Page 8 of Sicilian Sunset

I’m stunned. My heart is in my throat.

What the hell just happened?!

Chapter Two

Ella

Myheartispoundingin my chest like a jackhammer, and my insides quiver with its beat.

My body is shaking from the adrenaline rush.

Did I really just run into the path of an oncoming car?

Holy shit!

Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome is holding my hips in a tight grasp, his touch searing even through my clothes. Liquid heat rushes through my veins, setting my body ablaze.

The man lying beneath me appears stunned. His eyes are glued to the SUV as it races down the street before it turns and disappears from sight.

Suddenly, my brain registers I’m lying on top of a complete stranger, his face only inches from mine.

He’s way too close.

I roll off him and onto my side, half sitting up. Whoa, my head spins.

Oh God, I’m going to faint.

“Are… are you okay?” I hear myself stammer, but the sound comes from far away.

Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome pushes himself up to sitting, his suit jacket torn at the shoulder.

Anger is radiating off him.His nostrils flare, and the vein in his neck is engorged and twitching.

People are staring, but no one dares approach us.

Two bulky men in suits run towards us.

Who are they?

Bodyguards?

God, I hope so. Given their furious expressions, the alternative would be scary. The man beside me isn’t alarmed, so I guess we’re okay.

I glance back at the handsome stranger, and our eyes meet.

The world stands still.

In an instant, I’m being sucked into outer space without a ticket to return, and swallowed up into the depths of his soul.

A puzzle piece I didn’t know was missing slides into place.

My heart stops and misses a few beats.

I can’t breathe… and I don’t care.

Warm, hazel-brown eyes are staring back at me, intense as if recognizing me, too.

If it wasn’t still happening, I’d roll my eyes and think ‘Yeah, right’,the scene too cliché to be believable.

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