And I’ve decided Evangeline is mine.
Reaching over, I brush some powder off her cheek, just as I did before. It appears my girl gets messy when she works. She freezes at my touch. Her blue eyes widen and appear to dilate.
She’s definitely not immune to me. It’s one thing to know she dreams of me, but to see that she desires me in the flesh. That’s good to know.
My thumb hovers a split second too long, then I boldly swipe it over her full, lush bottom lip. She gasps in shock, so I pull back. I would love to plunge my thumbin her mouth, imagining her sucking it as she will my cock one day, but that, too, will have to wait.
So, I force myself to step away, to regain some semblance of control, but the tension between us doesn’t ease.
Stop.I tell myself.Not now.Today, I need to warn her.
“Be careful,” I warn quietly with a gravel rasp. “Your uncle’s made a lot of enemies.”
She stares up at me, her eyes stormy. “Are you one of them?”
I laugh, genuine and hollow. “Yes, I am.” I’m not going to lie to her.
Her eyes widen as she seems to absorb this information. Surprisingly, she then pleads with me, “I need to know about what’s going on. I can’t afford to lose my business or go to jail.”
“There’s much more at stake than your business, cara mia,” I warn ominously. “It’s your life you need to be worried about.”
“Just tell me what I need to do,” she says in a strained voice, and I can hear her fear. She suddenly grabs thelapels of my suit coat in a moment of desperation, catching me off guard. “I will find the drugs, the leak, the shipments, whatever … just please don’t hurt my uncle or destroy my family’s business.”
Giving her a slow, deliberate smile, I grasp both her hands to pry them from my coat. In a comforting gesture, I turn them over and bring both up to my mouth to kiss the inside of each wrist, then kiss each palm softly. She visibly shudders at my touch, goosebumps spreading on her skin.
I love that I have this effect on her, but I’m also keeping her from wrinkling my coat, at least that’s what I want to tell myself.
One of my many quirks is how particular I am about my suits. Part of my controlling, perfectionist nature. For her, however, I’d allow her to rip it to shreds if it meant I could touch her or kiss her again.
Lowering my voice to an intimate tone, I bend to rasp in her ear, “I know you will. But, dolcezza, this needs to stay between you and me right now? Capiche?”
“I can only protect you if you heed my warnings.” I grab her chin, forcing her gaze to meet mine, my voicecommanding. This needs to be emphasized so she understands. I need the upper hand in this scenario and cannot afford to tip her uncle or Scarletta off to my knowledge of their misdeeds.
She nods, her lip now quivering and tears shimmering in her eyes. She’s terrified for herself, her business and her family, but because I’m a sick fuck … damned if I don’t want to see her on her knees, gazing up at me with the same trusting expression before I shove myself down her throat. These are the only tears I want to see from this beautiful girl.
Because now is not the time to be thinking with my cock, I straighten, releasing her hands, and smooth my coat, before checking my Patek Philippe watch, a gift given to me by my father on my twenty-first birthday. The one and only gift I ever got from the asshole.
If you don’t count the goddamn scar.
“Fuck,” I growl because I’m running behind.It’s getting late, and I need to meet with one of the very men I’m warning her about.
“I’m leaving, Ms. Hart, but remember what we discussed.” I warn ominously. “You don’t see it yet,Evangeline. But men are already circling this place. They smell weakness, innocence. You smile at strangers; you trust those you shouldn’t…” I lean closer, voice dropping, touching my finger to her pert nose. “Stop. Not anymore. Not until I tell you it’s safe.”
Then, I turn to leave. The doors swing shut behind me, and Luca waits at the end of the hall, twirling his knife between his fingers.
When he sees me, he pockets it, serious for once. “Want me to keep an eye on her?”
I shake my head. “No. Stay away from her. I’ll handle it.” The idea that Luca or any of my other men keeping “eyes” on her makes me viscerally angry and fills me with a primal jealousy.
She. Is. Mine.
He looks like he wants to argue, but he’s smart enough not to. We step out into the cold, and he lights a cigarette, exhaling a plume of smoke into the crisp fall air.
“Cut that shit out,” I growl, grabbing it and stomping it out on the pavement. “This will be what kills you, not a fucking bullet.”
“Hey!” he says, offended. “You smoke cigars! How is that any different?”
“Cigars are fucking classy. They’re old school. Cigarettes scream teenage punk. May as well be a goddamn vape.”
