Chapter 25 - An Acquired Taste

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~ Daniela's POV ~

He was seething next to me, absolutely ready to kill someone - anyone.

I turned to look at him as he watched after Grey, fire blazing in his eyes while his jaw was so tightly clenched.

I could feel my heart begin to pound in my chest as I took a slow step in front of him although he was still looking over my head in the direction Grey had just gone.

"Carson?"

My first attempt at getting through to him was futile, and so was the second. It was only when I reached out and took his hand that he suddenly flinched, his eyes dropping down to look at me with his furious glare.

"You're shaking..." I gulped nervously as I took his shaking hands in mine, lowering my gaze to his hands, my eyes focusing on the tattoos on the back of his hands. I could feel the anger radiating off of him as he watched me and my heart continued to pound in my chest.

After a few seconds, I finally gathered the courage to lift my gaze to look at him. There was only a handful of times I'd seen him so angry, the first day we met being one them, along with a few of his encounters with George.

But this was one of the worst by far.

"I should kill him." His voice came out raspy as he lifted his gaze to look down the hallway behind me. "He disrespected me, he needs to know his place."

When he took a determined step forward, I placed my hands on his chest to stop him.

"Carson don't, please. Just come with me." His anger didn't even falter in the slightest as I took his hand, pulling him into the room closest to us which was the kitchen.

A beautiful white marble kitchen.

Thankfully it was empty which was what I hoped for.

We stood there for a moment after I closed the door and took his hands again in mine, rubbing circles on the back of his hands with my thumbs.

"Why are you stopping me?" His voice came out low and strained as if he was fighting every urge in his body to go and pummel the hell out of his friend.

"Because I don't want you to get hurt or to do something you'll regret later."

"Regret? I won't regret jack, now move out of my way." Once again he tried to walk past me, and this time I tightened my grip on his hands and I spoke up before he could.

But all my words ended up doing was throwing gasoline on the fire already burning.

"He did have a right to be a little upset. You chose me, didn't you? You were supposed to come here first and Grey was the one who had to deal with those people while you were with me."

When he heard my words, his glare was suddenly directed at me, his eyes blazing with anger as he pulled his hands out of mine.

"You're defending him?"

"N-no, I was-"

"You're my freaking girl, do you understand that? You're supposed to be on my damn side."

"I am on your side Carson." My words came out in a desperate attempt to calm him down, but all he did was take a furious step towards me causing me to back up against the kitchen counter.

I felt the edge of the counter press against my lower back as he towered over me, giving me a furious glare.

"I was just trying to calm you down."

My words came out in a low whimper as he stepped closer to me, lifting his hand to wrap my hair in his fist before he gave it a gentle tug to lift my head so that my eyes met his.

He was so angry, so tell me why his actions somehow caused a flutter to erupt in my core.

"Carson..."

"Never, ever defend one of my men to me again, do you understand me?" His words come out dangerously low as he pressed himself against me, the scent of his cologne invading my senses sending my mind into a frenzy.

"Y-yes." My pathetic response came out in a whisper as my eyes remained focused on his lips barely inches from mine and I could feel his body pressed against mine.

"Yes what?" When he tugged harder on my hair an involuntary moan left my mouth.

"Yes boss."

For a final few seconds he kept his eyes on mine with those beautiful brown eyes almost black as he glared at me. Then he crashed his lips against mine, channeling everyone ounce of his anger into the kiss.

It was only when he pulled away from my lips, resting his forehead against mine that my mind finally had a chance to catch up with what had just happened.

As I struggled to catch my breath, Carson pulled me tighter against his body by using his hands on my ass, resting his forehead on my shoulder. For a few moments I just stood there as my mind began to clear and I realised what had just happened and what he did to me.

"I wasn't defending him, I was trying to make you see sense." When my words came out in a cold tone Carson lifted his head to look at me. "And I don't appreciate you using my weaknesses against me when you're angry. Now get your hands off me."

He rose an eyebrow at me, choosing to leave his hands on my waist instead of listening to me.

"Weaknesses?" Despite the fact he was still extremely tense, and clearly still mad, his lips curved up into a smirk. When I didn't respond, instead giving him a flat look he let out a frustrated sigh.

"You want me to apologise?" Still when I didn't answer him, he shook his head, giving me another glare. "Fine, I'm sorry, happy?"

Holding his stare for a moment, I couldn't stop the smile that broke through as I shook my head, pulling him in for another hug.

"You're such a child." His arms tightened around my waist as he held me against him, burying his face into my shoulder.

"That's not what you just called me."

"Hm, and what did I call you?"

My question caused him to lean in, bringing his lips to my ear.

"Boss."

Pressing a kiss to my cheek, he finally pulled away from me to put some distance between us. When he took my hand to lead me out the kitchen, a smirk tugged at my lips.

"You know I only called you that to boost your ego after your little spat with Grey."

The moment those words left my mouth Carson stilled, turning around to face me with a dangerous glare.

"Really?"

I knew I was playing with fire, but I just loved the thrill it gave me, especially if this was his reaction.

Letting go of his hand, I walked around him heading to the door as I gave him a smirk, knowing his eyes were following my every move.

"Mhm, in fact I don't think you're much of a boss at all. I mean, what kind of boss runs after a girl to a coffee shop?"

Stopping by the door, I turned to give him one last smirk while he glared at me.

"Some might even say you're a pussy."

The second that particular word left my lips, you could hear a pin drop it went that silent. His eyes went just as black as they did earlier as he glared at me.

My entire plan was based on my assumption that I would be able to leave out the door before he could even react or come anywhere near me. But I should have known he was much too good for me.

Turning to face the door, I just about managed to open it a few inches before his hand slammed it shut again. Seconds later I was pushed up against the door as he stood behind me, pressing himself to my body.

"You're brave I'll give you that." I felt shivers run down my spine when he whispered the words in my ear. "But unfortunately for you baby girl, I'm ruthless when it comes to punishments."

"I'm not scared of you." When those words left my mouth he let out a chuckle, allowing me to feel the vibrations from his chest that was pressed against my back.

"You should be."

Oh.

Finally he let me turn around in his arms allowing me to press my front against his.

"But first I need to do a few things in my office here." He pressed a quick kiss to my lips before he took my hand again, guiding me out of the kitchen.

"Where is your office?"

"On the first floor, that's where all the offices are and some meeting rooms too. The house is split into three areas, the middle and the west and east wing. The second floor is where Aviana, Grey and Fox have their rooms in the west wing and the central third floor is mine."

"So what's on the east and west wing on the third floor?"

Maybe I was nosey but I like knowing things.

"Two more suites like mine, but they have two bedrooms each. No one uses those, I did offer one to Grey but he didn't want it. He said a bedroom with a bathroom and a closet for him is fine." I nodded my head absentmindedly as we walked up the stairs together, passing two men who immediately stopped when they saw Carson, bowing their heads in respect.

The whole thing was dramatic in my opinion.

"Boss."

When they both said that word, I bit my lip trying to bite back a laugh after what just happened earlier. Finally we reached the first floor which had many, many rooms.

This house was so big, I don't think I'd ever be able to find my way around alone.

We walked down the hallway for a while until we reached a set of double doors at the end which as expected turned out to be his office - which of course was as luxurious as ever. There was even a balcony door at the back of his office behind the couch.

Letting out an exaggerated sigh, I dropped down onto one of the couches while he went behind his desk, sitting down in the leather chair. I watched for a moment as he took it all in, leaning back into his chair while he looked around the room with a frown.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing...I just haven't been in here for a long time that's all."

"You missed it, didn't you?" When his eyes met mine, I gave him a small smile while he nodded his head. "I did. I can't wait for tomorrow."

"What's happening tomorrow?" I gave him a frown as he started going through his crowded desk where there were stacks and stacks of papers and files. It was probably everything he missed while he was gone.

"It's my first proper day back. I get to wear one of my suits again, all my men will be back here training and working, everything goes back to normal."

"Wait so, this place is usually busier than this?" He nodded his head as he took a paper clip off a stack off papers, speaking without looking at me. "It's the weekend baby, this might not be a legal conventional workplace, but I don't make them work 24/7."

Rolling my eyes at his response, I leaned back into the couch, firing a comeback almost instantly. "Sorry sir."

Suddenly his eyes shot up from the paper, meeting mine.

"Don't call me that again unless..."

The suggestive tone in his trailing sentence caused me to give him a smirk as I tilted my head to the side, giving him a once over.

"How good do you look in a suit?"

My words brought a smirk to his face as he shifted his gaze back to the papers on his desk. "You'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out baby girl."

We ended up staying in his office for another hour before he eventually printed off some documents that he was going to look over tonight.

My guess was that those were the ones from the French people.

By the time we left, I could tell Carson's bad mood from earlier was back all over again. He was quiet the entire drive back to Manhattan and while we picked up dinner on the way back.

"What's the matter baby?" When I questioned him, he shook his head pushing his empty plate away from himself leaning back into his chair. "Nothing."

"You've barely said anything during dinner."

"I'm just..." When his words trailed off I put my fork down, keeping my eyes on him.

"Thinking about what happened earlier? You know I was only joking when I said those things-"

"I know you were beautiful." Lifting his head, his eyes met mine as he nodded. "I guess my mood just went to crap after I saw all the work that piled up on my desk. I just need a drink Dani, my day has been so crazy."

I watched as he pushed his chair back with a frown on his face as he stood up, heading over to the kitchen. While he was busy grabbing a bottle of alcohol and a glass for himself, I picked up our plates to take them into the kitchen to wash them.

"I'll do it." When I felt him come up behind me, I shook my head as I rinsed the plates in the sink so that they could go in the dishwasher later.

"It's all done baby. Come on, let's go and sit down."

We spent the next couple of hours watching movies together on the couch which was my way of trying to take his mind off everything that happened that day.

I couldn't help but feel guilty knowing I definitely was one of the biggest causes for his bad mood. If I hadn't got upset over the money earlier, we never would have argued and I wouldn't have run away. Then he wouldn't have fought with Grey, again, and things would have turned out better.

By the time I started the third movie, Carson was busy working again, reading over the documents he'd brought home from his office as he sipped on his scotch whiskey. He actually had papers everywhere, but those documents were the ones he was focusing on.

"Can I try it?" At the sound of my voice, Carson looked over at me before he glanced at his glass. "This? It's kind of strong baby, maybe you should try something lighter first."

"Oh, it's okay then never mind." I gave him a small smile before I turned my attention back to the movie. Moments later Carson stood to his feet catching my attention as he put his glass and the papers he was reading down.

It wasn't long before he returned with two glasses and also another bottle of alcohol. One of the glasses had ice and what seemed like cranberry juice in and the other had only ice.

Giving him a confused look I paused the movie as he sat down putting the items down on the coffee table in front of us.

"I think you'll like this one the best, it's peach Schnapps so it's fruity and sweet and girly and crap. Try this first with the cranberry juice and then you can try the scotch with some ice to make it easier for you to handle."

I nodded my head although I was still pretty clueless on what he was doing as he poured the peach Schnapps mixing it with the cranberry juice.

"You can also mix the peach Schnapps with bourbon too, if you want. The bitterness will balance the sweetness."

Taking the glass with the peach Schnapps and cranberry juice in, I watched as Carson poured some scotch into the other glass with ice while I stared at the glass in my hand for a moment swirling it around nervously.

"Just do it. I told you, if you drink responsibly there's nothing wrong with it."

"What if I become an alcoholic?" Although I was serious, my question caused him to let out a laugh as he shook his head. "You won't baby, but if I see it happening I'll make sure to keep it away from you."

I nodded my head glancing back at the glass before I brought it to my lips, drinking the liquid tasting the fruitiness and the sweetness of the liquor mixed with the juice.

"What do you think?" It took me a second after to decide, taking another sip to make sure before I eventually nodded my head. "It's good."

Carson nodded his head as he took the glass from me when I finished it.

"You might want to take it easy on this, it's got a pretty high alcohol content and you're just a baby."

"I'm not a baby." When I narrowed my eyes at him he nodded his head with a chuckle. "Okay my beautiful. Now try this."

He handed me the cold glass with the scotch in which he'd left to chill for a moment.

"Is it nice?"

"I love it, but I've been drinking since I was 16 years old so I have a more mature pallet."

"What are you? An alcohol connoisseur or something?" All he did was roll his eyes at my comment, leaning back into the couch while he waited me to gather the courage to drink the whiskey.

Letting out a nervous breath, I bought the glass up to my lips before I took a small sip. Almost instantly a frown formed on my face and I shook my head, handing the glass back to him.

"That's disgusting."

My reaction caused him to let out a laugh as he took the glass, finishing it himself while I drank some water to get rid of the flavour.

"How can you drink that?" My question caused him to shrug his shoulders as he picked up the papers again, leaning back into the couch. "It's an acquired taste. What do you usually drink then? What's your favourite?"

"Non-alcoholic mojito's." When I flashed him a smile he nodded his head letting out a laugh. "You really are just a baby."

When it fell quiet again, this time when I hit play on the movie, I curled up into Carson's side resting my head on his arm as he read through his papers, writing some random notes on the sides of the pages.

Some time had passed since I tried the alcohol before he suddenly sat up, turning to look at me with a weird look that I couldn't quite decipher.

"What?"

"Read this." When he handed me the small wad of pages, I gave him a confused frown as I took it from him. "Why?"

"It's one of the business propositions from the guy we saw today, Mathis Hollande. I want to know what you think."

"Why?" When I asked him the same question, pausing the movie he busied himself pouring himself another glass of scotch. "Just read it."

Letting out a sigh, I shuffled a little across the couch moving onto his lap, leaning back against him as I read the proposition.

It was kind of what I expected after hearing their conversation today, this Hollande guy was proposing that he buy 20,000 units of AK -47 assault rifles, 20,000 units of ACR semi-auto rifles and also 20,000 units of MP5 sub-machine guns from Carson at a reduced price. Through the profit he earned from selling all the weapons on, he would reinvest it into more deals with Carson, that he'd outlined in his proposal so that they could both benefit.

It sounds good on face value. He would invest his money into buying all this product from Carson to sell it on and earn a profit which he would reinvest to generate more profit for both sides, but mostly Carson.

When I was done with that, Carson handed me some other papers to read, which much to my surprise were some of his financial records from the last few months. Each one showed how much his top selling guns had cost and how much profit he makes from selling them.

"Do you trust this guy?" When I finally finished reading through the number of proposals, I turned my head to look at him noticing how he'd been reading over my shoulder the entire time.

"I don't trust him, but I trust his love for money. His family has been in business with my mob for decades, I don't think he would ruin that relationship so easily."

"So you're willing to give him a discount on the promise he would complete all of these business deals with you afterwards?"

Carson shook his head at this, adjusting me on his lap a little so that he could see my face a little easier. "Tell me what you think, I asked for your

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