Taming Ricardo, The Italian Billionaire

She frowned turning the phone over. Whoever was calling must really want to get to Kyra. Her eyes widened when she saw the name flashing across the screen. “Ricardo Bianchi?” Why would he be calling Kyra?

She accepted the call and put the phone to her ear.

“Ciao, bellissima,” Ricardo purred. “Do you miss me?”

Allegra’s mouth fell open.

“Kyra? Baby, can you hear me? What is all that noise? Where are you. Kyra?”

“H-hello? This is Allegra?”

“Who? Where is Kyra? Is she alright?” There was a hint of alarm in his voice.

Rage surged through Allegra. He didn’t remember her? And he was calling Kyra’s phone, calling her beautiful, calling her baby? She put two and two together. Ricardo Bianchi was Kyra’s new man. Jealousy reared its ugly head. Kyra knew she liked Ricardo.

“It’s Allegra, Kyra’s friend. We all had dinner some time ago.”

“Oh, yes. How are you? And where is Kyra?”

“Great,” Kyra replied through clenched teeth. “Kyra is fine. She ran to the little girl’s room. We’re at The Diamond in Manhattan. Do you want to join us, Ricardo?” Allegra smirked. If he took one look at her, refreshed his memory, she was sure he would forget about Kyra.

“Uh, I suppose I could. Anthony, can you take me to The Diamond in Manhattan?”

Allegra waited.

“Please, tell Kyra I came back sooner than expected and I will see her in a bit.”

She smiled. “Will do, Ricardo.”

She hung up the phone with a scowl. How the hell had Kyra and Ricardo happened? When? The billionaire was supposed to be hers, damn it! How did timid Kyra bag Ricardo before she did? It didn’t matter. The situation would be remedied soon enough. She quickly deleted the call from Kyra’s phone log.

“Hey, I’m back.” Kyra took her seat.

“Welcome back. Here, you left your phone.”

“Thanks.” Kyra took a quick look at her phone, disappointed that she didn’t see a call or text from Ricardo. He said he would call. She almost sent him a text but decided against it. Maybe he was busy. He was away on business, after all.

“Let’s dance,” Allegra suggested.

Dancing was not Kyra’s forte. “I would rather not.”

“I am not going out there alone. Come on, have a few more shots and relax.”

Kyra shrugged. “Alright.” What the hell? If taking shots and dancing was enough to distract Kyra from the subject of her romantic life, she would go with it. Maybe if they both got drunk enough, Allegra would take the news of Kyra and Ricardo much better.

About thirty minutes later, Kyra could barely stand. After Allegra had coerced her into more shots and about two cocktails laced with too much vodka, she was bat shit drunk. Bodies bumped into her as she spun around. “Allegra? I don’t feel good. I shouldn’t have had that last drink. I’m a total lightweight.” She did a three-sixty searching the crowd for Allegra. Kyra huffed. Allegra had probably found some hot guy she wanted to take home and had ditched her.

“Hey, you okay?” She stumbled as she spun around to see a nice-looking man watching her with concern. He was African-American, tall with dark brown, almost black, eyes. He was handsome, someone she would probably be attracted to if she wasn’t hung up on Ricardo.

“Um, I’m fine. I lost my friend.”

He chuckled. “Well, that’s alright. Give me a dance and I’ll help you find him or her.”

The room spun. “I’m a bit tired.”

She wobbled on her heels and nearly toppled over. “Whoa, easy, beautiful.”

Kyra smiled. Beautiful. Ricardo always called her that in Italian. She preferred the way Ricardo said it. Before her brain caught up to what was happening, she was held against a hard body by strong arms. With a sigh of resignation, she murmured, “Fine, one dance.” She might as well be nice because she just might need the guy’s help getting back to her seat. She began to move to the beat, but soon realized that she really couldn’t remain standing much longer.

The entire room spun and her stomach was in upheaval. Even her heart rate had accelerated and she felt excessively drowsy. At any minute, she would lose the contents of her stomach. Confusion swirled in her mind. Why was she feeling so ill? She’d been drunk before, which was why she stuck to wine now a day. She hated the feeling of being drunk and worse, the hangover. She had never felt like that the few times she’d gotten drunk. Something was wrong.

She pushed at the man’s chest. “Hey, I really need to sit. I don’t feel well.”

“Relax.” His hand slid down her hips to cup her ass.

“Please, just let me go,” she slurred. He ignored her plea and struggles and kept grinding against her.

*****

Ricardo entered the crowded club. He’d never felt so out of place in his life. He glanced around with disdain. Did Kyra frequent places like that? She was a young, beautiful woman, so her clubbing wouldn’t be all that strange. Though, he hadn’t regarded her as the type. Not his sweet, shy, Kyra. Where was she? He strolled further into the room, toward the bar.

A woman in a figure hugging pink dress waved at him. Recognition hit. It was Allegra Romano. Ricardo sighed. Hopefully, the woman refrained from throwing herself at him tonight. He approached her cautiously.

“Hi, Ricardo! It’s so good to see you again!” She screeched over the music. She grabbed him and pulled him down to plant kisses on both of his cheeks.

Ricardo gritted his teeth. “Ms. Romano.” He searched the bar area for the one person he wanted to see. “Where is Kyra? Did you give her my message?”

She pursed her lips. “I’m afraid she didn’t much care to hear your message Ricardo. She was…busy with some guy. I couldn’t get her away from him.”

Something feral rose in him, which he had to fight to control. “What do you mean?”

“I guess it’s best if I show you.”

Allegra pointed to the dance floor where Kyra was grinding against a man. Ricardo’s nostrils flared when she spun around and the man’s hands moved from her hips to her ass. Her too short and too tight gold dress rode up an inch. With a growl, he stepped toward them. Allegra’s hand rested on his arm and he stopped to glance at her.

“Maybe you shouldn’t cause a scene. Are you two serious? It doesn’t look like she’s too serious about you.”

Ricardo snarled and pulled his arm free. He marched toward Kyra and her dance partner with fury simmering in his blood. 

“Please, just let me go,” Kyra slurred, pushing against the man’s chest.