Page 165 of Claimed At First Sight

“Who are they?” I ask Leon.

“Valentino Romero and his two men,” he replies, his attention fixed on the path ahead.

The Romeros… again. The name lands like a stone in my stomach.

I glance over my shoulder as I keep walking. The three Romero men have reached Maximo, who stands flanked by six of his soldiers. They stop a few feet from him.

“Shouldn’t you be with him?” I ask.

“I have my orders.” His answer is matter-of-fact. “Don Marco will be fine. They won’t try anything here. Not in public.”

He pauses for a fraction of a second before adding, “Even if it’s the Mad Dog.”

I frown. “The Mad Dog?”

“Valentino is the unpredictable Romero brother. He’s reckless. If there’s a Romero likely to ignore common sense, it’s him.”

That doesn’t help me feel any calmer.

I know Maximo can handle himself. I’ve seen enough of the respect he commands to understand why he’s Don. Yet that doesn’t stop my eyes from drifting back to him.

There are no raised voices. No drawn weapons. From where I am, it looks less like enemies meeting and more like businessmen discussing the weather.

Yet every instinct tells me the conversation is anything but polite.

The one I presume is Valentino glances in my direction. Even from this distance, I can see his slow smile.

He knows exactly who I am, doesn’t he?

My stomach drops another few inches.

“Keep moving, Miss Accardi,” Leon urges when I slow.

This time I don’t argue.

Maximo’s two SUVs are idling at the curb. Philip opens the back door of the front one, and I slide inside, warm air wrapping around me.

I sink into the leather seat and stare out the window, but from here, I can’t see Maximo anymore.

Leon and the other men take up positions around the vehicle, their backs to me.

I let my head fall back and close my eyes. I finally have a moment to collect myself. Without thinking, my fingertips drift to my lips.

As I suspected, they’re swollen, and when I brush my thumb across my bottom lip, it’s more sensitive than it should be.

The memory of Maximo’s mouth crashes over me with such startling clarity that I snatch my hand away as though I’d touched a hot stove.

I’d chosen not to tell him to stop, and then I’d leaned into him. What was I thinking?

It was like the intensity in his eyes had hypnotized me, and then the way he took over the kiss made me forget everything.

It was different from our first. Deeper, somehow. Hungrier. And then I felt him hard beneath me.

Heat rushes into my cheeks all over again.

He’d wanted me. Really wanted me.

My stomach does a little flip. I groan softly before dropping my forehead against the cool window. Here I go again, replaying everything.