Page 85 of The Crowned Garza

My traitorous body shudders against him.

“Fuck…” he muffles in my hair, inhaling deeply. “You…Fuck.”

I hate him…I don’t.

Another shudder runs through me. “Are you here because Tor sent you?”

“No.”

“Thenwhy?Whyare you here messing with my life?”

“You’re supposed to be havingfun. You aren’t supposed to fall in fucking love with anyone.”

What?“Who am I in love with? Creed?”

“Aren’t you?”

Sure, I’m in love with the guy who kicked me off his jet and left me with a “stranger” because he’s afraid his daddy will cut him off.

“Wait…” I wriggle out of his hold and turn to face him. “Is that why I’m a ‘security threat’? Because ofyou?You’rethe threat?”

His heavy silence and icy stare are answer enough.

Un-freaking-believable. “Lemme get this straight. You ghost me for an entire year, then decide to show up out of the blue and bomb my weekend plans because you’rejealous?”

“I’m not a littleboy,I don’t get ‘jealous.’” He grabs the front of my jeans and yanks me to him. “I’m on the fucking edge.”

“On the edge of what?”

Maybe he needs a little push…

“Come get in the car,regalità.”

“No. You don’t get to just show up and pull this kinda shit and tell me what to do.”

Between us, his phone rings and he pins me with a warning glare for a beat longer before he gets it out and growls, “Cosa?”

As he listens, I roll my eyes and walk off.

“Iseppa is your donna, Adrian. Whatever she says goes. Don’t call me about shit like this again,capito?”

In a handful of seconds, I’m grabbed and spun around. “Where the fuck are you even walking to, huh? Where?”

“Just fuck off,Guy.Go serve all the many people who need you. I sure as hell don’t.”

Liar.

Oh, shut up, heart.

My attempts to extricate myself from his hold are futile.

“Tillie,stop itand come get in the goddamn car!” he barks.

“Don’t you yell at me!” I scream in his face, tipped up on my toes.

Chilled whiskey eyes deliver a threat that would scare the skin off anyone else. But I don’t fear him. Never have. I’ve never felt anything but safe with him. My guards slumber when he’s around.

He solidifies that much when he grips the back of my neck and crushes his mouth to mine.