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I raise my eyebrows. “They’re jeans.”
“Extremely tight jeans. Go find an oversized shirt and put it on. Or change the pants. Whatever.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want men ogling your ass.”
“Well, my ass is rather huge, it’s hard to miss.” I laugh.
“Your ass is a fucking piece of art.” He bends his head until his eyes are level with mine. “And it’s only mine to look at, Isabella.”
I blink at him. A piece of art? And only his to look at? “Are you jealous?”
His lips press into a tight line as he regards me while that vein of his keeps pulsing on his neck. “No.”
“Perfect. Then it shouldn’t bother you what I’m wearing and who ogles my ass,” I say and turn toward the front door, intending to head to the car. Luca’s hand shoots out and grabs me around my waist, pulling me to him.
“Go. Change,” he whispers into my ear.
My breath catches and I close my eyes, trying to compose myself. He’s finally started showing some reaction to me, which means we’re getting somewhere, but he still hasn’t touched me intimately since the night I gave him my virginity. The stubborn mule is still fighting it.
“If you want me out of these jeans, Luca,” I say and lean back into him, feeling his hard cock at the small of my back, “you’ll have to remove them yourself.”
Luca’s breath fans the skin on my neck as he tightens his hold around my middle. “What did I tell you about trying to manipulate me, Isa?”
Grinding my teeth, I turn and look up at him, this stubborn man who just won’t let me through his shield no matter howoften I hit and slash at it. I wonder if it’ll always be like this between us. When will I finally be able to stop hiding the feelings I have for him? I’ve suppressed them for so long, they want to burst out of my chest. I reach up and hook my finger into his hair tie, pulling and releasing his hair so that it spills down and around his face. He doesn’t say anything, just regards me as I tilt my head up until the tip of my nose touches his.
“You’re so damn stubborn,” I whisper, “but I will keep banging at this fucking wall you set between us, Luca, until it crumbles into dust.”
His fingers get a hold of my chin, tilting it slightly until my lips are almost touching his. “You may not like what you’ll find lurking behind that wall, tesoro,” he says, his breath teasing my lips.
“Oh? But what if I do?”
The phone in Luca’s pocket rings. He doesn’t stop looking into my eyes as he takes it out and puts it to his ear. “What?”
I don’t hear the reply from the other side, but it must be something serious because Luca suddenly straightens, his hand falling away from my face.
“I’ll be there in an hour,” he says and cuts the call. “I have to go. Reschedule the meeting with the catering company for tomorrow. I’ll be taking you.”
“All right.” I nod as butterflies flutter in my chest.
He watches me for a few moments, and I hold my breath, my eyes focused on his lips. Instead of kissing me as I’d hoped, he turns and walks out the front door, leaving me to stand in the middle of the foyer, clutching his hair tie in my hand.
I am done, I say to myself as I’m driving down the highway. Fuckingdonewith pushing Isabella away, trying to stifle this mad need to grab her every time I see her, to envelop her in my arms and never let her leave my side. As soon as I get back home, I’m throwing her over my shoulder and fucking her senseless the moment we get inside the bedroom.Our bedroom. Starting tonight she’ll be sleeping in my bed.Our bed. I’m calling my mission of waiting for her to turn twenty-one a failure. I can’t keep her at arms length anymore. And I fucking don’t want to. We’re turning a new leaf, everything else be damned. Tonight, when I get home, everything will change.
I’m exiting off the highway onto a narrow road and driving uphill when I notice two black SUVs in my rearview mirror, taking the same turn. The route leading to the warehouse where we keep heavy weaponry is usually deserted. There’s nothing around for miles except a few abandoned factories, so seeing two cars following me immediately raises a red flag. My hand slips inside my jacket, freeing my gun from the holster. I put it on the dashboard so it’s within reach and maintain my speed. There’s an intersection in about a mile, and I decide to wait and see if they’ll turn off or stay on this road. I pass the crossroads. The SUVs stay on my rear and start speeding up, closing in on me. The road continues uphill, with a rockface on my left and a ravine on my right. The only option I have is to keep driving forward. There are no other intersections for miles.
That call was a scam. A setup. There was no explosion like the guard said. Looks like someone wants me dead. I floor the car.
I manage to keep my distance for a couple of miles, but the SUVs start gaining on me after that. A shot rings out. Then several more. I throw a look in the rearview mirror and spot the passenger of the nearest vehicle leaning out of the window, aiming his gun at my tires. Another shot echoes. Trying to shoot back is not an option, there are too many bends in the road. The best course of action I have is trying to lose them. A couple of more miles, then the road will start going downhill and get wider. I’ll have more options for maneuvering there. Another shot. The car swerves under me. Fuck. They’ve hit one of my tires.
I fight to maintain control of the car and manage to straighten it, but then one of the pursuing vehicles rams me from behind, making my car lurch forward and lose traction, throwing the vehicle into a sideways skid. With a flat tire, there’s no way I can escape them, so I hit the brakes, managing to stop just before I reach another curve in the road, and grab my gun. I have my hand on the door handle, intending to get out and start shooting when the other SUV rams into the side of my car. The last thing that I see before my car tumbles down the ravine is the glaring face of a man I haven’t seen in years.
“I’m not sure we can risk having the banquet outside in September. I’ll order some tents to be placed on the lawn,” I say as I motion for Damian to pass me the salad bowl.
“Tents?” Rosa squeaks. “So, it will be a camping party?”
“No.” I laugh. “These are just white party tents. They're not for camping. They'll just provide cover in case of rain or shade from the sun.”
