Page 8 of Fierce Protector

He grimaces and I shouldn’t find it endearing, but I do. He looks genuinely uncomfortable at the prospect of explaining this to my dad.

“You’re a pain in my ass, Tiero,” I say, trying to lighten the mood a little. A smile warms his features, and it diffuses my temper. A little.

“You want the truth?” he asks, running the tip of his index finger around the lid of his coffee cup.

“Always.”

“I didn’t plan it. I came to check him out, heard him talking about you with another nurse and?—”

“Lost your mind?”

“Maybe. But I needed to do something. Everything is so out of control right now. I’m a consigliere with no don to serve. We’re on the verge of a war, and we don’t know who we’ll be fighting. My hands are tied until we know more. There’s nothing I can do. But this, this I can do something about. I know you think I’m being ridiculous, but just for a moment, can you humour an ‘old man’ as you so kindly put it?”

I choke a little on my coffee. “Well, when you put it like that…” I reach out a hand to his forearm and squeeze, trying to reassure him that I understand where he’s coming from. Our gazes collide and the space between us feels heavy with a million things I want to say, but know I shouldn’t. It’s not my place to soothe him, even if all I want to do is hug him right now. Instead, with as much lightness as I can inject into my tone, I say, “Hey, you may be a bossy, overbearing pain in my ass, but you’re not old, Stefano.”

“I’m closer to your father’s age than yours,” he says, arching a brow.

“It would be great if you didn’t mention that, as you had your lips on mine ten minutes ago. That’s just creepy.” I fake a little shudder to hammer home my point.

“Fair,” he says with a chuckle, and I light up inside, feeling a little smug that I was able to coax out that sexy-as-fuck dimple.

“So, we’re really trying this? Fake dating?” I ask. There’s a slight tremble in my voice, not because I wouldn’t love spending more time with him, but because I worry I’ll love it too much.

“Well, you won’t let me kneecap him,” he responds, dimple still activated and playful smirk with it. That dimple is going to be the key to my ruin. “It’s not like we need to do a lot. I’ll swing by every now and again, and you just start telling everyone about your hot new boyfriend.”

“My, we’re full of ourselves, aren’t we?”

“You could do worse, Doctor Mancini.” I can’t help but laugh at this side of him he’s showing me. I’ve missed this. The gentle, teasing, and playful conversation. A pang of sadness creeps into my chest, reminding me how I wish my feelings didn’t make it so hard to be near him.

“True,” I concede. “But if I agree to this, you can’t just rock up whenever you feel like it.” I try and fail to tamp down the hint of unease in my tone. It’s not that I object to him turning up, it’s more that I’ve gone to great lengths to keep my career separate from anything remotely Cosa Nostra, and it unnerves me to have the two coming together so suddenly.

“I’ll text you. I won’t surprise you again, but the frequency of my visits will depend on how quickly Danny-boy takes the hint.”

“I can work with that. Hopefully it won’t be too long. I wouldn’t want to distract you from your day job.” I swear I catch a hint of disappointment in his expression. Which would be crazy because he’s the one who rejected me after our kiss at Aurora’s wedding. Burying that thought, I take a sip of my coffee and continue, “Are we telling Dad about this arrangement? I’d rather not split his focus. When the don’s death becomes public knowledge,he’s going to have enough on his plate. His men are not going to take it well. Plus, you’ve seen Danny now. He’s a minor inconvenience at worst. I don’t need the full wrath of the Cosa Nostra being unleashed on him, which is exactly what my dad will demand if he finds out.”

He considers my words before nodding. “We’ll keep it between us for now. I’ll admit, he looks about as dangerous as a marshmallow knife.”

The snort that erupts from my nose takes both of us by surprise. Well, that was the least sexy noise I’ve ever made and only serves to make me feel inadequate compared to Stefano Tiero. He always exudes a power that feels like it’s ingrained in his DNA.And it’s quite possibly one of his sexiest qualities.

He's a man who radiates the biggest of big dick energies. He could end a man with the flick of his wrist… but alsofinisha woman with the same.

Thankfully, he ignores my graceless reaction and continues. “We’ll try it your way. For now. You make sure everyone knows how happy you are with your new boyfriend, and I’ll keep an eye on Danny—” I try to interrupt and protest the need for surveillance, however light, but he steamrollers over me. “That part is non-negotiable. I’ll be keeping tabs on him if I feel it’s necessary. Besides, Aurora needs you on call for the foreseeable future and the last time you were needed, he delayed you with his bullshit. He’s paying far too close attention to you, and we can’t afford any civilian loose ends entangling themselves in our business.”

Well, that told me.

“Don’t fight me on this. You won’t win, Katerina.” Hisvoice is deep and rich, edged with an authoritative rasp and stern tone that has me wanting to clench my thighs together. There’s a part of me that’s revelling in the idea that a man like Stefano is making my safety a priority. But I’m not going to admit that to him.

“Doesn’t sound like I have much of a choice, does it now?” I say, doing my best impression of a petulant teenager.

“No, you don’t.” He takes my cup and tosses it in the trash along with his own before reaching for my hand and pulling me up. “Now go back to work. I’ll see you soon.”

Leaning into me, he lays a gentle peck on my cheek and heads off towards the town car I didn’t notice idling in the drop-off zone.

“I never knew you were this bossy, Stefano,” I shout after him.

“Yes, you did,” he calls, turning to glance back over his shoulder and hitting me with a wry smile. “And you love it.”

CHAPTER FIVE

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