Page 49 of Dangerous King (Savage Kings of New York #2)

The water is hot. Almost too hot. It prickles against my skin as I sink deeper into the tub, and the foamy, magnolia-scented bubbles rise to my chin.

The ache in my body—delicious, sore, and so unforgettable—spreads through my limbs like a secret, like something luxurious and decadent that I'm not sure I'm allowed to keep.

I close my eyes and tilt my head back, letting the steam cloud my thoughts.

It doesn't work.

I miss him already.

The way he held my hand all through dinner. The way he looked at me all night and even this morning, the way he touched me, so gentle and yet so forceful. I miss everything about him.

The house has been quiet since I arrived.

I ran into Sabine on my way up to my room.

She looked slightly guilty and hugged me on her way down.

I'm not sure what she was doing up there; my family's wing is on the other side, but unfortunately, she and I don't have that kind of relationship where I can simply ask her.

Or at least I feel like we don't. I should remedy that; I'm the older sister. I promise myself I will.

Right now, my entire focus is on Enrico, last night, and how empty all the places he isn't seem to be.

I try not to imagine what today looks like for him.

Who he's talking to. What shadows he's walking through while I soak in warm water, pretending my heart isn't twisting.

I noticed the reluctance on his face when he took the call.

He was as loath to leave me as I was him.

A soft scratching sound at the bathroom door catches my attention.

"Shadow?" I call.

A faint woof answers me. I smile, reaching for the towel. "Alright, you pushy little beast."

Wrapped in cotton and still pink from the heat, I open the door to let Shadow bound in, tail wagging, tongue out. I giggle and drop to my knees, burying my face in his soft fur as he licks my cheek.

"You missed me, huh?" I whisper. "It's okay. I missed you, too."

That's when I hear the footsteps.

"I figured the dog was here," Izzy's voice drifts in from the hallway. A moment later, she's leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed. She takes one look at my flushed face and damp hair, and her brows lift. "Hot bath and dog cuddles. Classic heartbreak move."

I smile weakly. "I'm not heartbroken."

"Uh huh." She walks in and plops down on the edge of the tub, nudging a bath sponge out of the way. "So you just look like you lost your favorite person and your favorite dessert in the same night?"

I exhale. "I'm just… tired."

"No, you're sad." Her voice is gentle now. "I know you. Well, I'm getting there. But I know that look."

I don't answer. Shadow rests his head on my lap and lets out a long, dramatic sigh.

Izzy nudges my arm. "Cat. Talk to me."

I pick at the towel edge for a long moment before finally murmuring, "It was perfect last night. Every second of it. But this morning, when I woke up in his arms… it felt like it wasn't mine to keep."

Izzy's brow furrows, "Who?"

Dio mio. I forgot she has no clue. Beet-red heat spreads over my face.

She nudges me with her toe, "Enrico?"

Sharply, I look up. "How…"

"Oh, come on, a blind man can see the looks you two are giving each other."

More heat spreads over my face, making her laugh. "I told you I want us to be sisters. What better way than you marrying my brat of a brother? Although I have no clue why you would want to," she pretends to think, "oh, I know, because you want to be my sister, too."

Despite the heat still crawling up and down my face and neck, I can't help but grin.

"There, that's better," she proclaims, self-satisfied. "Now, tell me why you think he's not yours to keep?"

"Because," I whisper, "he's him. Enrico Sartori. He's the heir to the family—the future capo. And I'm just… the girl who was saved. The one he's protecting because I helped you." I swallow.

She's quiet for a second. Then, "Did he say that?" Something dangerous, something so Enrico flashes in her eyes, that another smirk curves my lips.

At least for a moment, then I admit, "No, but your mamma…"

"Ah." Understanding dawns in her eyes. "The mafia princess talk."

I nod.

"Cat," she says, her voice firm, "Enrico doesn't do anything he doesn't want to do. Trust me, I've known that man since I could walk. If he's with you, it's because he wants to be. Not because of some stupid alliance or pity."

"But what if he wakes up one day and realizes I don't belong in his world?" I whisper. "What if I'm just… a soft chapter in his hard story?"

Izzy tilts her head. "Or maybe you're the only part of the story that feels real to him."

I blink at her. My chest tightens.

"Let him decide what you are to him, Cat," she says. "Don't take that choice away from him just because you're scared."

I look down at Shadow, who gives me a slow blink of solidarity.

Izzy smiles softly. "He's different with you, you know. You calm him. You matter . I see it every time he looks at you."

I press my lips together. My heart aches with how much I want to believe her. But at the same time, I don't want to go against Eliza, who coincidentally said almost the exact same words to me.

Izzy reaches out and squeezes my hand. "You're not a footnote in his life, Cat. You might be the headline."

"Izzy," I murmur, "I don't want to disrespect your family. Especially not your mamma. She's been so kind to me. She opened her home to my family. She makes me feel like I belong." I blink quickly, trying not to cry again.

Izzy frowns. "What did Mamma say exactly?"

I think back, biting the inside of my cheek. "That Enrico's always lived under expectations—that he's had them for himself, too. That one day, he's supposed to marry a mafia princess. That there are… responsibilities."

Izzy doesn't look surprised. If anything, she looks… knowing. Maybe even a little annoyed. After a moment, she says, "She's testing you."

I'm confused. "What?"

Izzy leans forward. "That wasn't a warning, Cat. That was her way of figuring out how strong you are. How hard you're willing to fight for him. Mamma doesn't do ultimatums. She does... measurements."

I stare at her.

"She wants to know what you're made of," Izzy continues, her voice gentler now. "Because she sees it too. The way Enrico looks at you. The way he is with you. She knows it's real. She just needs to know if you're built to last."

"I'm not a mafia princess," I whisper.

"No," Izzy agrees, "you're something better.

You're someone who survived, someone who saved me.

You didn't come from our world, but you've proven you can stand in it.

" She leans back, one brow raised. "They haven't forced me into marriage, Cat.

And they won't force Enrico either. Trust me on that.

If he wants you, and I mean really wants you?

" She smiles. "Nothing in the world will stand between him and making you his. "

I hug my knees closer to my chest. "But what if I'm not enough?"

"You are," Izzy says fiercely. "And if you don't believe that for yourself yet, then believe it for him. Because that man would burn this whole world down before he let anyone else touch what's his."

I press my lips together, emotions tangling in my chest. Do I dare hope? Do I dare allow those emotions back into my chest and give them free rein?

Izzy whistles the wedding march. "Now, what kind of color scheme do you have in mind?"

I can't help it. I laugh and slap her leg.

My phone dings with an incoming message.

Enrico:

How sore are you?

Me:

Not too bad.

I reply, looking up through lowered lashes at Izzy, who is ostensibly playing with the leftover foam from my bath, grinning from ear to ear.

Enrico:

I'm stuck in meetings. I won't make it to dinner. But I wanted you to know I'm thinking about you.

Me:

I'm thinking about you too

Another blush creeps up, and Izzy's grin deepens.

Enrico:

I'm a selfish prick. I don't know what time I'll be home, but I want to see you.

Me:

Not selfish at all. I'll wait for you.

Enrico:

I break out laughing. Izzy's head whips to me, all pretense of not caring or sensing what I'm doing gone. "What?"

"Your brother gave me the thumbs up."

"He did not," she sounds outraged and, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, snatches the phone from my hand. "Oh, that cretin!"

Izzy's fingers fly across the screen, mischief sparkling in her eyes.

"What are you doing?" I ask, already half-laughing.

"Just helping him up his emoji game."

She types something quickly and hits send with a flourish.

My phone dings.

Izzy (pretending to be me):

I gasp. "Izzy!"

She dissolves into giggles just as my phone rings with his name flashing across the screen. I answer, trying and failing to smother the laughter in my voice.

"Hello?"

"Izzy?" Enrico's voice growls through the speaker, low and dangerous. I have no idea how he knows she typed that message, but he does. "What the fuck was that?"

That's it. Both of us collapse into uncontrollable laughter, rolling onto the floor like a pair of teenagers. Shadow barks at the chaos, tail wagging, and immediately joins in, tugging on Izzy's hair, then mine, like he's trying to decide who to save first.

"Give me the phone," Izzy gasps between laughs. "I need to defend my art."

"Don't you dare," I squeal, holding it out of reach.

"I'm going to strangle her," Enrico mutters from the speaker. "Tell her that. Slowly. With feeling."

Izzy's still howling as she calls out, "Tell him he was warned!" and then she hums, Put a ring on it , from the song Single Ladies .

Shadow howls back.

I fall onto my back, breathless, grinning like an idiot.

God help me… I've never felt more alive.