubt Alessandro would be a fantastic lover or that she would enjoy him all night and into the wee hours of the morning.

It was the morning after that had her worried.

The doorbell pealed. “It’s show time,” she muttered as she stood to let him in.

***

Alessandro nearly swallowed his tongue when the red door to Eve’s apartment swung open. She stood before him, a vision in some sort of barely there blue green lace and silk…confection. The bodice lifted her gorgeous butterscotch breasts up and pushed them together until he was staring at a mound of creamy flesh begging to be licked, sucked, and fondled. Her toned legs were on display all the way up, just inches away from her sweet spot. He swallowed hard. “You are breathtaking.”

She blushed at the reverence she heard in his voice. Her confidence was buoyed by the blatant desire in his eyes. “Thank you,” she said quietly and stepped back so he could enter.

“No, Eve, thank
you
. So much.”

She chuckled and followed him down her hall. “What’s in the bags?” she asked, even though she could already smell the aroma of rosemary and tomatoes.

“Dinner,” he said simply.

She crossed her arms and counted to twenty and then back to zero. She didn’t like his strong arm tactics and didn’t see why they couldn’t just have casual sex like normal people without all the fuss. “Dinner,” she repeated in a voice devoid of emotion.

“Yeah, you know the meal people eat after lunch, before sex? Dinner.” He kept his back to her and unloaded the food. He figured if he didn’t anticipate her anger, it might die down on its own.

“So, what is this, fuel so you can rock my world?”

He chuckled at her attempt to bring humor into a situation she was obviously not happy about. But it also told him she was trying to keep the peace because she wanted him tonight.
Just for tonight
, he reminded himself. “Honey, I plan to knock your world off its axis. The food will give you enough energy to right your world when I’m done.”

“Well, in that case, serve it up!” She pulled another glass from the cupboard and poured him a glass while he put the food on plates for them. “Smells good, what is it?”

“Have you ever been to Emma’s BBQ Hut?”

She raised her eyebrow suspiciously. “Have you?”

He turned the bag so she could see it. “Obviously.”

“Hmph,” she said and then, “What kind of game are you playing here Alessandro?”

“Look, I had a long day and I wanted to eat before we got down to the sex. Is that alright with you?”

“I call bullshit, but fine, let’s eat.” She turned and sat at the table, waiting for him to set her plate down. He did and she dug right in to the pasta and the taste of fresh tomatoes and herbs. She looked up at him and said, “Eat up.”

A wide smile crossed his face. “Oh I plan to.”

***

“So, you really eat simple foods like barbecue and wings?” she asked, her voice laced with skepticism.

“Yep, but I also enjoy gourmet foods, too.” He scooted closer to her on the couch. “You know these things aren’t mutually exclusive, don’t you?”

“Of course
I
do, but people like you often forget that. Your friends at that gala couldn’t care less that they were being served tap water in real crystal or that the overcooked salmon and chicken were bought at the Ralph’s a few miles from here.”

“Let’s get one thing straight,” he said as he held her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Those people are
not
my friends. Some are business associates and others are acquaintances. I have very few friends and none of them were at the gala.” He leaned in and quickly took her lips in a passionate kiss that quickly lowered her defenses, as evidenced by the way she leaned into his body and the moan that sounded in the silent room. “Got it?”