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“Bella, bella.”
There it is. Every time I wanted to speak to him about something serious or uncomfortable, he did that. His striking, dominant physique, mixed with his Italian accent, was superior to anyone’s bad mood. Between that and the scent of his cologne, my words failed me. No matter how many times I had rehearsed something in my head…nothing. It was gone, and he had won. It did not matter how long we had been together, his magnificence made me weak.
“Isabelle.” He dropped his voice to a commanding growl, knowing the effect he had on me.
I strained to make direct eye contact with his intense, steel blue gaze.
“Are you going to speak?” He lowered his hands to the surface of his desk, his smirk now a mischievous grin.
“Uh, sorry. I was—”
“Distracted again?”
Narrowing my gaze on his, I broke out of my infatuation momentarily to defend Noah. “A woman approached me in the restaurant and questioned me about our relationship.”
His face became serious, and he cocked a brow. “And what did you say?”
“Nothing.” I shook my head. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. Noah intervened and threw his jacket over my head, shielding me from everyone.”
“Did his jacket reek of mystery and lies?” A subtle coy sneer inched onto his face.
“Valen—”
“Relax, bella.” A subdued chuckle swelled in his throat. “I’m joking with you.”
“Well, he saved me, and you thought the worst.”
“Fine, fine.” He rolled his chair back and twisted sideways, pointing to his lap.
Standing instantly, I strode to him, and straddled his thighs. He placed his hands on my hips, peering into my gaze for a moment. I smiled, ready to defend Noah more if I had to.
“I will be nice to Noah and give him a chance.”
I opened my mouth, preparing to thank him.
“However,” he raised his voice to stop me, then lowered his tone again, “at the first sign of hishypotheticalbetrayal, I get to kill him, okay?”
I rolled my eyes, but the truth was, when it came to those matters, Valentino meant business and I dared never interfere. Asking him to be nice to Noah was as much control as I would ever have in the situation. And all would be good if Noah did not mess up. Valentino would now be fair to him.IfNoah did mess up, Valentino would do what was needed to protect us. I would accept that.
“That’s fair,” I nodded, “as long as you promise to not make his life hell unless he messes up.”
“You have my word.”
Without dragging the topic out, I wrapped my arms around his neck, tugging at the ends of his neatly styled, black hair. He lifted a hand to my cheek, running his thumb around my jawline before entwining his fingers in my hair. His grip tightened. Pulling my head back, he assaulted my neck with his tongue before he nipped my collarbone with his teeth. His long stubble tickled my already incredibly sensitive skin.
I laughed, leaning back with a serious expression.
He rested his hands on my thighs, tilting his head. “What?”
“I’m so freaking hungry.”
He chuckled and stood, holding my legs around his waist. “Well, let’s go get Jean-Pierre to make us food.”
I shook my head. “He’s not here today.”
He arched his eyebrows as he carried me to the door.
“He took Helen out.” I pursed my lips together to hide my smile.
