“Stone, what the fuck are you talking about?”
“Jesus Christ.” My skin went damp as fear wracked through my body. “Dante,” I glanced up at him, “they wantherhead. Karina. They’re going to go after her.”
Dante fell on the couch beside me. “What are you saying?’
“I’m saying they’re going to go after what I couldn’t bear to live without. They are going to exact revenge by inflicting pain that would be worse than death for me.”
The way Dante’s face turned from a natural to a deadly pale color, it was clear he realized what the fuck I was trying to say.
“Karina,” he whispered, and my heart skipped a beat when he said her name. Just the thought of losing her, of letting one of the Mancuso bastards lay another hand on her, made the animal in me want to tear everyone the fuck apart. I would go on a rampage through Hell if it meant keeping her safe—which was exactly what I planned to do.
I stood and stared at Dante. “We keep this between us, you hear?”
“We need to tell Antonio.”
“I agree. But I don’t want this getting to Karina. We handle this on our own, and we’ll take care of it without her knowing.”
Dante shrugged. “It’s going to be a tough one keeping this from her, especially if we need to double security when it comes to her. She hates being chaperoned and guarded.”
I let out a breath. “I know.”
“Listen, Stone, maybe we should tell her. It’s going to be easier to protect her if she knows why we’re doing it.”
“No.” I scowled at him. “She’s my woman, Dante, and I am telling you she is not to know. Okay? She’s been through enough.”
Dante cursed, threw his head back, and stared at the ceiling before he finally looked back at me. “Fine. But believe me when I say war is right at our fucking doorstep, so you need to be prepared.”
“I know. But we wait for those cocksuckers to make the first move. Hopefully, they’re not as stupid as we suspect they are, and they won’t attempt to take us on.”
“Who is stupid, and who is going to take you on?”
I jerked around when I heard her voice and stared at Karina as she glanced between me and Dante.
Her face, her skin, everything about her always managed to make my heart beat a thousand miles an hour. And now, even after what Dante and I had just discussed, I was more determined than ever to hold on to what I had found in her. Love, passion, devotion—a fucking reason for living, and I’d be damned if I let anyone take that away from me.
“Oh, nothing.” I started toward her and plastered the biggest smile on my face. “I was just telling your brother my plan, and that anyone who was stupid enough to take me on would get their ass handed to them on a silver platter.”
I grabbed her and pulled her hard against me, allowing her sweet scent that always made my cock twitch to surround me.
She yelped and smiled as she stared up at me with those beautiful irises that had me completely and utterly pussy-whipped.
“And what is this plan of yours?” She bit her lower lip, and all I could think about was how goddamn much I wanted to be the one biting that lip. I made a mental note to do a lot of biting later.
With one arm around her waist, I pulled her up and pressed my lips against hers. Every fucking time I kissed this woman, it was as if we literally melted into each other. It was like something out of this fucking world.
In the far corner of my mind, I heard Dante clearing his throat like an asshole, but I ignored him and forced my tongue deeper into her mouth, loving the way she tasted. With a lot of goddamn effort, I eventually tore my lips from hers and gazed down at her before pulling a box out of my pocket, flicking it open.
She glanced at the open box, and her eyes widened when she saw what was inside.
“Lorik, what is this?”
I smiled one of my trademark smug, happy, bordering on arrogant smiles. “This is my plan, princess.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Which is?”
I leaned down, brushing my cheek against hers, and whispered into her ear, “To make you my wife.”
—The End—