Page 96 of King Of Order

Twenty minutes later, I sauntered into the kitchen and broke out into a grin.

She was dancing.

To Bruno Mars.

Hips swinging, hands in the air, lost to joy.

She wore loose pants and a cut-off top, her feet bare.

She always moved with grace, even when she didn’t realize it, in a seamless rhythm and roll of her stunning hips.

I gazed at her for a few moments, leaning against the doorway. Admiring the sway of her body, the tumble of her tawny, thick hair, and the play of sunlight on her glowing skin.

She was fucking beautiful.

When I stepped in to wrap my arms around her from behind, she turned, giving me a small smile.

Our eyes locked, and my soul lurched. Damn this woman.

‘You’re up early,’ she murmured, all husky and raw, sending a jolt to my cock.

‘I might say the same about you.’ I raised an eyebrow, wanting her with a sharp ache.

‘Good,’ she declared, shifting to give me a long, languid kiss that had me diamond hard in seconds.

She smirked when I inched a hand under the cut-off but gripped my straying fingers, stopping me. ‘There’s somewhere we need to be.’

I exhaled with regret, the enticing idea of morning sex evaporating. ‘Where?’

Her gaze flickered down like she was considering keeping it to herself, but she sighed, giving in. ‘I have an appointment today. Something I’ve been meaning to do.’

‘An appointment?’ I didn’t like the sound of that. Not with everything going on. ‘Where?’

‘It’s nothing to worry about,’ she said, her voice tinged with a hint of exasperation. ‘I run an art class for refugee kids. It’sin a neighborhood a few blocks from where my gallery is. It’s important to me.’

I frowned, the tension building in my chest. ‘You didn’t think to tell me?’

‘I didn’t think I had to. I’ve done this a million times, Rio. It’s a safe place.’

Safe.

That word again, like it meant something when we both understood that it didn’t. Not anymore. Not with men like Nicco Barbieri circling.

‘I’m coming with you,’ I growled with no room for argument.

‘Rio—’

‘No,’ I cut her off. ‘You don’t get to go anywhere alone right now. Not until this mess with Barbieri is over. You get that,belleza?’

Her shoulders dropped, but she nodded, understanding. It wasn’t only her life at stake—mine, too.

I wasn’t about to let her walk into some unknown without me.

Chapter 21

CHIARA

We stopped by the gallery first.

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