Page 12 of Arturo's Temptation
“Arturo?” His tone made me pause. Turning, I saw the request in his eyes before he spoke. “She needs to be ready. I’m trusting you. Don’t fuck me over.”
Wow, he really loved her. Maybe the old bastard was telling the truth.
No other words were spoken as he led me out of his office. I hadn’t met Princess Peach yet, and I wasn’t exactly jumping up and down with joy at the thought of it. Heavenly smells filled the house as we wandered through the entrance to the kitchen.
“Arturo, this is my wife, Anastacia.” She wiped the remnants of flour from her long fingers onto a dishcloth before holding a hand out to me. “Ana, this is Arturo, Isabella’s new trainer and bodyguard.”
“Nice to meet you, Arturo. I’m sure you’ll be a wonderful addition to the family.” Gone were her soft, welcoming eyesas she narrowed them on her husband immediately. “We will discuss this tonight.” She wasn’t fucking around. I could hear the disapproval in her voice from a mile away.
“There is nothing to discuss,mi amore, Isabella needs all the help she can get. Arturo is one of the best, and she needs this.” Lorenzo remained cool, calm, and collected, despite his wife’s thunderous gaze.
“I said we will discuss this tonight.” Her eyes were back on me, softer than they were moments ago. “Arturo, once again, welcome. I hope you’ll be happy here.” She turned her back to us and continued sieving flour into a bowl. I knew she wasn’t happy with this arrangement. And she had every right to be pissed. I was, after all, a wild card and a dangerous one at that. But with the targets that would appear on Isabella’s back, she was going to need my kind of dangerous.
“Anastacia, if I may,” I paused as she turned to face me. “I get that you don’t trust me. And if I were you, I wouldn’t either. That tells me that you’re an intelligent woman.” Her eyes hardened. Bugger. Compliments were getting me nowhere with this woman. “But here’s the thing. Your daughter is about to enter into somethin’ she’s unprepared for. Now, I’m not here to burden Isabella or ruin her life. What I do plan on doin' though is protectin’ her with my own. Just as your husband has hired me to do.” One raised eyebrow told me I was getting through to her. “I can’t promise the trainin’ won’t be hard, but I won’t try to make it a livin’ hell for her.”Who was I kidding? “I’m simply here to do what’s needed to be done to make sure she’s strong, capable, and most importantly of all, safe. And I’ll do all of that without gettin’ in her way or her family’s. It’ll be as though I’m not even there,” A soft smile tugged at her lips.Gotcha!
“I appreciate that, Arturo, and I’m sure she will too.” Ana arched her eyebrow at her husband before going back to her bowl. “So we’ll see you this evening for dinner?”
“Dinner?” I quizzed.
“If you stay under our roof, you’ll eat dinner with us. It’s one of my rules, not my husband’s. I’ll also have your room ready for you when you get back from retrieving your things.” I liked this woman. Lorenzo had really hit the jackpot with his wife.
Shit, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten a home cooked meal, especially one surrounded by people who loved and trusted each other unconditionally.How was I supposed to fit into this?
“Thank you,mi amore.” And just like that, with that tiny little word, peace was restored in the Ricci household. “Arturo, shall we?”
Once outside, I lit a cigarette and took a long drag. Was I insane?
Why the fuck did I agree to all of this?
I didn’t need the money or the work. Or maybe that was just it, I needed a new challenge.
“Ah, Isabella, you’re just in time,” Lorenzo gushed. Bored and seriously considering the need to have my head examined, I turned to meet Lorenzo's daughter only to have my soul rattled to the core. Vivid blue eyes concealed by dusty raven lashes pierced right through my mask.
Fuck me. Little Miss Spills-A-Drink and Isabella Ricci were the same bloody person.
And what a fucking vision she was. Her body was wrapped tight in soft jeans and a pure black, boob-hugging top. Her pouty, angry lips just begged to be bitten. Had she not been perched on my bike with those same Timberlands that had stomped away from me the night prior, I might have done something very, very stupid.
“Didn’t anyone ever teach you it was rude to touch someone else’s things?” Oh, I was angry, but also maddeningly turned on. A smirk toyed on her full, pink lips.
“Oh, this is yours?” She asked, stroking the handlebars. “I’ve ridden better.”
“Isabella," Lorenzo snapped, prompting her smug expression to vanish.
“You know, you really shouldn’t let people leave their junk outside, Papa.” she slid from the seat and headed towards what I assumed was the garden. “Anyone could come and… steal it.”
“Miss Ricci?” I called.
“Oh, do you need some assistance to get your piece-of-trash bike off my driveway?”
“That how you plan on speakin' to your new trainer and bodyguard?” I knew I shouldn't have done it, but watching her freeze on the spot brought me too much pleasure.
“What?!” She spun around, hair whipping her face. Wide eyes slid from me to her father and back again.
“Surprise, princess.” I laughed before I crunched my cigarette out on the gravel driveway.
“Call me princess again, and I’ll ensure you end up dead.”Oh it was on.
“Looking forward to it, Miss Ricci.” I teased as she left me once again with her father.
