Page 24 of King

Dante nods. He knew this before I confirmed it.

Reaching out I squeeze his shoulder gently. “Kid, you don’t have to follow your brothers lead with everything. If you want to get to know Guido - it doesn’t mean you’re betraying your brothers - or your mom. Imagine what he’s going through. He didn’t ask for any of this. He’s been thrown into a world where everyone is against him for something he has no control over.”

“Why aren’t you getting to know him?” Dante asks, and the question cuts into my chest. I clench my jaw and turn my eyes back towards the stars.

“It’s complicated, D.”

“I’m not so sure it is anymore.” He shrugs. Letting go of the balcony he smiles tightly at me. “Goodnight, dad.” He says, then walks away.

Walking through the mansion I don’t think about what I’m doing, I follow my feet until they lead me to the open door of Zina’s bedroom.

Quietly, I step towards it, standing in the doorway I watch her.

She’s sitting on the sofa by the window, her feet burled beneath her and her face turned towards the window.

She looks beautiful and peaceful, but her eyes are sad, and her posture is one of defeat. She’s wearing tiny sleep shorts and loosely fitted t-shirt that has slipped off one of her shoulders.

She’s gorgeous.

“Zina.” I say her name softly.

She turns to look at me, her head tilted.

“What are you doing here?” she asks, keeping her voice low. With her face turned towards me I can see the stress etched across it. The defeat. The hurt. The worry.

I walk into her room without waiting for her to invite me, my instincts pushing me to her side. I want to ease her pain. “Are you ok?” I ask, sitting down on the sofa next to her. She looks delicate and I want to protect her from the world.

She doesn’t move and her thigh presses against mine. Awareness floods me again, the warmth of her body, the familiar current, like energy exchanged between us.

She glances at the space where our bodies touch, then up at me.

She bites at her lower lip and release the softest sigh.

I can smell her, something uniquely her. It’s not perfume or lotion - it’s just her. And the smell intoxicates me.

Her big brown eyes are wide, and her face is soft, doll like and innocent. My heart hammers in my chest. I reach up and touch her cheek, tracing my finger over the warmth of her skin.

It’s like touching silk.

My thumb brushes over her perfect pink lips, tracing the shape of her cupids bow.

My heart beats faster as I fight the urge to kiss her.

What am I doing?

Pulling my hand away I set it on my lap, my fingers gripped against my thigh to stop myself from reaching for her again.

Zina’s eyes are still on me, piercing into mine.

“I can’t stop wondering if I’ve made a mistake bringing Guido here. I don’t know if we will ever be welcome here - and I don’t want to put him through the agony of constant rejection.” She says, almost a whisper. Her expression is so raw and her words so honest that it breaks my heart to see her, with her walls down, her heart on her sleeve.

“Zina, you are welcome here. Both of you.” I sigh heavily. “It’s just a complicated situation.”

She shakes her head. “All I want is for Guido to know he has a home and a family. It’s been just me and him for such a long time. He deserves more than that. If he can be happy here, I won’t care about anything else. I will do anything for my family.”

She shifts and the t-shirt pulls further off her shoulder. My eyes trace of the delicate curve of her collar bone. She looks down at her hands, settled in her lap, and a wave of dark hair falls forward like silk, half covering her face.

I brush it back, letting my fingers trace over her shoulder as I do so.

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