Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 656 -

*Elio*

Although I had been certain that Caterina would say yes to moving in together, it still made me feel far better to have her give such an enthusiastic yes followed by such enthusiastic sex. I loved it when she let me see that needy side of her that was desperate for me to give her release.

She was normally so independent, so feisty, I knew that I was the only one in her life who ever got to see her totally lose control and give in to her pleasure. And damn, was her pleasure beautiful. The facial expression she made when she was just on the edge of coming was ridiculously gorgeous, a mix of pleasure and surprise that left her little nose scrunched up and her mouth falling open wide.

When shit got exceptionally boring at work, I often found myself conjuring that image in my mind just to add a little spice to my day. It was my favorite face of hers, followed closely by the ridiculously overjoyed face she made whenever I managed to pull off a really great surprise.

I had a feeling that today had been one of those really great surprises. If our lovemaking was anything to judge by, it was clear that she was extremely happy with this turn of events. And I was happy too.

I couldn't wait to live together, just me and her. We'd finally have the privacy that we craved and the chance to really enjoy ourselves as a new couple. Even as I held her against the windows, both of us breathing heavily after our mutual orgasm, I found that I wanted to take her again.

Maybe this time on the living room floor....

But one glance at the time told me that I needed to wrap this up. We'd have plenty of time later for lovemaking. Right now, we had dinner reservations that I knew Caterina would love. I'd managed to get us a table at an exclusive rooftop restaurant that I knew she'd been dying to try, and the best part was that it was a full moon tonight, so the restaurant did a special menu with a lunar theme.

Cat loved that kind of stuff, and I loved seeing her eyes light up when I surprised her with the absolute perfect experience. I had even requested that the chef make chocolate cake, Cat's favorite. And thanks to a small but significant bribe, he agreed. I knew it would be the perfect evening, hopefully followed up with a little more of what we'd already been doing.

I gently pulled out and helped her steady herself on her feet before going to get myself cleaned up. When I came back, she was sitting down facing the window, mesmerized at the twinkling city lights below. She sat cross-legged, still naked, her hair trailing down her back.

I took a moment to admire her before walking around to gather up our clothes. After getting dressed, I kneeled next to her and kissed her cheek. She leaned into my kiss and sighed, turning her head to pull me into a deeper kiss. I let her get in a quick peck, but quickly pulled away before I could get carried away with her all over again.

"I really did plan a special dinner," I said as I handed her the clothes that I had tossed in every direction.

"Well, I worked up an appetite, so I hope it's good," she said with a giggle. Her cheeks were still flushed. Fuck, she was perfect in every way.

She stood up and pulled her own clothes on, but I couldn't resist pressing her back against the windows for just one more kiss. I placed my hands on either side of her head and pressed my hips against her, pinning her and loving the way she squirmed against me. I felt my pants getting tighter as my arousal grew, but I forced myself to pull away before I ended up tearing her clothes off again.

"Good god, woman, I don't know what it is you do to me!" I teased her.

She smirked as she went to freshen up, and when she returned, I took her by the hand and led her back to the elevator doors.

She chuckled and leaned against me as we rode in the elevator. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and held her close to me, relishing every point of contact between us.

I loved these simple touches just as much as I loved the more erotic ones. It was these small touches that reminded me that our relationship was real. It wasn't just about sex or lust. It was about love and understanding. It finally felt like we were going to have a chance for everything to go right between us. The beginning of our relationship had been such a bumpy ride, but I had a feeling that moving into the penthouse together would be the beginning of a nice, smooth road to the future. I couldn't stop myself from envisioning what it would be like to propose to her, to marry her, maybe someday to even have kids with her. I knew it would all start here.

On our way to the restaurant, Leo called. I let the car speaker pick up the call, knowing that Cat hated it when she felt like I didn't let her be involved. I thought this would be a step in the right direction, to show her that I was including her in the things that she could be involved in. I had tried to be more open with her about information as well.

After Leo started talking, I wished that I had just let the phone ring instead.

"Hey, Leo, you're on with me and Cat," I said.

"Hey, man, um, listen. Our associate left unexpectedly... I really need you to get here as soon as you can. Sorry for ruining the date."

"I'll be right there," I said, glancing over at Caterina, knowing that it didn't matter how vague Leo was. She would catch on to what he had said immediately.

After hanging up with Leo, I took the exit that would take us back to the safe house. There was no way in hell I was going to let Caterina be a part of this. Not only was our captive extremely dangerous, but I also just didn't want her to see me dealing with him. I much preferred her to see the more polished, tender side of me.

Cat quickly picked up on the fact that I was driving to the safe house before heading to meet Leo.

"Absolutely not," she said indignantly. "You are not about to drop me off as if I'm a child. This is as much my fight as it is yours. The 'associate' Leo mentioned was the man you guys are questioning about what happened to my mom, right?" Fuck, I loved how smart she was, but sometimes I wished she didn't pick up on things so quickly. I didn't want to lie to her, but I knew it sure would be easier if she could just let things go as if she didn't understand them. But leave it to Cat to immediately figure out exactly what Leo was talking about.

"Caterina," I said, trying to soothe her, "I can't let you be a part of this. I can't risk your safety like that."

"The guy fucking got away! You don't have time to drop me off, Elio. Let me come with you. I can help!" Her voice was crackling with anger, and I knew she was minutes away from an outburst.

"Cat," I said sternly, "I have always looked out for you and that isn't going to stop now. I love you too much to let you put yourself into danger like that."

"Oh, fuck you, Elio. How fucking dare you try to use that voice on me! I am not a fucking thirteen-year-old anymore. I'm a grown woman! Or did you forget where your cock has been for the past hour?"

Her crass words took me aback. I was used to her anger and yelling, but she hadn't ever thrown our relationship in my face like that. It hurt me to hear her use something that I had thought was special between us as a way to try and get under my skin.

"I'm sorry, Cat, I have to protect you, even if it upsets you," I said simply as I pulled up to the house.

She glared at me with the fury of a thousand suns, and I wondered how the night had gone so wrong. It damn near gave me whiplash to think about the fact that just an hour ago we had been making love and talking about our future together and now she was so angry with me I wondered if she would ever get over it.

"You know what, Elio? Don't bother coming home tonight," she said coldly as she got out of the car and slammed the door behind her.

As I drove to Leo, I went back over the night in my head, wondering how I could have done anything differently to prevent our argument. I hated hurting Caterina, but the idea of her being put in harm's way made me sick with fear. I couldn't risk it, even if it meant that she ended things with me. I would rather our relationship come to an end than selfishly allow her to put herself in harm's way just because that's what she wanted. She just didn't understand how dangerous this all really was, and I had to be the one to look out for her.

I finally arrived at the warehouse to replace Leo waiting for me. He was leaning against the corner of the building, but strode over to my car as soon as he saw me pull in. Although I wanted to spend more time worrying about Caterina, I had to focus on the task at hand. I forced myself to put my argument with her into a little box in my mind and put it on a shelf to think about later.

"How the fuck did he get out?" I asked as soon as I got out of the car.

"It looks like he might have broken his wrist in order to pull off the duct tape," Leo said. "I can't believe he managed to do it. Just goes to show he's even crazier than we thought." "Goddamnit," I muttered, trying to hold in my rage.

How the fuck had we let this happen? Mistakes like that would keep Alessandro from ever being able to trust us.

"Don't worry, Elio. He only has a fifteen-minute head start. There's no way he got far on foot, especially with a broken wrist and no weapons. Alessandro's guys are already searching for him."

My fury simmered just below the surface, but I managed to keep it down. "Alright, get in. We're going to canvas too. I'm sick and tired of letting Alessandro's men do all the dirty work. It's time for us to get our hands dirty too."