Page 5 of King Of Order

This time, all bets were off.

I laid both hands on my desk and leaned in.

‘Signore, if you were going to kill me, you’d have done so already. So I’ll ask again, who the fuck are you? And what do you want? If it’s my art, they’re all tagged, and I don’t know where to find those chips. So I’m no use to you. The second you leave here with any of my canvases, the tags will be triggered, and the capo will be notified and come after your ass.’

He arched a brow at my wrath, unmoved.

His gaze slid to my blouse for a moment, which was gaping when I glanced down.

Revealing my lacy rose gold bra and the swell of my tits.

I was too pissed off to care. ‘Well?’ I demanded.

His mouth twisted further, and he tapped his cheroot into my decorative ashtray before replying. ‘Woman, I think Galleria Gisela is overpriced, and your stock is not my liking. Too modern for me, Chiara Tirone.’

My heart lurched. He knew myfullname.

He’d been in my home and broken into my office.

What the hell did he want?

What if he’d been sent to -

‘I don’t need you dead. At least now, for now.’ he drawled, cutting through my thoughts, reading my mind with infuriating precision.

‘You righteous bastard.’

‘You won’t think so after you hear this. A few weeks ago, you called a certain Signore Avenaldi and spoke of your security concerns, no?’

I took a shaky breath, recalling that I had indeed contacted an old friend of my father’s.

‘In that call,’ the brutish man went on, ‘you mentioned you’d pay well for a protection team to watch your back, stating you had some worries about your safety. Signore Avenaldi said he’d look into it and send an expert to you.’

He paused to take another inhale of his cheroot before blowing it slow and long, sending circles of smoke into the air.

They curled toward the ceiling, and I followed their trajectory, still flummoxed that this experience was unfolding.

‘I am that man,’ he drawled, slicing those pale babies to me.

I jolted, with traitorous desire for dammit, his aura was freakin attractive.

I felt it in the ripple that went through my clit and hardened my nipples into taut buds of need.

Fuck him in particular.

I let out the breath I’d been holding, crossing my hands over my chest to hide my arousal, and glared at him. ‘Even so, haven’t you heard of making an appointment? You’ve admitted you broke into my home and now my office. How unwise would I be to hire you after breaking my trust?’

‘How foolish would you be not to, Chiara? I only intended to illustrate how weak your security is, and given your severe concerns, you need someone who is steps ahead of your imagined or real enemies.’

I stared at him, hating that he made more sense every minute. ‘Fuck you.’

‘One day, perhaps, if you beg me,’ he growled.

He ignored my outraged gasp and powered on. ‘But not today. Let’s talk terms.’

I glared at him, chest heaving, hands on hips, ready to let loose with my infamous temper.

‘Do you care that I own this place and don’t want you in it right now?’

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