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Something big and bad.
And then there was a sound right outside the door. A footstep. It cracked open as my heart pounded painfully in my chest.
It took effort to remember how to breathe as I looked up at Cesare’s dark eyes. His grip was tight on his gun, and he looked ready to whirl around and shoot. And maybe whoever was at the door would also shoot. His buddy certainly looked ready to.
God, someone was going to get hurt. Maybe Leonardo who was still unconscious. Or a patient or staff in the hallway. Or me here in this little room. I didn’t want any of those things to happen. Hell, I didn’t even want these two men whom I knew nothing about to get hurt. Even though they were armed and ready to fire.
The door opened farther, as if in slow motion. Cesare’s muscles tensed as he prepared to turn. His buddy, still hidden by the door, had his pistol ready to take down anyone who entered.
Something snapped inside me, and I knew I couldn’t let that happen. I stepped forward, pressing my body against Cesare’s, my hands linking behind his thick neck. His gun got caught between our bodies as I pressed myself against him, but I didn’t let myself think about it. Instead, I focused on his face as I went up on my tiptoes. I cupped the back of his neck to pull his head down as I raised my lips to his.
His body was stiff and unyielding for a long moment. I felt the coiling of his muscles and wondered if he’d push me away and continue along the path of violence. But then his freehand wrapped around my waist and he smashed me against his massive chest, his mouth engulfing mine.
My mind raced as I pantomimed being in the throes of passion. Due to Cesare’s large body, I couldn’t see who had opened the door, but I could sense the surprise coming from that direction, either from Cesare’s friend or the intruder. But I didn’t let it distract me. This was the only way I knew to avoid people getting hurt.
I raked my fingers across Cesare’s short hair, and he responded by running his large hand up my back, tugging at the blonde tendrils that had escaped my messy bun. He deftly found the large bobby pins and plucked them out, causing my hair to cascade down around my shoulders. His large fingers soothed it in place as he pressed his body against me, turning me slightly, possibly to make sure the gun was hidden from sight?
Letting out a moan, I stroked his neck and his back. I was surprised to feel an answering rumble from his chest. Was he faking moaning like I was? Or was he actually moaning. Because there was something he wasn’t faking, and that was the hardness pressing against my abdomen. His gun definitely wasn’t the only hard thing pressing against my body.
My senses were alert for any sound coming from the doorway, but something strange was happening. Well, everything about this messed up situation was strange, but still… I never expected to feel anything from this kiss. It wasn’t real. I didn’t know this guy. Sure, he was hot in a body-builder kind of way. And in a talk, dark, and powerful kind of way. But that had never been enough in the past. I needed to know someone—and like them—in order to feel something with them.
So why was there this warmth coursing through me? This urgency in the way my mouth met his? It made no sense. This whole thing was terrifying, not a turn-on.
Except somehow it seemed to be both.
Then I heard a soft chuckle. “My bad,” a voice said from the open doorway, and then I saw the light shift and heard the door click shut.
And still, Cesare kissed me. I’d initiated the kiss, but he’d taken it over, there was no doubt about that. His mouth ravished mine, and I finally let my eyes close as I gave into the sensations. I sank against him, letting him hold me up as the strength left my body.
Even if I could’ve mustered the strength to pull away, I probably wouldn’t have. It was like everything else in the world had melted away except for this powerful man who’d overwhelmed my senses.
Finally, his friend near the door spoke. “He’s gone.”
And still, I let Cesare kiss me. At the moment my thoughts were so muddied that I could barely remember why we were doing this. But then Cesare eased his massive body back an inch or two, and I felt the cold metal of the gun through my scrubs.
That snapped me out of it. I stepped back, looking up at the big man towering over me. He lowered the gun, tucking it back in his jacket. I couldn’t interpret the look he gave me, but that wasn’t all that surprising. Right now, I couldn’t even seem to remember my own damn name.
The man behind the door stepped toward us, his gun lowered. “That was quick thinking,” he said to me.
Cesare arched one thick eyebrow and nodded. “It was. Matteo, this is Piper. Piper, Matteo.”
The man gave me a nod, which I shakily returned.
“Think they’ll be back?” Cesare asked Matteo.
“Doubt it. You two were pretty convincing.” Matteo gave me a small smile. “Funny how the bastard would’ve had no qualms about shooting an injured man, but drew the line at being a cock-block.”
“What?” I stared at Matteo.
Cesare ignored my confused question. “Don’t worry, he didn’t see your face.”
I hadn’t been worried about that, at least not until he said it. But now I was. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” a voice said. Except it wasn’t Cesare’s low, gruff voice. It was a younger voice.
I turned to the bed to see Leonardo staring up at me. I moved to his side and brushed the hair away from his eyes. “How are you feeling?” I asked. In the midst of all this insanity, asking a patient how he felt made me feel on firmer ground.
But my question was ignored. “He angled your body away from the door,” the injured man continued.
