23

23
Arabella

My eyelids slowly fluttered open as I struggled to adjust to the bright lights in the room. A dull ache throbbed at the back of my head, and my limbs felt heavy.

As my vision cleared, I found myself staring into a familiar pair of midnight-black eyes. It was the same set of eyes I had been looking into when I...

I sat up with a start, only to be hit with an immediate wave of dizziness.

“Hey, take it easy,” he said in his deep baritone voice, placing an arm around me and gently tucking me back into bed. “You need a lot of rest. Your body needs time to recover. You were poisoned.” He glanced at me. “I poisoned you, but don’t worry. Just another night’s rest, and you’ll be o—”

“Wait, what did you say?” I blurted out, my eyes wide with shock.

“I said you have to rest up, so you’ll feel be—”

“No, no, before that,” I interjected.

He furrowed his brows. “Oh, the part where I said I poisoned you.”

“Ho... How could...”

Before I could finish my sentence, Maria and two other women strolled in, carrying a tray of food and other supplies. I was still too taken aback by the revelation to even form a coherent response.

“How are you this morning, Miss Rodriguez?” Maria asked.

My throat was dry, so I simply nodded.

She placed the food on the table beside me. “You should eat up—”

“Uh-uh...” he interjected, “Everything she eats has to go through me first.”

My brows knitted in worry as I stared at him. What did he mean by that? Did he really poison me? Was I poisoned? But if he had, then why was he here helping me?

He rolled up his sleeves, and instantly, my eyes were drawn to his bare arms.

They were strong and veiny, the hands of a powerful man. And all I could think about was those hands running along my skin.

My face heated, and I quickly looked away. Stupid, Arabella! The man just admitted to poisoning you. You shouldn’t be admiring him.

He took a bite of my food and a sip of my drink, his eyes never leaving mine, a smirk tugging at his lips. Wait! Did he really poison me?

I turned to Maria. “What happened to me?”

“Well, the doc—”

“Your food is nice. It’s perfect. Here, have it,” he cut in yet again and shoved the bowl into my hands.

Maria smiled politely. “You have your food. The maids have run your bath for you. You have all you need. Will that be all?”

“Yes, that will be all, Maria. Thank you,” he answered before I could, flashing her his pearly white teeth. It was an innocent smile that made him look almost boyish, his features softer and...

That was when I noticed the other maids cheesing hard at him. I shook my head in disbelief. He really was a chick magnet, wasn’t he?

Maria nodded. “Of course, Mr. Si—”

“Just Six will be fine,” he replied smoothly. “I’ll take it from here.” He turned to look at me, his gaze smoldering.

I sucked in a deep breath, suddenly feeling hot. I watched as the women filed out, leaving us alone.

He walked over to the couch at the foot of my bed and sat down, his eyes never leaving mine. He draped one arm over the chair, legs spread open, staring at me intently.

I couldn’t do this; the staring contest or whatever it was. But it was hard to look anywhere else. His presence was commanding.

His eyes pierced through me as if he could see straight into my soul. I couldn’t look at his arms because his sleeves were still rolled up, and I sure as hell couldn’t look between his legs.

I tucked my hair behind my ear and cleared my throat dramatically. “So what’s the deal?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “I have to taste your meals before you eat them. I have to accompany you everywhere from now on,” he leaned closer, “and I mean everywhere, including the bathroom.”

“What?” I blurted out, my eyes shining in horror.

He nodded simply, a look of amusement on his face. “Those were Marco’s orders. He asked that I be your shadow. We are going to be so close together...” His voice had dropped to a whisper. “We will breathe the same air. I’ll be all up in your face, all up...” He leaned forward.

I gasped.

He chuckled. “Does that scare you?”

I swallowed. “No,” I lied through my teeth. “But why? Why do I need you close...” Realization set in. “Is it because you poisoned me?”

He chuckled. “Yes.”

I sat upright. “Why did you poison me?” I whisper-yelled. The memory of him handing me the champagne flute and me gulping it down just before... My eyes flew up to him. “Are you working for him?”

The smirk on his lips turned into a full-on smile. “God, I love teasing you! And no, I’m not working for him. I did it all for you.”

I looked at him like he was crazy. How could poisoning me help me in any way? I could have died! I wrapped my arms around myself. “I don’t think I’m following...”

“You needed help with your plan, and I couldn’t be of actual help to you if we weren’t in constant communication. The capo knows he has enemies and his bride needs protecting, but he also knows I’m a man, so naturally, he’s possessive of you...” He looked me over like I was a sweet piece of cake that he wanted to devour.

My tongue darted out across my lower lip.

He smirked. “And when you do that, it makes it harder to keep my hands to myself.”

My cheeks heated.

“So the only way I could ensure I was around you all the time was to make the threat to your life real and close...”

It took a moment for me to get it. He had poisoned me so Marco would be alarmed and ensure I was protected 24/7 by none other than my bodyguard, Six.

I looked up at him in surprise. “That was a gamble.”

He smiled. “It worked out.”

“How did you come by the poison? Do you just carry one on you all...” I trailed off when he showed me his hand and twirled the steel ring on his finger.

“Ohhhh!”

He nodded.

“Then why didn’t you just poison Marco? He’d be dead by now, and all of our problems would be over, and we’d never have to worry about him.”

It was when the words left my mouth that I realized I had said “we.” Who was I kidding? This was a me problem. Six was only offering to help. I thought he would point that out, but he didn’t.

“Marco is heavily guarded. All the champagne flutes that were passed to him were marked at all times. They were already tasted by someone unknown. If Marco was to be killed by poison and the person who tasted it didn’t die, then they’d know when the foul play occurred. His men would come for you, and they wouldn’t rest until you were dead. That is a terrible idea...”

I exhaled. “So did Marco really say you can do all those things?”

“What things?” he asked, feigning ignorance.

I looked away from him, unable to meet his eyes. “For you to stay by my side, taste my food and drinks, accompany me to the bath...”

He smirked. “The thought excites you, doesn’t it?”

“No,” I blurted a little too quickly, but it was unconvincing.

He rose to his feet and slowly walked up to me.

I was even more aware of his presence. It seemed to fill up the room. It didn’t help that he was a tall man, maybe 6’2", and he was muscled.

When he got to me, he gripped my jaw and pulled me closer. “Yeah, he did say, well, some of those things, but of course, I added my own twist. The bathroom bit...” He grinned mischievously. “I’d very much like for you to soak in a bath while I watch, you know... so you don’t drown in the water and stuff,” he chuckled.

I was blushing hard at this point. I knew my face was bright red.

“I want to watch you lather soap all over your body. I could help you, of course...” His eyes darted to my lips, his jaw ticking.

And then I licked my lips.

His eyes darkened. “If you keep doing this, Bella dear, I make no promises to keep my hands to myself...”

My heart was hammering in my chest. “What if I don’t want you to?” I asked in a small voice.

That was all the prompting he needed. He dipped his head and captured my lips in a passionate kiss.

He tugged at my lips, his hand around my neck, choking me slightly. I moaned into his mouth.

His tongue probed into my mouth as he deepened the kiss. I leaned even closer, wrapping my arms around him, and then he pulled away quickly and straightened up.

I was still flushed, trying to make sense of why he had broken the kiss when Marco strolled in. “Bella.”