The other man gives me one last longing look and heads for the door.
Then he disappears, leaving me alone with a furious Lazarus Ferraro.
“Rule number six.” He annunciates each syllable a little too clearly. “You willnotlead my men on. I don’t care how pissedoff you are with me; you will not use Johan or Noah as a tool for revenge.Ever.”
I gape at him. “That’s not?—”
“Yes, Aurora, it is.” He moves forward, his knee hitting the mattress.
I attempt to scoot back, or away, orsomething.
But his murderous gaze holds me captive, forcing me to stare up at him as he continues speaking.
“You wanted to prove a point by kissing Johan, not realizing that my second would shoot himself in the foot if you so much as asked. Fuck, I’m pretty sure Noah would stab himself in the heart if you desired it.”
“I would never?—”
“Which means,” he goes on, cutting me off, “you wield power unlike anyone else in this house. And I willnotlet you use that to hurt them.” He grabs my chin and leans down until we’re almost nose to nose. “Do you understand me, Ms. Bianchi?”
His fury is so palpable that I’m shaking. “I would never hurt them,” I whisper.
“Not purposely, perhaps,” he growls back at me. “But you just hurt Johan.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“And that excuses it?” he demands.
My throat works, my insides suddenly icing over with the realization that, no, it doesn’t excuse it at all. But I… I’m pretty sure Iwantto kiss Johan. So it wasn’t a lie. However, I… I was annoyed with Lazarus when I voiced the request.
Therefore, he’s right.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“It’s not me you owe an apology to, Ms. Bianchi,” he replies just as quietly.
Those words settle between us, his lips scant inches from mine. This close, I can see the brown flakes in his otherwise darkeyes. They’re not as black as I thought, just really dark brown. Intense. Beautiful. Decorated with thick, long lashes.
I swallow for a completely different reason now as his scent overwhelms me.Chocolate and cherries. My own aroma joins his, and together we smell like dessert.
His gaze goes to my lips, then slowly trails back upward. “I need to go tend to Johan. Feel free to roam today. But don’t leave the property. If you try, I’ll know. And I won’t be pleased.” He pushes away from me and leaves the room without another word.
I lie there for a long time, staring at the closed door, struggling to breathe.
So much has happened.
So much has changed.
How was I just in Widows Peak yesterday?I wonder, dizzy from the last twenty hours or so of my life.And how the hell am I going to survive here with all these intimidatingly gorgeous alphas?
“Ugh,” I groan, rolling over to bury my face in a pillow.
It’s the wrong decision.
Because the linen smells like leather and paper.Books.Underlined with a sweet scent that’s all me.
My combined aroma with Johan.
It’s addictive. Perfect.Ours.
