Page 4 of Savage Prince

I gulp down my drink, then scoot my chair back, the metal legs scraping against the terracotta tile. “Bathroom break, be right back, then we can plan for Friday, okay?”

He nods, a half-smile lifting the corner of his lip.

Clutching my purse under my arm, I scoot around the crowded rooftop, a pang of regret weighing me down. I’m such an idiot. Santi didn’t grow up with a big, loving, albeit sometimes dysfunctional family like I did. He was raised by his adoptive single mom who did the best she could to keep a roof over their heads in the super expensive L.A. area.

As I trudge down the long, quiet corridor to the bathroom, I resolve to make sure he’s included in all the cousin events while they’re in town. I’m so preoccupied I must pass the restrooms all together because I end up in some maintenance hallway with the steady thrum of an HVAC unit vibrating the narrow space. Spinning around, I return in the direction I came from and nearly crash into a wall of muscles behind a black trenchcoat. Piercing midnight eyes peer down at me through an ornate Venetian mask.

“Scusi.” The voice is low and guttural and has the hair on the back of my neck rising. His hands come up, but before he can make contact with my bare skin, I duck under his arm and race by.

Glancing over my shoulder as I jog down the hallway in my heels, I find the stranger standing perfectly still just where I left him, dark eyes glaring through that creepy mask fixed in my direction.

What the actual hell?

CHAPTER 3

THE COUSIN CREW

Serena

“Eek! I’m so glad you’re here, Bella!” I launch myself at my cousin, barreling through the entryway of my apartment.

Her bodyguard, Raf, glares down at me as if I might accidentally crush his precious client by squeezing her too tight. Okay, he’s not just her bodyguard, but I refuse to believe my baby cousin is actually in a committed relationship.

“Me too!” she squeals right back as we spin in a circle like we did when we were kids excited about our parents taking us to the movies or the zoo at Central Park.

Once we’re both dizzy, I finally release her and tug her into my apartment. Raf grabs their luggage and trails behind, something like annoyance carved into his ruthlessly handsome face. I still can’t believe I was the one who’d insisted she pick the hot bodyguard all those months ago. Really, Raf should be kissing my feet right now for getting them together in the first place.

“Where should I put the luggage?” Her grumpy guard scans the apartment, eyes narrowed, as if a sniper could jump out from behind one of the velvet curtains at any moment.

“Yourroom is the second one on the right down the hall.” I reach for my cousin and tuck her into my side. “But Bella here will be sleeping with me in my room.”

“I don’t think so,” he growls, dropping the luggage and stalking closer.

“Don’t you dare growl at me, Raffaele Ferrara.” I jab my finger into his ridiculously hard chest. “You get her every day in Rome. I only have my favorite cousin and best friend for two measly days. Who knows when they’ll let her have another weekend off from that hospital.”

“Sere is right,amore. It’s only two nights.” Bella rewards him with a sappy smile, and to my shock, the big beast actually backs down. “I promise I’ll make it up to you when we get home.”

“I’m going to hold you to that,principessa.” A silly grin curls the corners of his lips, but he still releases a huff of irritation as he picks up the suitcases and trudges down the hallway to the guest room.

“Impressive, Bella,” I whisper as soon as he turns into the bedroom. “You’ve really got that man pussy-whipped, don’t you?”

“Oh, stop.” She laughs, but I can’t help noticing the way her eyes sparkle in Raf’s presence, the bright blue, a mirror of my own, sparkling in intensity. I’ve never seen her so happy.

“So everything’s okay now after the kidnapping and all?”

She nods slowly, her dark hair falling across her shoulders in gentle waves. “It’s been quiet for the past few weeks, but Raf still hasn’t heard a word from his brother, Antonio.”

My thoughts swirl back to my visit to Rome a few weeks ago. We ran into Raf’s brothers coming out of a nightclub. Before then, we had no idea who they were, or what they were involvedin. Much like Raffaele, the elder Ferrara brothers were gorgeous, especially Antonio. Of course after what happened in Rome, I’d been sworn away from the entire family.

A pair of piercing, velvety irises flicker across my mind. The heat that came from that man’s gaze should have been illegal. Even now, after all these weeks, Antonio Ferrara haunts me. Figures, I’d be attracted to a monster.

Forcing the inappropriate memories to the far corners of my mind, I refocus on the present. “Does Raf think Antonio could be a threat?”

Bella shakes her head. “He’s not sure. Antonio is the only family he has left, and I don’t think he wants to believe he’d come after me for revenge, but who knows? Raf’s always on high alert.”

Approaching footsteps turn my attention to her faithful bodyguard, and I’m not the only one who notices his return. Isabella moves toward him like a magnet, pulled into his orbit without the faintest persuading. She wraps her arm around his waist and curls into his side like the curves of her body naturally fit against the hard planes of his.

“So what’s the plan for tonight?” Raf turns his dark gaze on me. “I’ll need to have all locations vetted prior to our arrival. My security team is ready to go so just give me the names.” He sweeps a lock of Bella’s hair behind her ear, the move so sweet for the big hulking guard, my head snaps back in shock. “I’ve been asking Isa for the information since we found out we were coming last week, but she insists I’m being overly paranoid.”

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