Page 80 of Little Dove

I can’t decide whether that’s admirable or asinine.

Nico doesn’t say another word. He simply moves to Gia, lifts her in his arms, and stalks out of the room. Gia gives us a wave over his shoulder, but we can hear her murmuring to him, probably trying to calm him down. Alessio does much the same to Sienna, but she doesn’t even glance back at us. He says something in her ear, and her lips pull up into a wicked smile just before they leave the room.

That leaves Rori, Sofia, and I, all facing down Lazaro, Alonzo, Dante, and Massimo. I glance at Massimo, who looks absolutely amused at the whole situation.

“Whose shirt is that you’re wearing, Amara?” Lazaro demands again with barely restrained patience.

“Lazaro, calm down,” I tell him with a scowl, hands going to my hips in annoyance. “Would you rather I still be naked?”

“Still?” he repeats. Shit. His eyes go impossibly dark, and I swear his body seems to get larger. Uh-oh, that was definitely the wrong thing to say. “What the fuck do you meanstill, Amara? Where the fuck were your clothes?”

I glare at him. “Well excuse me, but you knew exactly how naked I was when you left me to go do your mafia business hours ago,” I snap at him. It’s like he’s trying to accuse me of something, or blame me for this mess. “When everything happened, Mario just wrapped me up in the blankets to get me out of the bedroom as fast as possible. And I’m sure that was at your order, so you don’t get to be pissed about how I was dressed when he grabbed me. Got it? I was perfectly covered when Massimo eventually carried me down here, and Alonzo was nice enough to loan me his shirt so that I was more comfortable. You should be?—”

I don’t get to finish before Lazaro rounds on both of them. “I’m going to kill you both,” he vows.

Massimo holds up his hands placatingly. “Hold on, I didn’t see anything. When I took her from Mario, she was already wrapped up in the blanket and all I could see was her face. We were under heavy fire, so I had to hurry. Nothing more.”

Alonzo just shrugs. “I figured you wouldn’t want her to be in nothing, so I gave her my shirt and had one of the men get me a new one. I wasn’t around when she put it on. I just gave it to her and left, so calm your ass.”

Lazaro doesn’t look mollified in the slightest. Instead, he turns and orders, “Everyone out. Now.”

“Don’t do anything stupid, brother dearest,” Sofia warns him. Then she looks at Dante, and her expression hardens. “You and I need to have a chat.” Dante just steps back to let her pass him. Massimo is right behind them, looking like a kid on Christmas.

“You alright?” Rori asks me, drawing my attention. She gives me a concerned look.

“I’m fine,” I promise her. “He’s just being a jealous asshole,” I add with a pointed look at Lazaro. Not that he cares, considering his expression doesn’t change.

“Alright, just remember where you put everything,” she adds with a wink. “If we find him dead on the floor later, I’ll help you get rid of the body.” Then she orders Hades to her side and stalks away, never even glancing at Alonzo, who follows her silently.

The minute the door shuts, Lazaro is moving so he finally stands towering in front of me. “Off. Now,” he hisses, practically foaming at the mouth. “You are not wearing another man’s clothes in my presence, Amara. Ever.”

“And I’m not standing here naked when anyone could walk in, Lazaro,” I hiss back.

“No one will dare enter through that door unless they want to die.Now. Take. It. Off.Or I will do it for you.”

A little thrill ignites at his words, but my stubborn defiance quickly overrides it. “You’re being ridiculous, Lazaro. It’s only a shirt.”

“I’m not going to tell you again,colombina,” he warns me. “Take. It. Off.” I glare up at him, refusing to do his bidding. He’s not going to hurt me, but this is going to be a stupid fight, much like the one we had earlier about me doing men’s hair. He and I really do need to discuss his jealous tendencies, but right now, he doesn’t seem to be in the listening mood.

When I don’t move, he lets out a sound that’s a mixture of a growl and snarl, and I screech when his hands fly up to the collar and yank, tearing fabric and sending buttons flying as he rips it off me and throws it aside, leaving me standing naked. “What the fuck?” I screech. “What the fuck, Lazaro?” I wrap my arms around myself to cover myself, but then I screech again when helifts me into his arms, turning us so my back is against the wall and his face is in front of mine.

“You don’t ever wear something on your body that belongs to another man, Amara,” he tells me succinctly. “Especially not something of my brother’s. You’remine.” Then he seals our mouths in a punishing kiss that has fire building instantly in my belly as my anger turns into passion. Though, it’s different than earlier tonight. This is the kind of passion that you read about in books and see on TV. The kind people crave and search for their entire lives. His grip on my ass is almost bruising as he suddenly yanks his mouth from mine and growls, “I can smell his cologne on you.”

“Then do something about it,” I suggest, and even to my ears, it sounds coy. Teasing.

He stills and stares into my eyes. “Do you know what you’re asking for,colombina?” he demands. I gasp when his grip tightens even more, bordering on pain, though it doesn’t dull my desire. If anything, it only heightens further.

“Yes,” I gasp, wrapping my legs around him. The material of his shirt does nothing to dull the heat of his skin, and at this angle, there is no way I can hide my reaction to him. “But we still need to talk about your jealous tendencies,” I add pointedly.

“Fucking right, I’m jealous,” he grits out. “I walk in here to see you wearing only a shirt that’s not mine, and find out that you were brought here naked by your guard and one of my friends. I don’t give a fuck if they didn’t see anything, but the chance that they did, and that you smell like my brother instead of me, it makes me want to stake my claim on you again. To remind you just how much you belong to me. I want to mark your skin, I want to cover you in my scent, and I want to make you scream so loud that the entire fucking house hears it, so that they know it too.” One hand leaves my ass to grip my hair tight, tilting my head back to expose my neck. “And I want you to feelme so deep inside you that you’ll never doubt it either.” Then he leans forward and sinks his teeth into the crook of my neck.

The shock of pain makes me cry out, but then I feel him suck on my neck, and the pain morphs into something else. Something darker and addicting. I want to push him away as much as I want to pull him closer. Want to beg him for more. When he releases my skin, he moves up my neck a little more and repeats the process. I don’t know how many times he does it, but by the time he makes his way to the other side of my neck and gives it the same treatment, I’m a quivering, whimpering mess, and I’m pretty sure I’ve soaked his shirt all the way through.

I never had any idea that this kind of treatment could make me want him so badly. Or that I’d want him to keep going.

When he finally pulls back, examining his handiwork, I see a feral satisfaction in his eyes. Then they lift to stare into mine, and I shiver. “No one will ever doubt that you’re mine now, Amara,” he rasps. “They’ll see my marks, and know that no one else will ever get to touch your skin, or get so close as to try and replace them.”

“Lazaro,” I breathe, my fingers weaving into his hair and gripping tight, trying to force his head back so I can kiss him. I need it. I needhim. I feel that same pressure and overwhelming desire as I did earlier.

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