Page 21 of Spice and Revenge

He grins, his hand running through her hair.

“Hey! I spent ages fixing that,” she protests, earning a laugh from him. The sound is deep and rich. I find myself wishing he'd keep laughing forever.

“Why don’t you go catch up with the twins, huh?” he suggests, nudging Carmela out of the kitchen, leaving me and the handsome strange man alone.

His deep blue eyes lock with mine.

“Thanks for stepping in,” I say with a relieved sigh. “I probably would've gotten into trouble if I scolded her.”

He chuckles, making me smile at him. “Yeah. Carmela can be a handful sometimes, but deep down she's a sweet kid.”

Part of me wants to disagree, but I remember he's Leo’s friend. I don't want to risk Leo finding out I don't think his sister is all that sweet.

“Alessandro Mancini,” the handsome stranger introduces himself, extending his hand for a handshake.

“I’m Lorena Romano,” I reply, shaking his hand. His hand envelops mine, and I momentarily let myself get lost in the sensation.

“You have a lovely name,” he compliments, his eyes sparkling. “Suits your beautiful face.”

I roll my eyes, which only makes him laugh.

“I know. That sounded very cliche,” he admits. His laughter is infectious, and soon I'm joining in.

“Yeah, it was. But you made it sound cute.”

“Alessandro!” We both turn as Leo storms into the kitchen, clearly not in a good mood. I don’t realize Alessandro is still holding my hand until he drops it.

“I thought you went to take a call,” Leo says through gritted teeth. Alessandro seems unfazed by his friend's irritation.

“Yeah, I did. But when I passed by and saw Carmela causing a scene, I had to intervene…”

“I have Nina for that,” Leo interrupts sharply, barely concealing his annoyance. “The others are wondering where you are.”

Translation: Get out of the kitchen.

“Yeah, whatever, man,” Alessandro chuckles, his eyes gleaming as he turns to look at me again. “It was lovely meeting you, Lorena. I’ll be seeing you around.”

He exits, leaving me alone with the beast himself.

“You are not to fraternize with anyone while on duty, especially not my friends,” Leo admonishes me, stepping closer.

“I wasn't fraternizing,” I defend myself. “He helped me with a situation. I was just thanking him.”

Leo takes another step towards me, and my breath hitches in my throat. Every time I think I hate him; I am proven wrong by the way my body reacts to him.

“I don't care,” he says, his voice low and commanding.

I refuse to look away from his eyes, so we stare deeply at each other, and I find it more difficult to breathe with each passing second. The smell of his rich cologne wafts into my nostrils, and I wish I could bury my face in his neck, though I'd be catching more than just his scent.

He reads something in my gaze, his eyes darkening with desire. Suddenly, I wonder what it would feel like for him to touch me.He would take me roughly, to release all the pent-up anger and frustration between us in a surge of raw passion.

“The next time you defy me like this, you won't get off so easily,” he warns, his voice husky, and I have a feeling that like mine, his thoughts are far from innocent.

“Really? And what will you do?” I challenge. Not so sure why I did, but it’s already too late.

His gaze flares with desire, his jaw clenched as if restraining himself. Like he wants to do something to me, but he can’t. Then he storms away, taking my breath away with him.

Chapter Eight

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