Chapter Eighteen
Jane
“I could almost get used to this,” I professed, slouching back on Alessandro’s black sofa with my hands sliding over my full stomach. Though we’d skipped breakfast after falling back into bed earlier, sated and exhausted, we’d more than made up for it by indulging in a pizza delivery for lunch.
He grinned from beside me, leaning forward to take another slice of pepperoni pizza from out of its box on the coffee table. “So could I,” he agreed, taking a bite.
I blew out a breath, a piece of my blonde hair fanning up and off my brow. “Don’t let your brothers hear that. They’ll think I’m making you soft.”
He clasped his groin, where his semi-hard erection was a lump behind his navy blue sweats. “You’ll never make me soft.”
I snickered. “I don’t have any concerns for you being soft down there.”
He leaned back, half his slice of pizza dangling from his hand, his bare chest rippling with muscle, his eyes intense as he looked at me and said huskily, “And you never will.”
He wasn’t boasting exactly, just being honest with a dash of arrogance thrown in.
And you wouldn’t want him any other way.
I blinked. When had he infiltrated my life to such a degree? He’d crept into my psyche and blown away the cobwebs of my non-existent sex life while giving me more orgasms than I could count.
Little wonder I was becoming lost to him.
If you’re his little lost lamb, then he’s a wolf disguised as your shepherd.
I jumped at a sudden, loud knock on the door.
Alessandro frowned, then leaned close and offered me what was left of his pizza. “One more bite can’t hurt,” he murmured.
I opened my mouth and tore it from his hand. I wasn’t his lamb. I was his she-wolf, ready to fight by his side.
He chuckled darkly before he pushed to his feet and swaggered toward the door. I followed him with my eyes, drinking in the bared length of his back, where every muscle stretched and released as he moved. Damn, I loved him half-naked, with only his sweats outlining his ass and cock.
He swung open the door, where one of his suited soldiers waited. They spoke in low murmured voices that seemed to grow with intensity.
I chewed and swallowed, the gooey, cheesy, meaty pizza becoming tasteless. All my senses honed in on Alessandro’s reaction. His rigid spine, his braced shoulders and intensifying focus.
What was going on? Something serious, that was for sure.
I dropped what was left of the pizza back into its box, then wandered over to the men who were still deep in conversation.
If Alessandro didn’t want me there, he didn’t show it. Instead he offered me a smile, then drew me against him and explained, “It looks like we’ve found the rat in our family.”
“You have a rat?” I asked.
He nodded. “Unfortunately, yes.” He bent and pressed a kiss to my brow. “I have no choice now but to deal with it.”
I shivered. I didn’t want to know the specifics of what that meant, though I was smart enough to guess the recipient who was the rat wouldn’t be tickled with feathers on the soles of his feet. His future, what was left of it, was grim, to say the least.
“I guess I’ll wait here then,” I said weakly.
Not that I had much of a choice.
“I’m counting on that, little sparrow.”
He fisted some locks of my blonde hair and drew my head up to his, stamping my mouth with a brief but urgent kiss me that left me a little uncertain and lightheaded. Then he released me and reverently trailed his fingers through my hair. I blinked up at him. I was certain he was beginning to like my new look.
My pulse skipped a beat. He was about to torture and likely kill a man and here I was basking in the idea that he liked my appearance.
Perhaps I was more like him than I’d imagined?
He turned back to his soldier. “Give me five minutes.”
The man nodded and retreated, leaving me alone with Alessandro. He closed the door and brought me with him to his bedroom, stepping into the walk-in closet where he chose a dark-gray suit and light blue dress shirt.
“I’ll be as quick I can,” he said, his cock still at half-mast as he stripped off his sweats and pulled on the gray pants.
I blinked down at my casual blue denim shorts and red T-shirt. Being blonde hadn’t changed the fact I was still a sparrow and he was a bird of prey. I lifted my chin. Sparrows had powers, too. In this case, powers of persuasion. “Is there anything I can say or do that will stop you from killing whoever the rat is?”
His eyes hardened, revealing his merciless side, the same side I’d seen at our first meeting and thought I’d imagined. It seemed like a lifetime ago now. It just highlighted the fact I should have trusted my instincts.
“No,” he said harshly. “I’m not in the business of turning the other cheek. Violence, threats and intimidation is the only language my people—and our enemies— understand.”
I deflated like a balloon. So much for my super powers. “So nothing I say will make a difference.”
It wasn’t a question, but he moved closer and bracketed my face with his big hands as he answered. “No. Steps are already in place to eradicate the snitch who betrayed me and my family. All I can promise is to make his ending quick and painless.”
I nodded. It had to be a whole lot better than slow and painful.
He swooped low and kissed me again, his mouth hard and unyielding. My defenses crumbled like sand even before he drew back, his eyes burning. “You really are too sweet for the likes of me, and for that I’m truly sorry, little sparrow.”
Snatching free a black tie from his tie-rack, he drew it around his neck and effortlessly knotted it in place. I blinked. I couldn’t help but think he was preparing to go to a funeral.
My pulse surged. I suppose there would be one, I only hoped it wasn’t Alessandro who’d be lying in the coffin.
He pressed a button and a hidden drawer filled with firearms came out of the wall. He selected a gun, weighing it carefully in his hand before he holstered it under his jacket. His eyes glittering, he looked at me and said, “Wait for me here. It’s not safe for you anywhere else right now.”
I managed to nod. Though a part of me was turned on by his protective instincts, another part recoiled by how far he was willing to go to keep me and his family safe.
Then he pivoted and left me staring after him. When my legs finally unlocked and I exited his closet, it was to grab my cellphone and press speed dial to talk to my friend and my one and only staff member.
“Jane,” Trudy instantly gabbled. “Are you okay? Where are you? Why aren’t you back at the shop?”
“Trudy,” I said with a small laugh. “I’m fine. I’m at Alessandro’s house. Obviously I won’t be back at the shop until the window is fixed.”
Silence seemed to throb back at me before Trudy said, “What do you mean until it’s fixed? The new window was replaced the afternoon of the shooting.”
I gaped, my heart cramping while disbelief fell over me in a giant wave. “You’re sure?”
“Of course I’m sure. Jane, what is going on?”
“I-I...nothing. I’d just assumed it would take time to get fixed.”
“Clearly not when you have money like your Alessandro does.”
“He’s not my Alessandro,” I denied weakly.
How could he be? He’d told me I couldn’t return to the vintage shop I loved because there had been delays.
He’d damn well lied to me!
“Oh, yes he is,” Trudy declared. “He’s besotted, and who could blame him?”
A spark of warmth overrode at least some of my shock. “You’re a wonderful friend, Trudy, I hope you know that. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
She exhaled sharply, then said softly, “Ditto, Jane. You’re a gem, you really are.” Her tone turned serious then. “So when are we going back to work? As much as I love the money you’ve sent me for doing nothing, I’m not used to sitting around twiddling my thumbs.”
I laughed. In a world that had tilted off balance, I was grateful to have such a levelheaded friend. “I’ll go and check-in on my shop today. If everything looks good, we’ll reopen it again tomorrow.”
Trudy’s breath whooshed out. “Wonderful! I guess I’ll see you tomorrow!”
“Count on it,” I said, ignoring the sudden pitch of foreboding in my stomach as I disconnected the call and went in search of Tony.