Page 58 of Salvatore

I meet Sal with a frown of my own. “We have lunch duty together,” I explain. When nothing changes in his features, I jab him in the chest with each word that follows. “You be nice.”

I turn to apologize to Max, but he’s already gone. Seriously. The last thing I see is the back of his foot and the door to the building slamming shut behind him.

“You scared him,” I accuse.

Oh, and look at that, he’s smiling.

“Good,” he responds.

From the inside of his SUV, Apollo and Gianno are in hysterics. I narrow my eyes at Sal. “What?” he asks.

“What do you mean ‘what?’ You were horrible to him. Max is a nice man.”

“Who can’t wait to take your panties off,” Salvatore finishes for me.

He huffs when I blink back at him. “Come on, Aedry. I saw the way he acted around you, hanging on your every word, checking you out. I’m not blind and I sure as shit ain’t blind to what a man wants when he sees you?and the way you were, laughing at whatever lines he was feeding you. He’s lucky he’s not laying on the ground bleeding.”

I peer behind his back and along the ground, taking a step back as I make of show of passing my gaze along the cracked sidewalk. “What are you doing?” he asks.

I shrug. “Oh, nothing. Just looking for your club, caveman.”

“I’m not acting like a caveman,” he snaps. “I’m just looking out for my woman.”

“Is that what that was? Here I thought you were just being a jealous lunatic. Silly me.”

His scowl turns into a smirk. A sexy smirk, but a smirk, nonetheless. “You saying he wasn’t hitting on you, wasn’t asking you out?”

I start to argue until I realize Max was pretty flirty. But the last thing I want is to justify Salvatore’s outrageous behavior. My problem is, I wait too long to respond. “No.”

He quirks a brow. “He wasn’t inappropriate,” I insist. “He just didn’t realize I’m in a relationship.”

He closes the distance between us. “He knows now.”

I duck out from under his arm when he tries to kiss me. “You can’t do that,” I insist, pressing my hands into his chest when he closes in. “I’m serious. Some women may like this possessiveness, but I don’t. It worries me.”

“I would never hurt you,” he answers, as if offended.

“If I believed you would, I wouldn’t be standing here. But the way you acted isn’t okay, nor does it set a good example for Gianno and Apollo.”

His stance solidifies, assuring me he’s listening and that he understands what goes unsaid. “I’m not my father,” he tells me.

“I know you’re not,” I answer quietly. “Jealousy is an unintentional emotion. But when you feel it, you need to pause before your actions lead to something you’ll regret.”

He bows his head, thinking through the situation and maybe a lot more. But when he meets my face, only one thought comes through. “I would never hurt you,” he promises.

His lips meet mine. The way he kisses me isn’t like a man trying to insert his alpha-ness or stake his claim over his woman. It’s sweet, and loving, and so very sexy.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers against my lips.

“Thank you,” I reply.

I turn when I realize we have company. At the top of the steps, there’s my sweet girl, Tamira, and a group of her friends, eyeing Salvatore with their mouths dangling open.

I point to my feet. “It’s the shoes,” I mouth.

Salvatore slides his hand against my lower back and leads me to the lot. “Come on. I’ll follow you home.”

“You don’t have to, love.”

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