What. The. Fuck.
Alessio’s gaze snapped to mine, his jaw firm, his eyes hard. I swallowed, still reeling from Enzo’s words. I didn’t like the way they penetrated the shield around what was left of my heart, trying to stitch the pieces he’d broken back together.
Alessio stormed towards Enzo and grabbed his throat, forcing the chair to balance on its two back legs. I jumped up instinctively, not knowing who I was coming to the defence of, but needing to move in response to the sudden hostility in the room. But when Enzo stayed in his chair, allowing Alessio to choke him, my panic eased a little. He wasn’t going to fight.
“That…” Alessio growled. “That’s exactly why I don’t trust you, Aiani. If you die, you leave him alone and vulnerable. That can’t fucking happen. You both make it out alive, or this goes to shit.”
“Understood,” Enzo wheezed, caught in Alessio’s vice-like grip. Alessio growled, baring his teeth, then released him. He glanced at me as I stood there, staring between them.
“You had better know what you are doing, Finn. You shouldn’t trust him either. Pretty words only get you so far. It’s actions that take you further. You know that,” Alessio warned me, and I nodded, a silent understanding passing between us.Don’t fall for him again. It won’t end well.
The door slammed shut, and I was left alone with the man I needed to keep my distance from.
“What the fuck was that?” I hissed, walking to the window and pressing my forearm against the glass. My body burned, his words echoing in my mind. How dare he say such things after ten years of silence?
“What?” His voice was closer, his heavy footsteps behind me. They stopped, but I could tell he was near. Without even touching me, I could feel his heat and scent wrapping around me. I closed my eyes.
“You know what. You can’t say shit like that. Not in front of Alessio. Not to me. Not ever.”
“Why? It’s true.” His tall, hard body pressed against mine, forcing me flush against the floor-to-ceiling glass of my office. His nose dragged along behind my ear, his warm breath against my neck, and I felt myself melting into a pool of heat.No. Fuck, no. I twisted, turning to face him with a lethal glare, and shoved his chest away.
“Fuck off, Enzo.”
His blue eyes blazed with determination, and he stepped straight back into me, cupping my face in his hands and pressing his forehead against mine. I pushed him again, but not hard enough to make him budge.
“I meant what I said. I’d die for you. I love you, Finn. I’ve never fucking stopped.”
“Don’t!” I hissed, fury warring with the insane, powerful fire of desire that burned my skin. “You don’t get to say that to me. You lost that right ten years ago.”
“You think time takes that from me? No. You were mine then. You’re mine now. Time doesn’t get to take love away. That isn’t how it works.”
“What the fuck are you doing? I walked away, Enzo. And you let me go.”
“And I’ll drag you back, piece by piece, if I have to.”
Suddenly, my office door burst open, and bouncy black curls darted into view over Enzo’s shoulder. I pushed him away more forcefully this time, causing him to stumble back as he turned to see my three-year-old daughter bounding towards me.
“Papi!”Nerina squealed, her hands covered in paint, as I bent down and scooped her up. She slammed her wet hands on my face as if I were a canvas for her to smother, and I chuckled. “I’ve been painting with Elle!”
“You don’t say?” I laughed, knowing my expensive designer shirt would be ruined by the paint she was covered in, but I didn’t care. “What did you paint?”
“A rainbow,” she beamed. “Come and see!”
“I will, sweetheart. I just need to finish talking to my… friend.”
For the first time since she entered the room, I glanced at Enzo. His eyes were fixed on Nerina with a strange expression I couldn’t decipher. He swallowed hard and blinked as she turned her gaze to him, realising we weren’t alone.
“Ciao,what’s your name?” She smiled at him, always so confident and charming. Her small world was limited to the soldiers she saw around the house, who indulged her and played her silly games, as well as Alessio, Elle, and their twins. Whenever she met a new person, she instantly wanted to be their friend.
He cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair. Did he look… nervous? Fuck, why was that so endearing?
“Enzo. And what’s yours?”
“Nerina,” she said, slapping her hand on top of my head and smearing red paint through my hair. “And this is mypapi.Do you want to see my painting?”
He smiled, all the harshness of years of savagery dissolving from his face. “I’d love to see your rainbow.”
“You don’t have—” Before I could free him from the obligation, Nerina slipped from my arms and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the door. I sighed as he chuckled, following her. The sight of them, holding hands and smiling, made my chest ache, and I didn’t like it. I wanted to snatch Nerina away and slam the door in Enzo’s face so he couldn’t hurt us, but that would be dramatic. To Nerina, he was just an exciting new potential friend, someone to dote on for a few minutes.
