Page 43 of Unexpected Temptation

God, why does she have to be so adorable?

I sigh. “I’m a serious man, but at the moment, I seem to be a serious fuckup.”

“What?” She drops the mimicry act. “You aren’t!”

I shake my head.

“You’re doing great!” She squeezes my forearm. “You kidnapped me and didn’t get caught. That’s huge. And then you whisked me away to some secret location–totally spot-on for kidnapping. Now all you have to do is make your ransom demand.” Her face falls.

“What’s wrong?”

She shrugs and turns to look out the window. “I guess I just don’t want it to be over so soon is all.”

“The kidnapping?”

“Yeah. I know you think I was talking crazy before about getting married.”

Not crazy. What’s crazy was that I was interested–and I still am.

She sighs and leans back. “I really don’t want to marry a Frangione. I’ve heard about them. Have you?”

I give a nod.

“So then you know. They’re horrible. I don’t know if I’d survive being part of their family. Probably not, if I’m being honest. I wouldn’t have anyone to protect me. My sister is already married …” Her voice trails off. “I miss her so much. When she left, it was like she left a hole in here.” She taps her chest. “Like I’m missing a piece of myself, you know?”

I don’t. I’ve never let anyone get that close to me. Not even Antonio and Gilly. They’re like brothers to me, but I don’t feel like I’ve let them all the way in. I can’t. Not when they can be taken from me in a heartbeat. We live a dangerous life. Though, generally speaking, I’m the most dangerous man in any room, there are plenty of assholes out there who would love to take out Antonio, Gilly, and even me. I can’t exactly relate to what she’s saying, but I can hear the pain in her voice all the same. “I … I imagine that when she left, you realized how alone you were.”

She nods. “Yes. And there was no one to stand between my father and me, no one to defend me. Angelica would never let my father marry me off to a Frangione, not without a fight. She got into plenty of them. She’s strong, and I’m …”

“You’re enough, Bianca.” I can’t seem to stop myself from taking her hand in mine. “Don’t doubt yourself because you’re different from your sister. Difference isn’t the same as weakness.”

When she beams at me, my cold heart does a stutter step, and I have to keep my eyes on the road so I don’t do anything stupid. Anything like—like kissing her. Because damn do I want to take her mouth, to feel how soft she is, to taste her tongue and more. So much more. Because I’m a beast, and this innocent soul beside me is a lure I can’t seem to resist. She’s like a bit of shiny perfection, and I’m a crow who can’t look at anything else.

“I like the way you think, Fernando.” She squeezes my fingers. “You’re a very positive person.”

That finally draws a laugh from me, the sound rusty from disuse.

“What?” Her eyebrows pop up as I turn onto the lane that leads to the house.

“I just don’t think anyone has ever referred to me as ‘positive’ before.”

“Never?”

“Never. No. I’m anything but.”

“I don’t think that’s true. I think there’s a whole lot more to you than what other people say. And maybe I can see you better than most.”

If that’s true, then I’m fucked. Because I’m as rotten as they come. If Bianca knew my real line of work, she’d promptly take to her heels and run far, far away from me. My real name may be Fernando, but my real calling is the Butcher. I hurt bad men for sport, and I enjoy it. I’m not the sort of person Bianca should ever associate with. All the same, I don’t seem to be letting go of her hand.

In fact, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to let her go, and isn’t that a fucking kick in the nuts?

6

BIANCA

“Is it okay if I name them?” I ask Fernando, who is sitting on the sofa watching me play with the kittens. He helped me barricade an area for them so that they had more room to play without us having to worry about losing them.

“If you want.” Fernando has been a bit quiet since we got back. I think my whole marriage idea might have shifted something. I can’t help but wonder what kind of girl he would be into.

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