Chapter Two

Orlando

She is in her element. Here in this hall, surrounded by paintings and sculptures that command her attention like nothing I have witnessed before.

And my eyes are on her. They are always on her.

See, that’s not how bodyguarding works. You don’t spend the entire time watching your client, wanting them . I am trained to be aware of our surroundings and it’s the same damn way I train my men to act but for the life of me, I can’t remember to do any of that around her.

Arianna Lorenzo is… forbidden.

She is that sweet juicy apple I am not allowed to touch. No matter how many short skirts she wears or how much she unbuttons her shirt to reveal her bra, I cannot touch her. Not if I want to make it to my fortieth birthday. I am a powerful and wealthy man in my own right, but I am not Constanzo Lorenzo. The mob boss would have my head if I touched his precious daughter.

My dick hasn’t gotten the memo that she’s forbidden. Christ, I’ve been hard from the moment I spotted her with her friends and my cock hasn’t gone down. It doesn’t seem like it’s going to go down any time soon.

"Oh, this one is my favorite," the girl squeals, flashing me a wide toothy grin before rushing towards a painting we've seen a billion times. Is it a duck, or a horse? Gun to my head and I would still have no fucking clue what the hell I am supposed to be looking at. "I wonder what the artist was thinking when she painted this masterpiece."

The weird painting is not a masterpiece. Aria on the other hand… is a masterpiece that is forbidden. I need to remind myself of that little fact.

“…Look at these lines. They are so neat and clear. I bet it took her ages to master it; or do you think it’s natural talent?”

“Both,” I respond, figuring she needs an answer.

“For sure,” she says with a happy sigh before moving to the next painting and complimenting the artist before doing the same for the next and the one after that. Before I know it, we’ve rounded the room and my obsessed little client has gone through all the paintings in the building, including the ones upstairs and it’s not until we’re walking back down when I realize we’ve been here for three hours.

Fuck!

It seems we were both so lost in our fascinations that I forgot to check the time. “We need to leave, Arianna.”

"Already?" she whines, fluttering her eyes at me, and goddamn it, I almost give in but I don't allow myself to be swept away by her beautiful brown eyes.

“It’s already past eight. Your father must be worried.”

Aria chews on her bottom lip, her eyes contemplative before she steps into my space. She’s so close I can smell the sweet rosy scent clinging to her skin. “You know I’m a big girl, right?”

“Arianna…”

“I’m twenty,” she whispers, dropping her gaze from mine but only for a moment. I clench my fists, fighting the need to wrap my hand around her waist and yank her hard against me. “I can stay out past eight if I want to.”

“Aria.”

“I can do other things too. Like get a boyfriend and stay at his place if I don’t want to go home.”

My nostrils flare up and anger climbs up my throat at the thought of another man touching Aria. Some stupid college boy wouldn’t know how to take care of my Aria. They wouldn’t make her feel the way I can. “Stop, Aria.”

“No one can stop me if I stay out late or go out clubbing with my friends and get picked up by guys who want to get laid.”

I close the remaining distance between us and grab her chin, my jaw clenched as I stare at the little temptress. I am smart enough to know she is baiting me into a response but around this girl, I am weak. All of five–four, but she has so much power over me.

Control yourself!

And yet, I can’t. Not around Aria. Not when she’s provoking me the way she is, pushing my buttons to see which sends possessiveness sweeping over.

“No one gets to touch you!” I growl, my eyes locked on her beautiful golden-brown eyes. “You better not let those college kids touch you or I will make them pay. You will not like what I do to anyone you let close to you, princess.”

“And if I do?” she pushes, her eyes crowded with defiance. “What will you do to me?”

“Aria!”

“You don’t want others near me, but you don’t want me either!”

“Stop this, Arianna.”

“No, you stop this. You know what I want but won’t give it to me.”

I shake my head, dropping my hand from her chin. “You are playing with fire little girl. Let’s put a cap on this conversation and never bring it up again.”

“No,” she hisses, oblivious to the fact that we’re not alone in the gallery. I am acutely aware of the others in the hall with us and I can feel their eyes on us.

I shake my head and push away from the girl, nodding towards the exit. “Let’s go.” My voice is firm, leaving no room for questions and I can tell Aria wants to fight me on this, but she simply glares at me and struts towards the exit.

Fuck, I need to remember my place. I want this girl too much and I’ve come dangerously close to taking what I’ve craved for a year. I would not have given a damn about the people watching us as I bent her over one of the statues and hammered my cock into her, filling her needy little cunt with my cock. I bet she wouldn’t care either. The little tease has been toying with me for a fucking year, giving me blue balls and I can’t even find relief with anyone else, because it’s her I want.

Only her.

Aria's steps are hurried as she storms out of the building before coming to a sudden halt. I'm immediately hit by the cold air when we step outside, and I instinctively step by Aria's side to shield her from the chilly wind.

“Oh my God, how did it get this bad!” Aria murmurs, her expression mirroring my own dread. The snow is piling up fast, covering the road in a thick layer of white and there is no fucking way I am driving in that blizzard. It would be dangerous to even attempt such a thing with Aria.

Fuck, we were inside for hours and I didn’t care to check the weather. No, I should not have let this temptress flutter her pretty eyes at me and convince me to let her spend so much time in the gallery.

I strip off my coat and sling it over her shoulders, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling to my side. "I can't drive in this weather," I say, more to myself than to her but she hears and turns to look at me.

“What do we do then?”

I rake my mind for options. “A hotel,” I say the first thing that comes to mind. “We’ll get you booked into a hotel for the night and then I will drive you to your home tomorrow morning.”

Aria is quiet for a moment before she shakes her head. “I don’t like hotels.”

“Your house is practically one.”

“I know. I don’t like it there either but at least it has my things and it’s familiar. I hate hotels. I won’t stay in one.”

This is not the time for her to be stubborn when we have very limited choices and with any other client, this wouldn’t have been up for debate, but Aria isn’t just any other client, now is she? It’s not just her safety that matters to me but her comfort as well. Fuck, since when am I this love-sick fool! My men would never let me live it down if they knew how much power this girl has over me.

“Fine,” I say with a sigh, trying and failing to talk myself out of an idea that settles in. “I can’t drive you home in this state and unless you have a friend that lives close by, then we’ll have to go to my place. It’s not too far from here.”

“Y-your place?”

“Yes. I have a spare room for you to spend the night.”

“Your place.” She shivers so I tighten my arm around her shoulder to ward off the cold but it’s getting chillier by the second. I need to get her to a warm place soon before she gets sick.

“I’ll call your father and tell him–”

“No,” she cuts me off, her eyes panicked. “He won’t let me stay with you if he finds out. He’ll demand I book a hotel room for the night. I’ll text him instead and tell him that I’m staying at a hotel. Tell him the same thing if he calls you.”

“Princess, I am not going to lie to your father.”

“He won’t let me stay with you otherwise.”

“What happens when he finds out you didn’t spend the night at a hotel?” Constanzo will have my head is what.

“I… I’ll tell him I’m staying with a friend instead,” she says eagerly, her eyes locking on mine, and I find myself caving. Christ, does this girl have some kind of spell over me?

I shouldn't give in. It was my idea in the first place, but I should not encourage her lying and yet, saying no to Aria isn't something I am capable of doing. For a year I have been around this girl and I've wanted her… craved her more than anything in my life before and now I just set myself up by offering to spend the night under the same roof.

How the hell will I manage to keep my hands to myself?

When there is no one watching us, what's going to stop me from backing her up against the walls of my home and ramming my cock into her tight little pussy. My control is at an all-time low and with the way Aria is staring at me, I can tell she is going to test how far she can push before it completely snaps.

I should drive this girl to a hotel room and guard her door so she doesn’t leave or let anyone in. I should not bring her to my home. Or touch her .

“Please?”

There is no denying this girl. I just have to figure out how to be alone with her and not touch her. Fucking hell!