Page 96 of Bitter Prince
“Grandma will probably ground us for life and pull us out of the country,” Phoenix signed. “Then tell Papà so that he stops paying the tuition.”
“What did she say about your dad?” Amon asked curiously while Dante stared at her like he was being paid to do it.
I flicked a surprised glance at Amon, hoping that he was still my boyfriend after the stunt we’d just pulled.
Before I could open my mouth, Dante answered, “Don’t worry about anyone knowing. We wiped the records clean, so nobody aside from us will know you got arrested today.”
“And the asshole with the cracked head,” Raven reminded him. “He seems like the type to run his mouth.”
“Not for long,” I thought I heard Dante say, but I couldn’t be sure.
Instead, I turned to meet Amon’s eyes. “How did you know Phoenix said something about our father?”
He shrugged. “I started learning ASL,” he admitted.
I knew it right there and then. Amon Leone was it for me—for this life and next.
40
AMON
Darkness blanketed our room back on the yacht, though a golden halo surrounded Reina’s sleeping form. The glow around her could be a trick of moonlight, but I didn’t think so. The girl radiated sunshine even in the pitch black of night.
“Happy birthday, cinnamon girl,” I whispered.
Almost as if she heard me, a soft sigh left her plump, pink lips and she stirred, but she didn’t wake. The moment we returned, the girls crashed. Except for Phoenix, who kept glaring at me and insisting her sister sleep with her. We didn’t know where they’d planned on staying the night in Saint-Tropez, but it didn’t matter. Dante and I didn’t leave any room for negotiation, coming straight back to our yacht from the police station. We had plenty of space and could keep them out of trouble here.
But Reina was the textbook definition of stubborn. In fact, Merriam-Webster should have her picture next to the word. After arguing with Phoenix and winning, she tried to convince me to give her her birthday present.
Then, to ensure I understood what she wanted, she let her eyes travel over me without any reservation. Her ivory skin flushed as she’d said, “I don’t want material things, Amon Leone. Just you.”
The woman would be the death of me. I had some honor, but I wasn’t a saint. And still, I refused her. Even when she pursed her lips and roamed her hands over me, I held firm. I’d be damned if I took her virginity and made her first time anything less than memorable. I wanted to be her first and her last. I wanted her every time. The knowledge made this possessiveness and obsession grow, fast and furious.
Of course, I had big birthday plans for her in Paris, but they all went out the window now that we’d found ourselves in Saint-Tropez. So I’d make new plans. But first, I’d teach the fucker who dared grabbed her ass that you didn’t fuck with my girl and live to tell the tale.
My gaze swept over Reina’s sleeping form. She looked like an angel on the black satin sheets. Her cheek rested on a curtain of her long blonde curls, the rise and fall of her breasts and her long slim legs giving me a glimpse of her flawless skin. Her shallow breaths filled the space of my bedroom on my yacht that I’d named after her. Cinnamon Girl.
I was right to insist on no fooling around tonight. Definitely no sex. The moment Reina’s head hit the pillow, her eyes fluttered shut and she fell asleep, murmuring something about galaxies, just as she did the night she got roofied. Maybe she was aStar Warsfan.
There were still so many things I had to learn about her, and I would, as soon as I handled the fucker. After looking into Dietrich-soon-to-be-dead, I learned it wasn’t a coincidence he targeted the Romero sisters. The prick worked for Perez Cortes. Darius did good by looking into him.
My eyes locked on her golden hair sprawled over the black satin sheets, terrified that I came so close to losing her. As if she sensed my dark thoughts, she shivered and I stepped forward to cover her up. I leaned over, inhaling her scent into my lungs, and pressed a kiss on her forehead.
“Sweet dreams. I’ll be right back.” And then, I’d make the rest of her life a happy, memorable event. Fuck everything. Fuck my father. Fuck my revenge. Fuck the Omertà, and definitely fuck the Yakuza. My mother would understand. She would have to.
I wasn’t the richest man in the world yet, but I had enough to give Reina a life she deserved. I could support her through college and even fund her if she wanted to start her own business. Whatever the fuck she wanted.
A soft knock on the door pulled me from my dreams of the future that sounded hopeful for once.
I turned and got the fuck out of the bedroom before I could convince myself to stay and watch her sleep. The fucker that touched Reina and her sister deserved to get sliced and diced. And I was going to make sure he got exactly that.
An hour later, Dante and I were back at the police station, listening as the footsteps became louder and louder.
“You’re obsessed with Reina Romero.” Dante’s voice pulled my gaze to him. I didn’t bother correcting him. My feelings for her and hers for me were none of his concern. “It will be your ruin. It’s never good to be obsessed with a woman. Or a man. Love in general is dangerous.”
“And how would you know?”
He shrugged. “Look at our father. Our mother. In fact, look at anyone who ventured down that road. It always ends up fucking everything up.”
