Page 175 of Sins of the Orchid

“Yeah, the man, Raguel Carrera, stayed with me until Dad came to Colombia. DeAngelo was there too.”

I shook my head in disbelief. She must have been worth quite a bit to the Carrera Cartel for the head of their cartel to stay with her. “That’s Gabriel’s father.”

She tilted her head, her eyes pensive. “You know, somehow I’m not surprised.”

“DeAngelo is Gabriel’s cousin,” I told her.

“I’ve known all along that DeAngelo was related to the Carreras,” she admitted. “It’s why he helped me search for the Andersons.”

Despite the tiny slither of jealousy that DeAngelo got to be my woman’s protector, he’d kept her safe while she was on her mission to avenge her mother. My little creative fashion designer in the jungle of Venezuela, full of fucking men that wouldn’t think twice about hurting her.

My hand came to the nape of her neck and pulled her close to me. “There will be none of that anymore,” I growled. “I’ll keep you safe. You want someone killed; you tell me. I’ll do the deed and deliver their heads to you.”

Her eyes fluttered to my lips, her smile making my heart hum in satisfaction. “That's all a girl could ever ask for, huh?”

“What else?” I asked her, my mouth brushing against hers, our breaths mixing together. “Whatever you want, it’s yours, Amore.” Fuck, I wanted to hear her say that four letter word. Five letter word in Italian. Over and over again. “You know, all of me has always been yours,” I told her.

Her soft gasp steamed the air between us. It wasn’t the most romantic setting, but I didn’t give a fuck. There was no better time than now.

“Your heart,” she sighed against my lips, placing her small hands on my chest. “I want your heart, Santi.”

Then she wrapped her arms around me, pressing her face into my chest and satisfaction purred in my chest. This felt so fucking right.

“You have my heart,” I admitted against the crown of her fiery red hair. “It took me a while to realize it, but you’ve had it all along. I love you, Amore Bennetti. For as long as Russo blood flows through my veins, I will love you. You are my heartbeat, the blood pulsing through my veins, my oxygen. You are my life.”

A tiny hiccup and sniffle sounded in the dark of the moonlit night, and I pulled away to search her face. Something sharp pierced through my chest, worried I’d blown it and lost her before we had a chance to start our life together.

Her shimmering eyes of cool moss met my dark gaze, and her hands came around my neck, pulling me down to her.

“I love you too, Santi.” Her soft voice matched the expression in her eyes. “I have loved you for so long, I’m not sure I know how not to love you.”

CHAPTER67

Santino

The rush of relief was instant. Jesus, I was so fucking whipped for this girl, I didn’t know if I was coming or going. We were running through the woods, her barefoot and me with a bleeding arm. Yet, the world felt right.

“Good,” I half-joked. “Otherwise, I’d tie you to me and you’d still be mine. I’m never letting you go.”

She chuckled softly, her right palm against my cheek. “Well, that’s comforting. And so damn romantic, I can’t help but be impressed.”

Taking her hand off my cheek, I pressed a kiss to her fingers, my ring shining, even under the dim moonlight. “Do you like the ring?”

She glanced at it. It was a band with emeralds and diamonds; the stones matched the stones in her necklace. “I love it,” she purred. “I wouldn’t have cared if you gave me a ring from a bubble gum machine. I’d love anything from you.”

I chuckled. “My heiress with a plastic ring? How would that look?” I asked jokingly.

“I don’t care because you are worth more to me than all the money in the world.”

God, I couldn't wait to get to our destination. We resumed walking. Adrenaline still pumped through my veins, and I didn’t feel tired at all, but Amore was probably reaching her limit.

“I should probably tell you, I forced your grandmother to announce your engagement to me tonight. Behind your father’s back.”

“You don’t say,” she remarked mischievously. “And here I thought you and Dad played well together.”

I grumbled my response. Ever since he’d denied me Amore, I avoided him more for his own health than mine. I couldn’t risk shooting the guy.

“Why did you shoot Luigi?” The question from Amore came out of nowhere.