She nodded slowly and the mass of silky hair shifted and moved enticingly. “I understand completely, Geno.” Her long lashes lifted calling his attention to the length and thickness of the dark frame surrounding her eyes. Her gaze met his steadily. “I’ve never had a family or anyone to accept or love me, at least not that I remember. Only you. You’re my world. I was raised to give my life protecting others. While I’m onstage dancing, you’re going to be a target and I won’t be able to do anything about it. I’ll have to rely on others—people I don’t know—to keep you safe. To keep your brothers safe.”
For the first time he heard her voice tremble. She pressed her fingers to her lips as if she was trying to contain all emotion.
“I know what I can do, Geno. I know I’m capable of keeping you alive, but you insist on putting yourself in harm’s way. I don’t love you any less than you love me. As afraid for me as you are, I’m terrified I’m going to lose you, too. I’m small, and to make up for that, I’ve had to learn to use speed and other ways to best my opponent. You go straight for them, Geno. You’re very strong. You just go for it because you’re used to always being the best. I’ve already watched you go down twice.Twice.Right in front of me.”
Her voice broke and she looked down at her hands. “You aren’t the only one in this relationship that’s worried, Geno. Every instinct I have demands I keep you safe. I’m petrifiedwith fear because I know when these people come after me, you’ll stand in front of me. I won’t be able to stop you.”
Geno studied her face for a long time in silence. The tight knots in his neck and gut slowly began to unravel. His little dancer. She didn’t know it, but she had a way of making sense out of everything. He hadn’t considered that he was being selfish, but in fact, that was exactly what he was being. He had promised himself he wouldn’t be that man. He would look after her, put her first, but in the end, he wasn’t thinking of how she was feeling, although they were in the same situation.
“I didn’t think about what it must be like for you, Amaranthe. I was only thinking about myself. I apologize.” He was sincere when he told her he was sorry. “I want to be a good husband to you. I know you’re an elite rider. I try to believe that you love me. You show me you do, but to be honest, I’ve never gotten to a place where I believe anyone can love the real me. I’m always afraid I’m holding you too tight, or not tight enough. I’m so afraid of losing you it’s entirely possible I’m pushing you away before you can walk away first.”
He ran his hand through his hair again. “That does make me somewhat of a coward.”
Amaranthe caught up the short, nearly transparent robe and slipped from the bed. “It makes you human. It means you have repercussions from your very strange childhood, just as I have them and your brothers have them.”
She came down the steps with her usual grace, straight to him, and took his hand. “I want to hear you play the piano. Neither one of us is going to get any sleep tonight. Play for me.”
“Wear the diamond chain around your hips. I’ll play something you might feel like dancing to.”
Amaranthe didn’t hesitate, but then she never did. She moved back up the stairs, her hips swaying under the gossamer fabric. She looked so beautiful. Ethereal. Just as she did onstage. A woman from another dimension. Her longhair flowed down her back in waves and curls, nearly reaching her small tucked-in waist. Her bottom, like the rest of her, was small but perfectly shaped. He enjoyed watching the movements of her body beneath the transparent robe as she opened the rectangular box sitting on the shelf above the headboard.
“I’m never going to like that you put your life on the line, Amara,” he admitted. “There’s always going to be that part of me that insists on protecting you. And I will. I refuse to lose you. But I’ll do my best to understand that you feel the same way about me and my safety.”
He narrowed his eyes as she turned toward him. The edges of her robe were separated so she could reach around and link the diamond chain at her left hip. His breath caught in his lungs, staying there until he was burning for air.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, Amaranthe. Why did you even give me a second look?”
She had been looking down at the chain, but her head came up, that adorable little frown on her face, her eyes blazing with a warrior’s light. “Geno Ferraro, there is no man to compare with you. I can’t see anyone else. I never will be able to.” A mischievous smile lit her face. “And now that I know you play the piano, there is no way to resist you.”
Amaranthe came down the stairs straight to him, the edges of her short robe still open. She was comfortable with him now. That was a victory he was happy he’d scored with her, making her feel comfortable as a woman with him. She reached up to run the pads of her fingers along his heavily shadowed jaw in a caress.
“I love you, Geno. Every part of you. Even the overprotective, bossy part. I love that side of you very much.Allof you. I don’t mind telling you. Or showing you. Play the piano for me. I’ll dance for you, but I do have other things in mind. It’s time for me to practice the art of making you very happy.”
His cock jerked. “Baby,” he countered cautiously. She couldn’t possibly mean what he thought she did.
She took his hand and tugged, starting toward the piano at the far end of the floor. “It’s going to take a lot of work on my part to learn to be good at pleasing you. I think distracting us both with your significant skills on that instrument while I practice on your beautiful instrument will work quite nicely.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
The atmosphere in the theater was electric. As most people watching the performance would know nothing about the assassins that had gathered to kill some of the patrons, Geno knew, like him, it was the amazing dancers telling the story of Romeo and Juliet that would capture their attention.
Granted, it would be his first live performance with the lighting, the music and all the dancers, men and women in their costumes, but he expected after watching rehearsals for it to be powerful and mesmerizing. During the dress rehearsal he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off Amaranthe dancing, every movement so expressive and emotional it was impossible not to understand the story. The spotlight didn’t need to follow her. Amaranthe was spellbinding.
Amaranthe had explained that the ballet,Romeo and Juliet, was difficult to perform for several reasons. The music was powerful, and a superb orchestra could overshadow mediocre dancers easily. Aside from the fact that the choreography was technically challenging, this particularadaptation they were performing required athleticism, skill and a partnership of matching body types. As the principal dancer, Amaranthe was far too short to have a male dancer match her height. In order for her to be able to match the steps perfectly with her partner, they had to practice hours and hours for months together.
Jason Donagon, originally from New York City, according to Amaranthe, was a flawless classical dancer. He had beautiful, effortless leaps, taking to the air with amazing heights, and yet never once complained that he had to shorten his strides to dance the choreography with her. It took considerable skill to shorten his steps and still look as if he were at full extension. Jason was a powerful, explosive dancer, and at five-seven he was shorter than most of the other principal male dancers, but he could gain more air and do more turns. He looked out for his partner.
Geno hadn’t met the man, but he’d read his very impressive résumé. If Amaranthe admired him, he was certain Jason was even better than everything he’d read about him. Geno was very aware that there were several people there looking specifically at him. Two representatives of the American Ballet Theatre were in the audience by special invitation. National Ballet of Canada also had two people representing them watching the performance. The Royal Ballet had also sent a small group to watch the opening-night presentation.
Geno was nervous for all the performers. Those companies were three of the most prestigious in the world for a reason. The demands for a dancer to be the best were always there. He knew Amaranthe had not applied at any of the companies, but Jason had. Geno had issued a special invitation to the two women representing the American Ballet Theatre because he had done a favor for one of them. He’d never mentioned it, of course, nor had his family taken money. There were no ties back to the Ferraro family.
He had carefully worded the invitation making it clear there were no expectations of them hiring anyone. He simplysent her tickets to the event if she was free to attend. If Jason was good enough to qualify for an actual audition, that was up to him. Amaranthe had told Geno sending Jason’s résumé to the companies might not get him looked at when he barely met the height requirement of five foot seven.
Geno wanted to be the one in the shadows guarding Amaranthe when she wasn’t onstage performing, but he had to be in the box making himself a target. The Ferraro family had taken up six luxury boxes, all in one row. His two brothers were in the box with him. Stefano was in the box on his right with Vittorio and Giovanni. Taviano, Nicoletta, Ricco and Mariko were in the box to Geno’s left. On the other side of Stefano’s box, Valentino, Emmanuelle, Elie and Dario were seated in one of the luxury boxes.
Geno made it clear he didn’t want their bodyguards to be in the boxes or even outside of them. Any shadow rider could easily slip up behind them and kill them. He had a feeling the Boutler family was feeling murderously vengeful. The bodyguards didn’t like it, but they understood unusual circumstances were happening and didn’t want to be in the way of the plan—and there was a plan.
To entice the Boutlers further, the LA cousins had arrived to support Amaranthe in her performance as Juliet. Afterward, they were going to Luna D’Argento to celebrate. There were plenty of photographs of Geno’s cousins deplaning from their private jet, being met by a limousine and being driven straight to the theater. What no one saw, as the cameras went off, were the San Francisco cousins, also aboard that same jet, sliding into the shadows and making their way to the theater.
