Page 43 of Her UnBearable Protector

The silence from the other end of the phone.

Natale wished that Ericka was there so she could fist bump her friend. The fact that she’d had the presence of mind to say it to Caprice. She was sure that her cousin would never have expected her to utter the words, let alone having a man in her bed at all. So what if she was shocked? It was time Caprice saw her as a woman, not just her cousin who she could push around all the time.

“Look, you let me worry about Salvatore. I need to get moving. I’ll pick up the box and meet you at the venue.”

“Don’t worry,” Caprice had managed to recover quickly, “I’ll take over here until you show up.”

“Oh, I don’t need you to do that, Caprice. I’m sure Ericka will be there any minute. Just let her know where I’ve gone, and tell her to give me a call, okay?”

“Sure, sure… yeah. I’ll let her know. Just, um, hurry, okay?”

Natale winced. Caprice actually sounded concerned. “Yeah, I will. Thanks.”

Before Natale could say anything the phone call ended.

Shaking her head, she logged out of her phone and headed back into the bedroom. Setting her hand on the doorframe. “Hey, Salvatore?”

He slept on in the bed.

“Okay,” she moved toward her closet, “look, I’m going to make a quick stop at the workroom. We’ve got a ton of security over there thanks to you and your brothers. So I’ll let you sleep and you can meet me there.”

She stopped just inside her closet and turned around to see Salvatore’s dark complected skin in stark comparison to her pale sheets. It would have been nice to have a few last moments with him, but she really needed that box.

* * *

Caprice lowered her cell phone and dropped it into her purse. Crossing to the craft services table, she grabbed her keys. Picking up a handful of wrapped mints, she dropped them in her purse for the ride. She had a car waiting outside and only had a minute or two to get out there.

“Hey!”

She stopped short and turned around. “Oh, hi!” She had to plaster a grin on her face, it didn’t come easy to her.

Ericka walked up beside the craft services table and lifted the lid off of the Red Vines container to fish out a few pieces to munch on. “What are you doing here?”

Caprice drew herself up, adding an inch or two of indignation to her stature. “I’m part of Durante Fashion. I have every right to be here.”

She saw Ericka pause and watched her take a step back. “Sure. That’s great. Look,” she gestured toward the runway, “I’m trying to find my phone. I set it down when I came in a few minutes ago. It was right over there by my bag,” she tipped her head toward the nearest dressing table. “Did you see it?”

Irritation was immediate for Caprice. “It’s your phone, how would I know what it looks like?”

Ericka held up her hands in surrender, the tops of her Red Vines waving over her hand. “Hey, sorry, just asking. I’ll see if anyone else saw it and maybe picked it up.”

“Yeah,” she huffed, “you do that, I’ll be back later.”

“Okay!” Ericka sounded a little too happy to walk away.

Caprice stared at her back as if she could knock her over with a glare. Reaching into her purse, she walked her fingers through the items in there. She felt her phone case easily, it was covered in Swarovski crystals, and right next to it, another phone.

“You really should keep a better eye on your stuff, Ericka.” She shook her head. “I’ll take good care of it for you.”

* * *

Salvatore awoke with a start. Bear. Male. In his territory. Sitting bolt upright he reached out for Natale and felt the bed empty beside him.

Growling, his head snapped toward the doorway as he launched himself from the bed. He was through the doorway into the living room a moment later fighting his bear for control. Both of them were one surprise away from blind panic.

A quick sweep of the room with his ears and his sharpened eyesight told him that Natale was gone. A growl rolled free of his throat as the front door opened.

Salvatore lunged halfway across the room before he realized who was in the doorway. “Valerio!” The sound of his voice was only half-human and he fought down the change, feeling the fur retreat into his skin as he drew himself up before his brother. He felt the bear recede another step when his brother held up his hands in a human gesture of surrender. His bear understood the supplication of a weaker bear. “What are you doing here?”

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