Page 116 of Sins of the Orchid
“My mother taught me to dance.”
“Oh,” I uttered, surprised. “She did an excellent job.”
Santi twirled me, spinning me around and around. The room spun, but I couldn't stop smiling and laughing. I loved dancing with him. I was practically glowing with happiness. A few of the locals threw glances our way, smiling but I didn’t care. I was in heaven and only the man holding me mattered.
The beat changed and the first string of English words played. We both halted and I grinned.
“I know this song,” I exclaimed. Santi gave me a blank look. I took his hand and smiled, glad for reversed roles. “Now, I will teach you some steps and words.”
“Promiscuous” by Nelly Furtado and Timbaland played, and I lip synced, maybe yelled, the words. Ignoring all the steps, we danced. Santi and I laughed like we didn’t have a care in the world. Tomorrow, reality would come, but tonight, we would enjoy our last night together.
Women threw looks Santi’s way, hoping for a glance from him. Anything. I couldn’t blame them. There was a magnetic kind of energy around him, and he was so handsome, towering over all other men on the dance floor.
But he never looked away from me.
CHAPTER39
Santino
It’d been only two days since I returned from Italy, and I was already contemplating ways to go back. There was no way I could wait months before I’d see her, bury myself inside her. I had already decided I’d travel every other weekend. I told her as much too this morning via text.
I kept cracking my knuckles, irritation and restlessness flooding my senses. I wouldn’t get through the workday, never mind the work week or month, without killing someone in this state. The images of Amore wearing my shirt, her pink boyshorts, or her in the bikini kept playing on repeat in my mind.
However, business piled up and dangers lurked at every corner. I couldn’t fucking handle not seeing Amore every single day, but I wouldn’t risk her life. Sooner rather than later I would have her back with me.
She belonged in my bed, my home, my life. She was already in my heart.
But Ulrich Anderson had to be eliminated first so she was safe when she came. Then this marriage contract to whoever the fucker was would be burned to ashes. I’d shoot him in the goddamn head. She wouldn’t be anyone’s but mine.
So, until Ulrich and the man her father promised her to were dead, she’d have to stay in Italy.
Adriano had been helping with my legal businesses. I had promised Pà I wouldn’t pull him into the underworld, but Adriano kept finding one way or another to hustle. I’d rather he did it for our family business and the Cosa Nostra, than find his way with the Russians or some other crime family. Keeping him out of the Cosa Nostra and the underworld was almost a moot point since he kept inserting himself back into it. He could help cover for me along with Renzo when I visited Amore. Renzo would keep him on a straight path and steer him from disasters when I wasn’t around. I’d leave my legal business to the strait-laced fellas.
Since I got back, I’ve been swamped with work that had needed my attention during my week with Amore. Going through my documents on my laptop, my eyes flickered to my cell on my desk. There was nothing else on it. I liked my space organized, not in havoc like Renzo and Adriano preferred theirs. If those two ruled New York, the city would burn down by the end of the week.
No message from Amore.I was half tempted to call her up. She was going to work out a weekend getaway schedule with Lorenzo, so he’d cover for her while she was with me.
Fuck! And I was craving Amore so bad that I was willing to leave shit in my brother’s and Renzo’s hands. Wonderful, I was just as much of an idiot as those two.I have to kill Ulrich and Amore’s unknown intended ASAP!
My phone beeped and I had never reached for it so fast. Instantly the corner of my lips tugged upward. It was from Amore.
*Lorenzo will cover for me and my hot boyfriend.*
The door to my office swung open and Renzo strode into my office without knocking, then plonked his ass on the edge of my desk. I locked the phone and shoved it into my pocket.
“Puccini is here.” Renzo said, throwing his knife into the air and catching it.
I tucked my gun in the back of my pants. I didn’t expect trouble from our family lawyer, but I liked being prepared. The men that wanted me dead came in all shapes and sizes. Though I pondered what the fuck he wanted to talk about. He left me a frantic message my first day in Italy, worried about a document he forgot to share with me. I wasn’t too worried about it, but he has called every goddamn day since asking that we meet.
“You put a hole in my desk, it will be your head,” I muttered, though for the first time in months, it wasn’t a real threat. After a whole week with Amore, I was in an exceptionally good mood. We had a plan, and I’d see her again by the end of this week. Going weeks without her wasn’t an option. I was head over heels smitten with that girl, and I didn’t give a shit who knew it. If someone dared to hurt her or touch her, I’d lose my goddamn mind. Just the thought of it sent me over the edge.
“I don’t think you mean that.” He threw the knife up into the air again. “You must have gotten some good pussy in Italy.” I ignored him. He hadn’t outright said it, but he suspected there was something going on between Amore and me. I trusted him not to say anything to anyone or risk a bullet in his skull. “What about Puccini?”
“I’m waiting for you to bring him up,” I told him dryly. “Or are you waiting for step-by-step instructions?”
He rolled his eyes. He was two years younger than me, and we had always gotten along. So, when my role in Pà’s organization started growing, I took him along. I never regretted that decision.
Renzo disappeared from my office as I leaned back in my seat. My office was on the top floor of the building. It was the first skyrise I bought, and the entire city stretched in front of me. Each floor below us was dedicated to a different business. I was proud of what I had accomplished. I had tripled our value, and while I wasn’t a billionaire like my little sex monster, I could more than provide for her and offer her the same life. I didn’t discount the possibility that her grandmother might disinherit her, and I wanted to ensure Amore had everything she could ever need.
