Chapter 10 #2
Mai . If her friends caught wind of her situation, they’d contact the authorities, ripping my plan to shreds.
The guard tracking her friends had reported their persistence: they refused to leave the country, dragging Matthew to the Australian embassy in Rome.
Unlike her gullible fiancé, they rejected the story of her marrying another man…
until I sent my police officer friend in Rome over to the embassy to confirm the news.
Antonio stressed to them Miss Galo was now married under Italian law, and nothing further could be done from a legal standpoint.
He also pointed out their continued presence would not change the situation, and Gemma would contact them when she felt ready.
The women accepted the truth at last and traveled home.
As for contacting Matthew? Over my dead body.
Still clinging to the past, to him? Glaciers erupted in my chest, freezing every inch of me.
I wanted her to forget that pathetic excuse for a fiancé, wanted her to want me…
at least for the sake of my plan. “They know enough.” I snapped, harsher than intended.
She widened her stance, hands placed on her hips. “The least you can do is let me reassure them I’m all right.”
So much for a nice stroll to get to know her a little better, a chance for her to warm to me. “Forget it. Not going to happen.”
She stomped her foot, no doubt learning such behavior from the children she cared for at her daycare job. “What about my parents? Let me call my father? My mother?”
I sighed, determined to thwart her plan, whatever she schemed.
First a phone call, next she’d demand to see her loved ones.
She now carried the Cammarata name; my enemies equaled her enemies, and whoever she affiliated with stood at risk.
Besides, Elisabetta stewing over her daughter’s well-being amused Carina, and I wasn’t about to rain on my mother’s long-awaited parade. “...No.”
Growls echoed in the distance. My two Dobermans charged toward us.
A panicked spark entered her glare, and she hooked her vise-like nails into my bicep, her body burrowing into my side. She clung to me? Not just clinging, but desperately holding onto me. A smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth. I’d arrange for Lupo and Fico to surprise us more often.
“Enzo,” she whispered in sheer horror.
The tremor in her voice struck me, a protective instinct I hadn’t asked for, controlling my limbs and dragging her closer to my side.
I grit my teeth at my two loyal guard dogs, now perceiving them as a threat and disliking the sensation.
One swift command, and the two dogs ran off in the opposite direction.
Her uneven breathing matched her shaking body.
I gripped her hand and slanted over her ear. “They’re gone now.”
Her trembles rippled through me as she twisted left and right, searching for the dogs herself. Evident distrust shone in her amber eyes.
I bit the inside of my cheek, not liking this one bit. The day she tried escaping, she’d looked ready to pass out when confronted by my guard dogs. I summed it down to exhaustion, but this … I’d been mistaken. “Why are you afraid?” The question slipped out before I could stop it, devoid of emotion.
She sucked in a breath, her watery gaze revealing the depths of her trepidation. “I’m not afraid of anything.”
Her tremors told me otherwise. No one held this level of alarm unless it stemmed from something deep. “What happened?”
She puffed out a breath as if to dismiss me, but then sighed, her face down-turned. “I… a dog almost attacked me as a child. I don’t trust them. They’re unpredictable animals.”
This affected her since childhood? And she’d gone on this long, neglecting her phobia?
I’d not get rid of Lupo and Fico. They made excellent guard dogs and loyal pets, and we needed them on the villa grounds.
No wonder she stayed cooped up inside. If she permitted Lupo and Fico a chance to adapt to her, she’d have no reason to fear them.
I squeezed her shoulders. “Can you trust me?”
She cocked one brow in blatant mockery.
Of course, she’d be skeptical. I clamped my lips together with a grunt. “Trust me on this at least.”
“What?” She shook her head, pleading with me. “What do you have in mind?”
Whether or not she liked it here, this place counted as her home now. I’d prefer her content to wander the grounds whenever she desired. “I’ll call back my dogs and let you pet them.”
Sweat dotted her brow, and she tried backing away, but I kept a firm grasp on her arms.
“No.” Her shrill cry pierced my ears. “Bad enough those dogs already chased me. Now you want me to get near them. Please don’t do this.”
She’d have more peace of mind if she tried my idea. “You can’t live in fear forever.”
“What if…” She panicked now, her chest rising and falling on the brink of hysteria. “What if I like the fear? It’s a good reminder to keep my distance.”
I dragged her close, pressing her head against my chest until she could feel the steady rhythm of my heart. “Calm down. Breathe with me.”
Her first breath was a ragged, shuddering gasp against my shirt.
Then another, slightly deeper. I kept my hand stroking her hair, a slow, steady motion from her crown to the nape of her neck.
Gradually, the rigid tension in her spine began to melt, and the frantic trembling of her shoulders subsided into a faint quiver. “Look at me, Gemma.”
She analyzed me for a long beat. “Enzo,” she whispered, her gaze searching mine.
My body flexed with the need to possess her, to claim her fears as mine to vanquish.
She provoked such a response in me, one I’d never encountered in all my thirty years, and even hated admitting to myself.
“Don’t release my hand.” I encased her hand in my own.
“If at any stage this becomes unbearable, say the word and I’ll send them away again. ”
She stilled, her eyes bloodshot from unshed tears. “What word?”
“Any word.” I patted her hand in hopes of masking my humor. She had no idea how adorable she was when she overreacted. “Tell me to stop and I will.”
She nodded. A silent consent, but a consent nonetheless. Good start.
“ Lupo! Fico!” The dogs bounded down the slope, and I used my free hand to halt them. “ Seduto!”
Both dogs sank to their bottoms. The air hung heavy with the scent of damp earth and their musky fur.
I inched closer to my dogs, careful not to startle them or Gemma. “ Fermo!”
The dogs stayed in their poised posture.
Stretching out my arm, I revealed her hand in mine. “This is Gemma.” I gestured to the woman at my side. “See, Gemma.”
The dogs gazed from me to the shivering woman beside me. Lupo even tilted his head, his dark eyes assessing.
I tugged her closer. “Here, let them sniff your hand. They’ll get to know you.”
Her breathing grew shallow, erratic, her palm clammy against my own. “Please, Enzo,” she whispered, her voice barely audible, as if afraid the dogs themselves might hear her protest. “I don’t want to.”
I leaned close, inhaling her frangipani scent, tempted to kiss the top of her hair. “I won’t let them hurt you.”
Her hand flexed, her strong grip anchoring to mine. “Okay.”
Holding her hand in mine, I offered her palm. Lupo sniffed first, his cold, wet nose bumping my fingers before trailing over her palm. Fico followed, not content with a simple sniff but licking her hand, too.
She grimaced and grew rigid, but otherwise endured.
A flicker of something like approval warmed me. She hadn’t bolted, hadn’t screamed. Progress, however fragile. I commanded the dogs away. With one last sniff, they ran off.
She kept her eyes scrunched tight, oblivious to the fact they’d run behind the mansion.
“Gemma.” I held her tight, stroking her nape. A part of me contemplated delaying telling her the dogs had gone, liking the feel of her in my embrace. “They’re gone.”
She glanced around, and I stamped my grin at her lack of trust. “See, they’re not so bad.”
A wrinkle creased her forehead, and she twisted her shoe into the grass. “I guess not.”
I now found a reason to summon her for quality time. “Tomorrow we’ll try again until you are confident enough to pet them yourself.”
She snorted in disbelief; the sound swallowed by the rustle of leaves in the breeze.
We walked back to the house, our footsteps crunching along the gravel path.
Gemma hugged her arms around herself, her eyes drooping once.
The encounter with the dogs exhausted her.
A dozen conversation-starters sprang to mind, anything to keep her out here longer, but I bit them back.
Birds in nearby trees chirped, their melody a mocking song taunting my inner turmoil.
Once at the front entrance, she paused on the porch step, turning away from the guard who opened the door for us, and faced me. “I do feel… a tad better.” She lifted her gaze, the tiniest smile playing at her lips. “Thanks.” She ascended the stairs, her frangipani perfume lingering behind.
I stared after her, at the pale denims hugging her thighs, and dark hair bouncing down her back. This woman… she was going to be a problem. A big one. And a part of me, the reckless part I kept chained up, didn’t care.