Page 14

Katie

Painful cries sound in my ears. I’m half asleep, so it takes me a while to realise I’m not dreaming.

The noise is coming from a man. A man in this room.

At first, the noises sounded far away, but they’re not.

They’re muffled slightly, but close. My bed bounces and rocks.

There is someone next to me, thrashing about.

Apprehensive about who it may be, I turn slowly to see who is in the bed beside me.

I see a tanned, toned bare back. It glistens with sweat beneath the moonlight with each move it makes.

It’s stretching and clenching. The smell of cigars and alcohol mixed with Leo fills my nose.

“Leo?” I touch his shoulder gently.

He turns towards me. Still asleep, his face is full of pain. “No!” He wimpers.

His cry has me holding his head, whispering calming words, and stroking his hair. The thrashing and moans begin to calm.

“Hey, it's okay, it’s me, Katherine. ”

Leo’s eyes open, they connect with mine, and I see him. I see the old Leo. All the barriers are down, and the beautiful soul I first met is back. Cuddling into me, he lays his head on my chest as I continue running my fingers through his hair.

“What were you dreaming about?” I don’t expect him to answer.

“My brother.”

I remember him having a brother; Leo spoke of him a lot when we wrote to each other. They were very close.

“Alex, isn’t it?”

Leo’s breathing picks up. He takes in a deep breath and sighs. “I haven’t heard his name in years.” His voice is pained.

I wrap my arms around him and squeeze, holding him as close to me as I can. I’m unsure of what to say, but I know he needs this. “Do you remember when we used to lie like this, falling asleep under the stars?”

“Come se fosse ieri.” Like it was yesterday.

Leo’s breathing slows, signifying sleep is upon him. It doesn’t take long for me to follow.

When I wake, Leo is gone, but I find him sitting at the dining table.

“Good morning, Katherine. Did you sleep well?”

“Very well, thank you.”

Alga is finishing up laying out breakfast on the table. She smiles at me like she knows something I don’t.

I feel hungry this morning, so I go for a full English breakfast. While devouring the delicious food, I catch Leo staring at me from the corner of my eye.

“What are you looking at?” I question while biting into a piece of toast.

“Are you enjoying that?”

“Yes, why?”

“You know you make a humming noise when you eat?”

“I do not!” I protest.

“You do—like this: HUMMMM .” Leo mimics me.

“No, I don’t.”

I laugh and throw the slice of toast I’m holding at him. I panic for a second, remembering who he is, but he soon picks up the piece, laughing. He takes a bite and throws it back. We end up having a mini food fight, with Leo pulling me onto his lap and rubbing jam on my nose.

That’s the moment when Marco walks in .

“What the fuck is going on here!” He says.

“I’ll leave you guys to it.” I say, standing from Leo's lap.

“No! You will stay here and finish your breakfast.”

Okay, the old Leo has once again left the building.

I sit in silence, eating as quickly as I can so I can get out of there.

Marco and Leo are arguing in Italian. Marco says Leo needs to be making his presence known at his warehouses and delivery points.

He needs to show whoever is intercepting his deliveries that he is the one in charge; the people need to know that the Guerras are still in control.

Leo refuses and has a go at Marco for trying to tell him what to do.

Once my plate is clear, I take it into the kitchen and have a coffee with Alga and Sergio.

“You’re good for him, you know.” Alga rubs my arm as she passes me the sweetener.

“I don’t think Marco thinks so. Plus, Leo is no good for me.”

“He’s a good man under all that darkness. I think you’re the one to show him the light.”

I’m not sure about Alga’s statement, but I’m starting to hope my Leo is still in there somewhere.

Leo joins us in the kitchen .

“What are your plans for today, Katherine?” Leo asks.

“Plans? I didn’t think I was allowed to make plans. I’m not supposed to leave the house without you, remember?”

“Where would you like to go today?” He puts his hand on my shoulder.

“Home?”

Leo grimaces at my comment, so I change my answer, not wanting to put him in a bad mood. “The beach, then. I found this lovely little spot the other day.”

“The beach it is. Alga, we are going to the beach.”

Leo disappears, and Alga shouts after him, “Give me ten minutes.”

Alga and Sergio rush about the kitchen; I leave them to it.

Once I’m ready to go, I find Alga at the door with a cooler bag, no doubt full of refreshments and tasty treats.

“Thank you, Alga.”

I hear Leo approach; I’m taken back by the sight of him. He’s wearing swim shorts—yes, short swim shorts, displaying his tanned, toned legs sprinkled with dark hair. A white T-shirt moulds over the mounds of his torso .

“Wow.” Oops, did I say that out loud?

Leo raises one eyebrow at me. “Wow? Katherine?” There's amusement in his voice.

“You look different, that’s all. I’ve never seen you in short shorts before.”

“Short shorts?” Leo smirks. “Well, you didn’t expect me to wear a three-piece suit to the beach, did you?”

I think I may be blushing. My cheeks feel hot.

“Let's get going.” I open the front door, needing a distraction from my embarrassment.

Leo’s large hand moves swiftly over my shoulder and slams it shut before I have a chance to get out.

“Not so fast.”

He spins me round and holds me with my back against the door, his front against mine.

“Are you going to be a good girl today, Katherine?”

A gasp leaves my throat as he presses his hard body against mine even more. He tucks hair behind my ear and follows the path of his fingers with his mouth, his lips brushing my ear lobe.

“Have you packed your sun cream?”

That is not what I suspected him to say .

“Yes.”

“Good. Let's go, then.”

He moves me to the side and opens the door, leaving me standing there, watching him walk down the drive. He is playing with me. Well, two can play this game, Mister. Bring it on.

Once we arrive, Leo chooses a nice alcove in the rocks to relax in. Apparently, it has a good view of the beach, and no one can approach us from behind without us noticing.

While I’m applying my sun cream, Leo snatches the bottle from me.

“Turn around.”

I willingly do so, looking forward to feeling his hands on my body again.

He begins with my shoulders, his large, strong hands massaging my skin as if needing to touch every nerve, muscle, and bone beneath it.

He then moves up to my neck; he squeezes and rubs my nape, which sends tingles down my body.

Both hands then grip my neck. Anyone else would panic at this action from such a dangerous man, but my head automatically tips back, a moan escaping as my body melts into his hands.

I hope no one is watching, because my face must be pornographic.

“Okay, your turn now.” I gesture to the blanket laid out on the sand. Reluctantly, with a smirk and a raised eyebrow, he lies on his front .

Showtime.

I straddle him. Only the thin material of my bikini separates the heat between my legs and the skin on his back.

“Katherine. What are you doing?” The question comes out in a growl.

“I’m putting your cream on. Just lie there and relax.”

I start at his shoulders and work down his arms; I put my all into each movement, squeezing my thighs around his legs to hold my balance.

I work my way down to the bottom of his back, my fingertips tracing lightly over his scars.

One day I will ask him about each and every one of those.

I dip my fingers slightly under the waistband of his shorts.

In one swift movement, Leo spins onto his back beneath me on the blanket. His eyes now locked with mine, he holds my hips down, my warmth pressing into his very hard, thick length. “Do not start something you cannot finish, Kat-er-een.”

He bucks his hips into me. I gasp. He smirks and flips me over so I’m now the one lying on the blanket with him straddling me.

He leans in. His nose touches mine. Our eyes connect.

He licks his lips. He grinds ever so slightly.

The groan that leaves his body vibrates into mine. My body is melting beneath him .

We stay like this for a moment. Our breathing has picked up. Emotion builds in his eyes. But in a flash, he breaks the connection, and it's gone.

“I’m going for a swim,” he declares and then he’s up and off, running into the sea, leaving my body begging. I hate him.

While he is cooling off in the sea, I people-watch. A man selling fruit and drinks approaches me.

“You like anything to drink, beautiful lady?”

“Oh no, thank you. I have some drinks.” I pat the cooler bag.

“Some fruit?”

“No, thank you.”

“How about you give me your phone number?”

“No, sorry—and please, will you leave, because if the guy I’m with sees you talking to me, I fear for your life.”

Too late.

I spot Leo striding out of the sea, running a hand through his hair as he heads our way. God, he looks hot with water dripping down his tanned body.

“Oh yeah? Who is the guy you are with?” The beach seller chuckles to himself, puffing out his chest.

I nod in Leo’s direction.

All the colour drains from the seller's face when he sees Leo.

“Ooooohhh, shit!” He drops all his boxes and runs for his life.

Leo arrives with a smirk on his face.

“Ahh, you got us some more refreshments. You know, Alga would have packed us plenty; there really wasn’t any need for more.” He sits down beside me.

“He was harmless; there’s really no need to hold any of this against him.”

“What do you mean, Kat-er-een?”

“You know, don’t hurt him or anything. He didn’t do anything wrong.”

“He approached and no doubt propositioned the fiancée of Leonardo Guerra. That has a punishment of death.”