UNSTOPPABLE (Siri's Saga Book 2) (11 page)

Pulling the room door closed quietly behind me, I turn and almost bump into a tall, long legged, extremely thin, Italian woman. "Oh, excuse me!" I tell her. "I didn't realize you were standing here."

She looks as surprised to see me as I am to see her. "Is this the room of Maximus?"

"Yes. It is." Her eyes narrow into slivers as she looks me up and down. I return her look as I ask. "May I help you?"

"I want to speak to Maximus."

"He is unavailable at the moment."

"Who are you?"

Excuse me?
The hairs on my neck bristle.
Who the fuck are you, rude ass?
"I'm the girl staying with him and you're the girl who isn't. May I help you with something?"

She looks at the door. I know she is thinking of knocking on it. "Maximus and I are old friends. My name is Elena. I heard he was in town. I wanted to say Ciao."

"I'll be happy to tell him you stopped by." I stand blocking the door.

She looks surprised at my posturing. "I will leave him a message at the front desk." She tells me, obviously not believing me.

"Perfect." I tell her. "I'm going down to see Franco. We'll go together." I gesture for her to return back the way she came, and I wait for her to do so. She looks past me one more time to the door, then turns and walks back to the elevator. I watch her gait as I follow her.
She walks like a giraffe.

While we stand waiting for it to arrive, I decide to make small talk with her.
You never know what you will learn when people talk about the mundane things.
"Are you are a runway model?"

"Si. I was a very successful model." She smiles down on me, then looks back at the polished doors. Her reflected expression is smug.

"You walk like a runway model."
Like a giraffe.

"Thank you."

"Umm hmm." I step forward and push the button for the lobby "Was? You must be too old now. Yes?" I see her glaring at me in the doors.

When I step back, she says with a smile like a hyena. "I didn't catch your name."

"Siri." I say, then add with emphasis. "Wright. How long have you known Maximus?"

"A very long time. How long have you known him?"

"Long enough."

"Not long then." She smiles and relaxes a little.

"A very long time ago, you say? Did you babysit him when he was a boy?" I ask smiling and blinking up at her. It's hard to tell how old she is with all the makeup on, but I'm guessing early thirties.

She smiles, remembering something sweet. "He was young, but not a boy when I knew him." She smiles at me with the confidence of an old lover meeting a new lover.
She has def hooked up with him.
I smile sweetly back, poker face locked down tight and a twang of jealousy bites me. Then she frowns. "I do not know this term babysit."

"It doesn't matter."

I can see her wheels turning. "We did not have a baby." She clarifies for me, then asks. "Did he have a baby with someone else?"

"No." I tell her with confidence I don't feel.
Not that he knows about anyway.

The elevator arrives and we board it. There is no one else inside. We walk to the back wall and stand side by side. She takes her phone out and text someone.

I decide not to ask anymore questions. I don't really want to learn anymore from her. She looks at her phone and smiles. She starts talking, obviously feeling chatty now. "I was very happy to learn that Maximus had returned to Rome. I have not seen him for many years."

"Really? How many?" I ask despite myself.

"Ten."
Shit! Aurei was 14. Surely she isn’t....
I look at the ceiling.
Karma? What the fuck?
"He will be happy to see me." She nods her head. "I should not have left him. Ah! But we were too young. Now we are old enough." She smiles at herself.

"Umm." My poker face grips my face like a vice.
Of all the luck. This girl is his first love! I can feel it.
"Why did you leave?"

"The summer was over. I returned to university."
She smiles and looks down on me.
Fuck! I knew it! She is.

"That's a long time ago. I'm sure he is over it. Actually I'm positive he is." I give her a look that tells her I'm the girl now.

"Are you traveling with Maximus for business or pleasure?" She asks uncertain.

"Def. Pleasure." I grin then smirk at her. Giving her a look that says, I know something she doesn't know.

She looks me up and down again and says very bitchy. "You are too short and plump for Maximus. He likes long legs."

The elevator stops and a middle aged man steps in with us. He gives her a quick glance, but his eyes fall straight to my big bosom, then they move up to appreciate my face.
Italian men are such flirts!
"His tastes have changed." I tell her confidently. "Perhaps he found something more delicious to enjoy." I fold my arms under my breasts and prop them up, squeezing them together. They pop up and the poor man’s tongue practically hangs out of his mouth. His eyes devour them in the reflection of the door. An outline of a hard-on presses against his slacks. I can see the envy in her eyes as she watches his reaction too. She has no tits.
Ok Karma. You are off the hook. Thank you!

We ride down the rest of the way in silence. When the elevator doors open, Franco, the Concierge, is standing on the landing. He looks like he is waiting for someone else, but when he sees me, he suddenly smiles and looks relieved.

"Ah, you must be Franco. I'm Siri Wright." I hold my hand out to him as I step off the elevator.

"Miss Wright. It is a pleasure to meet you." He takes my hand and leads me a few steps away from the elevator doors. Elena steps out with me and follows us. The older man exits, unashamed that his cock is leading the way.

Franco is an older man with grey hair at his temples. He is slightly overweight but moves with a lot of energy. He shakes my hand with the gentleness befitting a lady as he eyes Elena quietly towering over me. I grin, thinking of a penguin looking at a giraffe. "What brings you down to grace us with your beauty? I'm sure Maximus will not let you out of his sight for long."

"That's very sweet of you to say. Thank you, Franco." I smile sweetly at him and turn to look at Elena as his eyes leave mine to look at her. She stands stone faced, looking down her nose at me and waits for him to speak to her, but he only looks back at me and grins, ignoring her.

"Maximus has been staying at our hotel since he was a young boy. Carlo tells me he introduced you as 'Mio Bella Signorina.'" He is beaming at me like a proud Papa, then he bends over and says not so quietly, and I realize he is telling me this for Elena's benefit. "He has never shared his room with anyone before. You must be very special to him." He stands back up. "Therefore, you are very special to us. How may I be of service to you, Bella Signorina?" He asks with a flourish of hand movements.

"I need something special and I need a favor."

"You have only to ask. I will move mountains." He gestures to the sky.

Elena clears her throat now. I can feel her impatience and her temperature rising. She is obviously used to being the center of attention. I smile up at her. "But first, I believe Elena would like to tell you something."

She grimaces a smile at me, then says a long tirade in Italian to him. Franco’s face stays professional and polite as he listens intently to her. When she is finished and looking down her nose at me, he tells her. "Maximus has asked that we speak only English in the presence of his Miss Wright. Would you be so kind as to repeat what you just told me for the ears of
his
Miss Wright?"
Hmm. This ole man is sharp!
She glares at me, and I smile so innocent and sweet at her.

"Franco, Siri did not allow me to see Maximus. I wish to speak to him immediately."

He smiles at her then says. "Elena?"

"Yes. Elena Maria." She nods, clearly expecting him to recognize her name.

"Elena Maria." He nods then asks us, but looks only at her. "Do you two know each other?"

She looks surprised by his question, but he smiles at her expectantly. She doesn’t answer, so I volunteer. "We met outside our room. I almost bumped into her as I was leaving."

He raises his eyebrows at me, then looks back to her. "Is this true?"

"Yes." She whines, bitching about me. "She would not allow me to knock on the door to see Maximus. He does not know I am here." Then she demands. "I wish him to know I am here."

Franco’s eyes sharpen with her words, then his expression changes. The kindness is gone and only a sly ole fox looks at her. "If Maximus does not know you are here, please tell me, how did you find out what room he is in? Who gave you his room number?"

She looks like she got caught with her hand in a slamming door, then she sees someone who brings a huge smile to her face. "Ah!" She says as she waves. Her expression is both relieved and excited. We turn to see who she expects to get her off the hook. Antonio is bounding up the stairs two at time. When she looks back at Franco, her expression is confident again. When she looks at me, she wears her smug face and my hand twitches. "Antonio. Caio." She waves at him as he tops the stairs. He gives her a curt nod and walks over to us.

Antonio told her what room we are in?
I look up at him as he steps into our circle and in the brief moment before my poker face slides on again, my eyes reflect what my heart feels ... betrayed. Antonio’s smile falls off his face and he frowns at me. "Siri, is everything ok?"

"Perfect. Why wouldn't it be?" I beam at him, totally in control of myself again.

"Because ... " He looks at me puzzled.

Elena touches his arm. He looks at her and smiles. She smiles back and shifts her stance, completely owning the situation now. "Ciao, Antonio. You are looking good. It has been too long."

"I’m sorry. Do I know you?" He looks confused at her.

What?
I glare at her now and put my hands on my hips.

He asks me. "Siri?"

"Don’t look at me. We just met. She was trying to knock on our door."

His eyebrows raise and he looks at Franco for an explanation, but Elena blurts in.

"I was coming to see my old lover when she came out. She would not tell Maximus I was here."

"Who are you?" He asks her as his eyes narrow.

She looks as confused at him as he does looking at her. "Antonio! How could you forget me?" She pouts. "Ah. Pssst." She rolls her eyes at him, then tells him in a voice that says she is used to making demands. "It is I, Elena Maria. Maximus will want to see me."

The shock that registers on Antonio’s face is priceless. He completely loses it and gushes in Italian. She responds and then Franco joins in. They all start talking at once and their hands flail out. Afraid I may get a black eye, I back away. I stand out of reach for only a little before I find myself slowly making my way down the stairs, running my fingers along the ornate carving of the banister as I go. My stomach growls and I realize I should probably head back up before Aurei wakes, by then they will have sorted out Elena Maria. I pull my phone out of my pocket to check the time. I see several texts from 'My Fucking Golden God.' I smile at the name and slide the bar to open the messages.

*You better not be playing hide and seek from me.*

*Where are you?*

*Siri? Where the fuck are you? I’m not playing!*

*If you left the room without telling me....*

*Fuck! You did. You better get your ass back here ASAP!*
Oh shit! I’m in trouble! The last message was 5 minutes ago!
I whirl around and start trotting up the stairs. As my head tops the landing, the elevator arrives and I stop, watching as the doors slide open. As soon as they are wide enough, Aurei steps through. There is nothing intimidating about his appearance in his black Pilots Do It Collectively t-shirt, jeans, and Converse shoes, except his posture and his expression.
Oh snap! My Fucking Golden God has arrived in all his glory, but he looks like the Dark Deity again!
He doesn’t say a thing, yet everyone stops talking. The quiet is deafening after the loud tirade. His piercing green gaze scans them quickly looking for me. His eyes skip right over Elena. They rest briefly on Franco, then lock on Antonio. He asks him in a voice that sounds like a low growl. "Where is Siri?" Elena’s face devours Aurei. Panic appears on the two men’s faces when they realize I’m not in the circle. "Find her! Now!" Aurei demands.

They turn toward the stairs and their expressions are intense!
Holy fuck! Three mad Italian men! I see where the Roman legions got their reputation. Fierce faces! I have to defuse this tension before they kill someone or me!
I bravely don my faithful poker face again and continue up the stairs as if nothing in the world is wrong. As soon as they recognize me, they stop advancing. I smile sweetly and give them an innocent, twinkling finger wave. "Here I am." My eyes zero in on Aurei’s. No one else is important. I see relief on his face then he gives me his lifting head nod. I tell him, laughing as I finish coming up the stairs. "I just got your text. I’m sorry, Sugar Bare. I didn’t mean to worry you. I’m good. I wanted to let you nap. I thought I would meet Franco and ask a favor of him."