One side of my mouth twitches in realization.
“Okay, yeah. I get it now.”
“Oh? Care to enlighten me, Princess?”
“You think you want a girl like Calli.”
“I don’t want my cousin, Princess.”
“Did I say you did? I said like your cousin. Like your mother, I’m assuming. You didn’t fucking see Emmie coming, did you?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“She scares you. She intimidates you. Big bad mafia prince Theo Cirillo is fucking terrified of a bike riding, leather-wearing girl.”
He sits back and laughs like it’s the most insane thing he’s ever heard. The problem with that though is that all I hear is his nerves.
I’m fucking right, and he knows it.
Emmie is like no other woman he’s experienced before. She doesn’t cower down to him or do as she’s told. She’s the total fucking opposite, and he has no idea how to deal with that.
“We can keep this between us if you want,” I say, cutting off his fake amusement. “But I need to warn you.”
“Oh yeah?” he asks, his brows pinching with curiosity.
“You fucking hurt her, and she won’t be the only woman you need to be scared of.”
I turn my back on him the second I’ve delivered my threat and pour some boiling water into my mug.
“Nice try, Princess. I’m already fucking terrified of you.”
Amusement flows through me, but I don’t let it show.
“Good to know you’re not totally stupid, Cirillo.”
“Surely you’ve already figured this out,” he says, his voice getting closer with every word. His body heat burns through Seb’s hoodie when he steps right up behind me. My head gets ripped back, my scalp burning. He grips my hair and twists so I have no choice but to look at him. “You’re more dangerous than any of us. On top of your training, you’ve got this innocent pretty face and this sinful body. You’d have any man on his knees long before we could. The cunt who’s after you clearly has no clue who he’s dealing with.”
I stand immobile, staring back into Theo’s haunting green eyes, just waiting to see what he’s going to do next.
My heart thunders in my chest as I consider the fact that he might be about to do something really fucking stupid, but although his eyes might flicker down to my lips briefly, he never closes the distance between us.
Thank fuck.
I’d really hate to have to watch Seb kill his best friend.
“Just so you know,” he finally breathes, his voice deep and terrifying, “if you hurt him, I’ll rip your heart out with my bare hands.”
My breath catches at his deadly threat.
Part of me wants to laugh, but then I see it, the monster lurking deep behind the façade he wears, and my body trembles in his hold.
Before my brain manages to come up with anything resembling a response, he releases me and marches to his room, slamming the door harshly behind him.
“Holy fuck,” I breathe, sagging back against the counter, my trembling hand lifting to cover my racing heart.
By the time I’ve drank my hot chocolate and calmed my nerves after witnessing a side to Theo that I’m not sure very many get to see, I slip back into bed.
My body aches, my cuts sting, and all I want to do is drift off into a peaceful sleep and forget about the events of the night.