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The soundof the balcony door sliding shut had my head snapping up in time to see the flash of Ciana’s red hair blowing in the soft breeze as she made her escape to her room next door. Jumping up, I made it to the door just in time to see her slip safely into her suite.
Heart pounding, I sagged against the glass in relief. I was going to tie her to the bed the next time so I didn’t have to worry about her doing stupid shit like that without me there to assist her. She should just bring all her things over to my room so she wouldn’t have to return to her own. I’d take care of her guards. Pay them off or put a bullet in their brains—whichever kept their mouths silent.
It had only been one night, but I was already dreading the end of Ciana’s vacation. The thought of her leaving without me didn’t sit well with me. There was this boulder-sized knot in my gut, and it took me a bit to realize it was anxiety. Nervousness was something I’d left behind in my childhood. I’d had to harden myself as I’d grown. Nerves and anxiety held no place in my world. If the enemy sensed your weaknesses, then you didn’t last long in my line of work.
No one knew that I had someone I would die to protect. Not yet, anyway. Soon, there would be no hiding Ciana from everyone—or the fact that I lived and breathed for her smiles. Once Sheena found out, she would lose her mind, but she would either fall in line or lose the life she was so accustomed to.
Slowly, my heart rate returned to normal, and I walked back to the bed. Dropping onto the edge, I grabbed my phone and powered it on. An infinite number of missed calls and texts spammed my screen moments later. Ignoring them all, I quickly checked in with my second-in-command, letting Declan know I was still alive.
He gave me a rundown on what was happening on his end, voicing just how annoyed he was with my absence. With me gone, he had to deal with Sheena and Cori on top of everything else. I fought a grin, hoping he would make my life easier and just put a bullet in them all before I returned. Of course, he wouldn’t, though. Unless it was a direct order from me, he wouldn’t harm a woman, not even ones as heinous as those two.
“They’re talking about an engagement party,” Declan said exasperatedly. “Going on and on about the details. At first, I thought they were talking about your cousin. But then I heard Sheena mention getting your grandmother’s ring out of the vault, and Cori ’bout lost her mind. There were tears and manic laughter. Seriously, it freaked poor Conor out, mate. You know he don’t like sudden, high-pitched noises.”
“They can plan all they want,” I said with a grunt as I walked into the bathroom. “Fuck, they can even plan a wedding and invite the entire country for all I care. But I won’t be marrying that harpy.”
“Sheena says you are,” he grumbled.
“Sheena doesn’t run this fucking family,” I snarled. Sucking in a deep breath, I calmed myself and turned on the shower. “Let them enjoy their fun. I want them to have the illusion that they have control. They will be dealt with soon enough.”
Declan sighed heavily. “Whatever you say, boss.”
“Just keep me informed. I’ll check in again tomorrow.”
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t call you, you’ll call me. Go wine and dine the future queen.” He yawned, sounding bored. “Win her heart before shite hits the fan.”
“I’m working on it,” I muttered. “Things are moving faster than I hoped.”
“That’s good news, at least. Maybe she won’t try to slit your throat when she finds out who you are.” My curse was drowned out by his hearty laugh as he hung up.
In truth, I didn’t know how Ciana would react when she learned who I really was. I knew she was loyal to her family, especially to that fucker Ryan. But if I made her love me enough, maybe I could win over that loyalty of hers—if just a little. If she picked me over her family, I knew I had her heart whether she admitted to loving me or not.
That goal firmly in mind, I rushed through my shower, my need to have eyes on her making my skin feel too tight for my body.
It was an hour later before I could satisfy that need. I found her walking along the few boutiques the island had to cater to the resort guests. They were small, high-end, designer shops that boasted exclusive items from all around the world. Ciana strolled leisurely down the boardwalk dressed in a bikini top that just barely covered her tits and a wraparound skirt that molded to her perfect ass.
I kept my distance, but I never let her leave my line of sight. Her guards were good, one watching their surroundings, while the other watched her. It was a solid partnership the two of them had going on, letting me know they trusted each other with their own lives as well as that of their charge. But they made one major mistake—they never once noticed me watching them or her.
It didn’t surprise me. During the months that I had been stalking Ciana back in New York, those two never once noticed me then either. It both pleased me and pissed me off at the same time. These two idiots were responsible for her protection outside the walls of the Vitucci compound. They should be aware of every danger to her safety, and if I weren’t so utterly besotted and in love with her, I would have been the greatest danger to her of all.
Irritated with them for not noticing me, I followed, taking note of where her eyes lingered in each shop she didn’t venture inside. One thing I’d learned about my beauty during the countless hours of following her was that she loved to shop. But there had been times when she would come out of a shop and a flash of guilt would cross her beautiful face.
The first time it had happened, I’d been intrigued. As soon as that emotion had filled her eyes, she’d barked an order at her guards, and they had jumped to do her bidding. The shopping trip had ended abruptly, and the next stop they’d made was to a toy store where she spent the next two hours buying out several entire aisles. Half of the toys were taken to a women’s shelter, while the other half she had delivered personally to the children’s wing of a hospital in one of the worst parts of the city.
Before then, I’d been head over heels in lust with Ciana Donati. Something about her had compelled me to be as close to her as I could get. But as I’d stood in the stairwell, watching her interact with all those sick, underprivileged children, that was when I’d lost my heart to her.
All my life, I’d had it hammered into my head how bad the Vitucci family was, which included the Donatis by association. How spoiled the children were was something Sheena would rave about at least once a week. But in that moment, as Ciana had dropped down onto the floor with a group of young cancer patients, every vile thing my great-grandmother had ever had to say about the Vituccis had disappeared from my head.
Ciana spent hours playing with them, and they seemed to enjoy her attention infinitely more than the expensive toys she had brought them. That was something I understood immediately. Ciana was so full of brightness and kindness it was impossible not to crave it, to want some of that light and sweetness to shine on you.
And right then, I knew that I was selfish enough to want it all for myself.
But first, I had to win her heart, earn her love. Then it would belong to me. I could have that sweet light anytime I wanted if I could just bury myself deep enough inside her that she had no choice but to love me as much as I loved her.
Finally, she picked a shop and went inside, her two guards following at a distance. I stayed outside, watching the three of them through the window for several minutes before returning to the other shops and purchasing the items I’d seen her brown eyes lingering on. I had everything sent back to my room and exited the last shop just as Ciana came out of the store she had gone into earlier. She held only one small bag in her hand, but a smile was teasing at her lips as she walked back to the resort.
One of the guards, Ralph, looked anything but happy as he followed her. The other one, Milo, seemed unfazed by his partner’s change in mood. It was Ralph whom I disliked the most out of the two of them. His eyes were always going to Ciana, which, admittedly, was part of his job, but there was just something in the way he looked at her at times that set me on edge.
As Ciana walked, her phone rang. With a happy squeal, she answered it without breaking stride. “Hey, Nova!” She listened for a long moment before an adorably snorted laugh left her. “I would say I’m sorry for upsetting him yesterday, but we both know I’m not. When will you be back in New York?” Her face fell at the answer she received, and I wanted to put the smile back where it belonged. But it returned on its own moments later. “Okay, well, it just gives me a reason to anticipate June even more. I miss you. And I don’t care what Ryan says, I totally miss you more than he does.”
She spoke to Nova a few more minutes before making an annoyed sound and pulling the phone back to look at the screen. “Damn it. I knew he would call her and interrupt girl talk,” she grumbled to herself as she entered the hotel.
I kept my distance, letting her and the guards get on the elevator before approaching the lobby myself. Several minutes later, I stepped into my suite and walked out onto the balcony, hoping—needing—to see her again. My eyes had been on her less than ten minutes before, but that didn’t stop the constant craving to have her within my sight.
The door leading into her bedroom was open, the air conditioning blowing the curtains out onto the balcony. I walked closer and caught the sound of her laugh before she said something too softly for me to hear. Moments later, she walked out onto the balcony, her phone pressed to her ear. But when she saw me standing there, my gaze drinking in the sight of her, she stopped in her tracks, a warm smile brightening her face.
“Hi,” she mouthed, then blinked before returning her focus to whoever was on the other end of the phone conversation. “Zariah, I have to go…” A hot blush filled her cheeks, but she grinned. “Shut up, Z. I’ll call you later.”
Disconnecting, she dropped her hand to her side and took a shy step toward me. “Hello, neighbor.”
“I hope I’m more than just your neighbor,” I grumbled, reaching across the space that separated us to catch hold of her wrist. The feel of her soft skin beneath my fingers eased some of the tension that had gathered in my muscles at being away from her.
Her pulse jumped under my hold, her brown eyes turning to liquid heat as she licked her lips. “My sister is jealous that I have such delicious eye candy to keep me entertained while on vacation.”
“You showed her my picture?” I asked with a smirk.
Her nose wrinkled adorably. “No. Zariah isn’t allowed to look at you, and I don’t have a picture of you to show her. But I might have mentioned your name, and she knew who you were right away. She’s a big shot corporate lawyer, working in the trenches so she can take over the legal team at our family’s business one day. So she knows a little about everyone who matters in the business world.”
“You can take as many pictures of me as you want.” It was only fair. I had thousands of her in my phone. If she saw even one of them, it would freak her out. Ninety percent of them were from a distance, but they had all been taken in New York as I stalked her.
She tilted her head to the side, causing her long hair to cascade over her shoulder. Fuck, she was so damn beautiful it took my breath away. “That’s all you have to say about what I just told you? You don’t care that my sister was just telling me all the gossip about you?”
I grinned. “Was it juicy?”
She rolled her eyes. “You know it wasn’t. Zariah said you haven’t been seen out with a woman in years, and even then, it was some secretary who was in her fifties.” She tugged her wrist, but when I loosened my hold, it was for her to link her fingers through mine. “She also informed me that you have an entire committee set up for charities. According to my sister, you donated over two million dollars to one of my favorite hospitals only last month.”
“I have no control over what charities they donate to,” I excused with a shrug.
“That’s what Zariah said,” she said, her voice dropping, turning sultry. “But she seemed to think you have a closer connection to the hospital.”
I might have pushed someone in charge of the charity to donate after I’d seen Ciana with those sick kids that day. But I wasn’t about to tell her that. It might have won me points with her, but for some reason, I didn’t want to win her over like that. It was ridiculous, given the things I’d already done and still planned on doing to make her fall for me, but apparently I was fucked in the head when it came to this woman.
“Z said it was the first time your charity ever donated to that hospital—or any hospital, actually. It stirred up some big commotion because after hearing that you donated so much, a few other big names donated as well.” Her fingers clenched around mine. “I don’t know why you did it, but thank you. Those kids…” She swallowed hard and gave me a trembling smile. “It’s a great hospital, especially the children’s wing. The location is what keeps them from getting the donations they deserve. My zia Victoria and I push for that hospital every year, but it’d never gotten the attention we hoped for. The money you gave them went a long way, but it was the spotlight you put on them that will go even further.”
“Then I will be sure to tell my people to make it a regular thing,” I promised casually before changing topics. “Did you enjoy your afternoon shopping?”
“How did you know I went shopping?” she asked with a frown.
“I saw you leave and return with a bag.” Not a lie, I just omitted the following-her part of the truth for the moment, wanting the things I’d purchased for her earlier to be a surprise. “What did you buy?”
She licked her bottom lip, and I fucking knew it was something for me. “I’ll have to wait and show you later tonight.”
“Show me now,” I commanded, my voice turning hoarse.
“Later,” she said firmly, a smile teasing her lips. “You need to learn patience, Torin.”
She had no idea just how patient I’d been. Sitting in the shadows, watching her, wanting her, falling deeper for her with each passing day until it became like a living entity trying to claw its way free. If I hadn’t been patient, I would have snatched her up and hidden her away months before. But if I’d done that, then I wouldn’t have this moment, with her looking up at me through her lashes as if she were already half in love with me, the hunger in her brown eyes revving up my own need for her.
Patience had gotten me to this point, but I was done being patient. Now that I’d had a taste of how good it was between us, I couldn’t hold back any longer.
