Chapter 7 #2
“Yes, I do,” I admitted, lifting my chin, despite my rapidly beating heart.
Here, in my enemy’s territory, with that cruel flash in his dark eyes, Enzo could kill me if he wished.
And he wouldn’t need a weapon the way I did.
He towered over me, his hands so large that he could more than likely choke the life out of me if he were ever inclined to wrap them around my neck.
“I want all of you dead. But then, doesn’t everyone who has to deal with your family? ”
“We can’t always get what we want,” he said.
Heat rushed up my body, battling with the anger that had been building.
Damn, he was standing so close that I could practically feel the throb pass between us.
The desire was palpable, spinning a tension that hung so heavy that I couldn’t breathe.
Swallowing hard again, I caught him staring at my mouth, a predatory flame igniting in his eyes.
He had me pinned so completely against the wall that I couldn’t get away from him even if I wanted to.
My legs shook and I felt my knees begin to buckle.
I felt his hard stiffness press against me, a promise of what he had in store for me.
If only I’d take what was on offer, his dangerous, dark eyes seemed to say.
Enzo De Luca was completely shameless, but then, based on my reaction to him, so was I. Hatred couldn’t stop lust. Which was what he inspired. Raw desire. How could I possibly be this out of control? And over him?
I was no stranger to desire, and I certainly wasn’t ashamed of it. But I always had it under control, the same as all my other emotions. But then, this hatred had been impossible to control, so maybe it was natural for the lust that accompanied it to be too wild to manage.
“I get what I want,” I managed to breathe out, refusing to show him any weakness. If he thought that playing some game of brutal seduction would break me, I was going to prove him wrong. I would win. I was going to make sure of it. “One way or another.”
“Is killing me the only thing you want?” he asked, his voice low and far too suggestive for my liking.
“No,” I said, hating that my voice went all husky. “Plus, I’d bet we do have some other wants in common.”
A slow, dangerous smile from him at those words. “Perhaps. Personally, I’d like to wring your neck.”
“Why don’t you strip search me first?”
The shock in his eyes was worth it. “What?”
“Security guards are prone to human error and metal detectors can only detect so much,” I said. “Besides, anything could be a weapon.”
“Tempting as that offer is, I’m not going to strip search you,” he told me. “You’re my guest.”
Part of me felt relief. To my surprise, however, the other part of me was disappointed.
I’d only made the remark to goad him. To see how far we could take our hostilities.
I hadn’t given the remark enough thought to think through what I was offering.
Typically, I chose my words carefully, especially when working on a negotiation.
But around Enzo, there were times he set me off so bad that I couldn’t think straight.
I felt compelled to just say the first thing that came into my head.
Hence the disappointment. Disappointment in myself for saying something so vulgar.
But mostly disappointment in Enzo’s rejection.
The very lustful part of me really wanted him to put his hands all over me and help me out of my clothes so he could strip search me.
I shoved that treacherous thought away, telling myself that it was betrayal to desire my own fiancé. Betrayal of everything I stood for and even if my father had lost sight of it, this plan was a betrayal of him as well.
“An uninvited guest,” I reminded him.
“True. But not entirely unwelcome,” he said, gazing into my eyes.
I felt my face heat at the intensity of his gaze. “Now that you know I wasn’t really trying to kill you yesterday, why am I still your captive?” I asked, referring to the way he had me up against the wall, the full weight of his hard, muscular body holding me in place with no chance of escape.
“Because you could be trying to kill me today,” he said tersely.
I gave him an approving smile. It was good that he would now constantly worry about his life in my presence. “I could be.”
“A strip search isn’t hospitable. But a pat down...” Enzo took a step back, taking the hardness of his body with him. “That’s considered respectful.”
I ignored the way my heart leapt at the thought of him putting his hands on me after all. Face flooding with heat, I pushed off the wall to place my handbag on a nearby table. Then, I stretched out my arms, ready for his inspection. “Do your worst.”
Enzo came closer and lifted one large hand to curl his calloused fingers around my neck.
The touch of his rough fingertips sent sparks through me.
I remembered his stated desire to wring my neck.
He could very easily do it now. A squeeze of his fingers would be all it took.
My heart pounded at the thought at how vulnerable I truly was.
I had walked into a predator’s lair and it was foolish of me to think I’d be able to get out unscathed.
For some reason, I found that thrilling.
An actual challenge after my chance at being my father’s second had been snatched away from me.
The thought of losing out on my dream, of being relegated to a mafia wife, filled me with a dread I couldn’t shake.
Life as Mrs. De Luca wouldn’t give me the challenge I craved.
It would be ordered and predictable. And yet, this moment with Enzo was in no way following any marriage rulebook I’d ever heard of.
Maybe it was because we weren’t married.
Enzo was moving his hand down from my neck to quickly pat down my outstretched arms. Then he paused, glancing down. “May I?”
I blushed furiously when I realized what he was asking.
All I could manage was a soft “yes” and a quick nod.
Suddenly, his huge hands were on my chest. I had to bite back a gasp, my pulse racing at the contact.
With him touching me, I was too lightheaded to warn him off trying anything objectionable.
Except, as it turned out, there was no need for me to say anything because Enzo didn’t linger on my breasts or act like a creep.
He was totally professional, big, powerful hands skimming down my breasts as if he’d done pat downs a million times.
Which he probably had because in our line of work, we were constantly checking people for weapons.
Despite Enzo not creepily taking advantage, the sensation of his hands on my breasts made my nipples taut, the sensitive peaks straining against my bra.
Then he was moving away from my chest, making me wish he could brush against my nipples one more time as my body ached for more contact.
The palms of his heavy hands slid down, first to my stomach and then on over to my back.
He soon took hold of my waist, his hands searching for anything out of the ordinary.
Next, he dragged his hands down my sides, his eyes on mine until he reached my thighs, stopping right where my pencil skirt hit below my knee.
He crouched down to continue his quick work.
When his fingers grazed against my exposed legs, I felt the heat of his touch spiral upward, riding up my thighs so intensely that it felt like my panties were melting.
I was feverish all of a sudden, burning with need, body trembling with desire as sweat formed on my brow. All this from a routine pat down.
Enzo stood up, his eyes on mine again. “Arms out again.”
My eyes went wide at the command, but I was so dizzy like I was under some spell that I did as I was told, no objections.
I stood there in a daze, my arms outstretched again as Enzo did another search.
In seconds, he grabbed hold of my arm, pushed up the long sleeve of my blouse, and revealed the cord around my wrist. Grinning in triumph, he yanked out the pouch that had been attached to my wrist and retrieved the razor blade I’d carefully hidden inside.
There was no way I’d get past security armed with a gun, and a girl was entitled to some insurance. Especially against the De Lucas.
“Surely I’m entitled to self-defense,” I said defiantly.
“You think this could kill me?” he asked, holding up the razor.
“Not ordinarily,” I said. “But a desperate woman can accomplish anything.”
He laughed. “So under the right circumstances, with you, I’m a dead man.”
“You can stop worrying for the moment. I didn’t come here to kill you,” I said.
“I’m going to regret this but...” He paused, gave me a warning look, then grudgingly handed the razor blade back to me.
I stashed it quickly, wrapping the cord around the pouch again. It was impressive that he had discovered my hiding place. Of course, he’d missed my other weapon, but then, so had the metal detector.
Enzo looked down at me, his dark eyes turning cold as his flirtatious demeanor vanished.
He’d likely been hitting on me to emotionally disarm me.
And I hated myself because it had worked.
Something as simple as a pat down had turned me into putty in his hands.
My unwanted attraction to him was potentially more dangerous to me than any weapon.
“Tell me,” he said, seeming to remember that I hadn’t answered his question from earlier. “If you’re not here to get rid of me, why are you really here, Valentina?”
He wasn’t going to like my answer. In fact, it was probably a massive risk doing this without my father’s knowledge or approval, but what choice did I have? It was now or never.