Café Rouge

Chapter 4: Dinner Date

That woman is the most infuriating person he’s ever met. Most women bend so naturally to his will-most people in fact. It’s all a matter of conveying authority and dominance. Something he’s learnt to do naturally from his father-the almighty Don Castellano.  A skill paired with his charm and subtle body language would have women heeding his every word before they knew it. But Lola Beaumont….Beautiful Lola pretends she’s so immune. She’s not. He knows she’s not. Not from his lips. Not from his fingers. Not even from his heated gaze.
She just hides it well. The coy little actress. The temptress.
Carlos allows his suddenly restraining pants to drop.
Thank God, she doesn’t know the effect she has on him. And he doesn’t mean the physical arousal he has from feeling that satin silk skin and luscious wet folds of her pússy. It’s not just that but admiration. She doesn’t take his unreasonable orders lying down. She fights him and in some sick way-he’s enjoying it. Maybe that’s why he’s loosing his marbles and brought her here into his home. It would have been easier to send her elsewhere but…Why? Why has he done this to himself? He’s been asking this ever since he interfered. And asks himself it every time Lola stares at him with those Bambi eyes looking so forlorn. As much as that look makes him question his self worth, it also strengthens the resolve in him. It is a far better for her to be here with him than with Marco.

Lola plates up the carrot sticks and viola!-Dinner is complete. For Carlos that is. She’s not eating. She refuses to. Maybe it’s childish of her in some vain attempt to gain back some sort of control refuse to eat but this whole situation is childish. His demands are childish and immature. His lack of communication is childish. In short, the man is just a big child. Metaphorically speaking that is. Because physically…well, physically no one can deny Carlos Castellano is not a child. Regardless, if this child wants dinner then she’ll give him his nutritional plate, alright.

Carlos exits from his bedroom wearing just plaid pyjama bottoms and a plain red t-shirt. For a split second, as he runs his hand through his wet hair, Lola feels herself attracted to him. But not in the same sense as she does when he wears his suits. When he’s in his suit-it’s more fascination because Carlos is suits is like…like some Greek God. He’s just so celestial and out of reach, it’s like the thought of even being with him would be some fantasy. In contrast, Carlos in casual wear? Well…that certainly does make him look a whole lot more human but not any less Godly.

As he nears, Lola quickly rearranges her expression to give him a tight, overly-sweet smile.
“This is dinner?” he questions quietly anger raging behind those stone grey eyes.
“Yep. A full nutritional dinner; vegetables, bread, cheese, meat and a little bit of chocolate for dessert. Enjoy!” she chirps.
Lola expects some sort of anger towards her for it but instead, Carlos regards her calmly and collectedly, which just somehow causes Lola to be even more frustrated.
“And where is your ‘nutritional’ plate?”
She simply shrugs, taking a seat and gazing at her growing fingernails. She must scrounge for some nail clippers soon, they’re getting far too long.
“Lola?” he calls causing her to gaze up.
“I’m not hungry.”

Carlos sighs deeply, raising his tired body out of the chair and taking his plate towards the kitchen counter. Why did he expect things to just be perfect? He should just hire a cook but…the idea of employing someone to cook his dinner just doesn’t sit well for him. But Lola needs something to do. This isn’t some resort for her. So he’d thought dinner would be a menial task but a chore nonetheless. Guess that plan’s fallen flat.

As he chops and dices tomatoes and other vegetables, Lola sits there dumbfounded. She hadn’t expected him to just start cooking and without a fuss at all. But he does so quietly and efficiently. With his back to her, she’s free to openly stare at lean, built physique. Her mouth is suddenly dry at the sight of the strong stallion cooking. His wet hair gelled back from its wetness looks all the more thicker and those sinewy back muscles, trigger thoughts of that one time in her office where she’d been able to explore it all beneath her fingertips.

Her body naturally shudders with visions of a repeat, this time actually on a bed, but she quickly shuts those thoughts down. Maybe that could happen…if her morals were far looser. But as it stands-she wants nothing to do with him.

The scent of the tomato bolognese has Lola’s stomach quietly rumbling. Thankfully, it’s not loud enough to be noticeable however she quickly folds her arms across her midsection to hush it. She watches with wide, hungry eyes as he plates the spaghetti with a very generous helping of the Bolognese onto 2 plates, topping them off with a sprinkling of cheese. Grabbing some forks and knives he places them onto the breakfast bar.
The generous offering is oh so tempting, just like its maker but Lola draws the last bit of self-control she can within herself to push the plate back towards him.
“I’m not hungry,” she states juvenilely.  
Carlos’s patience seems to snap at that point and she can see it from the way his whole body tenses, his nostrils flare and his eyebrows knit together in anger.

“If you continue acting like a child then you will be sent to bed. And not alone,” he threatens.
Lola gulps at the implications of that threat but she has no doubt in her mind that he would carry it out.
“I am not eating Carlos. Not until we can discuss a reasonable arrangement for me staying here-”
“ ‘Reasonable arrangement’?! My terms are very reasonable Miss Beaumont. I could have demanded so much more from you, yet I didn’t.”
“You’re caging me in, Carlos! How can you expect me to never leave this apartment? I need to work-I like to work and friends! I need people to talk to Carlos,” she yelps in exasperation before sighing and adding on the end, “please.”

He takes in those dark chocolate swirls, pleading to his humanity. He’s not a bad person. In the dark world he lives in, he tries to remind himself that but…the way Lola considers him, it makes him question himself. And that in itself brings about self-loathing.
“I will take it into consideration,” he passively informs her, incurring a glare in the process.
She snorts softly, “sure you will.”
“Eat.”
“Not hungry,” she retorts just as snappily but unfortunately her own body betrays her a gargle of protest flames from her stomach, triggering the reddening of her cheeks. But she stays strong, making no move towards the delicious looking food in front of her.

“Look at me Lola,” he states evenly, his tone naturally causing her to meet his even gaze, “I have many ways of making incompliant people comply and we both know the means that work best with you, piccola.”

Lola shudders, her breath catching as she reaches for the fork. Despite her bitterness, it tastes just as heavenly as it smells and begrudgingly Lola has to accept that Carlos does indeed know how to bend her to his will.

A/n I know it's short but it's better than nothing right? Anyway, happy V-day, single's day whatever you wanna call it. Tonight I am going to see 50 Shades of Grey and I cannot wait!! haha, so what are your V-day plans/What were they? xx