“Do you need a toilet break? They’re just there.”
“Again, thank you, but your safety—”
“Damiano,” I cut in. “I’m in a public hospital corridor full of my work colleagues. Nothing is going to happen to me. You can take a moment to empty your bladder. I don’t want to be the reason you end up with a UTI.”
His lips twitched as he fought his amusement. “I can wait a little longer,Signorina.Until you are back in your office.”
“I don’t know how you do it,” I sighed, pouring two sugars into my coffee and stirring. “I’d have wet myself by now. I have such a weak bladder. When I need to go, I need to go. Sorry, too much information?”
Damiano let out a low chuckle, but the sound didn’t register over the dark gaze that slid down my back like a teasing caress. Every hair on my body bristled instinctively. It was as if my skin sensed him before my eyes even made contact. I glanced over my shoulder, searching the beds, and there he was, sitting on the edge of a narrow hospital gurney with leather biker trousers stretched across his thighs, a tight black T-shirt emphasising muscles you didn’t just get from the gym, but from a life lived in violence. His open hand rested on his thigh as a male nurse stitched a wound. A thin trail of dried blood ran down his forearm, as if he hadn’t even bothered to wipe it away.
Cristo, those eyes. God help me. They didn’t blink. They were entirely fixed on me as if I were all he could see. The predatory hunger in them was unapologetic and daring, yet he looked completely calm. Amused almost. He had that sexy half-smile on his lips that wasn’t of a man seeing me by chance, but with the anticipation of someone waiting. I could almost hear his deep, seductive voice.
What’s your move, beautiful rebel?
He was waiting for me to confront him. Or run.
A surge of adrenaline coursed through my veins the same way it did when you come face-to-face with a dangerous animal. My fingers tightened around my coffee cup, indenting the paper as I struggled to decide what to do. The feisty, stubborn part of me wanted to storm over and demand he leave me alone, but mylogic knew that wouldn’t be a good idea, especially not here and with Damiano at my back, reporting everything to my father.
The nurse said something to Santino as he wrapped his hand in a bandage. He nodded, but his eyes never left mine. His smile slowly grew wider, as if he saw something in my gaze that pleased him. I swallowed, trying to ignore the fear that skated across my skin at that devastating smile because I knew what it meant.
I’m here for you.
My stomach twisted, and my brain screamed at me to leave. Run. But I stood there like an idiot, my body refusing to cooperate.
“Signorina?” Damiano’s voice pierced through the panic in my head. I forced myself to turn away from the man who had me trapped, backed into a corner, with merely his gaze, and plastered a smile onto my face. “Are you okay?”
“Si,I’m fine. Let’s get back,” I said, breezing past him.
As if Santino had a magnetic force field around him, my body refused to leave without one last glance. When I looked his way, he was still watching. His eyes had grown impossibly dark, as if he were drinking in every subtle reaction I tried to hide: the tremble of my hands, the pounding of my heart, and the deep flush creeping across my skin.
I averted my gaze once more, concentrating on placing one foot in front of the other until I reached my office and shut myself inside, exhaling a trembling breath. That was when the fear truly took root somewhere deep. Not because I thought he was going to hurt me, even though I wasn’t naïve enough to believe he wouldn’t, but because, even after knowing who he was, a part of me was still hooked on the thrill of him.
Yes, I wanted to run. But I wanted him to chase. And that was the scariest thing of all.
Moan My Name
“There,” the male nurse tugged off his gloves after finishing the bandage on my palm. I had refused to be treated by a woman, so I had to wait over an hour for this man. But it was worth it. No woman was going to care for me except my future wife.
“Keep it dry for the next few days, but it should heal quickly. It was a clean cut and not too deep.”
I know. I was the one who put it there.
“Grazie,” I said, my eyes still tracking Arianna as she practically sprinted down the corridor and out of sight. So her father had already warned her to stay away from me. Interesting. I thought Piero might have tried to shelter her from the knowledge of danger. Instead, he had done the opposite. Personal bodyguards, extra security measures at the hospital and new CCTV in her building. As if that would be enough to keep me away.
I glanced down at the nurse’s ID badge clipped to his trouser pocket. Had I cut my own hand just to find an excuse to enter the hospital and steal a staff access pass? Of course. I hadn’t even expected to see Arianna tonight. That was just a bonus.
I nudged the supply table with my knee, knocking equipment onto the floor and cursed, then lowered myself to help the nurse pick it all up. I used the distraction to slip his ID badge from his pocket into my bike helmet.
“It’s okay,” he rushed to stop me from helping. “Please. You’re fine. And you’re free to go,Signor.”
“Grazie.” I stood up, patted his shoulder, and then exited the ER, swinging my helmet in my hand. Making sure the extra security staff watched as I climbed onto my bike and drove out of the car park, I smirked at how easy that had been. I parked a few streets away, kept my helmet on, and strode towards the back of the hospital where there was gated access.
I flashed the ID badge under the scanner, and the heavy side door opened into the staffing area. The corridor was lined with private rooms where staff could sleepor rest for a few hours between shifts, and at the end was the staff lounge. After checking there was no one inside, I slipped in and took a few photos on my phone of the staff rota on the board for the next week to see when Aria would be there. Knowing she was about to go on her break at any moment, I checked the resting room keys. Choosing room number two, I unlocked it before returning to the staff lounge and removing the other three keys from the hooks, hiding them in a bowl and leaving only number two available.
I waited in room two, removing my helmet and glancing around the small room. A cramped single camp bed was set up in the corner, with a bedside table beside it. A second door led to an ensuite where staff could freshen up, and a small bookshelf held a few worn, heavily used books. When I heard the faint sound of heels clicking against the floor, I smirked and stepped into the ensuite. The door opened, and the air immediately shifted, desire stirring inside me as her intoxicating perfume wafted through the air and I heard the subtle exhale of exhaustion leave her lips. I peered through the open crack in the door and watched her toss her handbag onto the bed and remove her heels while she flicked through messages on her phone. I took a full minute to watch her.
She brushed her hand across the nape of her neck, which was exposed because her blonde hair was pulled back in a bun. Her eyes were fixed on her phone screen, immersed in doomscrolling her socials, but the subtle way her body responded to my gaze was slowly dawning on her. She shivered as if from a draft and glanced up with a cute frown, checking to see if the window was closed. She rolled her shoulders, threw her phone onto the bed, then stood up and headed straight for the bathroom. Towards me.
