Page 32 of Forbidden Sins

I nearly jumped, startled by Brick’s voice in my ear, cutting through my musings over whether or not I can sneak off to the bathroom for a quick stroke to get my head back on straight. I twist around, seeing the man standing there, wearing the usual all-black uniform of Gallo’s security. He’s built like the brick shithouse that he’s nicknamed after, an imposing man in the middle of all this glitz and glamor, and right now he’s pinning me with a look that makes me feel uncomfortably seen.

“Just keeping an eye on things,” I manage, keeping my voice as carefully neutral as I can. “You know. What I’m paid to do.”

Brick chuckles darkly. “Sure. Keeping an eye on the boss’s daughter in particular?”

“Also what I’m paid to do.” I shift uncomfortably, both wishing he’d go away and grateful that his presence has at leasthelped to quell my erection. “I’m her personal bodyguard, Brick. Where the fuck else should I be looking?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Brick’s voice is overly casual as he leans against the doorframe next to me, his voice low enough for only us to hear. “The windows. The doors. The gardens. Any entrance or exit where someone looking to make trouble could be coming in or going out. Not at her mouth for five minutes straight, I can tell you that.”

Actually, I was looking at her throat, and thinking about the sound she’d make when I ran my mouth down it.My cock twitches again, and I clear my throat, pushing the thought aside.Thatcertainly isn’t what I’m going to tell Brick.

“Careful,” I mutter, glancing at him with irritation. “Someone hears you say that, they’ll start thinking I have ideas that I don’t.”

“You sure?” Brick looks at me, his gaze heavy. “You’ve been here three years, Sinclair, at her side the whole time. I can see how that might fuck with a man’s head, being so close to something he can’t have. Make him start thinking things he shouldn’t.”

“Fuck off,” I bite out. “You’re full of shit. My only interest in Estella Gallo is the money her father pays me to watch out for her.”

The words burn my lips like the lies that they are. But what the hell else am I supposed to say? Not the truth—that every moment I’m around her, my thoughts get filthier with every passing day, my need for her turning into something that surpasses desire.

I haven’t even gotten laid in months. For weeks now, it’s felt unthinkable. I can’t imagine touching any woman but her.

Maybe that will change, once she’s married and I have to come to terms with the fact that some other man is puttinghishands onher. But for now, I can’t summon desire for anyoneelse. It’s driving me mad, living like a monk and fucking nothing other than my fist, but I don’t see any solution to it.

Brick raises his hands in mock surrender. “Just a little friendly advice, Sinclair. Making sure you haven’t forgotten who she is—or what could happen to a man who gets ideas above his station in this family.”

“I haven’t forgotten,” I grind out from between my teeth, but Brick is already walking away. My gaze drifts back to Estella, drawn like a magnet to iron. She’s talking to a middle-aged man dressed in an impeccable suit, his hair swept back and gelled stiffly, his eyes glued to her like she’s a meal being served up for his pleasure. My jaw tightens at the sight, and I feel my fingers press into my palms, my hands curling into fists as he leans in and whispers something in her ear.

She laughs politely, but I can see that her smile doesn’t reach her eyes. I see her fingers tighten around her champagne flute. I’ve been her bodyguard for three years now—I’m attuned to her every movement, her every quirk, her mind and body, and every single thing about her. I know she doesn’t want that man near her.

It takes everything in me not to close the distance between us and physically pull him away.

I tear my gaze away from her, scanning the room. From the other side, Antony Gallo catches my eye and gives me a small, almost imperceptible nod, his eyes watching me like a shark’s. A reminder to do my job. A reminder of my place.

It’s a bitter thought, tonight more than ever.

My place is in the shadows, not at her side. A weapon, not a lover.

Especially not hers.

I watch as Antony moves through the crowd toward Estella, another man at his side—this one taller than him by a head, with curly black hair and deeply tanned skin. He gestures for Estellato walk with them, and she follows with a hint of reluctance that I think only I see, following alongside them to a spot by the windows not far from where I’m standing.

“Estella, let me introduce Nico Adamos,” Antony says, gesturing to the man standing next to him, who nods respectfully to Estella. From where I’m standing, I can see that he’s maybe in his mid-thirties, well-dressed and handsome enough to make my blood boil. I have the strange feeling that Antony has maneuvered them so that I can hear the conversation, which is confusing. I’ve always been careful to never cross any lines where Estella’s father could notice, to not seem too familiar with her around him. He has no reason to think that I have any feeling for her beyond that of a bodyguard—not that I’m aware of.

All the same, a prickling sense of danger creeps down the nape of my neck as I listen to their conversation.

“His family controls a great deal of shipping in the Mediterranean,” Antony continues. Estella holds out her hand with practiced grace, a smile on her lips.

“A pleasure, Mr. Adamos.”

“The pleasure is all mine.” Nico bends, taking her hand and raising it to his lips. An old-fashioned gesture, but my blood heats even more, because I know it’s the kind of thing Estella would like. My jaw clenches, and I school my expression into something calm, something that says I’m only looking out for Estella’s well-being, and nothing more.

“Your father has told me a lot about you,” Nico continues, still holding Estella’s hand. “But he failed to mention how utterly stunning you are.”

I can see the slightest twitch at the corner of Estella’s mouth, and I know she’s struggling not to roll her eyes. Somehow, that makes me feel the slightest bit better. She’s not buying what he’s selling, at least, even if her father wants her to.

“That’s very kind of you, Mr. Adamos,” she replies demurely. “And you’re here in New York because?—”

“Your father suggested we might like to be introduced.” Nico releases her hand, and I force myself to unclench my fists. “Maybe I could come by another day, and we can talk more… intimately? I’d love to get to know you better, Estella.”

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