“Tomorrow morning, my pilot will fly you to the hotel where Dré is staying,” he announces. “You’ll spend a few hours there and come straight home—alone.”
“Thank you.” I run my fingers over the dark hairs on his jawline. “Maybe now he’s here, you could introduce him to his nephew.” I feel him tense. “It’s only a thought.”
“In time,” he replies. His response is so very distant compared to the closeness we just shared. “Things are too complicated at the moment. Once I’m confident I have The Covenant under my full command, then I’ll think about it.”
Back in the library, he lays me down on the couch and moves to the fireplace, where he sets about lighting a new fire.
“Stay with me tonight?” I ask hopefully.
He shakes his head and rises as roaring flames fend off the chilly air. “I’ll come back tomorrow evening when you’re back with me where you belong.”
Stalking toward me, he stoops over, pinches my chin and guides my gaze to his. “Keep your phone with you. There will be armed guards at the hotel. You’ll be safe with Dré, otherwise I wouldn’t let you leave.” And then he kisses me, his lips softly clinging to mine. “Do you still have a crush on Matheus?”
I frown. “Where did that come from?”
“Just answer the question.”
I used to. What girl my age wouldn’t, or any woman for that matter? Matheus Souza is tall, dark, and dangerous. And a social media sensation who’s powerful in his own right. “I did. When I was younger.”
His brows drift up. “As in past tense?”
“Yeah, and the way I feel about you is very much in the present and future tense.” I draw in my lips to hide my smile. “There’s no comparison.”
“Good.” He narrows his eyes at me.
“Earlier, when you said you think you’re in love with me, did you mean you’re undecided?”
His brows nip together in thought. “I’ve had a shit ton of women ever since I was old enough to use my dick properly. There were no girlfriends, or anything remotely like a female relationship. Mama is the only woman I care about. I know I love Leo—and my brothers. But this is different.” He shrugs. “I’m not used to having so many damn emotions.”
“What do they feel like?” I ask, every inch of me electrified.
“It’s like you’ve shot me in the heart, and I can’t recover from it. It feels like hell… and happiness.” The edge to his tone sends chills up my spine. “One of those I know really well and the other… not so much.” He sighs and straightens.
“Do you think of me as your girlfriend now?”
Giovanni rakes his fingers through his messy hair and stares at me for a beat. The pause is like an eternity. “No.”
“Oh.” My brows fly up and my heart hovers in my chest.
He shrugs and starts to blend into the shadows as he stalks away from me. “I haven’t decided what you are to me yet. Every little thing you do catches my attention and keeps it locked down, India. Being called a girlfriend seems so basic.”
Stopping for a second, he glances over his shoulder, his otherworldly eyes gleaming in the flickering light. “Behave yourself tomorrow. Remember who you belong to.Me. Not my brother. This is your home, baby.”
When he vanishes into the darkness, I cover myself with the blanket and fall back onto the cushions. It’s so frustrating to be left alone again. Yet I’m buzzed to see André after so long.
But what really makes me smile is knowing I belong to Giovanni on a level higher than a girlfriend. Except as that thought tingles through me, dread creeps into my stomach. How would André react to the news?
18
INDIA
The sun is high, bright, and powerful as the sleek black helicopter cuts through the Colombian sky. From up here, the landscape below could be Miami, the city I had once called home.
Since then, I’ve learned it is not the place that offers home. Rather, it's a feeling you get from the people around you—your family. My love for Reno had meant I could have lived anywhere with him. Now my heart has settled in an unconventional relationship with a hitman and his son.
The pilot tells me the hotel is straight ahead. I lower the aviation microphone on my headset and press my nose to the window as we descend. Finally, we’re hovering over a landing platform on the roof of a high-rise tower.
My belly churns. Oddly, I’m a little apprehensive to be so far from Blackwater, yet excited for André’s company again.
