Moving and living here was inevitable, and the meeting two nights ago with Anatoli Corvinus only cemented this decision. Despite the rush of confidence she felt, her stomach churned at the thought of being Alpha.
And knowing Darius Corvinus would be around only made it worse.
The fact that he could cause such a physical reaction in her irritated her to no end. It was bad enough that she would have a bodyguard, but did it have to be him? Now that the thought had time to ruminate in her head, she wondered if her mother had gone insane. What was she thinking? That Darius would willingly provide them info on his uncle? Or that he would turn to their side?
She snorted aloud. Highly unlikely. The man was as unmoving as a mountain.
Built like one, too. What else about him was big and hard?
She immediately put a brake to where those thoughts were leading. Oh, no. No way. She was not going to go there. Get a grip, Adrianna.
“You okay?” Julianna asked. “You zoned out for a while there.”
“Er, I’m just … hungry,” she said quickly. “How about I make us some dinner? All this moving made me famished. Mama said she had the restaurant staff stock up the kitchen.”
“Thank God,” Julianna declared. “Because I’m not cooking after carrying all your stuff up from the car.”
“You don’t cook, period. Or rather, you can’t cook.” Her sister’s helplessness in the kitchen was a joke in the family. Everyone tried to teach her. Even their cousin, Dominic, who had the patience of a saint, gave up. Julianna could burn water without trying.
“Gahh, you know what I mean.” Julianna pushed at her playfully. “Go on and make me some lunch!”
“Is that any way to talk to your Alpha?” she teased.
“You ain’t my Alpha yet.” Julianna stuck her tongue out. “I’m gonna lie down here and nap for a bit.”
“Fine. Come down in an hour. I should have something ready by then.”
She hauled herself out of bed and headed down to the kitchen, opening the cupboards and the refrigerator door, assessing what was inside. As her mother had said, it was indeed stocked with various ingredients plus some desserts from the restaurant.
Hmmm. She tapped a finger on her chin and saw the jars of red sauce. Ah! Muccino’s secret tomato sauce, made from scratch. Her great-grandparents had brought the recipe from Italy and only shared it with family. Of course, she knew how to make it, but it was a multi-day process. They also had commercialized versions of it in the various restaurants they had all over the world, but usually, they had to change it to suit the local taste. These were the real deal, probably made by Uncle Dante, Gio, or Dominic. She grabbed the jar and then some flour and eggs so she could make some homemade pasta.
Cooking in this kitchen brought back all those good memories of Nonna, her family, and her childhood. She put the sauce in a pot and put it over the stove so it would be ready for the pasta. As she mixed the flour, eggs, and water on the large kitchen table, she remembered how Nonna Gianna patiently taught her how to get the consistency right to make perfect pasta. She sniffled. I miss you so much, Nonna. A tear threatened to fall down her cheek, and she rubbed it away with a flour-stained hand.
“Who has made you cry?”
Her head shot up so fast she went light-headed. “What are you doing here?” The shock of seeing Darius standing in the doorway made the words spew out of her mouth.
He stared back at her with those eerie cobalt blue eyes. “I am here because I was tasked to protect you. The Alpha informed us that you would be moving today, and so here I am.”
“I told you, I don’t need any protection,” she huffed.
“Your front door was unlocked,” he said with a frown. “Anyone could have come in here.”
“We don’t lock our front doors out here,” she said.
“That needs to change.”
He strode forward, his bulk making the kitchen feel smaller. Adrianna felt her mouth go dry as her gaze followed the broad length of his shoulders and his muscled tattooed arms. Today, he was wearing a dark gray shirt that clung to his upper body, emphasizing the perfect V-shape of his torso.
She groaned inwardly as she felt the heat pool in her belly. Madre de dio, that body should be illegal in the Lower 48, plus Hawaii and Alaska.
“Miss Anderson?” He cocked his head. “Are you all right?”
Oh, God, and he just caught me gawking. “I’m fine,” she snapped. She turned around, nearly slamming into an open drawer she had forgotten to close. Shit! What was the matter with her? Why was she acting like a schoolgirl with a crush? Pull yourself together and have some dignity. She was thirty-one years old, the president of an international company, and about to be Alpha in her own right. It wasn’t like she was a virgin. She’d had serious relationships in the past. But thinking about the last time she’d slept with anyone made her seriously depressed. Maybe that’s it. She was losing her mind from lack of sex.
A discrete cough jolted her back to the present. Taking a deep breath, she brushed her hair back and faced him.
“Have you eaten?” she blurted out, then flushed. Jeez. Now she was acting like an Italian mother. She stalked over to the fridge and opened the door, bending down to search for the parmesan cheese.
Oohhh. The cool air felt good, and hopefully it could help the fire burning in her cheeks and … elsewhere. Grabbing the block of cheese, she stood upright and closed the door behind her.
He was still standing in the same spot, staring at her, his
