If there is one thing he knows I do not like or appreciate it is when someone tells me what to do.
“You are staying here. Where it is safe and protected. I won’t take a chance.”
“And what will you do when he asks where I am? He wants to see me. He wants to meet with both of us. This could be our chance to really get him out of our lives.”
“It isn’t that simple. He knows you killed one of his own and he won’t trust me now when it comes to the diamond because if I lied to him about that, who knows what else I’ve lied to him about. I don’t care if I lied to him. His alliance means shit to me. And we still have to assume it was him at the airstrip. So he knows your brother took the diamond. If he knows that, there is no way in hell I’m letting you near Bianchi. There’s no way in hell that is happening. You’re staying here and you won’t be leaving until this issue is taken care of.”
“I am not going to be kept here like some prisoner after all the progress we have made. I’m going.”
“You are infuriating!” he shouts at me. “You will be in danger. I won’t allow it.”
“I’m in danger anyway! He knows I’m here. He knows who my brother is. He knows I’m yours and that’s enough for him to wage war, right? I don’t want anyone getting hurt because of me.”
“My men know their job. They need to protect you. They know what they sign up for when they work for me.”
“Do not be so careless with them. That isn’t fair and they don’t deserve that. I’ll be okay. I’ll be with you. You won’t let anything happen to me,” I say, lowering my voice when I speak the truth. “Not taking me will cause conflict.”
“And taking you could get you killed.” He shakes his head. “No. You’re staying here.”
“Why? Why are you being like this? Just let me go. It will only help you more.”
“Because I can’t lose you!” he shouts so loud, there’s no doubt his men on the other side of the door can’t hear us. “I just got you. I just got you to let down your guard and let me in. This is the first time that you’ve felt like you are mine. I can’t lose you.”
“Ari—” I say his name on a broken whisper, his words warming my chest.
“—You’re staying. I don’t care if it makes you hate me. I’ve brought down your walls once and I’ll do it a hundred times.” He opens the door, then slams it shut behind him. The force shakes the wall and the ground beneath my feet.
I take a moment to collect myself, to calm down, but I won’t be left out of this. He needs me. I open the door and follow him, stalking down the hall until I run into Gianni. “Where is he?” I ask him through clenched teeth.
“Upstairs. His word is law, Rosie. He won’t change his mind.”
“Yeah, we’ll see about that.” I run, skimming my hands along the wall as I climb up the stairs. “Ari! We are not done talking about this.”
“We are done,” he says from his office.
I march inside to see him opening a case that’s full of weapons. I glance to the other side of the room to see a wall that’s covered in knives, different shapes, and sizes.
“What the hell is all this?”
“Things you aren’t supposed to see but knowing you, you would have found them anyway.”
“Ari,” I stalk up to him. “We need to talk about this. This isn’t about you being in charge. This is about you being my husband. You need to think rationally.”
He grabs my shoulder and looms over me. “Can’t you see that’s all I’m doing? It’s all I do with you.”
“No, you’re protecting me for your own selfish reasons. That’s it. That’s all. You aren’t looking at the big picture.”
‘You are the big picture!” he yells at me. “You are my rationale. You are my reasons. I am doing this for you. Stop being so damn stubborn and let me protect you.”
“No.”
He rubs his temples, then places his hand in a steeple position on his chin. “I love your strength,” he says softly, as if he is taking time to admire his words while he speaks. “Your ability to charge headfirst in a situation has always impressed me. You love to tackle an issue. I respect that but you aren’t alone anymore. You don’t have to fight alone anymore. I’m here to fight your battles.”
“I don’t want you to. I want to fight them by your side. You aren’t alone anymore either.”
“Damn it, Rosie!” His voice is so loud it makes me flinch. “I don’t want you to fight anymore. You’ve done that your entire life. You’ve fought your way to the surface just to catch a fucking breath because you’ve killed yourself for those people you call parents. You’ve fought long enough, and it is my job to let you rest.” He takes my face in his hands and I can’t help but lean into him. He always feels so good, and his touch alone almost makes me give in a listen.
I grab onto his wrist and stare into his eyes, pressing his palm against my cheek a little harder because I don’t want him to go anywhere.
“Please, stay here. Please.” He drops his forehead to mine and the soft breaths escaping warm my lips. The longer I stand so close, the more the magnetism between us builds, the pull becomes stronger and too hard to deny. He wraps an arm around me and jerks me against him, his fingers digging into my lower back.
He kisses me, the kind that’s all consuming and addictive, the kind that has women fall in love in a second and wishing that this kiss would never end.
I’m that woman.
I don’t want his touch to fade or his lips to break from mine.
I used to think fighting him was a matter of survival, a way to make sure my family was safe. I didn’t t really care about what happened to me because I haven’t cared for a very long time. Now I know better. Ari is a lesson; someone I learn from every day.
Fighting him isn’t a matter of survival, but giving into him has taught me to survive.
I want to give. I want to give him everything. Let him burn all the hate that’s filled inside my soul and let it burn every enemy we have.
He would. I believe that. It doesn’t matter how I became his wife. The circumstances do not matter to him. All that matters, what sets fire in his eyes, and the possession he exudes every day when he looks at me tells me everything I need to know.
Ari Milazzo wouldn’t just burn the world down for me, but he’d rebuild it with the ashes of our enemies.
Then, he’d make a throne.
That’s who he is in my life. He isn’t the knight in shining armor but the villain everyone warns their children about.
I was never warned. My parents never cared about me that much. So it would make sense I’m easily swayed by a man like Ari.
He brings the kiss to an end, his hands gripping my ass as a rumble vibrates his chest.
“Thank you,” he whispers, pushing a curl behind my ear.
I lean back, my brows furrowing. “For what?”
“Staying here. I appreciate it. Keeping you safe is all I care about.”
I untangle myself from his hypnotic hold on me. Somehow, I plastered myself against him until there was no space left between us. “You think I kissed you because I was agreeing to your demands? I wasn’t, Ari. I kissed you because…you’re….you. You’re impossible not to kiss.”
He opens his mouth to say something smart, but I hold up my hand to stop him.
“I’m going and the fact you used a kiss to get me to listen to you, you should know, that will never happen.”
“You are the most…infuriating woman I’ve ever met. If I have to, I’ll lock you in a room.” He stomps away from me, and I grab a knife from the case, throwing it through the air.
I don’t aim it at him, but I only want to get his attention. It lands in the wall, and he stops in his tracks. Even though he is turned away from me, I notice the movement in his shoulders and his spine. He straightens. His shoulders widen and he wraps his hand around the handle, then tugs the blade from the wall.
“You know, Tesoro. I’m getting tired of you throwing knives at me.”
“I’m getting tired of you trying to control me. I’m going with you and that’s final.”
He spins on his heels and charges at me so fast, I don’t have time to react. He pins me against the glass case, the sharp edge of the blade kissing the skin of my neck.
“You really piss me off, Rosie. You know just the way to get under my skin to claw at my damn nerves.”
“The feeling is very mutual, Mr. Milazzo,” I bite, leaning forward to press the knife against my throat a little harder. I want to show him I’m not afraid of him, but I know he’d never hurt me.
Scare-tactics is all we will do to one another.
“And I want to know—” he slams the knife back in the case “—How the fuck you’re so good at throwing knives.”
“I’m a natural when it comes to defending myself,” I say nonchalantly.
“Fine,” he finally relents, and I have to stop myself from doing a happy dance. He grabs the knife and hands it to me again, wrapping my fingers gently around the sleek slate-gray handle. “You should have this. You won’t be able to take it to the meeting. They will check us for weapons, but you deserve something to protect yourself with every day and you’re way too fucking good at throwing those things.”
“Honestly, I think it might be luck because I have no idea what I’m doing.”
He roughly takes my chin between his fingers. “You are to listen to me when we are with Bianchi. Do not get sassy. Do not be cute with that smart mouth of yours.”
“I’ll save it just for you.”
“Good girl. I want it reserved for me.” His thumb brushes across my bottom lip. “I’m serious, Rosie. Please, I meant it when I said I can’t lose you.”
“I promise, Ari. I’ll listen.”
“And I’m not trying to silence you. I happen to appreciate your tenacity, but I know Bianchi wouldn’t. I only want you safe.”
“I know,” I nod, understanding him completely. “I’ll be on my best behavior.”
He exhales, wrapping his arms around me. “Great. I’m going to have to kill someone, aren’t I?”
I giggle. “Maybe.”
He drifts one hand up my back, cupping my nape. “Where’s the gem, Rosie?”
The question throws me off guard. “I’m not going to give it to you to give to him.”
“That’s fine. I don’t want the damn diamond. I don’t even want to know where it is. The less I know, the better, but he needs to believe that we don’t have it. We will see what he says about your brother and if he brings up the diamond, you mention nothing. You act clueless.”
“But then why did I kill one of his men? Why was I at the club?” I ask him, trying to piece our story together.
“You were there to let off some steam. You were tired of the store, stressed out, and you convinced yourself you needed a break. He came on too strong and you tried to get him to stop, but he wouldn’t listen. They don’t have cameras in that back room so they can’t prove anything, but I bet he knows it was you because of witnesses. If anyone saw you go into the room with him—”
“A few did,” I say, shutting my eyes when I realize how stupid I had been. “I’m sorry, Ari. You wouldn’t be in this position because of me.”
“Hey.” His hands grab onto my hips, his fingers biting into a bruise from last night. “I wanted to be in this position, remember? I came to you. I knew what I was getting into. I don’t regret a damn thing, but we are about to walk into my world now. It’s important you listen to me.”
“Your world,” I agree, trying to cover how nervous I am about meeting with Bianchi.
“I don’t like it. I don’t want you to go. I’d rather you stay back with a few of the men, but I know I’ll probably come home to hair removal in my shampoo or something and I don’t have the energy for that level of prank.”
“I would never.” I run my fingers through his thick, dark strands. “I love your hair.”
‘So truce?”
I tease the tip of the blade under his chin and a feral want grips his eyes. “Not on your life, Mr. Milazzo.”
“Ari.”
I pout when I hear Matias’s voice and drop the knife, the fun coming to an end.
“Your timing is impeccable, brother, and I mean that with all the sarcasm I can muster.”
“Sorry. I wanted you to know the body was taken care of.”
The reminder of the nurse’s body has fear crashing over me like ice-cold water. On the inside I’m shivering, afraid, and wondering what the hell I’m going to do tomorrow when I step foot in Ari’s world.
On the outside, I have to look like I know what I’m doing. I have to look at the part.
And if there is one thing I know I’m good at, it’s bottling up everything I feel in order to make it another day.
