Chapter 173: All Hot And Bothered For Dracula

I stared at the chair beside his desk. "I’m perfectly comfortable here."

He raised an eyebrow. "Love."

I sighed dramatically and walked over, only for him to grab my hand and pull me onto his lap.

I stared at him, bewildered as I whispered. "But you’re holding a meeting."

"I’m well aware."

"And there are people here!"

"I can see them."

"Then maybe you should act like a normal boss."

Timothy suddenly found the documents in his hands extremely interesting.

Lorenzo wrapped an arm around my waist and turned back to the reports.

"You can sit next to me if you’d prefer."

I glanced at the empty chair, then back at the arm around me.

And found out that I didn’t want to leave his lap that had now become my throne at this point.

I rolled my eyes but didn’t make a move to leave.

His hand was on my waist, and every now and then, his thumb brushed against my shirt while he listened to Timothy’s updates.

The occasional touch was subtle enough for no one to accuse him of ignoring his duties, but frequent enough to remind me of his presence.

It was such a strange contrast, sitting on the lap of a man who was quietly plotting the financial downfall of a rival organization while his fingers traced gentle circles on my side.

"One more thing," Lorenzo said, turning a page as his thumb absentmindedly stroking the bare skin at my waist as he continued. "I want the people assigned to Alex’s protection reviewed. No one should be on a routine that’s predictable."

?I shifted on his lap, the solid heat of him beneath me and the slow stroking of his thumb making it hard to focus on anything other than the way he could hold me like something precious while simultaneously tearing down another person’s world.

His touches were starting to rile me up a little, for crying out loud. With the dirty thoughts racing through my mind you’d think I was still on heat.

Thoughts that had a whole lot to do with those big, veiny, firm hands.

Hands that would shamelessly reach down between my things and–

Nope...NOPE!

Not the time, Alexander! Focus!

A literal fucking war was beginning!

You’re the Donna of the Castelli Syndicate, not just the Don’s Omega anymore! You’re supposed to assist your Alpha in being the Don!

Stop thinking of fucking him!

The next hour flew by with a constant stream of orders, reports, and low-key conversations.

Lorenzo went over the security plans, approved a few changes to the organization’s communication protocols, and instructed Timothy to reach out to some contacts who had previously offered help for favors that had never been cashed in.

From what I’d picked up about the political relationships surrounding the Castelli family, calling in old favors was hardly as simple as picking up the phone.

Every agreement had its history, every promise came with expectations, and every person who offered help probably wanted something in return.

Yet Lorenzo seemed to know exactly who to contact and what to ask for, which was both comforting and slightly alarming.

At one point, one of the men asked if they should approach a DeLuca associate directly.

"No," Lorenzo replied. "Not yet. Let him think nothing’s changed. I want to figure out who he’s talking to when he thinks no one’s watching."

The man nodded and left and I looked over at Lorenzo. "You’re planning to make him uneasy."

"I’m planning to find out who he reports to."

"That sounds like a pretty sophisticated way to make someone anxious."

He glanced at me, his hand lightly grazing my wrist. "Would you rather I just send him a threatening letter, beautiful?"

"Actually, I think a strongly worded letter would be a nice change. Maybe we could even toss in a decorative ribbon with a slice of strawberry cake to make Deluca less mad."

Lorenzo chuckled. "You’d make a terrible Don."

"Thanks. I’ve put a lot of effort into avoiding that role. I think I’ll just stick with Donna for now."

He lifted my wrist and pressed a kiss to the inside of it before returning his focus to the documents.

I looked away, suddenly finding the tablet on his desk extremely captivating.

It was becoming increasingly hard to maintain any semblance of dignity around this man.

Eventually, Timothy came back from the other room carrying another folder.

"Don, we have a little update."

Lorenzo’s attention snapped to him immediately.

"Go on."

"One of the secondary accounts linked to DeLuca’s middlemen is showing some odd activity. A transfer that was supposed to happen this morning has been postponed, and the account holder has tried to access two more channels since we restricted the first one."

"Have we figured out who’s behind it?"

"Not yet. But the account is tied to one of the guys who set up Dante’s meetings."

Lorenzo pondered that for a moment.

"Keep an eye on it. Don’t interfere with the other transactions until we know where the money is meant to go."

"Got it."

"Has the intermediary gotten back to us?"

"No. He’s gone radio silent since we reached out."

Lorenzo nodded slightly. "Keep him under watch."

Timothy shut the folder. "Of course, Don."

As he left, the office fell quiet again.

I glanced at the closed door, then back at the man sitting beneath me. "So, the machine has kicked into gear."

"It has."

"And somewhere, a very unlucky man has realized that his bank account isn’t as accommodating as he thought it would be."

Lorenzo gave a faint smile. "Something like that."

I shifted a bit on his lap so I could see him better.

"You know, watching you work is kind of intimidating."

"Is it?"

"Definitely. You barely raise your voice, yet people leave the room looking like they wanna piss their pants."

He chuckled softly. "That’s an... exaggeration."

"Is it? Timothy practically stopped breathing when you asked him about the security reports."

"Timothy has been with me for years; he knows I expect things to be done right."

"That’s one way to put it, but sttill. The way you just... switch. Cold, precise, totally in control when it’s needed."

His hand tightened a bit on my waist. "And what do you think of this side of me?"

I blinked. "Of what?"

"This side of me."

I hesitated, caught off guard by the question as he watched me, an amused expression on his face, and I grew a little wary.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you just figured out something amusing at my expense."

"Maybe I have."

I narrowed my eyes at him, then tried to pull away before I could embarrass myself, but his arm tightened around me, making it clear the conversation wasn’t over.

"Tell me, amore mio," he said softly. "Do you find this side of your alpha attractive, hm?"

I just stared at him.

There were many possible responses, most of which might have included calling him an unbearable nuisance who clearly needed a reality check.

Unfortunately, I could feel my cheeks heating up, and I knew he had noticed. "Absolutely not!"

His eyebrow shot up. "No?"

"No. Humph, it anything I find it concerning!"

"Then please enlighten me, Caro. Why have you gone red?"

?"It’s warm in here."

?"And your pulse is racing under my hand, how does temperature affect your heartbeat?"

?I let out a mortified sound and tried to get up. "I will get up."

?His arm tightened, keeping me right where I was. "You won’t."

I felt my cheeks flush again.

Lorenzo leaned closer, his smirk growing more infuriating.

"Perhaps you should sit a bit farther away if my work is making you all hot and bothered."