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“Gee, thanks,” he mocked poorly and then slapped my ass. “Put on your uniform. We have much to do.”
“Oh yeah, like what?”
“This is your idea of vacation?”
We lay on the beach, side by side, on plush, hotel-supplied beach towels as I slathered on sunblock. The golden man beside me watched the beachgoers.
“This is American vacation tradition, no?”
“We could have done this in Charleston.”
Daniello raised a brow as he watched a toddler prance past us with a new sand shovel. “No one knows who we are here. You are known well in Charleston.”
“True.” But I doubted any of my associates would stoop to a Charleston beach day. They spent their time in places far more exotic.
Daniello turned to me. His dark eyes followed the path of my hands as I massaged the lotion in.
“In Florida, we are Mr. and Mrs. Di Giovanni.”
“No thanks,” I said with as much sarcasm as I could muster. Lightning fast, he pulled me on top of him so we were chest to chest. His skin was on fire as he smiled up at me.
“Why not live like the rest of them? These people are stupid in bliss.”
He gripped the sides of my face with imploring eyes.
“Blissfully ignorant.” I gave him a wicked smile. “And we’ll do it our way because we aren’t like the rest of them.”
He leaned in close. “I agree.”
I placed my head on his shoulder while he wrapped his sculpted arms around me.
“This is a cuddle.” His shoulders moved, and I heard the rumble of his laugh as the sun beat down on my back. I ignored his remark and let myself relax into him.
What he’d done the day before had shaken me, but I couldn’t for one second deny that I knew the truth before he’d revealed it to me. He’d killed three men in Tennessee without regard for who they were and only because they were a threat to me.
For the first time in my life, I felt the protection of a man. As perverse as it was, as immoral and corrupt as Daniello seemed to be, he fed my sick need. My sinner thrived on his chaos. And for just a few more stolen moments of my life, I would indulge her.
“I’m not afraid of you.”
Daniello paused the easy exploration of his soothing hands. “So foolish.”
“I’m not afraid to die.”
“Ah, but you would fight to your death, Taylor.”
“Goddamned right I would.”
Daniello’s chest shook as he gripped me impossibly closer.
“I find you very fun.”
For six days, we lived like a king and queen, feasted on the fruits of the ocean and then each other’s bodies. Daniello took an occasional angry phone call from Rocco. The hatred spewed was unmistakable as he quickly exited the room to spare me from his wrath.
Aside from that and an all clear from Amber, we were free to just . . . be.
Without a real agenda, we were slightly lost and stumbled through Amelia Island like any other tourists. But the hotel provided so much sanctuary, we rarely left. Daniello spoke freely of his life, his family, his sister. And every so often I would see a looming sadness in his eyes when he talked about home. There was a missing piece.
I knew he was just as out of his element as I was, but we sank into a new rhythm together. We were making memories far more unforgettable than the ones we shared in the beginning.
