Page 51 of Dancing with the Devil

“No—stop!” I laughed, trying to break free, but it was no use. “Antonio!” I reprimanded, looking up to see his eyes glisten in amusement.

I grabbed his forearms to stop him, not wasting a second and ducked underneath his arm—trying to run. He wrapped both arms around my waist, pulling my back to his chest.

“Okay, okay,” I laughed, and he finally stopped, but still held onto me. “I’ll never share anything with you again.”

“Take that back.”

I whipped my head back, staring straight into his eyes as our faces lingered inches apart. “No.”

He didn’t hesitate before he was back to tickling my sides, bringing out my loudest laugh. I hadn’t realized how strong and sturdy his hold on me was.

No matter how much I wiggled or fought back, it did nothing in comparison to his strength. The more I seemed to find out about this man, the more I started to like him.

“Ahem.” Our heads snapped up toward the entrance of the kitchen where I saw one of the helpers I’d met before.I wasn’t sure what her name was.

I cleared my throat, pulling away from Antonio and stood idly beside him with both of my hands in front of me.

“Rosalia needs you,” she crossed her arms over her chest, looking directly at me.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, and she sighed, subtly rolling her eyes.

“How am I supposed to know? Go find out yourself.”

I nodded, feeling goosebumps trail over my skin.Right.

“Okay,” I smiled. “Excuse me,” I said to Antonio, but he gently grabbed my arm to stop me.

“Nirah, is my fiancée and you will talk to her with respect,” Antonio ordered, and I watched her drop her arms to her sides. She didn’t expect that. “Understand?”

“Yes sir,” she bitterly said.

“Don’t even think for a second that you’re going to disrespect her inmyhouse. You’re replaceable. Don’t forget that.”

She directed her attention back to him, and her face softened. “I’m sorry,” she apologized, and I held back a frown. She should be apologizing to me, but whatev—

“You owe Nirah an apology,” he said, and my head shot up to look at him.Did he just read my mind? Hot.

She instantly apologized, and he dismissed her. Before he could speak, I headed out as well.

When I eventually found Rosalia, she made a list of foods that I liked and disliked. She also took down bananas and mushrooms. Two things I was allergic to.

Antonio instructed Cesar to drive me around today, and even though I felt it not to be necessary, he clearly thought otherwise. It was smooth sailing in the beginning, but after a while, I couldn’t stand being constantly followed by a man. But this was what I wanted.Needed.

After all the shopping I bought myself an ice coffee and headed home. “Let’s go!” I beamed, rushing up to my bedroom.

“Yes, Miss Nirah,” Cesar nodded, following suit.

His personality was the complete opposite of mine. But, opposites do fortunately—for me—attract.

“Call me Nirah, please,” I insisted as I entered my bedroom with him behind me. “Missmakes me feel like an old rich lady.”

“Mr. Antonio instructed us to address you respectfully.”

“Well, I don’t like it,” I shook my head, and he looked at me warily. “Okay fine. I’ll talk to him about it, but in the meantime, how about this,” I said, stopping in front of him. “Whenever we’re alone you’ll call me Nirah. But when Antonio is around, you can refer to me, however. Okay?”

He hesitantly nodded, and I put my hand out. We shook hands, and I ran over to my bed, jumping onto it. “Sit!” I excitedly patted the space next to me.

“Excuse me?”