Page 72 of Little Dove

Note to self: From now on, always put clothes on when sleeping.

Gia blushes and hunches her shoulders a little. “Nico liked it, so I thought I’d wear it to bed, and then he got called away before we could…so, yeah, I just slept like this so I’d have it on when he got back home.”

Sienna and Sofia share a knowing grin. They start to look my way, no doubt to ask me about my current state, when the door bursts open and in walks Alonzo with a supremely pissed-off Rori slung over his shoulder and a barking Hades following along. “If you don’t put me down right this fucking instant, I’m going to do more than have Hades bite you in the balls. I’m going to have him rip them off, spit them out, and then go for your dick,” she snarls, struggling to get out of his hold.

Alonzo barks a command in Italian to Hades, who goes quiet but stays on guard, looking confused. Same as before, Alonzo pulls Rori down from his shoulder and covers her mouth with his hand, glaring hard into her eyes. “Don’t even think about it,” he hisses into her face. “I do not need to worry about your stubborn ass while we’ve got enemies coming at us from all sides. You will stay in here, help guard the women, and then you and I will have this all out when it’s over. Do you understand me?” The pure steel in his tone even has my spine straightening. This is a man who expects to be obeyed. “If I take my hand off and you set Hades on me, you will not like the consequences. Do you understand?” Again, the same tone.

Something flashes across Rori’s face. Defiance maybe, but if I’m not mistaken, there’s something else there too. She’s not completely pissed at him. She glares at him, but he must take that as agreement because he removes his hand. “I’m going to enjoy taking you down, Goliath,” Rori tells him so coldly that I shiver. “Now let go of me. And if you ever command my dog again, it’s you who won’t like the consequences. You’ve done it twice now, but never again. He’s mine, not yours.”

“Looking forward to it,” Alonzo replies darkly, but I detect a hint of anticipation there, too.

Holy shit, is it hot in here, or is it just me?

Alonzo finally releases Rori and she snaps a command at Hades who quickly moves to her side, standing at attention andgrowling in warning at Alonzo. There’s no mistaking that she wants to set the dog after him, but she holds herself back. Then she turns and stalks away, Hades following and nudging at her hand in silent support. I look back at Alonzo, and for a brief moment, there’s hunger in his expression. The same kind of feral hunger that I saw on Lazaro’s face earlier, but it’s gone in a flash.

He turns his attention to the rest of us, pausing when he sees me bundled in my blankets. His brow arches. “Are you cold, Amara?” he asks.

“Ah, no, not exactly,” I say shyly, blushing and looking away.

“Massimo brought her in like this,” Sofia informs him in a biting tone. “She’s naked, Alonzo! Hell, Sienna and Gia are practically naked as well. If we have to run for it, they’re targets immediately.”

“We’re fine as is,” Sienna objects, gesturing between herself and Gia. “But Amara definitely needs something to wear. She can’t walk around in blankets. On second thought, we might need the blankets to keep warm, because yeah, we’re going to get cold if we’re only in these.”

Alonzo curses, then swiftly pulls off his suit coat before yanking up his shirt. I stare at him in shock, watching him swiftly unbutton his shirt and pull it off his shoulders. Oh boy, it looks like good genes run in the family. Alonzo is also well-muscled and is covered in tattoos; by the looks of things, he has even more than Lazaro.

I know I shouldn’t be looking, but wow, a girl can appreciate, right?

He walks toward me, his shirt dangling from his outstretched hand. “Put this on, Amara. I’ll try to get someone to get you all some clothes, but it won’t be right away.” I take it, managing to extend a hand through the blankets without exposing myself. I glance over at Rori, unsure how she’s feeling about this rightnow, and I swear there’s a flash of jealousy across her face before it’s gone, and a mask of indifference replaces it.

“Ah, thank you,” I say awkwardly. “Have you heard from Lazaro? Is he okay?”

“He’s fine,cara,” he tells me with a fleeting smile. “But he’s going to be pissed when he sees you in my shirt, so I need you to keep him from killing me, alright?”

“He’s not going to kill you for giving me something to wear,” I say with a shake of my head. I’ll make sure he understands that this couldn’t be helped. I mean, he wouldn’t want everyone to see me walking around naked now, would he?

Alonzo doesn’t dignify that with a response. “The rest of you, just hang tight, and we’ll get you out of here as soon as possible. Rori, I trust you and Hades will take over guarding the women in here?”

“Of course, I will,” she snaps. “Get the hell out of here and deal with the assholes that got in the way of what I was sure was going to be a fun night.” Her smile is sharp enough to be lethal.

Alonzo looks at Sofia, giving her a cursory once over before saying something in Italian. Sofia nods, but her mouth twists into a scowl when he answers a question of hers with a smirk on his lips. Then he turns and rushes out the door, slamming it behind him.

“What was that?” Sienna asks Sofia, who is glaring furiously at the floor, as if it’s the cause of her anger.

“That,” Gia says with a gentle laugh, “was Sofia getting reminded that Dante cares about her, and if she thinks the two of them are going to be over at any point, she is seriously mistaken.”

“He’s not going to have to worry about that because I’m going to murder him the moment I see him.” Sofia seethes. “How dare he think he can order me around that way? Or order any of themen in this house to hide me away and guard me like some weakling. Fuck him.”

“I can offer a two-for-one special when we get out of here,” Rori offers with a sly smile. “Hades can move fast.”

“Don’t tempt me,” Sofia huffs. “Alright, let’s get you dressed, Amara.”

I glance at Rori again and offer, “I don’t have to. I can just stay like this.”

Rori arches a brow. “Is there a problem with the shirt?”

“No, but…” I trail off, unsure of how to say what I’m thinking without upsetting her. Maybe I’m off the mark.

“Then don’t worry about it,” she tells me with a reassuring smile. Then she gives me a wicked grin. “From the state of you, I take it you and Lazaro figured out your shit and had a fun night.” She waggles her brows at me. “Please, tell me you’re going to share, for those of us who aren’t able to get any right now.”

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