Page 21 of The Bodyguard's Vow

Dante handed me two slim black cell phones, and I traded him for mine. Gabriella walked over and handed hers to him as well.

“They're clean, but I want the SIM card changed every few hours, then trash them completely before you head up the mountain. You’ll find another set at the cabin.”

“Don’t use them unless it’s an emergency,” Rafa added, looking at Gabriella.

“I’m not an idiot, Rafa,” she snarked.

Her show of fire had me smiling inside. My girl had a tender heart, but she was a fucking badass.

“Let’s hit the road,” Dante called out.

“I just need a minute with my brother,” Leo stated, watching Rafa for a sign of permission.

Rafa nodded and guided Gabriella out the door, with Alec and Dante close behind.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” he muttered once we were alone.

I cocked my head to the side and frowned. “Since when don’t you have faith in my abilities,fratello?”

He shook his head and met my eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. “That’s not what I mean. You’ll be alone with her up there. Don’t cross that line, Domenico.”

I blinked, not sure if I was understanding him correctly.

“You think I don’t know my brother well enough to see what the fuck is happening? The only time I see anything besides an unbreakable wall in your eyes is when you look at her.”

Well, shit.It probably shouldn’t have surprised me. The only person who knew me better than Rafa was Leo.

“I don’t know if he’d ever forgive you, Domenico,” Leo stressed. “So you better be damn fucking sure if you’re gonna risk it all for her.”

I wanted to assure him that I wouldn’t break my vow, but for the first time, something held me back. When I thought about what could have happened if Gabriella had been at the gallery…it had left a gaping hole in the walls I’d built inside me, and I wasn’t sure they could ever be repaired.

8

GABRIELLA

The cabin Domenico brought me to was in the mountains, surrounded by dense woods. There wasn’t another house within at least a few miles, making it impossible for anyone to sneak up on us. It also meant that I finally had my brother’s best friend all to myself. Maybe it was careless, considering everything that was happening, but I intended to take full advantage of this time together.

I decided to forget about the past week and his stupid determination to keep me at arm’s length.

Without any distractions or somewhere to go, he wouldn’t be able to avoid the sensual tension between us. And I wasn’t interested in tempting him into just a few more kisses. My goal was to break his resolve and make him admit to his feelings for me. Then hopefully, we would do a heck of a lot more than kiss.

To help with that, I packed very carefully. Nothing too overtly revealing. Just enough to tease and tantalize. Like the thin sleep set I changed into shortly after we arrived. The camisole top showed off my curves, and the shorts hit just below my butt.

I gave myself a little pep talk about being bold and going after what I wanted before sashaying out of the bedroom. WhenI walked into the kitchen and saw his gaze rake over my body, I barely held back a triumphant giggle.

“I could use some sweet tea.” I deliberately brushed against him as I squeezed past to get to the fridge, keeping my voice innocent as I asked, “How about you?”

“Hai rotto il cazzo,”he muttered.

“Me? Annoying?” I turned to him with wide eyes. “It would’ve been rude not to ask.”

His dark eyes burned into mine. “You know exactly what you’re doing,sole.”

I didn’t bother denying the accusation. “Then maybe you shouldn’t send mixed messages, like using such a sweet nickname for me. Because we both know it has nothing to do with me being a morning person.”

“Porca puttana,”he grunted, his eyes rolling up to the ceiling.

The fact that he was breaking out the curse words around me meant that pushing his buttons was working. So I decided to ramp up the pressure a little more.

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