Aching for His Discretion (The Discretion Dynasty #1)

8. Teegan

Chapter eight

Teegan

“ B ecause friends… don’t think of other friends getting bent over and being fucked from behind, hmm? Is that clear enough, baby?”

I gazed up at him in complete and utter shock, to which he simply leaned down and tilted his head as he gazed into my eyes.

“Everything okay, Tesoro? You look a bit pale…” he muttered after a few moments, and my mouth went dry. Why was he acting like everything was still normal?! Like he didn’t just flip my world upside down.

I stuttered over my next few words as I spoke in complete shock.

“C-come again?” I said, flustered, and he tilted his head.

“I said you looked a bit pale, Tesoro… are you feeling okay?” he said, tilting his head as he walked over to his desk. I shook my head quickly as I followed suit.

“N-no, not that, the thing b-before; you said—” I began, and he shushed me softly as he turned and placed his hands on my face and caressed my cheeks with his thumbs.

I felt like melting once again in his arms as he gazed down at me with his beautiful eyes.

Don’t fall for it, Teegan. This is practically Psych 101. This is psychological manipulation at its best: using mind games to control a relationship or to undermine, confuse, and bring down the targeted person.

Oh, but I can’t help it… he’s so pretty, and I miss his company—

No—bad Teegan. You can’t even follow the rules you learn and preach!

“Tesoro...” he muttered, and I focused on him once again.

“Hmmm?” I hummed, and he looked down at my lips before gazing back into my eyes. One kiss wouldn’t hurt…

Even after he just tried to manipulate you?

“You’re thinking too much… let’s get you home. I know the party from before wasn’t your scene, and even if this club wasn’t the right one, I doubt the after-party at the club down the street would be any better,” he muttered.

I nodded slowly as I bit my lip. “There’s a place by my apartment that sells cookies and ice cream this late at night. Can we go there, please?” I asked him, and he nodded while pulling his hands away from my face. I went to pout, but he placed his hand in mine, causing a small smile to come to my face.

“Whatever you want, Tesoro,” he replied and grabbed his keys before walking us to the door of the office.

Upon opening it, Micah fell forward as he was using the door as support, and Nico had already turned down the hall as if he wasn’t listening. Leaning his head up, Micah smiled as he slowly stood up.

“I promise I wasn’t eavesdropping...” he muttered harmlessly.

Mr. Amante ignored him as he walked hand in hand with me toward the exit. I turned and gave Micah a small wave goodbye as we walked, only to hear the voice of Elliot stopping us in our tracks. Elliot’s focus, however, was entirely on Mr. Amante.

“You know she’s going to be a distraction. Little girls like her shouldn’t be near places like this or near people like us,” he said in Italian before taking a sip of his drink as he stood with his other hand in his jacket pocket.

Gosh, they all looked so intimidating.

Levi narrowed his eyes at Elliot and tilted his head to the side. I felt him squeeze my hand a bit tighter, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. “Then I guess she’s my fucking problem to deal with and not yours.”

Then Elliot, for the first time since I’d met him, smirked. His eyes met mine for a moment, and he chuckled to himself as he shook his head, switching back to English. “Whatever you say, capo .”

He took another sip of his drink and walked away. Levi ignored him as he walked us outside to the parking lot, and he opened the door to his car for me.

I took a seat, thanking him softly, and he closed the door and entered on the driver’s side. Not long after, we were soon on the way to my neighborhood, but it was eerily silent.

I looked over to see him clenching the steering wheel in anger, and I bit my lip as I looked down at my lap. I felt partially responsible for his anger. If it wasn’t for me being there, Elliot would have never been angry, and neither would Mr. Amante…

“I... I’m sorry if I caused you any trouble tonight, Mr. Amante. Y-you can just take me home if you want,” I said through the silence in the car, but he remained quiet. Feeling slightly defeated, I looked out of the window as I leaned my head back on the headrest. We continued to sit in silence as I watched the buildings pass by.

Eventually, the car came to a stop, and when he put it in park, I was confused but excited to see my favorite ice cream shop before my eyes.

“Tesoro...” he muttered, and I turned only for him to catch my jaw in his hands as he held my face still. “Don’t think anything tonight was your fault. Just because Elliot may have rubbed me the wrong way doesn’t mean my anger or irritation has anything to do with you… understood?”

My face flushed as I noticed how close we were in proximity. Just a few more inches, and we’d be practically kissing.

“I understand,” I whispered, and he paused for a moment as he looked down at my lips and then back to my eyes after a split second.

I gasped as he placed a kiss on my lip, pulling my face closer to him. I let myself submit to his lips as I craved his taste. It was almost addicting. His smell, his touch, everything was overwhelming me, and I loved every second of it.

His hand traveled down my face to my neck, and he gave it a slight squeeze, causing me to jump slightly as I moaned through the kiss. He pulled away from my lips, seemingly fine as I felt breathless with his hand still wrapped around my throat.

“Such a pretty girl, hmmm?” he muttered, leaning as his face was only an inch or two away from mine. I bit my lip as he gazed down at my lips for another split second and chuckled.

“Let’s get that ice cream, Tesoro.”

I nodded as he pulled away entirely and stepped out of the car. He was quick to open the passenger side for me, and I thanked him as I continued trying to process all that had happened tonight.

We walked over to the door of the shop, and he opened it slowly.

“Oh, and one more thing, Tesoro…” he muttered, and I turned, giving him my full attention as we both stood in the shop. Placing his hand in his pockets, he leaned down to my ear, giving me a single sentence that caused my face to heat up once again and my legs to go weak for the hundredth time tonight.

“I meant what I said earlier.”

“Grayson! NO! Bad kitty,” I scolded him as he climbed up Mr. Amante’s leg the second I opened the door. After the reminder of the incident earlier at the club, we ordered our ice cream and made our way to my apartment.

There were also two things that I was a bit upset about. #1, Mr. Amante insisted on paying, and #2, he got a plain vanilla ice cream. I did my best to convince him that an Oreo ice cream sandwich with chocolate chip cookies would be better... but he wasn’t convinced.

Mr. Amante shrugged as he held Grayson in his arms as he entered my apartment. “I don’t mind him… he seems content.”

I shook my head. “You’re spoiling him!”

“And you don’t?” he asked me, taking a seat on my sofa. I huffed as I ignored him and walked over to the kitchen to put away the leftover ice cream.

Slowly washing my hands, I pouted internally as I watched Grayson receive all of Mr. Amante’s attention. It wasn’t fair.

I loved my kitty, yes... but do you ever wish you were the one being petted? Especially by a man that pretty?

Teegan, really? First and foremost, you sound crazy. Second, don’t forget the man was just trying to subtly manipulate you earlier! Shouldn’t we think about the consequences of him being here first?!

Sure, but... we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

I jumped as I felt Mr. Amante turn off the running water from behind me. He sighed, caging me in between him and the sink as he placed his hands behind me on the counter. I crossed my arms as I bit my lip, and he leaned in closer.

“Jealousy is not a good look for you, Tesoro,” he muttered, and I turned to face him, craning my neck up to look at him. He twirled a piece of my hair on his finger as he tilted his head. “You always look so eager to speak… Tell me what’s on your mind, baby.”

I shrugged as I played with the end of his jacket.

“My brain and I are in a debate about how risky it is to be spending time with you…”

Mr. Amante narrowed his eyes slightly. “Is that so…” he muttered, and I nodded.

“Are you a dangerous person, Mr. Amante?” I asked him softly, and he remained silent as he studied my facial expressions. “You have a way with words, are surprisingly calm almost all the time, and have a few slight manipulation tactics that you use with me.”

A small smile broke out on his face as he caressed the other hand that was resting beside one of his on the counter. I gazed down at our hands before looking back into his eyes.

“Thank you for the involuntary psychiatric evaluation, Tesoro,” he said, chuckling, and I blushed as I truly didn’t intend for it to sound that way. “And to answer your question... I don’t feel as though I am a particularly dangerous person, at least not to you.”

I nodded as I subconsciously played with one of the rings on his fingers.

“Can we be friends then, please?” I asked hopefully.

He sighed heavily as he pulled me into his embrace, wrapping his arms around my waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he spoke reluctantly, it seemed.

“Fine, Tesoro, we can be... friends... for now. ”