Page 56 of Little Dove

“Hopefully, that was a one-time thing, but fine, if someone gets handsy, then you can do whatever you need to, except for killing him. That’s not exactly great business practice.” She gives me a pointed look. Oh, I’ll be killing the fucker. Just not where Amara will see or find out about it. My brothers or the Carusos will be all too happy to help me as well. “Back to the problem at hand, though. Short of tying down their hands and blindfolding them, I don’t know how to make you happy with the entire situation.”

Now there’s an idea…

“No!” she barks, exasperated.

I give her an innocent smile. “I was just pondering,colombina.”

“Yeah, I just bet you were,” she huffs. “We’re not doing that, Lazaro. Right now, we need to find a solution that keeps you from being a jealous ass and gives me the freedom to work. I can’t sit around and do nothing, and I can’t do the girls’ hair over and over again, so that leaves the staff, your family, the Carusos, Nico, Dante, and the soldiers as my options.”

That sobers me. What are we going to do? This is important to her; I need to find a way to make it work. Short of standing over her the entire time, and probably pissing her off in the process, there isn’t much I can do. So I simply say, “I’ll do my best not to overreact, Amara, but your safety is the most important thing to me. If you are in even a single iota of danger, all bets are off. So, you will have two guards with you in the room at all times. You don’t leave their sights, even if you’re working on one of the women. You follow all their directions when it comes to your safety, and you tell them immediately if you’re uncomfortable. Alright?”

She watches me, then agrees. “Alright, I can do that, but I’m countering that with, you don’t get to come in and intimidate any of the men in my chair. Or send one of your brothers or the Caruso brothers to do it,” she adds pointedly.

See, she’s far too smart. Nothing gets past her. “Of course not,colombina,” I lie easily. I don’t need to say anything to intimidate someone. One hard look and they’ll be reconsidering their life choices.

She doesn’t look like she believes me one bit, but she lets it drop. Probably for the best. “So, are you good then? I’ll stay with the guards, I’ll work once the salon is set up, I won’t take any unnecessary risks, and I’ll tell the guards if I’m not comfortable. Will that make things easier and keep you from being an asshole?”

No, but it’s not like I have any other choice. “I’m not going to ever be good with the entire situation, but yes, I can live withthat.” Her expression darkens, but I hold up my hand. “Amara, it doesn’t matter whether it’s here or wherever you set up next, I’m always going to have a problem because there is always a chance you’re going to be in danger, and my entire existence is to handle any kind of threat that comes to my family or the Caruso’s. I can’t turn that off, or even turn it down, especially with you. As long as you stick to those few things, I’ll be able to handle it easier, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to act like an asshole. Especially if I catch some fucker flirting with you.”

“What you should care about is if I flirt back or not. Men flirt. Women flirt. That’s how life is. Do you expect me to go nuts and start kicking ass if I see some woman flirting with you?”

The image of her engaging in a catfight with another woman fills me with excitement. “Are you saying that if you saw another woman getting handsy with me, you wouldn’t step in?” I ask her curiously.

She arches a brow. “Your stewardess on the plane was pretty handsy with you,and very clear about her intentions, and I didn’t take her to the ground, so what do you think?”

“Ah, but we were only just getting to know each other. Now that you know how wonderful I am, do you really think you can hold yourself back?” I tease lightly, grinning at her.

“Where another woman is concerned? Yes. I don’t have to be physical when all I need to humiliate her is a pair of scissors,” she says with a sly smile. “That warning goes for you too.”

“I have no doubt,colombina.” Taking a chance, I move toward her. “And if I ever do something worthy of such a retaliation, I will accept it without comment.”

“You say that now. Wait until I leave you with a pink mohawk.” Her lips twitch as she tilts her head back to look up at me.

I try not to wince at the visual. Yeah, that shit would definitely make working interesting. My father wouldtemporarily disown me until my hair was back to normal. Hell, my brothers would lose their shit and try to come up with other ideas for her to do to me for the next time. “Then I’ll have to endeavor to never piss you off, won’t I?” I look into her green eyes, and see most of the shadows have gone. Thank fuck. I never want to see them there again, but that’s wishful thinking. Especially since we still have another important topic to cover. “Does all of this discussion mean you’re willing to consider the two of us making something together?”

Her smile flees her face, and anxiety fills her eyes. I fight back my irritation, reminding myself that this isn’t easy for her, and we’re making progress, even if it’s not as fast as I’d like. She looks away, swallowing hard before she finally looks back at me. Licking her lips nervously, she whispers, “I’m terrified of what this is going to lead to, Lazaro. I’m terrified of freaking the hell out and never being able to give you what you want from me. You deserve someone that can give you the life you want, who reacts normally to everyday things.”

“I don’t want them, Amara,” I return gently, but firmly. “If I did, then I wouldn’t be working so hard to get you to trust me, would I? Or be so focused on you? I’m not a silly boy that’s only interested in getting his dick wet,dolcezza. I’m a grown-ass man that knows what he wants. If that means we have to take things slow and easy, then that’s what we do, for as long as it takes.” Though if the dining room is anything to go by, we’re not going to have much trouble.

She doesn’t look like she quite believes me, but I see a flash of hope in her eyes. “What if it takes years?”

“Then that’s what it takes. I’m not expecting that everything is going to magically fix itself, Amara, but I do think that as long as you know you can trust me, it’s going to make things easier.” She opens her mouth to reply to that, but then quickly shuts it. She glances away and wrings her fingers together. “Colombina,”I coax gently, reaching out to still her hands. “We can work through anything, as long as you talk to me. You’ve been doing so good. I need you to keep doing that for me, okay?”

She takes another full minute before she finally looks up at me and says, “You’re really intense, Lazaro. And what you want from me, it’s intense. You said yourself earlier that you’re possessive, that you want me to give in, to submit, and just let you do with me what you want. I don’t know if I’m going to ever be able to do that, and you can’t change who you are or what you like. It also freaks me the fuck out to think about what kinds of things you’re into that I don’t know about. I’ve been through a lot, but I’m not innocent. I’ve seen some TV and also read romance novels, but that doesn’t mean I can do any of that.”

It feels so fucking wrong to be disconnected from her for this discussion. I want to reach out and pull her up into my arms, to soothe and reassure her, but I hold myself back. We’ll get to that. “We need to figure out where your limits are, and what you’re most comfortable with. I have my preferences, but that doesn’t ever mean I’ll force them on you, Amara. Am I intense? Yes. Am I going to want to test your boundaries? Possibly, but that doesn’t mean I’ll ever cross them. That will shatter your trust in me, right?” She nods instantly. “Then I’ll never allow that to happen. I would never go instantly to the extreme; we need to start from the basics and work our way up. Together, we need to see how comfortable you are, talk and work through any issues, and then we find a compromise that we’re both happy with. Not just me, Amara. This isn’t just about me. Do I want you? With every fibre of my being. Do I have dirty as shit fantasies I want to try out? Absolutely, but they will remain as fantasies until you are ready. Until we’re both ready. Who’s to say that you won’t come to learn you’re into something I’m not? What if it becomes the opposite and it’s me that is uncomfortable?”

She gives me a doubtful look. “Something tells me there’s not much that you’ll be uncomfortable with. You’re hot, tall, and muscular, and I’ve seen the way women look at you. You’ve probably been with plenty of women and done things that will make even your father blush.”

“We all have a past, Amara. Does it bother you that I have been with other women? You’re right, I have been, and I’ve done a lot of experimenting in my time, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to expect all of that from you.”

She shakes her head. “No, I don’t really care.” Then she swallows hard. “But I do worry that you’re going to look at me and only see what’s happened to me, now that you know about it. That you’re going to be disgusted by?—”

“Absolutely not,” I interject immediately. Fuck this distance shit, this is too important. I move quickly, scooping her up in my arms and shifting us to the sofa. I maneuver her so she’s in my lap, straddling me, face to face with wide eyes. “There is nothing about you that will ever disgust me, Amara. Nothing.” I pour pure steel into my tone. “The only thing that disgusts me is that the fuckers who hurt you aren’t dead yet. That they haven’t paid in blood for every single thing they have ever done to you.” I’m going to begin rectifying that the next time I talk to Alessio.

“But—”

“No buts. When I see you naked for the first time, there is no fucking way disgust is ever going to play into that, Amara.”

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