Page 82 of King of Obsession

Chapter 16

ALESSIO

Icarried her to bed, tucking her in, lingering as she settled into sleep.

Fotto! She was a freakin’ beauty.

I was utterly obsessed.

I crouched by her side for a long time, lost in thought.

She was incredible and beautiful, and with each day spent in her presence, she was fast becoming the kind of woman I’d never realized I wanted but now knew I couldn’t breathe without.

I thought of the Italian phrase, ‘colpo di fulmine’ - a ‘strike of lightning.’

Cleo was my lightning bolt.

Her fire and fierce attitude were a red flag to my bullish soul.

I was drawn to her savage courage, wanting to scale her walls, to fuckin’tear them down.

The thought that someone else breaking through and getting to her was enough to set off a tic in my jaw.

To even have her consider me, I’d need to jump the fucking hurdles of her distrust even as I flamed out the hell in her world.

My eyes stayed on her until my knees protested.

Only then did I rise and conduct a quick perimeter check outside.

I returned to the cabin and secured it.

It was close to midnight when I eased in next to her, vowing never to go another night without her in my arms.

I fell into dense slumber till a disturbance ripped through the night, yanking me back to consciousness.

I jolted upright, skin slick with sweat. Beside me, Cleo slept on, undisturbed.

I strained my ears, trying to pinpoint the noise source that had woken me.

A faint metallic clang sounded outside, like something striking against the fence. Every muscle in me went taut.

I checked the clock on the bedside table.

3 a.m.

I eased out of bed with care, wincing as my injured shoulder twinged in protest. I grabbed my boots and slipped them on, not bothering with the laces.

Then I reached for the gun I kept in the nightstand drawer. The weight of it was reassuring in my palm.

I glanced at Cleo, still lost to slumber, but chose not to wake her. Not until I was across what we were dealing with.

Silent as a ghost, I crept from the cabin and out into the night.

The air was crisp and cold, and the sky was a vast expanseof stars. I scanned the darkness, my every sense on high alert.

There - movement at the edge of the property.

A shadow where none should have been.

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