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But was I crazy not to be scared? Was I so head over heels for this man I could get hit in the face with a bunch of red flags and see green instead?
I mean, his mother’s family was mafia. And the mafia was afraid of him. He had a room of monitors and weapons that didn’t belong in a chef’s home. Then there was the brutal fact he could kill, and here I was, a person unable to kill a bug without remorse.
And here I am, glued in place.
He was as stuck with me as I was with him, that was all I knew.
Now the tricky part would be making him understand that.
“No,” he bit out, as if reading my thoughts. “You’re not coming.” He slashed his arms through the air and began cursing in Italian, eyes still beholding mine. “Absolutely not.”
I chewed on my lip, trying to figure out how to get through to him when he had way more restraint than I did. Was far more stubborn, especially when it came to my safety. “What if someone comes after me to get to you?” That would be my best chance to get him to surrender to my wishes. Yes, I was playing dirty, but in my mind, the man’s soul was on the line. His life. If he went back to New York to face those demons without me, and they swallowed him whole, I could lose him forever. “I guess Chiara is safer away from me and with her father right now, too.”
He frowned and remained quiet for a few painful seconds before suggesting, “I’ll hire Ryan’s SEAL buddies who helped him out last year. They can fly in for extra protection.”
“Natalia’s pregnant. She doesn’t need the stress of worrying about having a target on her head because I’m around. It’s a bad idea.”
He closed the space between us, which forced me to walk backward until I hit the wall again. “Then they can take you somewhere off-the-grid and keep an eye on you.” He angled his head as if daring me to challenge him.
“You want me alone in a cabin with a bunch of guys?” My question had him snarling. He was still wound up, so it didn’t take much to push him. “And if something happened to me because you weren’t personally protecting me, then what?”
“Nothing will ever happen to you. I won’t let it.” His palms went to the wall on each side of me, and when he leaned closer, I realized he was as hard as I was wet.
Was there something wrong with the both of us that we were aroused right now? But this man always had me hot and bothered, and I didn’t know how to turn it off.
“Then prove it.” I lifted my chin. “Protect me yourself.”
He scowled, and I’d swear, it felt like he wanted to punish me. Throw me on his bed, bend me over, and take a belt to my ass.
“Why do you do this to me?” he rasped.
“I’m trying to save you.” And that was the truth. “It’s a lot easier to bring you back from hell if I’m already there with you. After all of this, what if ...” No, there was no chance I could let him leave without me. “It’s Wednesday,” I said with a nod. “You have until Sunday to get justice.”
“Sunday?” He angled his head. “Why then?”
“I’m coming with you, and Chiara’s with her father until then.” I swallowed, worried he’d see the bit of fear in my eyes. “That’s your deadline for revenge.”
“Deadline for revenge,” he growled out. “And you think you can handle the things I plan to do in the name of justice?”
I rolled my lips inward, attempting to summon the answer he needed to hear, hoping I’d truly be able to stomach the “things” he planned to do.
But then I thought about Bianca, and I stared him in the eyes as I murmured, “If someone out there is responsible for your sister dying ...” My eyelids fluttered closed as I said as confidently as possible, “I’ll light the match you need to burn down their entire world.”
At the feel of my arms whooshing up over my head, my eyes startled open. Enzo had my wrists pinned to the wall. He was leaning in so close we were practically one, and every hard ridge and slope of his body touched me.
“You don’t mean that,” he gruffly said, his hot breath on my face. “You don’t understand what it’s like to take a life. And I never want you to know that feeling, do you hear me?” With his forearms over mine still, he laced our fingers, locking our hands together against the wall. “Maria, so help me, tell me you understand.”
“I—I understand,” I whispered. “But I’m still coming with you.” I wouldn’t back down from that.
His gaze narrowed as his grip strengthened a touch. “You make me crazy,” he said in a nearly broken voice just before he did it. Finally kissed me. Six long years of waiting to feel his lips again.
With his restraint snapping, our soft groans mingled together as we kissed. My body seemed to meld with his as he slid his tongue into my mouth, twining his with mine like a battle he was desperate to win. I gave in and let him dictate the movements because the man had an expert tongue, and he could lead me nearly anywhere with it.
“Maria,” he said between soft kisses that turned erotic again, and I wanted to grab him. Hold his hair. Touch him. But with my arms locked over my head, I was at his mercy.
He tore his lips from mine a minute or so later, only to drag them along my jawline. Then he trailed his mouth down the side of my neck, sucking and nipping at my skin in a few places as if he wanted to devour every inch of me.
His teeth grazed my flesh before he lifted his mouth to my face and found my lips again, and a nearly bruising, punishing kiss followed and had me spiraling.
