Alonso nods, and I jog off across the lawn in the direction of the orchard.
Sweat beads on my chest and glides across my brow as I race toward the entrance to the orchard a few minutes later. I can’t see them, which only fuels my anger. Hard, warm stone grazes the soles of my bare feet when I step onto the path that traverses both sides of the orchard. I can hardly hear over the thrumming in my ears, and my heart thumps frantically against my chest wall as I hurry along the path, peering left and right, wondering where the fuck they are.
A low masculine moan rings out, and I see red. When I run in the direction of the sound, my hands ball up at my sides as I prepare to inflict pain on that asshole. I push through the trees, quaking with rage as I come upon them.
Santino has Natalia pinned against a tree, and he’s thrusting his hips at her as she covers her naked breasts with her hands. He is whispering in her ear while dropping kisses along her neck.
Jealousy is a feral beast. It springs to immediate life in my chest, and I want to rip his lips from his face and remove his hands so he can’t taste her and touch her ever again.
Grabbing the band of his swim shorts, I forcefully yank him back away from her. Natalia shrieks, dropping her hands in shock and baring her magnificent breasts. But I don’t have time to savor the view before Santino swings at me.
I duck down, driving my clenched fist into his stomach in three quick successive moves. He stands no chance against me. I have been trained in all manner of combat skills, and all he’s got is some muscle mass from regular workouts at the gym. “I told you not to touch her!” I roar, slamming my head into his. He staggers back, losing his balance and falling flat on the ground.
I jump on his chest and pummel his face with both my fists. Blood spurts from his nose and a cut on his lip, but it’s not enough. I want to see his face painted completely in red for daring to ever touch her. He tries to push me off, but I clasp my thighs firmly against the side of his body and continue battering his face, unleashing all the anger, jealousy, and frustration coursing through my veins.
How dare he infect her with his poisonous hands.
He isn’t worthy to even speak to her, let alone touch her.
“Leo! Stop!” Natalia pleads, grabbing my elbow. “Let him go before you kill him!”
“I should kill him,” I grit out, snarling in semi-satisfaction at his blood-soaked face.
“Your issue is with me. Not him.”
I glare up at her. “Shut up, Nat.” I know she’s far from innocent in this, but he took advantage of the situation. Partly to piss me off, when I showed my hand back at the pool, and it’s not like he gives a shit about our traditions. He must know Natalia is promised to a made man, and he couldn’t care less about risking her reputation as long as he got his hands on her. And I get it. She’s fucking gorgeous, and in that bikini, she is temptation on a platter. But that doesn’t excuse it.
I climb to my feet, grabbing Natalia behind me and shielding her with my body. “Get the fuck out of here before I change my mind,” I bark at the asshole.
“Fuck you.” He flips me the bird as he struggles to his feet, spitting blood on the ground. Looking over my shoulder, he leers at Natalia. “Call me, doll. We can finish what we started.”
Over my dead fucking body.
I gnash my teeth and move toward him, but Nat curls her arm around my waist, placing her palm on my stomach, holding me in place. “Let him go,” she softly says. The asshole staggers off, and I try to rein in my anger. Nat’s warm breath coasts over my exposed flesh, and I’m suddenly aware of how tight she is pressed up against me. Her bare chest is flush to my back, and her nipples are taut against my skin. Blood travels south, and my dick hardens to the point of pain.
“Leo,” she whispers, her fingers tracing along the dips and curves of my abdominal wall. “On a scale of one to ten, how mad are you at me right now?”
It’s hard to hold on to my anger with the lust burning through my veins, but she doesn’t need to know that. “About a hundred.” My voice is gruff, thick with desire, my dick attempting to poke a hole through the front of my swim shorts. I can’t turn around. Not like this. Not without reacting.
I don’t want to feel this way about her.
Not when she can never be mine.
Battling my feelings is a daily challenge I have grown to accept.
I can’t act on the way I feel.Wecan’t.
So, I would rather love her from afar, protecting her in whatever way I can—from harm and from me.
She doesn’t know how hard it was to resist her last Sunday. When she stripped down and her lips pressed against mine, I had to cage the carnal beast inside me, champing at the bit to claim her. I know if I allow myself even one taste I will be ruined forever, and I won’t have the strength to stay away from her anymore.
So, I have to fight this.
For both of us, even if she seems determined to get me to cave.
“Leo.” She slides out from behind me, standing in front of me, and I grind my teeth so hard pain skates along my jaw. “Look at me.” She plants her small, delicate hand on my chest, and her touch sears beneath my skin, reaching deep. “Please.” Her heartfelt plea spears me through the heart, and I lift my head, unable to deny her. I suck in a gasp as my eyes drink their fill. Her tits are perfection. Big and round with pert rosy nipples, and my tongue darts out, licking my lips of its own volition. My cock strains behind my swim shorts as I visualize sucking her nipples in my mouth while my hands feast on her voluptuous curves.
“I’m sorry,” she adds, yanking me out of my lust-fueled daze. “I shouldn’t have gone off with him.” She averts her eyes, and my spine stiffens.
