Chapter Three
Rosa looked up into Gino’s face and swallowed hard. His expression was almost blank, but the swirl of emotion in his eyes told her that whatever was going through his head was causing him pain. And she had a fairly good idea what that might be. Hell, that night had threatened to break her, too, on more than one occasion in the last five weeks, and it hurt that just seeing her caused him pain.
The two of them stood for a long time, simply staring at each other, and Rosa felt a warmth spread across her face. “Um, Gino? Was there something you needed?”
Gino’s gaze narrowed, dropping quickly to the bag she was carrying. “You going somewhere, Rosa?”
Rosa swallowed nervously but nodded. “Um, yeah. I thought I’d go and—um visit a friend.”
Gino arched a perfect brow in a way that made her feel like a child who’d just been caught in a lie. Which, okay, was not too far from the truth, but she’d never been a fast thinker, and when it came to lying, she sucked at it.
“You thought you’d go and visit a friend at nine o’clock at night?” Gino’s tone was dry, and it was obvious he didn’t believe her.
“Yeah, I’m an adult and can visit whoever I damn well please,” she snapped back, then tried to push past him.
She would’ve had more luck trying to walk through the wall beside her, and within seconds, she found herself pushed gently back into the room as the door was closed quietly behind them.
This wasn’t the first time Gino had been in the room, or the two of them had been alone, but never before had she been more aware of how big and imposing the man was. Not to mention how hot he looked in a suit, his brown eyes filled with fire, and he smelled amazing. She had no business thinking about the man in that way, so she made herself take a small step back.
“Mio Dio, Rosa,” Gino sneered. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Rosa jerked in surprise. “I never thought you would. Why would you think that?”
Gino lifted his fists to his hips, a move that pulled the white business shirt he wore beneath his suit jacket tight across his muscular chest. “Because you are fucking looking at me warily and you stepped back.”
Rosa bit her bottom lip, not quite able to meet his gaze, and she closed her eyes when he stepped even closer.
“Cara? Talk to me.” She felt him slide his hand beneath her jaw, gently tugging until her face came up. “Come on, sweetness, open those eyes and tell me what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours.”
She shook her head, refusing to open them, afraid that he would read more in them than she was ready to reveal.
“Then I guess I’m going to have to make you.”
As she was processing that statement, Gino pressed his warm lips to hers. When she gasped, inhaling sharply, her eyes flew open. She caught the lust in Gino’s gaze in that brief moment before he cupped her face in his hand, tilting her head slightly, and then took the kiss to another level. This time, her eyes slid closed as her body filled with sensations sparked by a man who knew how to kiss. And Gino kissed like no one she’d ever kissed before.
He claimed her mouth for his own, simply devoured her, and there was nothing she could do about it. Not that she wanted to. Gino demanded everything she had to give, and she gave it willingly. When he finally pulled back, they were both breathing heavily, and she was completely off the ground as he held her up against him. Her arms locked around his neck and her legs wrapped intimately around his waist.
Gino leaned in to press his forehead against hers. “Can I take it from that,cara,that perhaps I was mistaken and you aren’t afraid of me?”
Rosa smiled shyly, shaking her head. “No, Gino. Never.”
Gino’s smile was genuine and her heart stuttered at just how incredibly handsome he was. “Good. I’m glad we have that cleared up. Now, tell me what happened tonight to scare you.”
And just like that, all the warm fuzzy feelings that had heat pooling deep within her were washed away by ice-cold reality. “Why do you think something happened?”
She winced at the tremble she heard in her own voice. Gino’s arched brow told her that he had caught it, too.
“Cara, just tell me who those men were and what they said to you.”
Rosa sighed, lowering her legs and pushing against him until he lowered her gently to the ground. “They were two men sent by my father.”
Gino frowned as he moved back to lean against the wall. “You’ve never mentioned your father before. You’ve been pretty vague about your entire family, in fact.”
Rosa nodded, crossing her arms around her middle, suddenly feeling chilled. “I know. I let you believe that I had no family, and to be fair, Gino, as far as I’m concerned, I don’t. You once asked me if I’d worked for the Battaglias and I said yes. But that’s not entirely true.” Rosa took a deep shaky breath as she prepared to tell him her greatest shame. “My father gave me to Vincent Battaglia three years ago.”
The change in Gino was instant. He went from relaxed and inquisitive to apex predator in the blink of an eye.
“Hegaveyou to him?” His tone matched his demeanor.
