Page 44 of Arturo's Temptation

Josh took a sip of his beer before smiling. “Damn, man. So, what’s the deal, mafia princess giving you the run around?”

“Trust me, mate, this chick ain’t no princess. She took my fuckin’ bike!” I seethed. And just like that, the anger rolled its way straight back up.

“Damn, I like this Ricci chick already,” he laughed. “Just be careful, yeah? I’d rather not bury my mate.”

“Oh trust me, if Lorenzo Ricci could murder me, you wouldn’t find a body to bury.” I retorted.

“True, that and you gotta get caught first,” he winked as he swigged from his bottle.

“Mate, I’m just tryin’ to get my bike and her back in one piece.”

“Nah, that ain’t it. You like this woman. I can tell. But what makes you think she’s gonna fuck you?”

“Because she has eyes.” I joked, earning myself a deep cackle and a slap on the shoulder.

“You’re seriously going to try it on with this woman, aren’t you?” I shrugged and raised my eyebrows.

“Let’s just say she intrigues me. And as for gettin’ caught, trust me, when that woman falls in love with me there will be fuck all her father could do about it.” Speaking of Isabella, where the hell was she? I scanned the crowd for a millionth time with no success. I was seriously beginning to get pissed off.

“Telling you man, I don’t think she’s here.”

“No, I know she’s here. Besides, you can’t miss the guy she’s with. Geezer’s got electric blue hair. You’d spot from the moon.” I twirled my ring around my finger.

“You know,” Josh started, “she may have already left.”

“I doubt it. My bike is still down the road, and if she’s drinkin’ the only way home would be Tyler.” As if on cue, the kid materialised. “Who if I’m not mistaken is over there with a pretty little redhead.” I pointed in the direction of Bella’s blue haired friend who was showing his new ‘friend’ a good time on the dancefloor.

“What about your girl? You see her?”

Again as if on cue, Isabella’s giggling face came into frame. “Oh I see her alright. She’s right over there,” I gestured with my head.

But she wasn’t alone. Oh no… She was currently rubbing up against some Bieber wannabe who had his vile hands all over her. The grip he had on her was predatory and made me see red.

Nobody owned Isabella Ricci. Nobody, but me.

“It would seem that someone is in the way,” Josh joked.

“Don’t you have a bar to tend to?” I muttered with a side eye glance.

“Nah, I’d rather watch the drama unfold.”

“Oh, go get fucked you old sod,” I laughed.

“I did on my break,” he winked, rounding the bar to serve a hen party. “Good luck, mate. Looks like you’ll need it.”

As if I needed luck. Bella was mine, and no jumped-up blond arse prick would stand in my way. Not tonight or any other night. I kept my gaze fixated on her, as she swayed her hips to the music, utterly losing herself. My cock hardened as I watched the way her hands glided down her curves. She was a vision to watch. In a skin tight black dress that hugged her perfect round arse she was the hottest woman in the joint, and way over dressed. It was then that I noticed she’d paired her dress with a pair of skyscraper patent heels.

Bella despised heels!

So why was she wearing them tonight?

Cursing, I pushed off the bar and stalked over to where Bella was currently being pulled into someone's arms. Arms that weren’t mine! As I approached he whispered something and from his glance to the bar, he was off to buy them drinks. I waited until the twat had left before moving closer.

Once I was mere inches behind her, I allowed myself a second to breathe her in, and damn, she smelled delicious. All sweetness, spice and all things nice. My fingers itched to touch her soft skin but there was no way I would risk Tyler catching us. Chancing a glance to the side, I noticed with smug satisfaction that Red’s son had disappeared somewhere quiet. There was nobody here to see or stop me. With a single step forward, Isabella’s back collided with my torso.

“You’re a hard woman to track down,” I whispered, splaying a hand across her stomach. I knew she knew it was me.

“Couldn’t have been that hard,” she scoffed, digging her nails into my hand trying her best to remove my hold. “You still found me, didn’t you?”

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