Page 32 of Fierce Protector

“I don’t need you to say anything in return. Yes, it’s fast, but we’ve wasted so many years not saying anything, Katerina. I’m forty-eight, and I’ll be damned if I waste one more second without you.”

He leans into me, letting his hips take the weight of our embrace, freeing one hand to roam along my curves and up my body until he wraps his hand around my throat. The noise it pulls from me is wanton and desperate and only escalates when he flexes his fingersand tightens his grip, demanding my lips meet his. Our tongues collide in a clash of passion and possession.

We burn ourselves out, coming back up for air and locking gazes. “Stop measuring what we have in terms of weeks because we both know that’s a false equivalency. Whatwefeel has been growing for years, Katerina. I don’t care if you can’t say it yet, but I can. I love you.”

“I—” I start, but Stefano presses a finger to my lips to stop me from saying something I know in my bones I’m not ready to say yet. The first time I say it, I want to feel it in my soul.

“Say it when you mean it,micetta.”

“There’s very little more irritating than a man who tells you how to feel. Even if he’s right.”

“Wait a minute. Did you just admit that I might be right about something?” he teases, kissing my cheek and touching his forehead to mine.

“Don’t let it go to your head,vecchietto.”

I unfurl my legs and he releases his hold, letting me slide down to the floor. Stefano brushes the curtain of waves back from my face and kisses me softly. “Go get changed into something more comfortable. I’ll start on dinner.”

I cup his face, raking my fingertips through his sinfully tempting scruff. I smile when he leans into my touch. It’s such a small gesture but I can’t deny the feeling of pure happiness that overtakes me with every intimate touch we share.

“Give me five minutes,” I say before reaching up on tiptoes and kissing the tip of his cheek. I kick off my shoes and head towards the stairs taking a moment tolook back. Stefano is half smiling, half rolling his eyes as he tidies up the bundle of chaos discarded haphazardly by the door.

“A hurricane would leave less debris in its wake,” he mutters with an adoring smile that has me floating as I head upstairs to change.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

STEFANO

Breathtaking. That’s the only word that can be used to describe the goddess before me. As she descends from the porch towards our waiting town car, my mouth parts to compliment her, but every eloquent thought I have is silenced by an uncooperative body.

My eyes trace a languid journey starting at the criminally sexy red stilettos and up the slit of scarlet silk that promises to have me murdering anyone who dares to appreciate her legs. As far as I can tell, she must have been sewn into this dress because the corseted bodice looks like a second skin. One I’d happily rip off her right now, just so I could explore every inch of her body with my tongue.

As my gaze stops on her face, I’m instantly humbled by her smile. She exudes a natural confidence laced witha hint of mischief that makes me want to abandon this whole evening and spend the night worshipping the little minx. She knew exactly what she was doing when she chose this dress for the gala. I’m going to be hard all night long.

With every step, her left leg slices through the cascade of silk, exposing the same exquisite thigh I had wrapped around my neck this morning.

“I think you're trying to incite violence tonight,micetta?” I say, barely able to string my words together. I’m practically salivating at the thought of diving under the waterfall of fabric and recreating the morning's activities right here on the front steps.

“Whatever do you mean?” Her voice comes out laced with a melodic innocence while her wry smile betrays her intention.

I push off the hood of my car and cross to her, raising a hand to help her down the last few steps. Leaning in, I let the gravel in my voice rake over the shell of her ear. “It will be difficult not to pluck out the eyes of a single person I catch appreciating what’s mine.”

I don’t miss the shiver that flutters through her at my words. Before she has a chance to rail against my possessiveness, I circle her waist and pull her close, stealing her lips in a kiss. What starts as a delicate touch rapidly escalates to a battle between us, one where we both struggle to rein our desire in. When we break away, I lose myself in her eyes as her pupil’s flare, glistening like rich beads of obsidian.

She slaps my chest playfully and rolls her eyes. “Nowthat you’ve completely destroyed the make-up I spent the last half an hour applying, you now have the pleasure of waiting on me again while I fix it.”

The glare she throws my way is undermined by the soft desperate pants and smile that teases the corner of her mouth. My cock strains against my zipper as I appreciate the crimson smudges around her lips. Before the night is out, I will have this vixen on her knees and smearing that same lipstick along the length of my cock. I can’t stop myself from running my thumb along her plump bottom lip and blurring the smudge even more.

Thrusting her purse into my chest, she turns and heads back towards the house, shaking her head. “What is it about men and a bright red lip?” she mutters, stomping her feet just a little harder than necessary. “And you might want to correct your lipstick too,vecchietto. I don’t think it’s your colour.”

I smile and make my way to the car, bending over by the side mirror to inspect the damage. A part of me is loathed to wipe it off, but since this is our first proper date and it happens to be her largest work event of the year, I don’t think turning up looking like I’ve just ravaged her in the car is probably the look she’s going for.

It’s strange. This is the first time in a long time that I’ve attended anything where it wasn’t about me, or my work. I’m entirely out of my comfort zone and while I’m there to protect her, mostly I’m there as Doctor Mancini’s partner. There’s no situation where I’d feel out of my depth, that's not what I’m feeling, but it is strange to present myself to a world sodifferent from my own.

I have two jobs tonight. Keep her safe and be her arm candy. I stand by her side while she schmoozes the board and the donors and keep Danny away from her if he shows up.

I’ve had people on him for over a week now, and the only thing he appears to be obsessed with is his new girlfriend. Maybe he’s moved on, but the more intel I’m sent on him, the more something doesn’t sit right. Yes, he’s young and easily infatuated, as is evident from the sheer volume of time he’s spending with this new woman, but nothing about his behaviour screams possessive lunatic. Still, I’m keeping my people on him because the last thing I want is to make a stalker another woman’s problem.

There have been no more home deliveries, and since blocking the last number to bombard Katerina with messages, it’s been quiet. However, just because Danny isn’t tripping my spidey senses, doesn’t mean that they’re not currently convinced Katerina is in danger. With every day that passes, I have a growing sense of dread. It could simply be that after wanting her for so long, I’m wary of anything that could come between us, but it feels like more than that. I just can’t put my finger on it right now and in the meantime, I will do whatever it takes to keep her safe.

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