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"I know you did."
"That’s not true."
"Can you look me in the eyes and tell me it didn’t cross your mind even once that you marrying me would solve a lot of my problems?"
He hesitates.
"That’s what I thought."
"You’re twisting my words. I wanted to marry you so I could protect you, so I could ensure something like this never happened to you again."
"I don’t need your protection. I’ve already been hurt, so it’s not likely it’s going to happen again, and the only reason they came after me is because they thought I was Jeanne.” I square my shoulders. “Besides, you’re fulfilling the promise made to your Nonna. You’re going to marry my sister."
His lips firm, and a pulse thuds at the base of his throat. Those golden sparks in his eyes seem to recede so they turn into chips of ice. A shiver crawls up my spine. Jesus, he looks so angry, so mean. He squeezes his fingers at his sides, and his biceps bulge. His shoulders seem to grow bigger, until it feels like I’m surrounded by him.
"Don’t do this. Don’t throw away this opportunity."
"All I see is the man who’s supposed to marry my sister, making a fool of himself," I say lightly.
Anger leaps off of him. The planes of his chest seem to swell, until his jacket is straining at the seams.
"You are going to regret this," he growls.
"The only thing I regret is meeting you again. Now, if you’ll excuse me..." I brush past him, take a step, another, putting distance between us. The tension begins to drain out of me when something hard circles my wrist.
"I’m not done with you."
23
Massimo
I should let her go. This is supposed to be when I allow her to walk away from me and never look at her again. Instead, I circle her wrist with my fingers, and tug on it, so she unbalances and falls against me.
"What the—" She yelps as I twist her arm behind her back, so her breasts are flattened against my chest.
"You don’t get to walk out on me like that," I snap. If I sound desperate, it’s because I am. If I let her go, I’m not sure when I’m going to see her again, and I can’t bear that thought. If I let her leave, she might turn her back on me and disappear again, and I can’t allow that.
"It’s best we don’t see each other. Surely, you realize that?" she says in a low voice. "Whatever we had was over before it even started. I’m not the person you met, Massimo. I’ve changed."
I push aside the strand of hair that’s fallen across her forehead. "You’re even more of a woman than when I met you. More courageous. More fearless. Pluckier. More resilient. More everything." I draw my fingers across the scar on her cheek, and she winces.
"And I’m not yours."
My guts twist. Anger slices through my veins. The blood pounds at my temples as I take in the stubborn set to her jaw. I need to leave her, forget what I felt for her. Forget that she’s the one woman who’d have made me happy. I try to pull back my arm, but goddammit, I can’t. I wind my fingers around the nape of her neck and pull her close.
"Say that again," I say through gritted teeth.
"I. Am. Not—" I haul her to me, so my lips are poised over hers. Our noses almost bump, and our eyelashes nearly entwine. I glare at her and she shivers.
"I want to kiss you. I want to close my mouth over yours, and absorb the little moans you make. I want to nip your lower lip, and when you open your mouth, I want to suck on her tongue and deepen the kiss, until it feels like I am drinking from you."
"Massimo, don’t," she whispers.
“I want to drag you up to your tiptoes, spread my legs to take your weight, then plant my other hand on your butt and pull you into the space between my thighs, so you’re aware of what you do to me."
A trembling runs down her body. Her chest rises and falls.
"I want to feast on your mouth, and drink from you until my entire body is one large aching throb."
