Bianca sticks her nose in the air and walks off without another word. I’ve been holding my breath and I let out a long sigh, relieved that she’s gone. But with Lorenzo still in the room, the tension is still so thick in the air. It’s so intense that I feel as though one wrong move might make the world around us implode. I never knew attraction could feel this way, but now that I’m feeling it, I never want it to end.
“Are you alright?” Lorenzo asks, crossing the room to help me to my feet. I take his hand, trying to ignore the electricity sparking between us, and get to my feet.
“I’m okay, just a little confused.”
“Bianca isn’t very welcoming in general, but you seem to have got the worst of it,” Lorenzo growls. “I apologize on her behalf. Ignore her if you can. She’s not your boss, I am.” He reaches out and wipes a smudge of ash off my cheek. There’s a low rumble in his throat and I can feel my heart rate speeding up. I want him to cup my cheek and kiss me. I want him to make love to me right here, right now. I want to sink to my knees and show him the kind of pleasure that I’m getting just by being in his presence. I’m so turned on that I know I’m wet between my legs.
But he doesn’t. He takes a step back, looking irritated with himself. He avoids my eyes.
“I’ll speak to her, make sure she keeps her distance, but she’s right. You need to keep your distance from me as much as you can,” he growls. His eyes meet mine. “It’s for your own good.”
I don’t know how to respond to that. I want to tell him that I don’t care if he’s dangerous for me. I want him anyway. But I don’t seem able to speak. He’s taken my breath away once again. He clears his throat.
“I need you tonight,” he growls. “I have some guests coming here...I usually have someone else serve drinks for me, but they’re taking some leave tonight. Would you serve drinks for me? I will add it to your pay.”
I nod anxiously. I want to know what kind of company he keeps. Maybe serving drinks for him will help me uncover some of the secrets I’m so desperate to learn about him and what he does. He nods curtly.
“Alright. I’ll see you tonight.”
Lorenzo
Storming to my office to give Bianca a piece of my mind, I’m torn between my lust for Lydia and my irritation that I can’t have her. I know Bianca was right to intervene. When I told her about Lydia earlier she immediately noticed there was something different about the way I talked about her. She’s not just another member of the staff. She’s everything to me now in such a short amount of time.
I’ve never really cared for anyone, but my family. Bianca and I have always been close. Neither of us ever fell in love or got married. But now I know it’s because we just never met someone worthy of the risk. Lydia is worth the risk, for sure. But am I willing to put her in danger to be with her? No. Bianca is just trying to save me from myself.
But I don’t like being told what to do. I don’t like the way Bianca spoke to my girl. She’s mine and I won’t have anyone disrespecting her, especially my own family. I throw open the door to my office and find Bianca sitting calmly waiting for me.
“Let me guess. You’re upset with me for telling Lydia to stay away,” Bianca says, examining her blood-red nails. “I’m just doing what you don’t have the balls to do. You’re too invested in her. You’ll never let the idea of her go without my help.”
“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” I growl. She looks up at me with a raised eyebrow. She’s the one person on Earth who has never been intimidated by me. I guess it’s because she’s the female version of myself.
“I do. Look, Lorenzo, I know how you feel. I fell for someone once...I wanted him more than I wanted to be alive. I thought I could make it work and keep doing what we do, but it’s not possible. Okay? Being in the mafia means you’ve made your choice. You are married to your work. Imagine what Marco would say if he saw you getting weak in the knees over that girl.”
I don’t bother to mention that he’s already noticed my affection for Lydia. I growl in irritation.
“I’m not going to get distracted. Hell, I won’t lay a finger on her. But you can’t get involved. I’m a grown man. I am the head of this family. Don’t think that you can just stick your nose in and complicate things more.”
“You should fire her,” Bianca says bluntly. “Send her off with enough money and ask her not to come back. She’s here for the money. Give her a reason to never come back here.”
“Maybe she’d come back for me,” I growl. “I’m not sending her anywhere.”
“This is the biggest mistake you’ll ever make, Lorenzo. She’s no good for you, and you’re even worse for her. She’s too young, too naive. She’ll never be able to understand what it’s like for us. She doesn’t belong here.”
“She’s mine,” I growl, slamming my fist down on the desk. “I don’t care what you think. I don’t care that you keep acting like you know best. I knew from the moment I saw her that she’s for me.”
I know better than this. I know better than to think we can have something together. I’d never put her in that kind of danger. Whether I like it or not, my life is too dangerous to have a woman like her involved. I hate that Bianca is right. I hate that I have to push
