“Dick?”
“Yes. Fuck yes.”
“Because I warned you and you didn’t listen.” His breath, sweet and hot, fanned my face. He grabbed the lower edge of the parka and pulled me closer, ripping a gasp out of my chest. Then he pinned his stare to my mouth. My lips parted in response. Fuck, piss and shit. “What if it was someone else here right now? What if I found someone else here, like this, with you right now?”
Words eluded me. I could only gasp.
“You know what I’d have done. Is that what you want, Angelina? You want me to maim and kill for you?”
I shook my head rapidly, vigorously. “No. No one here could have done what you’re doing right now. Isn’t that what you told me?”
“Maybe not one of my men unless he had a death wish, but what if it was Leo? He’s a sneaky bastard and knows this house better than any of my men. He could’ve broken in and found you here all alone with your hard nipples in his face. You know he has a thing for you. He wants you so bad. What if he thought with his cock and took advantage of you?”
“I wouldn’t let him.”
“What would you do to stop him, little girl?”
A surge of anger ran through me. My knee lifted to smack his balls, but it met his palm. How could he move it so fast off the glass, as if he’d anticipated my move?
“Not bad. What else?”
I tried the other knee, but he blocked that as well. Both his fists gripped my knees and spread my legs with one swift move. His weight pressed me to the glass, his hips less than an inch away from my crotch. “How about now? What if he went crazy and cornered you like this? What if it wasn’t Leo at all? What if it washim?”
Pain seared my chest, seeping into my soul, and tears blurred my vision. “Please stop.”
“That’s what you’re going to do? Cry and beg him to stop like the little girl you are? Would you even try to stop him at all?”
“You’re an asshole.”
“An asshole that doesn’t want any sick fuck around you taking what’s not his. An asshole that will kill to protect you because you have no skill whatsoever to protect yourself.”
I wanted to smash my violin over his head, but it was too precious to waste on Tino fucking Bellomo. I pushed it against him. I fucking pushed against the wool of his coat, one hand holding the violin and bow, the other a fist, over and over, but he wouldn’t budge. He was a freaking wall.
He let go of my knees only to grab my parka again. His tongue did that darting thing and dragged a quivering long breath out of my lips. “You’re a beautiful girl. You drive men crazy. If you’re not careful, you’re going to pay a terrible price.” Abruptly, he zipped up my parka and stepped back with a warning stare.
My lips and chin trembled with the tears I pushed back. No more crying in front of him. I spun to storm out, but he grabbed my wrist. I darted an angry gaze at him over my shoulder, but he grabbed me to his embrace.
When his arms wrapped around me and he printed his soft kiss on my forehead, I couldn’t fight back the tears.
He waited it out, as always, and then his gaze, now fatherly kind as they used to be, smiled at me. “Did you hear what I said when I first came in?”
I blinked, remembering. I heard it, yes. It only registered in my head now, though. “We’re having dinner at Leo’s?”
“Yes. It’s Valentine’s Day.”
My mind stopped working for a moment, and my heart did that fluttering move it always did for the wrong people.
“I want you to play at Leo’s as a part of the restaurant celebration,” he added.
“Oh.” Of course that was why he’d ask me to dinner on Valentine’s Day. “Wow.”
“Is that okay?”
“I…I’d love to. My first gig outside school…and a free meal at Leo’s. The food is excellent there. I… The Halloween special you have there is… Wow. Thank you, Tino.”
“Prego. Eight O’clock sharp. I’ll be in charge of your wardrobe, undergarments included.”
My jaw twisted. As much as I was dying to protest anddisobey, I’d learned my lesson. He knew how to give one. “Fine.”
