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“I know! I know! Just… breathe. Go take a walk or something. Let me sort Dante out. I’ll get him out of here.”
Turning with a frustrated growl, I stormed down the stairs and out the front door. I found myself aimlessly marching down towards the vineyards and orange orchard. After half an hour of walking up and down the rows of trees with fresh citrus fruits, I slumped down against one and rested my head against the trunk. Now the adrenaline was starting to expel from my body and the stress and weight of what happened started to really dawn on me—I closed my eyes to focus on my breathing. Deep inhales and long exhales to stop me from losing my mind.
I had lied when I said it wasn’t even about her. I wouldn’t have been fucking happy if it had been any woman Dante was attempting to force himself on, but it was about her. Of course it fucking was. I had never lost my temper like that in my life. Never. I was enraged by it. The thought of anyone harming her. Touching her. It had my blood boiling once again.
I always thought the odd feeling of protectiveness for her stemmed from my messed up childhood. I could never protect my birth mamma in those first few horrendous years of my life. The night I met Elenora, she had tears running down her cheeks and it sparked a feeling of need. A need to look after her. To stop the tears. I met an innocent fourteen-year-old girl that looked at me like I was her saviour for one fleeting moment and it changed something in me.
I thought the feeling would die with time. But it didn’t. For two years, it drove me crazy not knowing what she was doing or how she was living. And when shit went down with Isabelle, it made me wonder how Elle was being treated in her family. Was she being used as a sexual trophy? Paraded in front of men? Would she be married off to the highest bidder? So, I had sent Finn in. And that had been enough for a long time. It had kept the feelings and thoughts of her at bay, knowing I could find anything out if I wanted to.
But now… it was different. I know her now. She is right in front of me. And fuck, I wanted more than just to protect her. I wanted to consume her. To make her need me in the way I had always needed her. And it was fucked up. So fucked up because it could never work. I would have to give her back to her family eventually. I would have to let her go. But right now, she was here.
The warm sun was low in the sky when I finally pulled myself to my feet and made my way back towards the house. There was no sign of Dante or Fabi as I walked through the ground floor and up to my bedroom. I opened the door carefully, surprised to see the room empty and frowned. I could hear voices from the bathroom on the side of the room and padded towards the yellow glow that came from underneath the door.
I pushed it open and leaned against the door frame when I saw Elle’s head poking out from a mass of bubbles in the huge, oval bathtub. Zia was perched on a stool next to her and they both looked up to see me standing in front of them. I smiled when I locked eyes with Elle’s alarmed ones and she gulped, sinking lower into the bubbles.
“Grazie, Zia. Would you mind making us some dinner please? I think we will eat in my room tonight,” I said and she nodded with a smile. She stood up, looking down at Elle and gave her a little wink before pausing next to me. She placed her hand on my arm and I glanced down at her.
“I’m proud of you, Alessio. Never let that scum in this house again,” she whispered and I nodded as she turned to leave. I peered back at Elle, who was almost fully submerged, as her eyes held my gaze over the bubbles.
“Don’t choke on them,” I smiled and she raised her head a little higher, the water sloshing as the tops of her shoulders became visible. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, “Are you?”
“Si,” I smiled, walking into the room.
“Mind if I take a shower?” I asked as I pulled my top over my head. Her dark eyes glistened with desire as they roamed across my bare chest and abs. She watched with interest as I tugged open my suit trousers and pulled them down.
Standing in only my boxers in front of her, I waited for her response, but she just kept on staring. The heat in her eyes had my dick twitching in my pants, which was pretty obvious with the little I was wearing to mask it.
“Don’t look at me like that, Princess.”
“Like what?” she whispered innocently and I groaned, dropping my head back to stare at the ceiling. I turned and flicked on the taps to my walk-in shower before turning back to face her.
“What are those marks?” she frowned.
I glanced at myself in the mirror and saw the faint blue-green bruises on my stomach and back from my papi’s soldiers.
“A reminder of my place,” I said calmly, bending down to undo the bandage on my thigh. Blood was seeping through and I knew my stitches were fucked from that asshole standing on it.
She suddenly sat up to get a better look, the water spilling over the edge. “Did you get beat up?”
“Kind of,” I replied, hissing as I pulled the last of the bandage off and studied the damage. It wasn’t as bad as I thought and was no longer bleeding.
“By who?”
“Papi’s orders,” I said curtly. She kept quiet but frowned deeply as she took in my body again.
“Surely it would be better to soak in a bath,” she said in a shy voice. I turned to look at her as she leaned back against the porcelain tub, staring up at me under those thick eyelashes.
“It would,” I agreed. “Is that an invite to join you?” I turned the shower off as she shrugged.
“As long as you can keep your hands to yourself.”
I smirked.
“Ditto,” I said, pulling my boxers off. Her eyes widened as she took in my semi-hard dick. She quickly looked away at the bubbles, that cute blush on her cheeks evident as I stepped into the other end of the bath and leaned back, sinking lower. She scrunched her legs up to avoid touching me as I put mine on either side of her body.
“I’m regretting this already. You take up too much space,” she moaned and I chuckled closing my eyes, trying not to think about the fact I was in a fucking bath naked with the woman of my dreams.
