Page 33 of Dangerous King
"Alright, what else?" She turns her attention back to me.
"Izzy, I—" I stammer, "I can't… I can't pay for this…"
She laughs, "No worries, it's all on me, or actually, on Enrico. He doesn't mind."
A blush creeps up my cheeks. Somehow, the notion that Enrico is paying for my… undergarments… heats and embarrasses me at the same time. My head turns to the store's entrance, where Enrico is still speaking on the phone, flanked by four burly guards. The other two who are inside with us are all business. Their heads move from left to right, scanning for any threats.
"So," Izzy pushes.
I bite my lower lip, and Izzy takes me by the shoulder. "Pick what you like, let's see who can grab the most."
With that, she's off into a different corner.
"Can I take your measurements, Miss?" The saleslady—Julia, her nametag reads—offers.
I'm a bit embarrassed; nobody has ever taken my measurements before. My blush deepens when she drapes a measuring tape around my chest.
"Alright, thirty-four C," she declares. I don't know why, but my eyes move back outside again. Enrico is staring at me with a heated expression that sends a surge of electricity through my core.
"Which ones would you like? Do you want to try some on?"
"That's okay, she needs a little bit of everything. Her luggage got lost." Out of nowhere, Izzy is by my side, linking her arms through mine. "We'll pick it up in a couple of hours, and these, too." She hands Julia a bundle of lace and ribbons in all colors of the rainbow and pulls me out of the store.
"So you liked the pajamas?" She inquires as we leave the store. She briefly nods at Enrico.
"Oh my God, I loved them. They were the most comfortable thing I've ever slept in, th?—"
She doesn't let me finish as she pulls me to the front of another store. Several customers are inside, and three of our bodyguards move in to kick them out. I might have objected, but my eyes fell to the night garments on display in the window, and I know I want them. I wasn't lying. The pajamas Izzy loaned me were heavenly, and she obviously got them from here. There are gowns, robes, nighties, slippers… I can't get enough of staring.
"That yellow one would look stunning on you," a deep voice whispers next to my ear.
I don't have to turn to know it's Enrico. I feel his presence with every fiber of my being. His hot breath sends goosebumps up and down my arms, and my stomach flutters. I'm frozen. I don't even dare to breathe. I'm scared my legs will give out. I'm worried he'll step back. I'm worried he won't.
"Are you coming?" Izzy turns when she notices I didn't follow her in. She frowns at Enrico and makes a shooing motion with her hand. He chuckles, still close by my ear.
Protesting customers leave the store as I make my way in on trembling legs. This time, Enrico follows us. He holds up a long-sleeved nightgown with buttons all the way to the neck. "You would look great in this, sis," he tells Izzy, who frowns.
She, in turn, holds up a see-through, nothing-there, gauzy thing, arching a daring eyebrow at her brother.
"You win," Enrico concedes, rolling his eyes and moving out of the store as if all the demons of hell are after him.
Izzy giggles. "That was fun."
I still can hardly believe the difference in how Izzy and Enrico interact in comparison to the Giordano siblings. It's fun watching them. Though I'm a little envious. I wonder if it will be the same with my brothers when they arrive. We used to get along. Even though I was younger, or maybe because of it, they were always with me. Always at my side, watching movies with me, taking me to the swimming pool or the ocean. How will it be when we're reunited?
"He ran as if the Bratva was after him," Izzy giggles, bringing me back to the here and now.
"Somehow, I can't imagine him running from anything," I can't stop myself from saying.
"You like my brother?" She states more than asks.
I feel heat rise in my face. "No, no, I meant… I meant that he's…"
Izzy laughs harder. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." But I don't really like the calculating look she throws in Enrico's direction. He's just outside the store, talking on the phone again.
"One thing at a time. First, we're going to get you to loosen up," Izzy nods.
"Loosen up?"
