Casanova (Minnelli Family Series Book 1)

Candid

South of France, Minnelli Estate

That was fucked up, Amiri thought. Zippy doesn't deserve that. He recognized that he was filled with guilt. Something had to change.

He could smell her all over his home, like a permanent air freshener; cocoa butter and flowers. She'd been in the bar room, laundry room, and most recently the kitchen.

Amiri had to be honest with himself and admit that he was growing accustomed to coming home to her on most days.

Coming home? Another unnerving thought. Shaking his head, he makes his way to her room. They had to talk.

A soft knock interrupted Zippy as she finished washing her hair. Today was wash day, so she'd been all over the house going about her chores. But staying out of the way of the maids as they did their thing as well.

"Just a minute." Her soft voice seemed to float to Amiri's ears. She opens the door with a smile, expecting one of the maids but instead sees Amiri standing there with puppy dog eyes. "Fuck you want?"

"To apologize. I shouldn't have put my hands on you or blow up at you. You didn't deserve that."

"Where is this coming from?" she squints her eyes at him. Clearly she wasn't ready to forgive.

"I can't be a human being and apologize when I fuck up?" his nostrils flare in anger.

Zippy keeps a distance between the two. "I don't know...maybe you can't."

He reaches for her hand. She stiffens. "I can guarantee you, I will never put my hands on you like that again."

"Don't tell me. Prove it." She removes her hand from him slowly and closed the door. Almost as soon as she did, Zippy knew she was wrong.

So, she decided to try to understand the man she house sat for. Her heart broke for his son though. She wondered about the man beyond the layers. A master at keeping himself just out of reach of the world. Zipporah had to know.

"What's your story Amiri?" She flopped down in the seat right next to him with a smile in the movie room. He turned and faced her with caution. This is new, he thinks to himself.

"I don't have a story." He smirked, deciding to play the same game she played a few weeks ago. Watching her roll her eyes. "I'm a twin and I have three other sisters. I graduated from Stanford University with a business degree. I took over my dad-"

"Google said the same stuff almost. I'm talking about the personal part of you." She squinted at him. She peeped him. Zippy googled as much as she could on the elusive green-eyed man. "Three other sisters?"

"Yeah, my mom had two daughters, Bianca and Bella, from another marriage and I have a younger sister, Dionne."

"Aww...look at you. Now, the personal part."

"I like women." He wiggles his eyebrows at her. She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm fluent in like six languages so far; French, English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Mandarin. But I'm from Louisiana." Zippy looked over at the man in confusion. "It was my mom's decision to raise us with her people because my dad wasn't always an upstanding billionaire." He snorted.

"That's interesting. Say something in Italian."

"Sei bellissima amore mio." His green eyes became dilated. You are beautiful, my love. "You are beautiful." Zippy blushed.

"Forever trying to charm a woman out her panties." Zippy squinted at him again. She moved to the other side of the couch.

"Can't blame a man for trying." He didn't like she wasn't near him anymore. If Amiri was real with himself, he'd like to have Zippy all to himself. Uncontested.

"Why do you rotate women like you do?"

"You been googling me..." Amiri smirked at her. "It's cool. I got a file on you too." His smile dies down for a second.

"You have a really nice smile..." she compliments.

"Are you tryna charm me out my drawls?" he clutches his imaginary pearls.

"Sir! How inappropriate!" Zipporah looks at him seriously. Then they burst out in laughter.

"First off, I don't rotate the way you think." Amiri begins when he catches his breath. "It may be 5 women in a particular cycle over the course of a year for whatever reason. I never just have random women. These women have worked for me, with me, or my family at one point in time. And I rotate on a monthly basis." He stopped to watch the woman in front of him. "Love isn't for me and if a woman is offering herself for virtually free, I'd be a fool not to take it. A lot of women have sex with me just to say they did it. Then some try to see how much money I would spend on them for their pussy, which is mediocre at best."

"So, you use them?" She watched him go deep in thought.

"Make no mistake though." Amiri stops again. "I always protect myself." He stops. "Except when it comes to you."

"Me?!" she turns her face away from the screen to meet his eyes. "Fuck?"

"I didn't stutter, Zip." The seriousness in his tone rippled down her spine. Get yourself together, Zipporah, she thinks.

"I'll keep that in mind." She turns away. Zippy actually appreciated this. There was no sarcasm in her voice.

"And before I forget, it's not about using. Many women don't realize that space between y'all legs is power." He makes a point to point directly at her vagina. "Men spend millions on it, wars have been started over it, countries overturned because of that." He continues, reiterating his point by pointing there. "The women who do know this power call themselves running a game on wealthy men. Some men like the attention even though they know what the intent is. For me, if I want a woman for a night, usually they're accommodating in that aspect." He finishes. "What about you?"

"I can't get wrapped up in a man right now. Casual sex is cool, but I don't have time." Or the heart, she thought to herself.

"Did you want to try after your ex?" Amiri asks. Her eyes crinkle for a moment. "The one that died in combat."

Zipporah smiles for a moment. "I did but he didn't like the dedication I had to my dream of being a designer." Zippy transported herself to a different time. "I had just gotten fired from the design house I was working for and he mocked me for not having a real job in the first place. I cried like a baby for a while. Then my friend, Popper, put me on this house-sitting thing for a while. I wasn't supposed to be still doing this, but it pays well sometimes. But anyway, we broke up after my first assignment in Costa Rica because he felt I should've come to him for money. Not after you berated me for following my dreams." She stopped and yawned. "So, I'm chilling on men. Or trying to at least." She looked at Amiri for the first time. He looked like he was deep in his own thoughts. "I'll meet that one person for me one day." She whispered wistfully.

Zipporah eyes blinked herself back to the present. He crosses the room almost in a trance. Amiri lifted her chin, bringing his face closer to hers. Zippy's heart started pounding wildly. She was sure he could feel her heart beating too. Sparks danced between the two, pushing them further.

Their lips connected. Softly, passionately. Amiri inserted his tongue in her mouth, slowly but almost shyly. Pulling the smaller woman in his lap, he felt her, rubbed her. Zippy whimpered just a little. But the sound was amazing to the man. His lips left hers, sucking her neck.

Suddenly, like a gift and curse from the heavens above, Amiri's phone goes off. Breaking the trance. Amiri chooses to ignore it.

"You should probably handle that." Zipporah's voice is low with want. Her signal that she wants more.

He reluctantly places her on the other side of himself and took the call.

Zippy laid back in the sofa, almost exhausted. Where did that come from? She thought.