HER POV

I step out of the elevator and press the bronze doorbell near the entrance doors. I can hear the chatter of muffled voices before the door open and I am greeted by Brian.

        "Hey," we both smile at each other.

       "Come on in," he opens the door wider and I step into the familiar studio. I find three figures huddled around Brian's computer.

       "Are you busy?" I ask in a whisper, hoping I had not interrupted something important.

       Brian shakes his head and gives me an assuring smile as he leads me toward the three men. Anthony is the first to turn around and greet me with his usual charismatic smile.

       "Lovely as always Ms Black," Anthony says in a flirtatious tone, earning himself a jealous glare from Brian.

       The other two men turn around and I feel my heart drop as my eyes fall upon the figure in the middle. Deep down I am hoping he does not recognize me, but as his lips curve up I know I am screwed.

"Hello, Kitten," his hoarse voice echoes into my ears. My nose scrunches as I cringe at the familiar nickname.

"Kitten?" Anthony asks dumbfounded.

Brian looks between the man and me. His jaw clenching as we continue to stare at one another.

"Do you two know each other?" He finally asks.

The tall brunette is the first to break eye contact and turns to Brian with a nod. His lips part as he is about to speak, but I cut him off.

"Remember how I told you I used to be a model?" I ask Brian who slowly nods, still confused. "Mr Conte and I used to work together back then."

"Is that so?" Brian lifts a brow and turns to Luca to seek confirmation.

Luca glances at me and I give him a slight nod, motioning him to go on with the lie. He turns to Brian with a smile and nods.

"Samantha here was one of the best," Luca throws his arm over my shoulders. "We called her Kitten because of her unique eyes. Always reminded us of Cat-woman."

"You didn't tell us your girlfriend is a model," beach blonde man standing next to Anthony says.

"Used to be," I quickly correct.

"She was one of our best," Luca adds and I discreetly nudge him in the rib with my elbow.

"Hi, I am Dudley, one of Brian's friends." The man says as he offered me his hand to shake.

"Hey," I reply as I shake it.

"Brian, may I speak with you for a second?"Dudley asks as he motions Brian over with his index finger.

"Give me a second love," Brian kisses the top of my forehead before he walks over toward Dudley and Anthony.

Before Luca can join them I place my foot in front of him. He turns to me with a lifted brow.

"Did he send you here?" I ask through gritted teeth.

Luca picks up the snow globe on one of the tables behind me and pretends to examine it.

"Oh please, I don't work for that asshole anymore," Luca scoffs as he sets the globe down. I turn to him shocked by the news.

       "What do you mean you don't work for him?"

       Luca crosses his hands over his chest and leans down toward me.

        "Because after he lost his bella sposa, he's become an irritable bastardo," Luca says. His thick Italian accent still intact. "I don't like working for people that keep finding a fault in my work."

       "Promise me you won't tell him that you saw me," I urge as I give him a serious glare. I then look at Brian who is busy talking with Dudley and Anthony. "Nor that I am with another man."

       "You were always my favorite one of the litter, Kitten," Luca replies with a sly smirk as he ruffles my hair. His gaze then falls to the floor as his lips form into a hard line. "I always regret presenting you to that monster. I am sorry."

       I hold back the lump in my throat and offer Lucas a reassuring smile.

       "It's all in the past now," I reply.

       "Sam, Dudley has something he would like to ask," Brian states with a giddy smile as the three men walk over to Luca and I.

       They all have wide smiles on their faces, but a nervous look in their eyes.

       "What is it?" I ask hesitantly.

       "How would you like to be the face of my new store—Bumble Bee Beauty?" Dudley asks with a hopeful expression.

       "You'd be perfect!" Anthony chimes in. "You have that sexy, yet innocent look."

       Luca snorts at Anthony's comment, knowing very well that I am very far from innocent. I throw him a glare and he composes himself.

       "I—um," I try to think of a way to turn them down.

       "We will pay you seventy-five dollars an hour," Dudley adds trying his best to convince me.

       I want to say yes and accept the offer, after all my passion for modeling is still there, but I have already took too many risks. And with Luca being here, it has already proven that giving myself the chance to be with Brian may not have been the best idea.

       "Don't worry, if you don't like how the photos turn out I can always touch them up and make you look unrecognizable," Luca replies and while the other three people in the room laugh it off as a joke I know what he means.

       "C'mon princess," Brian brings me into his arms. "It'll be just this once, I promise."

       I glance over at Luca and he gives me an assuring nod accompanied by a small wink.

       "Alright," I give in and they all cheer.

       "Now that we have our model, I say we celebrate." Anthony suggests and they all nod. "Drinks are on me."

       Brian grabs my hand as we follow Anthony out the door. I try my best to keep a smile on, but inside I am a nervous mess. Something tells me this is not gonna end well.

Author's Note
Hola my lovelies! As promised here is chapter fifteen of Forbidden Temptations. We have a new character and someone whom is associated with Sam's past. Do you think he'll bring good or bad? Let me know what you guys think in the comments. Luca is played by the bellismo Michele Morrone. As always thank you for reading. If you enjoyed make sure to leave a vote and share. I'll see you all Monday.
Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay awesome!
Xoxo, Liz 💋💋💋