Page 18 of Dangerous King (Savage Kings of New York #2)

"Alright, let's start here with some underwear for you." Izzy pulls me into the high-end lingerie boutique, sending a daring grin at her brother, who stays outside, but motions for two guards to go in after us. It doesn't take long for them to chase out the other five women in the shop.

"What do you like?" she asks, perusing a rack of panties, ignoring the enraged shouts of one of the women. Speechless, I stare after the woman, and notice the other guards blocking the entrance to anybody else who wants to come in.

"Cat, what about these?" Izzy holds up a thong, turning my attention to her and the slip of material she's holding up—no price tag, of course. When you have this kind of money, you don't worry about something as mundane as a price tag.

I'm drawn to the lacy thong. I've never owned anything like this. Thankfully, I never had to wear Camilla's hand-me-down underwear, but there is no comparison between this and the white cotton briefs lying forgotten in my dresser at the Giordano's mansion.

"You like this?" Izzy asks.

I finger the light, feathery material. It's a wisp of nothing. But I feel myself nodding.

"We'll take one in each color," Izzy announces, and a sales lady comes running. "Same for this." She holds up a second lacy nothing that caught her attention.

"Alright, what else?" She turns her attention back to me.

"Izzy, I—" I stammer, "I can't… I can't pay for this…"

She laughs, "No worries, it's all on me, or actually, on Enrico. He doesn't mind."

A blush creeps up my cheeks. Somehow, the notion that Enrico is paying for my…

undergarments… heats and embarrasses me at the same time.

My head turns to the store's entrance, where Enrico is still speaking on the phone, flanked by four burly guards.

The other two who are inside with us are all business.

Their heads move from left to right, scanning for any threats.

"So," Izzy pushes.

I bite my lower lip, and Izzy takes me by the shoulder. "Pick what you like, let's see who can grab the most."

With that, she's off into a different corner.

"Can I take your measurements, Miss?" The saleslady—Julia, her nametag reads—offers.

I'm a bit embarrassed; nobody has ever taken my measurements before. My blush deepens when she drapes a measuring tape around my chest.

"Alright, thirty-four C," she declares. I don't know why, but my eyes move back outside again. Enrico is staring at me with a heated expression that sends a surge of electricity through my core.

"Which ones would you like? Do you want to try some on?"

"That's okay, she needs a little bit of everything.

Her luggage got lost." Out of nowhere, Izzy is by my side, linking her arms through mine.

"We'll pick it up in a couple of hours, and these, too.

" She hands Julia a bundle of lace and ribbons in all colors of the rainbow and pulls me out of the store.

"So you liked the pajamas?" She inquires as we leave the store. She briefly nods at Enrico.

"Oh my God, I loved them. They were the most comfortable thing I've ever slept in, th?—"

She doesn't let me finish as she pulls me to the front of another store.

Several customers are inside, and three of our bodyguards move in to kick them out.

I might have objected, but my eyes fell to the night garments on display in the window, and I know I want them.

I wasn't lying. The pajamas Izzy loaned me were heavenly, and she obviously got them from here.

There are gowns, robes, nighties, slippers… I can't get enough of staring.

"That yellow one would look stunning on you," a deep voice whispers next to my ear.

I don't have to turn to know it's Enrico. I feel his presence with every fiber of my being. His hot breath sends goosebumps up and down my arms, and my stomach flutters. I'm frozen. I don't even dare to breathe. I'm scared my legs will give out. I'm worried he'll step back. I'm worried he won't.

"Are you coming?" Izzy turns when she notices I didn't follow her in. She frowns at Enrico and makes a shooing motion with her hand. He chuckles, still close by my ear.

Protesting customers leave the store as I make my way in on trembling legs. This time, Enrico follows us. He holds up a long-sleeved nightgown with buttons all the way to the neck. "You would look great in this, sis," he tells Izzy, who frowns.

She, in turn, holds up a see-through, nothing-there, gauzy thing, arching a daring eyebrow at her brother.

"You win," Enrico concedes, rolling his eyes and moving out of the store as if all the demons of hell are after him.

Izzy giggles. "That was fun."

I still can hardly believe the difference in how Izzy and Enrico interact in comparison to the Giordano siblings.

It's fun watching them. Though I'm a little envious.

I wonder if it will be the same with my brothers when they arrive.

We used to get along. Even though I was younger, or maybe because of it, they were always with me.

Always at my side, watching movies with me, taking me to the swimming pool or the ocean. How will it be when we're reunited?

"He ran as if the Bratva was after him," Izzy giggles, bringing me back to the here and now.

"Somehow, I can't imagine him running from anything," I can't stop myself from saying.

"You like my brother?" She states more than asks.

I feel heat rise in my face. "No, no, I meant… I meant that he's…"

Izzy laughs harder. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." But I don't really like the calculating look she throws in Enrico's direction. He's just outside the store, talking on the phone again.

"One thing at a time. First, we're going to get you to loosen up," Izzy nods.

"Loosen up?"

"Yeah, you're so stiff." She leans into me, drapes her arm around my shoulders, and says, "Nobody in our family will ever hurt you, Cat. Nobody. Alright."

I can't help but lean back into her. "Thank you."

She kisses me on the cheek. "I've always wanted a sister. I've been waiting for you for a long time."

Her eyes shine with so much affection, I feel mine turning teary.

She grabs my hands and shakes them up and down. "Loosen up and let's have some fun."

A smile curves my lips as I slowly allow myself to let go. Izzy is not Camilla. The Sartoris are not the Giordanos. I take a breath and feel the weights that have been sitting on my chest for years lift off.

Shopping with Izzy is nothing like it was with Camilla. For the first time in my life, I get to pick the clothes I like. The styles I've secretly put together on my laptop come to life as we enter one store after another. Always followed by the guards.

Enrico vanishes for a little while but rejoins us later with his own shopping bags, which he hands to Manollo.

Now and then, one of the bodyguards takes our bags to bring them to the SUV. When the last one returns, I hear him whisper to Manollo, "Not much more is going to fit, unless one of us walks home."

"Izzy," I grab her arm. "Isn't that enough?"

She throws a calculating glance at her brother. "I was sure he would be tired out by now… Okay, one more, and we'll leave. You do need some purses. Do you want Gucci or Louis Vuitton? Oh, what am I saying? Let's look at both, and oh… that's new… Bottega! Yes!"

She pulls me inside. The scent of leather and vanilla greets me. Manollo yells because Izzy didn't give him time to clear the store, but it's too late; we're in.

"That one and that one, and this one," Izzy points. "Oh, and I want that one. Do you see one you like in particular? We also need wallets for them."

I spy a black, simple-looking purse and tentatively approach it. Instantly, the saleslady, Rowena, appears next to me, holding it out. "Oh, you have great taste. It's called Hop and will look fabulous on you."

She drapes it over my shoulder, and Izzy jumps up and down, "Yes, it's perfectly you ."

I smile. The leather is so soft. But I feel bad already; we've bought so much stuff. I have no idea how much all of this costs.

"I've never owned anything I picked myself," I say quietly.

"It suits you," Enrico manages once again to sneak up on me.

"Then we'll have to get it." Izzy decides. "With a matching wallet, of course. Oh, and she'll need some luggage and a makeup case."

"Luggage?" I ask.

"A lady should always be prepared," Izzy announces, arms full of luxury bags, her tone so serious it makes me giggle.

Enrico snaps his fingers at the salesperson. "Add a full set of luggage. She'll need something to carry all this."

I blink at the mountain of items being wrapped and boxed, the final swipe of the black card like a bell tolling. I catch a glimpse of the receipt—the purse alone is twenty grand. The running total is nearing $300,000. And that's just this store.

My stomach flutters. Not from the number, but from something more, something uncertain, less measurable.

Like he's reading my mind, Enrico steps closer, slipping his knuckles gently under my chin and lifting it until our eyes meet.

"You don't need to look down," he says quietly. "None of this is too much."

His voice is low, firm—but there's no judgment in it. No pressure. Just steady certainty, like he's anchoring me to the floor.

"I can see it in your eyes, mio tesoro . You're trying to make yourself smaller. Don't."

A breath catches in my throat.

Our eyes stay locked, and something shifts in my chest—slow and hot and terrifyingly tender.

A jolt sparks through me, like I'm suddenly aware of every point of contact between us.

The warmth of his hand. The scent of his cologne.

The steady way he's watching me , like he sees right through my skin and into the part of me that still doesn't believe I'm allowed to want anything.

But with him here, this close, grounding me with nothing more than a touch and a look—I do.

I want to belong to this moment.

To this life.

To him .

"I… I'm enjoying this shopping trip," I manage to say, voice a little breathless.

He's still close. Too close. His lips curve slightly, as if he knows what I'm thinking before I do.

"Good," he murmurs, and the word hums through me like a current.

For one suspended second, I think he's going to kiss me. His lips are right there . So close I can feel his breath, warm against my cheek. My entire body quivers at the thought.

He doesn't.

Disappointment runs through me, but it's made bearable when I realize he doesn't step back either.

Something flickers in his dark eyes—surprise?

He pulls back, cocks his head, and this time his gaze assesses me, as if seeing me for the first time.

I swallow, still reeling from the magnetic pull between us.