Dylan quirked an eyebrow at the submissive. “Gin and tonic,” she answered candidly. “Boring, I know.”
“Not if it works for you. I’ve always preferred vodka to gin myself though.” She held up her glass for a second before taking a drink. “You must be this new family member I heard about. I’m Lottie.”
Lottie’s words went ignored, Val steered the car past the
stoplight without as much as giving her an indication he’s heard her sudden
input.
He put out the engine one street off Lottie’s address. Valentine reached over
pulling the door open at her side: “You’re in some deep shit, Charlotte. Think about
going a different way with your life. Go on now. We’ll keep in touch.”
Lottie’s anxiety levels were rising as he got closer to her home. No doubt there was any number of people all too willing to tell Oz or Spencer that she had been dropped off by the commander and turn up the pressure on her. Surprisingly that didn’t seem to be his aim and he stopped far enough away that she could slip away hopefully unnoticed.
Holding her breath as he leaned over she let it out again as he opened her door and she moved to undo her belt. His words made her body tense again and she wanted to point out just how good she was at what she did – but since that would get her in more trouble she just let the words hang as she reached for her bag. Climbing out of the car she leaned back in for a second. “Fuck you,” she spat out before slamming the door and walking away without a backward glance though her heart was racing.
He nodded as she continued to dig through her bag to find the source of the leaking. When she retrieved the dripping energy drink, he chuckled softly. “Those aren’t good for you, but I’m glad your phone and wallet is unharmed.” Checking his watch briefly, he frowned. “Do you have class right now, Lottie?”
“Neither is lack of sleep,” she muttered, rolling her eyes at his comment as she continued to clean up her bag. Her head snapped up at his question. Glancing at her own watch she shrugged, “I can be a few minutes late. Especially since I have a legitimate excuse and a respectable Dominant to vouch for me.”
Valentine’s smile was a brief look in the rear view mirror as
he adjusted it slightly.
“Can’t I?” A gruff chuckle left the Commander, as Lottie
counted off reason after reason building a wall of safety to secure her own
comforts. “And what exactly would CCTV show, Charlotte?” He asked driving the
car into a pause at the red light, Valentine tossed on hand over the back of
her seat and turned to fix the girl with a stare. “You walking into my car all
by yourself? Do you really want your Lord to find about that footage? ” His
brow arched with the question. “Because it doesn’t put you in a favorable position
to be in.”
For a moment she truly thought she had the upper hand but as he unravelled each point she made, especially the thought of Oz seeing the CCTV footage, she realised just how easy she had made it for him. Staring back at him for a moment she shrank a fraction in her seat. “No Sir,” she suddenly replied quietly and turning her head away from him to look out the passenger window.
Damian shrugged. “Well, I wasn’t actually planning on coming back, but fates conspired. Not that I don’t like Verona, but I really enjoyed living in Rome. And I’ve had the apple, they’re good, but the cherry just has this fantastic tartness to it. But that may be a personal preference.”
“What brought you back then?” Lottie asked, tipping her head and looking expectantly for the answer. “You really are selling this cherry pastry. I may have to get one before I leave but I do have to ask, are you usually a cherry fan or is it just this particular one?”
“You would if you were dying of cancer and needed a partner to help make you cash out. I think someone wrote a TV show about that,” Arden smirked, laughing a bit with her. Her reason was as bullshit as his, but he wouldn’t call her on it. Simply didn’t know her well enough. “Arden Romano. What about you? In case I’m in need of your skills?”
Lottie looked away, her lips twitching in amusement at his joke. “I believe they did. Does mean nobody would believe it in real life any more.” With a nod of her head at his introduction she flicked her cigarette before responding. “I’m Charlotte Berdini, I usually go by Lottie though.” Tipping her head she gave him a serious look, “So you are one of these famous Romanos who have descended from the hills. I’ve been hearing all sort of muttering about you.”
Arden shrugged and took a deep drag off his cigarette, relishing the burn in his throat. “Fair enough,” he said simply as he exhaled, giving her a little smile. “Mmhmm – really about three stiff drinks and the rest of my pack of cigarettes. Been a rough day.”
“Why limit yourself to three, it sounds like you need an entire bottle,” she advised before taking a long drag herself. “What do you do?”
“Did you also attend Summer classes?” Her tone is curious, as opposed to prying, gauging the level of her fellow students before giving a small motion with her hands. “….About a 14 hour drive, it’s in the same vicinity as Sicily. People tend to know that better than Ragusa”
Lottie gives the girl a curious look at the question before she shakes her head, “No summer classes, I was doing some travelling.” She almost says visiting relatives but now she is back in Verona she is very conscious that she had to be very careful about mentioning her parents. “How are you finding Verona then?” she asks at the response.
“Accounting. I like numbers. They make more sense than people do, even if people do try to trick them. The numbers don’t lie and can’t be deceived. Not forever” Celia’s answer is probably a little too heavy for the light conversation, but she doesn’t mind before nodding and placing her order for a large cup of green tea with honey and two slices of lemon. “..You’d like my Zia, she’s an agricultural chemist”
Lottie nodded, her eyes wide and not quite sure what the correct response to the interesting explanation really was. “Your Zia?” she asks, looking for further clarification on who they are talking about.
Lottie's wild adventure 