Page 40 of Her UnBearable Protector

She missed him. Wanted him again.

The glow from the hallway cast a soft wedge of light on the floor, and she scooted to the edge of the bed on his side.

His side.

The thought made her smile. In just a few days, he’d become a part of her life. And he was a part that she didn’t want to give up, but Uberto’s words earlier in the night had struck an odd chord with her. She wanted a man who loved her with everything he was, but she didn’t want loving her to come with the kind of price tag that he’d implied. She wanted to give more than she wanted to take, and having that kind of power over someone didn’t sit well with her.

Grabbing her robe from the chair, Natale slipped it on and headed out to the main room of the apartment.

Salvatore was standing at the dining table, dressed as if he was going out, staring at a blue print of the fashion show venue with the runway and backstage marked off in precise pen. He looked up at her when she stepped up to the opposite side of the table. “Go back to bed, Principessa.”

“Not without you.”

His lips curved in the slightest of smiles. “I have a few more things to look over. You should get more sleep.”

Natale shrugged off his suggestion. “I’m good, don’t worry.”

Salvatore’s eyes narrowed on her face. “I’ll always worry. I need to take care of you and that means making sure you’re well rested.”

She laughed, a self-conscious giggle. “You certainly tired me out.”

She’d meant the words to tease, but she saw how his eyes darkened and his jaw clenched. “Salvatore, I’m fine, really. I just woke up and missed having you in bed.”

His energy didn’t relax, it tensed even more. “I hated leaving you, but I had to go over the plans for tomorrow.”

“You’ve done your work, Salvatore, and I’ve done mine. Tomorrow will go off without a hitch. You don’t have to worry so much.”

“I worry,” his voice settled over her, “because I need you to be safe.” He set his hand on the blueprints, his fingers crinkling the paper. “Humans are frail,”

“Frail?” She laughed. “Have you seen me?” Natale blushed at her own words. Of course Salvatore had seen her. He’d spent the last few days holed up in her workroom during the day and her apartment at night. And earlier that night after the first time he’d taken her over the edge, he’d seen all of her, over and over. Salvatore liked the lights on, and after she’d gotten over the fear that he’d find her body less than desirable, she’d enjoyed the lights on as well. There was something deliciously perfect about his naked body. Maybe it was just the bear in him, but there wasn’t a single inch anywhere that wasn’t amazing, or muscular, or hard. Watching him as he thrust into her body, sweat lightly coating his skin was a memory that had her shaking and ready for more.

“I’m about as ‘un-frail’ as humans get, Salvatore. Sure, I’m not going to win American Ninja or any kind of fitness show, but I’m in perfect health!” She held up her hand and ticked off her fingers as she counted. “I have the immune system of a horse. Thanks to your cooking the last few days, I feel amazing.” A shadow settled over her features and before she tried to hide it, Salvatore had already picked up on her odd mood.

“What’s wrong?”

She touched her fingers to the edge of the map. “Earlier, before you came home, I had a talk with Uberto.” Natale bit the inside of her lip, putting off the conversation for moment before she decided just to say it. “He’s worried about the danger I’m putting you in and-”

“He should mind his own business.”

She heard the hard edge in his tone. “Salvatore.”

“He’s my brother, he should know better.”

“Better than to worry about you? Of course he’s going to.”

“I decide what’s best for me. I decide what’s best for all of us.”

She put her hand on his arm and felt him tense from her touch. Then she felt his arm thicken beneath her hand and wondered what other parts of him were having the same reaction. That thought took her breath away.

Why her mind chose that moment to focus back on Uberto, she’d never know.

No, she did.

It was because even as much as she wanted to wrap herself around Salvatore and let him push all the sad stressful thoughts out of her head, she wanted to make sure he was safe and happy.

She sounded sappy and in love, exactly what she was. She was also dying to strip him naked, but she’d get there soon.

“He just worries that I’m going to hurt you because he thinks if something happens to me,” it had seemed so easy inside of her head, but once she’d opened her mouth it was a completely different story, “he told me about your parents.”

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