Chapter 11 #2
“You can’t hide your thoughts from me, princess.
Just remember, rage can’t be bottled up forever.
” My brow furrowed as he sauntered toward the door, stopping so close to me I could smell his body wash.
He leaned in and whispered, “I should know.” Then to my shock he pressed his lips against my cheek, before disappearing without another word.
Fuck.
Before I could blink, a fortnight had passed, and to my relief, Arturo had listened to what I had said.
Aside from training I barely saw him. He also kept things professional which was the biggest shock.
Gone were his taunts and flirty little smug grins and in their place were flat and cold sentences.
Every morning he waited for me in the gym and he said nothing bar instructions.
We would train for hours at a time, then during the day it was tactics and target practice. His endless scenarios were beginning to get tedious.
What would I do if I was attacked from behind? How to spot someone suspicious. Three ways to get yourself out of rope. How do you get the upper hand when someone’s pointing a gun at you?
On and on and on it went. The only relief I had was when he left me in my room at night to read.
Some time during the second week, I gave into temptation and searched for him on social media and there was nothing.
I googled his name and came up empty. Arturo Ramos was a true ghost. But what was I hoping to find?
If I was being honest with myself, the fact I knew so little about my bodyguard troubled me.
But what troubled me more was how badly I wanted him to look at me.
My ass took only a day to forget the feel of Arturo’s spanking, yet my mind couldn’t stop reliving it. At the time I had thought it had hurt, but perhaps the loss of control was what I had really been upset about.
“Auntie Bell, we need ice cream for the movie, don’t we?” Theo beamed, as he dragged my attention back to the present.
“You might be right. What flavour?” I asked.
“All of them!”
“I like the way you think. You pick the movie, and I’ll get the ice cream.” I pressed a kiss to the top of his head before heading towards the kitchen. As I entered the dimly lit room, I saw Arturo leaning against the island while the men my father had put beneath him were listening intently.
“Evening, Bella,” one of the guys said. I think his name was Mich or Michael or something. I politely said hello back, flicking my eyes toward Arturo who didn’t so much as nod at me. He kept his eyes firmly on the men who sat before him.
“Sorry to interrupt, everyone. Theo wants some ice cream,” I smiled.
“You’d better get it then,” came Arturo’s clipped tone. It had been the first time he had ever spoken to me outside of training.
“Right, yeah,” I ignored the gazes I was receiving in my shorts and vest. As I slid past, I caught sight of Arturo’s knuckles whitening as he gripped the island.
“The ball Mr Ricci has planned is due to happen in just a few weeks and it needs to run like clockwork. No fuck ups, you all understand?” I pretended to ignore him while grabbing the ice cream tubs from the freezer, losing myself in his British accent.
“Yes, Boss.” They all spoke in unison, and hearing them call Arturo boss was odd.
No one in this house had ever been referred to as Boss but Arturo seemed to have this way of commanding anyone he came face-to-face with.
This was further encouraged by my father insisting everyone see Arturo as their superior, deeming him someone they could learn from.
“Isabella is our top priority, meaning Mr Ricci wants eyes on her at all times,”
“Don’t you worry, Arturo, I’ll keep my eyes firmly on Isabella,” the dude who’d first spoken to me as I entered the kitchen said before laughing. I stilled. “I mean who wouldn’t?”
“What the fuck did you just say, Mik?!” Arturo roared, his voice harsh, and terrifying.
“Oh, come on, man! It was a joke,” came his shocked tone. I couldn’t move.
Arturo closed the distance between them within the blink of an eye. His hands fisted the guy’s shirt.
“You speak like that about Isabella again, and I’ll skin you alive, got it?” He seethed. The veins in his temple rose with each word.
“Geez, A-man,” Mik chuckled, trying to pull Arturo’s arms down. “Like I said, it was a fucking joke. You need to calm down, or get laid.”
And just like that, Arturo saw red. His eyes glazed over with anger as his fist collided with Mik’s face. I let the ice cream bowls slip through my fingers, ignoring when they shattered into a million pieces on the tiles.
“Arturo, stop!” I tried my best to pull them apart, as did another one of Arturo’s men. It was useless, he was like a man possessed. “Arturo! Get off of him!”
“Get back, Isabella,” he said, shoving me back.
“NO! This is my house and I’m telling you to stop right now!
” I yelled, hammering my fists against his back—little good it did me.
My mind ran in circles. There was no one in the house to help.
My parents were at a college event for Andre, Luca was visiting our grandparents, and the other guys were dealing with a shipment.
Just as Arturo was about to step back, seemingly obeying my order, Mik swung his fist back aiming for Arturo’s cheek.
With a swift head jolt to the right, Arturo left my face wide open to Mik’s fist. Cursing, I dodged but not quickly enough.
The action sent my body spinning and stumbling backwards.
“Fuck!” I gasped as a shard of glass slid into my foot.
“Oh shit! Isabella, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” Mik cried, dropping his fist.
“Out!” Arturo bellowed.
“Boss, it was an accident, I?—”
“Get the fuck out. We’ll talk about this shit later,” he snapped, rushing to my side and scooping me up into his arms before placing me onto the kitchen island.
“Boss—” Mik stuttered. A grip to his shoulder from the one called Ace stopped him in his tracks. I ducked my head down to catch Arturo’s eye but his was already directed at Mik. All the air left Mik as he scurried from the room—his eyes horrified. One by one, Arturo’s team followed him.
Frustrated, I blew a breath out. As much as Mik had been in the wrong, Arturo’s actions were what had escalated everything. All because of one stupid comment! One that hadn’t bothered me as much as him.
“Stay there and don’t move,” he ordered. “I need to get the glass out of your foot.”
“It’s fine. I can do it myself.” I shimmied a little off the island before his strong, vein-prominent hands forced me right back up.
“Isabella, I’m not in the mood. For once just do as you’re told,” he growled. I sighed as he stalked across the room, yanking the first aid box from the cupboard next to the backdoor. Without looking at me, he dropped it on the counter and rummaged around in search of what he needed.
“You were wrong to do what you did,” I whispered.
“Is that so?”
“He was goading you, and you fell for it.” His eyes homed in on me for a moment, the anger subsiding.
“I know.” His eyes softened. Bewilderment swirled momentarily in their dark depths before he slammed the shutters back down.
“If you knew what he was doing, why did you retaliate?” I asked, curiosity burning a hole through my armour.
“Because of the way he spoke about you,” he said tonelessly.
“Why does it matter? He was just joking.” He huffed at my comment and placed a hand on either side of my thigh, leaning in.
“And you think that’s acceptable, do you?” His voice was barely above a whisper.
“I think allowing someone to control your?—”
“Listen to me Isabella, and listen good.” The anger in his voice took me by surprise. “Your father may have protected you this far in this world, but allowing people who work for you to disrespect you like that is the first step of getting yourself killed.”
“Pfft. Come on! My father’s team has said and done worse.” Why was he getting so pissed off about this? I folded my arms, frustrated. After weeks of nothing, this was the first reaction I’d had from Arturo and I didn’t like where this was going.
“Yes, but your father’s team has been by his side for close to thirty years. They’ve bled for the man and proven they’d walk through fire for him. And you know why?” I narrowed my eyes as he leaned in closer. “Because they respect him.”
“And what makes you think my guys?—”
“Don’t?” He enquired dark humour passing across his features.
“Hate to break it you, darlin’, but you ain’t done shit for those boys.
To them, you’re a job, plain and simple.
Not only that but you’re not Luca.” I opened my mouth to yell at him but he shoved his hand over my mouth.
“It’s fucked up. I agree. It’s not the way it should be but it’s how some see it.
” Nodding, I pulled his hand away. He wet his lips before continuing.
“Bella, these men will soon be under your command, and they need to learn not to fuck about. They didn’t act that way with Luca, and I ain’t allowin’ them to act that way with you. Got it?”
“Yeah, I get it. But I could’ve handled it, you know. You didn’t have to step in,” I sighed.
“Yes, I did.” He glanced up at me through hooded eyes.
“Why?”
“Because you’re—” he swallowed. I hadn’t seen Arturo look so uncertain before but he sure as hell looked it now. “Because it’s my job to make sure you can do yours.” With a nod, he dropped to his knees and cupped my foot to start teasing glass from my foot with tweezers.
“Arturo, stop. I don’t need you to do this for me.” I didn’t want him touching me. It felt too personal. Too close. I didn’t want to feel like I owed him something.
“Stop bein’ so damn stubborn, woman, and let me do this.” His palm was warm as he held my foot and gently wiped the blood away with antiseptic wipes.
“So, what, I’ll owe you or something? Planning to spank me again?” I asked.
“You’ll owe me nothin’. This happened because of me.
” He traced a fingertip up the uninjured part of my instep.
I should have pulled away, squirmed under his gentle touch, but I couldn’t.
The unusual sensation was welcomed and it shouldn’t have been.
I let my head fall back with each gentle stroke, until I had the sudden urge to lean down and kiss him.
No!
“I need to get back upstairs,” I blurted out.
“Okay.” His voice came out gruff as he released my leg, reaching for a bandage.
With practised movements, Arturo wrapped my foot, securing it tight enough to protect the damage but not enough to make me feel uncomfortable.
Satisfied he was done, I slid off the counter and began hobbling towards the open door.
“Hold up.”
“Hey!” I gasped as Arturo bundled me into his arms. “What are you doing?! I can walk! There’s no need for you to carry me around.” I wriggled in his hold, but it only got tighter.
“And I don’t give a flyin’ fuck if you can sprint up the stairs.” He stepped over the mess I’d left on the kitchen floor and made his way up the stairs with ease.
“I hate you.” His eyes met mine, but there was no emotion there.
“It’s cute you think those words can hurt me.” He paused at the top of the stairs.
“And I think it’s hilarious that you don’t think I mean it.”
“You wanna know how I know, princess?” For the first time in weeks, I saw fire burn in the backs of his eyes and it made warmth pool low in my belly. “Because I know how wet your tight little pussy was for me when I spanked you.”
“You’re imagining things, London boy.”
“We’ll see,” he smiled as he carried me through my open door.
“Auntie Bells, what happened?” Theo jumped up, a worried expression written all over his angelic face.
“Your Auntie is just fine. She had a little accident in the kitchen, that’s all,” Arturo answered, his tone soft, and caring. “However, that accident involved your ice cream painting the kitchen floor,” he shrugged, placing me down on the bed.
“Don’t worry, Auntie B.” Theo said, settling back beside me. “I don’t mind if we don’t have ice cream. I haven't started the movie yet, I was waiting for you.”
“You didn’t need to wait for me, but thank you,” I gave Theo an affectionate squeeze as Arturo stepped out, not uttering a single word.
I tried to ignore the sting I felt from his leaving but I couldn’t. Why did his silence bother me so much? More importantly, why did it feel so good to be in his arms?
Shaking my head, I frowned and thumbed the remote to start the movie. Arturo and I both knew him lashing out tonight had been a complete overreaction but he was right. These men needed to respect me.
And I was done with having others fight my battles for me.