Shadow Keeper (Shadow Riders 3)

"Everyone is," Nicoletta assured as they moved through the back room. "I already love her, and that's saying a lot."

The fragrance in the store was subtle, but with it came a sense of peace. That was also Lucia. Nicoletta stepped back to allow them into the shop. "Sasha, this is Lucia and Amo, my foster parents. This is Sasha. She's with Giovanni."

There was a small silence and then both Lucia and Amo broke into huge smiles. Both went straight to Sasha and kissed her on both cheeks.

"It is wonderful to meet you, Sasha," Lucia said. "Even under these circumstances. We've waited a long time for Giovanni to find the right woman."

Sasha frowned and started to shake her head. Before she could speak, Amo took both her hands and beamed at her. "At last. We've prayed for you to come along. Giovanni needs his woman. We pray and here you are. Please, look at what my Lucia and Nicoletta have chosen for you, but feel free to look around. Anything is yours if you want it."

"Thank you." Clearly, she didn't know what to say or do because she moved back into Giovanni as if for protection. Going up on her toes she whispered for him alone, "I can't possibly afford anything in here, nor do I want them to give me clothing for free."

"I've already taken care of it," Giovanni assured. "Before you throw something at my head, just accept it and we'll battle it out in the car. We can't stay longer than ten minutes. The Hendrick Center is across town and it takes a little while to get there, even driving fast."

She gave him a dark scowl, which only made his cock ache. God, she was adorable. Everything about her appealed to him, even her fiercely independent nature. He was in for a fight with her, and he was looking forward to it. He grinned at her just to provoke her further.

Sasha turned away to look at the soft jeans Lucia had set aside. There were three pairs and several tees and tanks. Just going by the look on her face, Sasha loved them. She touched the exquisite underwear, a higher end stretch-lace panty and beautiful bras he couldn't wait to take off her. "We'll take them all," he said to forestall any arguments. "She'll need a sweater and something for bed."

"No, Giovanni." Sasha was firm on that. "I can't possibly afford these and you know it." She turned her head to look longingly at the jeans and tees. "Maybe one pair, just because, and the underwear."

"All of it," Giovanni said firmly. "Lucia, why don't you argue with Sasha while Nicoletta wraps everything up for us, and Amo and I will take care of things."

"Absolutely not," Sasha objected, trailing after him.

He didn't even turn around. He heard Nicoletta whispering. "They're all like that. Trust me, if you're considered family, and he wouldn't bring you here or with the others if he didn't, they'll just take over your life."

There was no bitterness in her voice that Giovanni could detect, but there was something he couldn't put his finger on. He turned to look at her. She was looking away from him, down at the clothing she was carefully wrapping in tissue paper. There was a look on her face that made him want to go to her and comfort her. He couldn't stop himself, even though he knew she would probably reject him the way she did all of them.

He strode right past Sasha and tipped Nicoletta's chin. "Are you all right, sorellina? Tell me, and I'll take care of it."

For a moment, it looked as if Nicoletta blinked back tears, and his heart sank. She shook her head. "I'm good. Just working a lot lately."

"Will training with us be too hard on you?" He kept his voice low. Gentle. He wasn't certain how to handle her when she'd been stripped of everything. She'd lost her family, was in a nightmare world for far too long before they'd managed to rescue her and was uncomfortable with them because they knew far too much about her. Her body screamed at him not to touch her so he let go of her chin.

"I want to learn to defend myself," she whispered back. "Don't take that away from me."

"We want you to learn. Nicoletta, if you're worried about something, you can talk to me--or to Francesca. You do know that, right?"

She nodded and kept wrapping the clothes. He turned away from her, feeling as if he'd failed her. Surprisingly, Sasha didn't say another word. She retreated to the other side of the boutique with Lucia and left him up front with Amo.

CHAPTER SIX

"She breaks my heart," Sasha said. When Giovanni looked over at her, she clarified. "Nicoletta. She's so young, but she isn't. She's as grown-up as I am, maybe more, and she shouldn't be."

He was driving the Aston Martin again, her very favorite. Well, at least she thought it would always be her favorite, even though she'd seen a dozen different cars his family drove and some of them looked extremely luxurious. He handled the car the way he did everything. He was absolutely confident and looked casual while he was doing it.

"She's had a difficult time. Like you, she lost her parents too young. She was put in a bad situation, and Stefano was able to get the authorities to allow her to live with Lucia and Amo, but there were a lot of very cruel things that happened prior to her coming here. She's finding her way, and we're all looking out for her."

"The alcohol?"

"Lucia was worried. Like I told you, we were pulling her out of parties all the time. Apparently after the talk Taviano had with her, Lucia says she's been subdued, hasn't gone out with those friends again and has really worked hard on her schoolwork. It's only been a couple of days, so we'll see."

"How can she work two jobs and still go to school?"

"She has tutors. She doesn't go to regular high school."

"Where did she meet these friends of hers?"

"She works at the flower shop with Bruno Vitale. He's been a thorn in our side for a long while. He just turned twenty-five and those are his friends, none of them from this neighborhood, and she's been hanging out with them quite a bit. It's been worrisome to everyone."

Sasha nodded. "I can see why. She needs friends, though, Giovanni." She knew she was talking about herself as well. Maybe she could befriend the girl, although Nicoletta didn't seem too interested in her.

"We were tutored," he said.

She hadn't meant to put him on the defensive. "You have a very large family. There was no way you were going to get lonely. I understand loneliness a little better than you."

"Don't kid yourself, Sasha. Every one of my brothers, as well as my sister, experiences loneliness. Stefano has Francesca and Ricco has Mariko, so I'm betting they don't, but when you search the world and you believe you're never going to find the right partner, you're lonely. It doesn't matter how big your family is or how much money you have."

She heard the sincerity in his voice and her heart clenched. "I suppose you're right. I'll see if I can befriend her. It would be nice for both of us. What did you mean by training?"

Giovanni shrugged, drawing her attention to how wide his shoulders were. As the car moved through the streets and the lights shone across them, throwing various shades of dark and light, he appeared to disappear as if the very shadows flowed through him.

"We work out together, martial arts, weapons training, that sort of thing, and we want Nicoletta to learn. We thought it would give her more confidence." He flashed her a quick look. "You might be interested in something like that, not that you need more confidence."

"I would be interested if I wasn't already working sixteen hours a day. I visit Sandlin every spare minute I get. Which reminds me, we need to get to the argument where I tell you I'm going to pay you back for everything and I'm not staying at your home."

He was silent for so long she thought he wasn't going to respond. She caught him glancing in the rearview mirror several times, he texted with one hand, and then he turned off the main street she knew led to the Hendrick Center. Before she could ask him what he was doing he sent her a small grin that sent her stomach into a slow roll.

"Start arguing away, but the end result will be that you're coming home with me. My house is so damn big we won't be able to find each other, and in any case, I plan to act the perfect gentleman."

She want

ed to laugh at the pious tone. "Really? You're not going to try to kiss me?" She touched her lips because just saying it, just thinking about it, put the taste of him in her mouth.

He turned down a narrow street and then again onto another one. He suddenly reversed and backed up right into the open door of a garage and killed the lights. He turned toward her, sliding his arm along the back of her seat. "Gentlemen kiss, Sasha."

"What are we doing here?" Her heart was beating too fast, but she wasn't certain if it was in anticipation or out of fear. Something was wrong and he wasn't telling her.

"Some gentlemen are very good at kissing, but clearly you need to see for yourself."

"We can't just park and have a make-out session in a perfect stranger's garage," she pointed out, trying not to laugh. "Are you crazy?"

His fingers crept from the back of the seat to her shoulder. His palm slid under her curls to the nape of her neck, stroking featherlight caresses against her bare skin. Every nerve ending jumped to life.

Twin headlights lit up the narrow street as a car pulled into the lane, going slow. The lights illuminated the asphalt and brick, but failed to enter the tiny garage. Her heart was already pounding, but now, it accelerated even more.

"Are you trying to distract me? Is someone following us?" She edged closer to him, almost right on the middle console, not realizing until it was too late that she was playing right into his hands. The car went on by and she felt a little foolish.

His hand applied pressure, so that her head continued to bend toward his. Then his mouth was on hers and she forgot all about the fact that they were in a stranger's garage hiding from someone possibly hunting them. Fire swept through her and she found herself wrapping her arms around his neck and giving herself up to the exquisite perfection of his mouth. His kiss.

She'd been kissed before, but this was completely different. This was--extraordinary. Her mind couldn't hold a single thought, but just melted right along with her body. He tasted like male, a spice she quickly found herself addicted to, one she chased, needing more. The kiss went on and on, until she needed air and then he breathed for her, even as those flames he poured into her threatened to burn her alive.

Her body was no longer her own, but belonged to him. Had he tried, he could have taken her right there, on the seat in some stranger's garage. It was Giovanni in control, lifting his head, resting his forehead against hers, breathing a ragged rhythm she tried to follow.

"This is dangerous."

His velvet whisper slid over her skin, stroked and caressed, adding to the terrible need, her body pulsing with demands.

She touched her tongue to her lips, shocked that they weren't on fire. "It is." There was nothing else to do but agree. She couldn't kiss him again. That would lead to ... She did. She tilted her head just enough to allow her to catch his bottom lip between her teeth and tug. Then she was kissing him, her tongue sweeping into his mouth, sliding along his tongue, taking more of that spice and flame she needed.

His arm nearly crushed her to him, while his other hand slid under her shirt to press against her bare skin. It felt as if his palm burned into her, right through skin and muscle to reach bone, so it was there, his brand proclaiming proprietary rights. She was his exclusively.

His mouth took over, just what she wanted--what she needed. The groan he gave, a mixture of hunger and dominance, sent her temperature soaring. Her panties were damp, her body slick, her nipples tight, breasts aching. She was very aware of his hand, not even his scorching kisses could distract her from wanting him to move it higher.

The long fingers stroked her bare skin, right under her left breast as he kissed her over and over. He pushed his seat back and pulled her body across the console, so that she nearly straddled him. It was a tight fit, but they managed because there was nothing but the two of them, and heat and hunger. It took forever before his fingers moved up over the fine lace of her bra and stroked along the curve.

Her breath caught in her throat and her sex clenched hard. She squirmed, her hips pressing into him, the apex of her legs finding his thigh. The tension in her coiled tighter and tighter. Her breasts felt swollen and needy, nipples pushing blatantly at the thin lace. Then his fingers settled on her nipple and she heard herself cry out, the sound wrenched from her. He tugged, and her hips bucked.

He was more than dangerous to her--that was her one thought of sanity before that slipped away, too, and she dropped her hand, stroking him through his trousers, reveling in the feel of him, so hard and hot, so thick and ready for her. She desperately wanted to open his trousers and explore that heat, but moving required she move her mouth from his and that was impossible. His tongue was velvet. His mouth hotter than anything she'd ever known. Hot. Hard. Commanding. She sank further under his sexual spell, the web closing around her and she let it. She wanted it.

All clear, Giovanni. A male's voice came over the radio, shocking her.

She tried to pull back, but Giovanni continued to kiss her, one hand shaping the nape of her neck, holding her head tilted to his while his other hand explored the full curve of her breasts, the valley between, each nipple, tugging and rolling while she gasped at the streaks of jagged lightning streaking through her bloodstream to pool low in her body. Her sex clenched and throbbed. She curled her palm over his heavy erection, while she rode his thigh, desperate for release.

Get out of there, man, Harvey is heading your way.

Giovanni sighed into her mouth. He lifted his head as his fingers stroked her breast slowly, one last time. "Baby, we've got to stop. The owner of the garage is on his way, and we don't want to be caught here."

She tried to move, but her body felt limp, hot and needy. She closed her eyes, desperate to find air, while her sex wept with hunger. Very, very gently, he lifted her off of him and placed her back into her seat. Leaning around her, he caught her seat belt and snapped it back in place. She hadn't known he'd taken it off her in the first place. Or maybe she had. She couldn't think clearly, her mind absolute chaos. All she could think about was reaching into his lap, taking down his zipper and straddling him.

"Baby, help me out."

It was said with a husky groan. Sexy. Almost as desperate for her as she felt for him. Almost. But he'd already adjusted his seat and was pulling the car out of the garage, able to function while she was still having a full body meltdown.

"I'm just sitting here." To emphasize how good she was being, or to keep herself from unzipping his trousers, she threaded her fingers together and locked them that way until her knuckles turned white.

"You're looking at me like you want to devour me."

"I do." She wasn't going to lie. If he wanted a demure, sweet woman, he had the wrong girl. She grew up on a ranch. She knew about sex. Need. Hunger. Right now, he'd taken her higher than she ever dreamed a body could go. She wanted all the way with him.

She looked up at his face, all those sensual lines carved so deeply. He looked like sex and sin incarnate. She touched her tongue to her lower lip. "I want to see what you look like. Feel the weight of you in my palm. I want to taste you. Kissing you, I wondered if your cock would taste as good as your mouth." She watched in fascination as his erection grew even larger, and he had to shift his body just a little as he drove down the little alley to the corner where he waited for a car to flash lights before turning onto the street.

"You're making me crazy on purpose."

"Maybe. You made me that way and then just left me hanging, so turnabout is fair play." She sent him a small smile. He'd certainly made her forget about the fact that her home had been invaded and she didn't want to go there.

"You know I'm going to retaliate."

"You would have anyway and this way I get to have a little fun." Deliberately, she leaned toward his lap as if she might actually carry out her threat. "It's all I can do just to keep from unzipping you and swallowing you down." His cock jerked beneath his trousers, and she couldn't help the satisfied smile. She reached over and stroke

d her fingers over the hard length. She felt the heat right through the material and her sex clenched again. "Not in the city, though, you couldn't keep us on the road."

"Is that a challenge?"

She loved the intensity of his hunger. His voice had dropped to a growl, the sound sending a little shiver down her spine. She liked being in control. When he was kissing her, she was out of control. Here, she skated that edge. She'd never done anything so daring as she was contemplating. A little, wicked voice kept whispering to her, urging her on.

"Maybe."

"You're playing with fire."

"We're on a very public street. Sooner or later you have to get back on the main street with all the streetlights. Stop signs. It isn't like you could keep the car under control."

"And if I'm willing to accept the challenge?"

"I'd be in trouble if you lost control."

"We both would be." He turned his head to look at her.

Her entire body went into meltdown again. The tension coiled so tightly in her jerked at her sex, just from the look on his face. She'd never seen anything or anyone look so darkly sensual. So completely wicked. So beautifully masculine. She couldn't help herself. She caught at his zipper and slowly, watching his face the entire time, slid it down.

A muscle ticked in his jaw. His breath caught. Another groan escaped. "Baby, you'd better stop playing around."

She didn't want to play anymore. She wanted her mouth on him. Some part of her knew she was being crazy, she barely knew him, but he made her that way. She'd never met anyone with such animalistic sexuality. Everything about him called to her. She wet her lips again, tugged at her seat belt to give herself room, realized it wasn't going to work and undid it. She was a rule follower and that gave her a thrill. She never did anything like this, and right now, having him in her mouth was all she could think of.

She pushed down his underwear, shorts made of the same material as his suit. His cock sprang free and her breath caught in her throat. He was beautiful. A little intimidating. She wasn't certain how much of him she could take, but she wanted to try. She wanted to claim every delicious inch of him.