“Your place is in the back,” Santino muttered, already starting the engine.
“I feel like riding in the front today.”
He floored the gas. I was pressed into the seat and had trouble putting on my belt as he took the first corner.
I watched his profile. The only thing missing was fume rising out of his ears, he looked so majorly pissed. I had to stifle a grin.
He shot me a scowl. “Don’t look so fucking pleased with yourself.”
“You got mad because I kissed Clifford.”
“I protected you. If your father finds out that you tongue-wrestled Cliffy on my watch, he won’t be pleased, fiancé or not.”
I rolled my eyes. “You protected me from Clifford?”
The hint of amusement crossed Santino’s face. “His wandering hands are a danger to your virtue.”
“When you say virtue, it sounds so weird. You are the least virtuous person I know. You banged a married woman.”
“Don’t talk like that, and that’s none of your business. You should be worried about your virtue, not mine.”
“Clifford doesn’t care about virtue or our rules. He told me himself that he doesn’t care if I’m with other guys before our marriage.”
Santino shook his head with a look of disgust. “Fucking idiot.”
“Why?”
Santino stopped at a red light and turned to me. “Because if you were promised to me, I’d make sure no other guy would get within a mile of you.”
“So that’s why you attacked Clifford? Because you were jealous?”
“Why should I be jealous, Anna? You are my ward. Your protection is my concern.”
“You could have been the first to kiss me, but you didn’t want to.”
Santino hit the gas. “I’m your bodyguard and you’re not of age.”
“I’ll be of age in a few months, Sonny. Don’t be more Catholic than the Pope.”
“Why the fuck are we discussing this? I won’t kiss you. Not now, not ever. You are a job, Anna.”
He said one thing, but his eyes told another story. I’d been cracking his stony exterior brick by brick in the last few months. I’d have to use my chance before Santino rebuild his walls.
“You should be more careful around Cliffy. His father is a snake, and even if he still seems like a likable, sappy idiot, this could be an act. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. So even if he doesn’t care about our rules and traditions, that doesn’t mean he won’t use them against you. If he starts bragging about kissing you, our people will hear it eventually, and they’ll judge you by our standards and not Cliffy’s.”
“He’s too terrified of you to ever mention the kiss to anyone.”
Santino smirked.
I shook my head. Then I smiled secretively and leaned slightly toward Santino. He sent me a warning look becoming visibly tense. I had to admit it gave me a kick. Santino never flinched away from danger or pain, but my flirting made him tense.
“You know, Santino, I wanted it to be you. I imagined it was you. And you protecting my virtue like a murderous, crazy knight in shining armor was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Santino released a sigh and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. I leaned back with a grin.
“Don’t imagine me when you kiss Cliffy. What he considers kissing is an insult to anyone with balls. The look on your face is one my Grandma has when I peck her cheek. It’s not a look of a woman being kissed by a man she isn’t related to.”
“If you think you can do better than Clifford, prove it. I’ll be the judge. I promise I’ll be fair.”
Santino gave a dry chuckle. “I don’t have to prove anything.”
“If you say so.” I shrugged and looked out of the window. Santino muttered something under his breath. I hoped I could provoke him into kissing me. Kissing Clifford had left me… wanting. The kiss had been pleasant and I bet many girls had worse first kiss experiences but it wasn’t what I wanted. I desired fireworks, butterflies wreaking havoc in my belly and heart racing. Pleasant wasn’t cutting it.
Santino wasn’t pleasant or nice. Santino was what I craved.
Even his iron will had to have its limits and if anyone could break it, then it was me.
Anna practically frolicked up the stairs on her way to her room, probably to talk to her besties about every boring detail of her kiss.
My pulse picked up thinking about the moment I’d walked in on them. Seeing Clifford’s lips fused to Anna’s…
I’d wanted to kill him in the cruelest way possible. I’d already imagined calling Arturo and making a weekend-getaway out of Cliffy’s dismemberment. He wasn’t worthy of her. A man should be able to defend his woman. Cliffy couldn’t even defend himself against a kindergarten kid.
I’d told Anna I’d wanted to protect her virtue… which was a half-truth. I wanted to protect her virtue from Cliffy and every other guy so I could destroy it myself. Fuck. For a few months, things had gone downhill. My mind couldn’t stop seeing Anna as the woman that she was. A fucking gorgeous, very tempting woman who played her assets in all the right ways. Fuck, and she knew it.