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Prologue
Luciano
IMPECCABLE BEAUTY.
That was the only thought floating through my brain when I first laid eyes on Emory Daubson. Even before my brother, Rico, lost his mind and ran a series of background checks on anyone who was in close proximity to “his girls,” I’d seen her. The pull had been immediate. But the timing wasn’t right.
I’d been cruising through the frozen food section at the local grocery store, a few weeks earlier, when I heard her voice from the next aisle over. It was warm and soft with a hint of breathiness that—sight unseen—had my dick twitching behind the zipper of my jeans. So like the stealthy SEAL the U.S. government trained me to be, I crept around the corner and what I saw nearly took me to my knees.
She was tall, probably five nine, with long blond hair flowing in waves down her back, ending just before an ass that was encased in the tightest pair of jeans known to man. My mind instantly conjured the various scenarios in which I’d be peeling them down her remarkable legs.
“I’d be more than happy to show you where those are, Miss,” the eager clerk said.
I hadn’t even noticed the little bastard before he spoke, but now he was beginning to piss me off. He was practically drooling over her luscious curves and he wasn’t being sly in his perusal. Not that my beauty noticed though. I had a feeling she was clueless about the impact her looks had on men.
She turned her head and my world shifted on its axis. No lie. I’d experienced literal heart-stopping moments in my life before; none of which could ever compare to the first five seconds of seeing her in all her glory. Sparks flew. The little hairs on my neck stood on end. My fingertips even tingled because their blood supply had migrated south, below my belt. If I hadn’t known it was impossible, I’d have thought I’d been struck by lightning.
“Oh, thank you so much,” she exclaimed, a shy smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
She turned back to the store clerk, severing our connection.
“Right this way.”
The little shit held his arm for her to go ahead of him, then promptly shifted his gaze to her ass. I felt like a total creeper following the two of them through the store, keeping them in my sight while also maintaining a respectable distance. Thankfully, the place was pretty busy, so hiding in plain sight was fairly simple. Three aisles to the left, he pointed to the bottom shelf, then stepped back and watched as she bent over to retrieve two boxes.
Yeah, he and I would be having a chat about respect later in the parking lot.
She thanked him again and returned to her shopping list, oblivious to the rest of the world around her or the man who continued to leer at her body. Okay, two men, but in my defense, I was simply concerned for her safety at this point. Or at least that’s what I told myself to justify my pervy behavior.
Thirty seconds later, the jackass still hadn’t moved, so I took matters into my own hands. With the cart out in front of me, my hands gripping the filthy plastic handle like my life depended on it, I moseyed down the middle of the aisle on an intercept course.
Fifty feet away.
Forty.
At thirty feet, I started to whistle the theme song from the classic movie,Rocky,hoping the idiot would pick up what I was laying down. Sure enough, he dragged his eyes off her long enough to scowl in my direction. It was almost comical to watch the smirk slide off his face when he realized I had nearly a foot and fifty pounds on his puny frame.
Twenty feet.
Ten.
His eyes widened in horror when he realized I wasn’t slowing down.
Five feet.
Finally,the dumbass stepped back, narrowly avoiding the front corner of my cart, but even the small amount of space between them wasn’t good enough in my humble opinion. I came to a stop directly behind my new obsession, who thankfully was none the wiser, and pulled the edge of my jacket back to reveal the Glock strapped in my shoulder holster. Before I could even blink, the clerk was gone.
Success.
I continued down the aisle, my earlier bravado fading like the setting sun. This woman was dangerous. Not physically, but in the sense that I could see my soul becoming entwined with hers. I wouldn’t be able to survive without the radiance she cast around me. In other words, she scared the shit outta me, and I hadn’t even spoken to her yet.
I’d seen evil many times before. It tarnished your psyche and turned your world upside down. But I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, I’d face-off against the devil himself if it meant having her shine her light my way.
I wanted her with every fiber of my being, I just needed to figure out how to push past my own fears to be the man she deserved. A man she’d be proud to call her own.
Right now, my head wasn’t there.
Soon, Bellezza. Very soon.
