Page 41 of Falling for the Enemy

The train strikes again, this time knocking me for a mental loop as he releases my blonde locks and rests his forehead on mine. Wrapping an arm around my lower back, he pulls my front to his in an embrace I instantly desire more of.

Unfortunately for me, I can’t allow myself to continue accepting such closeness. If I do, he’ll figure out exactly how weak he makes me.

That’s if he hasn’t already.

“I already have someone guarding me.” I point to Casper. From the corner of my eye, I notice that my bull isn’t pleased with Alejandro’s arrival. “And in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not yours to keep watch over.”

Skin flushing, he scowls. “One man is inadequate protection for a high-profile target such as yourself.” His stare bores into mine, daring me to argue. “And who says?”

Desire prickles my nape, the possessiveness he’s once again showcasing close to making my knees knock. As an adult, no one has ever been bold enough to act as though they hold any claim over me. Not even Capone after he slipped his ring onto my—

My stomach drops, nearly crashing to my feet as betrayal-filled memories surface, slicing through the veil of dizzying warmth that his words have cloaked me in.

Nyet, this isn’t happening again.

I may have momentarily allowed Alejandro to slip past my reinforced defenses, but from experience, I know the smooth-talking game he’s playing all too well. Just as I know of the prize he wrongly believes he’ll be receiving.

My empire.

History is starting to repeat itself.

And I’m inanely allowing it to do so.

Irritation blooms behind my sternum and acid fills my throat. He and I barely know each other, the short time we’ve spent in one another’s presence having been filled with nothing but death threats and life-altering ultimatums. Given each of those things, his deceit shouldn’t sting.

But it does.

“I say,” I finally reply, answering his question as I step back, extracting myself from his hold. It’s the first step in getting myself together. “My life will never be one that rests in your palms.”

I may have allowed Capone close enough to nearly steal what I rightfully earned after all the years of violent, pain-filled training that I endured at Papa’s hands.

I won’t make such a mistake twice.

“I’ve already given you two warnings. That’s one more than I’ve ever given another.” Something inside me, a voice I never lend an ear to, screams for me to reach out and touch him. To pull him close once more and press my lips to his, stealing the kiss I’m starving for. It’s a hunger that will never be satiated. “You won’t be receiving a third.”

If he has any sense, he’ll take the hint.

For the final time, leave or die.

My unblinking stare fails to deviate from his, the ever-present numbness that plagues me beginning to set back in. A vexing realization, it’s only when in his arms and with his strong hands touching me, that a fraction of the emptiness I’ve experienced since I was a child recedes, and I truly start to feel.

It’s even more reason for him to go.

He makes me vulnerable.

A chink in my armor I can’t afford.

I begin to walk away, but before I make it too far, he grasps my upper arm, his fingers curling tightly around my bicep. “Arianna, wait.” It’s the first time he’s called me by my given name, and for my sanity’s sake, it’ll need to be the last.

“I know what you’re doing.” The heaviness encircling me, weighing mightily on my shoulders, continues to grow. “I know because you’re not the first man to try and deceive me.”

Emotions that I locked away long ago, further starving my famished soul by deadening myself to the pain they caused, break free and wash over me.

It’s unpleasant, to say the least.

“And if I stabbed my fiancé in the heart for having the gall to fuck with my feelings, what is it you think I’ll do to you for attempting the same?”

His hold on me tightens, his body shaking with what I assume is fury if his expression is anything to go by. “What did he do?” He inhales sharply. “Tell me exactly what he did.”

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