Shielded Wrongs (Bellandi Crime Syndicate 4)

I grinned right back at her, biting my bottom lip in the same place she had, to bring that pain back to the surface. If she thought that hurt, my Baby Girl had an enlightening experience coming the first time I took her. I was not a gentle lover, and I didn't think I could be. Even for her.

"Get up. We've got to be at Indulgence soon," I said, standing from the edge of the bed and moving toward the door.

"Woah, Big Guy," she laughed. "I have to be at the gym. I'll be fine there, just give me a ride and you can go to the club. I have to go in. I work six days a week."

Sighing, I pinched the bridge of my nose. "You can't miss one day? Just to give me enough time to get something set up at the club for while I’m guarding you indefinitely?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, digging into her position and shaking her head. I knew there would be no give on her part. I could drag her to Indulgence, or I could at least try to make it work for her.

My sisters would kick my ass if they found out I didn't at least try, so I pulled the phone from my pocket and called my second. Seb would step up to the plate, no questions asked.

That was his duty.

It turned out Seb was already at Indulgence, filling in, at Matteo's orders, since I'd be out of commission for an indefinite time to keep an eye on Sadie. It wasn't practical for me to be away from my command station so much at a time like this, so Sadie and I would have to work out a system. The good news was it meant I didn't have to wear a suit, and Sadie's arms were wrapped tightly around my waist again. Her chest against my spine felt like a beacon of heat, the best possible way to fight back against the cold of Chicago winter.

The gym was already lit up inside, and as I slowed the bike to pull into the parking lot, I watched as eyes snapped to attention to look at us through the windows.

I'd known it, this being a boxing gym, but that did nothing to appease my fury as a dozen sets of male eyes landed on Sadie's jean clad form behind me. She needed a new job, but I also valued my balls.

From what the others said, this place was everything to her. I wouldn't be the one to take that away; I'd just need to establish some ground rules with the other guys. In a way that wouldn’t piss her off too much, somehow.

She hopped off the back of the bike as soon as I rolled to a stop in the parking space, tossing me the helmet as she turned to walk backwards toward the doors. Her hair fell out of the helmet in long waves, looking every bit the part of a pinup girl in a short video as she shook it out. I strapped both helmets to the bike, following her inside as quickly as I could. The woman had no concept of waiting for a bodyguard, and it was only my long stride that let me catch up with her in her eagerness to get inside.

She shoved the front door open, entering with an energy I hadn't seen from her the night before. This was more than work for her.

It was home.

She came alive as soon as the scent of baking soda and cedar chips hit our senses, but it was preferable to the alternative. Sweaty boxing gloves appealed to no one.

"Hey, what's up with the lickable man meat?" the woman at the front desk asked. I smiled back at her, turning my gaze down to Sadie.

"Am I lickable, Baby Girl?" I asked, watching in fascination as a blush crept over her cheeks. I didn't think Sadie would have been the type to blush, not with the way she tried to embarrass others.

I hoped it was a reaction somehow exclusive to me.

"This is Enzo," Sadie said instead of answering, turning and going for the women's locker room. I didn't follow, but kept my eye on the door for when she came back out. "Enzo, Beth," she said over her shoulder on her way in.

"So how do you know Sadie?" Beth asked, and I didn't bother taking my eye off the door as I answered. The only reason I held still was because I knew she wouldn't run from her own gym. Small miracle.

"I'm her man," I said with a smirk.

She studied me suspiciously. "She didn't mention you. That isn't like her."

"That's because she didn't know it yet," I said, stepping forward as Sadie emerged from the changing room. My hands clenched into fists, my desire to smack her ass fighting against my careful control. The shorts she wore to work out were even skimpier than the ones she slept in, and every line of toned muscle in her body showed, between those and her sports bra. Male eyes followed her as she made her way toward the ring at the back with a breathtaking smile on her face.

In that moment, I understood a lot more clearly Matteo’s desire to kill anyone who looked at Ivory the wrong way. A growl sounded through the room, and when Beth gave me wide eyes, I knew it came from me.

Making my way to Sadie, I wrapped a fist in her ponytail from behind and tugged her head back until I could smash my mouth down on hers. She parted for me instantly, giving under the pressure of my rage so I could plunder her mouth with harsh sweeps of my tongue until there wasn't a crevice left that I hadn't claimed.

She was panting when I drew back and stared down at her, her fury dancing in her eyes, but her pupils dilated with the lust that ran between us. No matter how much she might want to deny it, the attraction pulsed from her skin to mine in a steady wave of sparks. She was already mine, even if I hadn't been inside her yet.

Her fury melted behind a mask of amusement that I immediately recognized for what it was. I knew, because I wore one of my own so frequently it felt a little like looking into a mirror.

How much of the wild child everyone else saw when they looked at her was for show, and how much was genuinely Sadie?

She took my hand, guiding me toward the bench where she wrapped her hands in tape. "Spar with me," she said.

I studied her adorable little hands, wondering how something so small could be so lethal. But there was no doubt, not after her quick reflexes grabbing my junk and nearly punching me in the face the night before, that she would surprise any opponent who didn't know what he was dealing with.