Page 72 of Sinister Intentions

The scent of aged paper and leather filled my nostrils as I trailed my fingers along the spines, my eyes drinking in the titles.

I would not have expected this here, hadn’t pegged any of the Salvinis as big readers.

But there was a great mix between old books and recent ones—so somebody must be.

There was a massive desk in here, as well. Was this used as an office? Maybe I could find something juicy on the Salvini family here, something to get Vince off my back once and for all.

I rounded the desk and opened the drawers which were completely empty. There wasn’t a computer on the desk either, and no computer meant no digital snooping.

Disappointed, I turned my attention to the rolling ladder that stood invitingly before the highest shelves. I’d always dreamed of having a library like this, with a ladder to climb and explore the shelves.

Without a second thought, I grasped the cool metal rails and took a couple of steps. The whole thing swayed gently with each step—much more unstable than in my fantasy, actually.

I checked the books directly in front of my face. Some titles were Italian, some English. How fascinating.

I leaned as far to the left as I could reach and pulled a book out that had no title on the spine. It was an old book with dark red binding.

I flipped it around and smiled at the title,Around the World in Eighty Days, which was embossed on the cover in beautiful golden letters. I traced the symbol right under the title: a key with a circle. I’d never seen such an old version of this classic;was this a first edition? I hooked my arm through the ladder, then opened the book and was so focused on flipping through the pages that I didn’t hear the approaching footsteps until a deep voice shattered my peaceful moment.

“What are you doing?”

I whipped around, my heart leaping into my throat. Then looked down and found Vince staring up at me, his face an unreadable mask.

“Nothing.” I leaned sideways to the left to put back the book but couldn’t quite reach it.

I stretched myself and almost had it back in its original spot when he grabbed the swaying ladder and moved it slightly to the right—which threw me off balance completely.

I tumbled sideways, then out of reflex, I snapped back in an attempt to steady myself.

The book slipped from my hand as I swung back, and my knee connected with his nose in a sickening crunch, which threw me farther off balance.

I swayed, and my foot slipped off the ladder. I tumbled, desperately tried to find solid footing…which I didn’t.

He must’ve been as surprised as I was when I slipped down like in a bad anime, then crashed into him and took him with me to the floor in a tangle of limbs.

I landed with my body on his, my face only a quarter of an inch from crashing on the floor right between his arm and his chest.

For a moment, I simply lay there, dazed, until the deep rumble of his voice vibrated beneath me.

“You’re truly the most chaos-bringing, most annoying woman I’ve ever met.”

Heat flooded my cheeks as I scuttled back and pushed myself up a little, so I could look at him.

He raised his head, and a trickle of blood trailed from his nostril.

My chest tightened. “Fuck. I’m sorry.”

He let his head fall back down, slung his arms around me, and pulled me down against him. “Don’t talk.”

I braced my palms on his chest and tried to get up and off.

“Don’t move,” he growled.

I leaned my head to the side and stared at the sharp angle of his jaw from below. “Your nose is bleeding, though.”

He shook his head. “You’re unbelievable—as if everything that happened today wasn’t enough already.”

“Everything that happened today has everything to do with your actions, not mine.”

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