Page 34 of Arturo's Temptation

Damnit, Bella. Get your shit together.

I closed my eyes on a deep sigh, before heading for the door. Today was going to be the worst.

“Wow,she’s here with a minute to spare. Punctual, I like it.” he winked, making me want to smash his face in and jump his bones.

Focus!

Stalking over to the mat, I held back my rage and decided to focus on my training, sore foot or not.

“Bella, you really should take the pressure off.”

I responded with an eye roll and tossed my bottle onto the floor with a thud.

“Less of the eye rollin’,princesa.” His lips quirked up. “Unless you want another… reminder?”

“Oh, bite me dickhead.”

“Don’t worry, I plan on it,” he smirked. “Now, I want you to put me on my arse today, no holding back,” he said, cocking his head to one side. “Unless you’re in too much pain?”

“Screw you, London Boy. I look forward to the challenge.”

“Fine, you put me on my arse and I’ll stop askin’ about your foot. Fail to do that and you agree to stop bein’ a stubborn brat and let me take a look, alright?”

“Deal.” My lips curved up into an angry smile as I tapped his cheek, trying my best to rile him up a little.

The bastard managed to dodge every move I made. No matter what one I tried, he anticipated every single one, and it was getting on my last nerve. He never seemed to tire. It was like he was the terminator or something. As I let out a huff of annoyance, Arturo chuckled.

“What’s the matter, Bella? You findin’ it a lil’ too difficult?”

On a deep breath, I swept his legs out from under him, making his body collide with the mat.. Feeling triumphant, I straddled his body, and for the first time he was at my mercy.

“See,” he relaxed, “you can do it.” His hands came to rest at the back of his neck as he settled back to get a better view. “Must day, I quite like this view… You on top of me that is.” he teased, his lips curling up.

“Answer me one question,” I murmured, sitting back on my heels, my legs clamping around his.

“Shoot.”

“Why’d you lose your temper last night?” I asked. To my surprise his eyebrows knitted together, wiping the good humour from his face.

“Come on, you already know the answer to that, Bella,” he scoffed, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment.

“Maybe so. But I still want to hear it from you.”

“I lost my shit because I hated the way Mik spoke to you. Hated the way they all looked at you.” His gaze darkened. “Knowin’ what they were thinkin’ made me want to murder the twats. You’re too fuckin’ good to be spoken to that way. Too fuckin’ special.” His voice trailed off.

I blushed at his words, swallowing as warmth pooled low in my belly. Against my better judgement, I leaned forward, pressing my breasts against his chest. Before I could think too much about it, I placed a soft kiss to his cheek.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“What for?” he asked, not moving a muscle.

“For standing up for me, and for looking after me. I appreciate it.” Clearing my throat, I tried to shimmy off him but his hand caught my wrist, keeping me pinned against his chest.

“You ain’t ever gotta thank me,hermosa,” he whispered, running his nose against my ear. “Remember that.”

14

“Where are you going?”Luca asked as I reached the garage door.