TASTE ME: BOUND TO YOU BOTH

CHAPTER FOUR: STARSTRUCK

The ride home was quiet as Maeve and Nathan each drifted into their own thoughts. Maeve was curled up in the passenger seat, eyes glued to her phone as she scrolled through pictures of Knight online. She studied his soft features; his kind blue eyes, plump lips, square jaws, his dark wavy hair that accentuated his face and gave him the bad-boy-idol look. Barefaced, he seemed like the most beautiful man she had ever seen. As she found more photos, she noticed his piercings; diamonds glinted on his eyebrow, lip, nose, and left ear. She realized he wasn’t just the most beautiful man she’d seen—he was the hottest, sexiest man alive. She cradled her phone to her chest and let out a soft sigh, relaxing into the diamond-embedded jacket which she had wrapped around her. She’d met a star. A global star. “I can’t believe you let me drive knowing fully well I’m drunk.” Nathan murmured, awaking her from her reverie. “Just so you could stare at a random man’s pictures all through the drive home?” “I am still starstruck, Nathan. I met a star!”

“Well, congratulations ma’am. But it will do a lot of good to your mental and emotional health if you forget about your encounter with him.” “What makes you say that?” “He is a star. An idol. He was probably in Café de Nuit tonight by coincidence. That guy is too big to step his foot in there ever again.”. Maeve crossed her arms over her chest, sulking. “Well, how do I return his jacket?” Nathan glanced at her with a raise eyebrow. “Do you want to return his jacket or do you want to meet him again?”Maeve shrugged. “Both?” “Forget it. Just keep it.” “Of course not! These are real diamonds!! I’m sure the jacket is worth five hundreds of euros. “Nathan laughed. “That jacket was customized by diamond d’Or. It is close to a dozen thousand euros.”Maeve’s mouth dropped to the floor. “I have to give back this jacket.” “If he loved the jacket so much he wouldn’t have left it with you. He probably wanted to get rid of it.”

Maeve didn’t just get it. “Why would he want to get rid of a jacket that is worth a dozen thousand euros? For what reason?”Or maybe he did that to get your attention. Maybe you caught his eye and he wanted to start something. But Nathan kept these thoughts to himself. He had worked at Diamond d’Or for three years and he knew the Fointaine brothers quite well alongside their notorious relationships with women. Dante “Knight” Fointaine and Nikolai Fointaine. Two names he dreaded. While Knight was the cool-headed one, kind, lovely, but insanely promiscuous, Nikolai was his polar opposite: Hot-tempered, ruthless, misogynistic and unreasonably cruel.Nikolai had a reputation for mistreating his female staff, hiring women for nearly every personal task so they could serve him in humiliating roles.He had a maid to bathe him, one to dry him, another to moisturize his skin, one to clothe him, and many others to care for his hair, teeth, feet, nails.

He even had one to wax him and another to massage him every night until he dozes off. Nathan found this behavior offensive and absurd, harboring a special hatred for Nikolai’s misogynistic ways. Although he rarely crossed parts with Nikolai at the company, he despised him.He also hated Dante for being a puppet and a weakling, usually letting Nikolai meddle in his affairs and act on his behalf. Nikolai was Dante’s younger brother but also his personal enforcer who goes on errands no one sends him. While Dante might forgive an insult, Nikolai ensured those who hurt his brother paid severely. He seemed to take pleasure in causing people, especially women, to suffer and beg for their lives. One time, a fan had stepped on Knight in an event, causing an injury to his little toe. When Nikolai heard about it, he had invited the fan over, only to have hefty men stand on her toes for hours. All her pleas and tears had fell on deaf ears. Nathan’s heart pounded as he drove and thought about all these. Taking a glance at Maeve who had her eyes still buried in pictures of Knight on her phone and smiling sheepishly, he knew he had to protect his little sister from the Fointaine brothers at all cost. If Nikolai learns of her encounter with his brother at the café, he would hunt for her down and inflict the same measure of pain on her. The Nikolai he knew would derive immeasurable joy in doing just that but he, Nathan Sutherland will not let that happen. He would protect Maeve at all costs from the Fointaines. Little did Nathan know that Maeve’s fascination with Knight was quickly spiraling into obsession. She had found some semi-clad photos of Knight while scrolling and had felt sudden dampness in her panties. She could hardly wait to get home so she could lock herself in her room and reminisce on how his bulge had felt so good when he’d leaned over her. She shuddered at the thought and gripped the jacket around her slender frame tighter, turning towards the car window to hide the smiles creeping up her face. Why had she been so quick to attack him and why was she lusting over him now? She stared once more at the images, adjusting awkwardly in her seat as nerve endings in her body got tickled. She traced her hands over his abs and for a moment, she wished he was completely unclad. She quickly shook off the thought and let out a soft sigh. What was wrong with her? This was a man she had met briefly for half of a minute and suddenly he was all she could think about? She shifted again in her seat, trying as much as she can to avoid meeting Nathan’s gaze who now took weird glances at her, suspecting her body language. She will be fine, she assured herself. It was just a stupid crush. Or so she tho

ught.