Family Intrusion

My manicured nails dug ruthlessly into the bare, oiled muscle of his shoulder. The whispered panic of his name caught in my throat as I stared at the lethal intruders flanking the room.

Instead of soothing my sudden terror, Giovanni reached up and peeled my fingers from his flesh. His grip was entirely clinical. When his gaze shifted from the suited men back to me, the playful lover from seconds ago was dead. A violent, terrifying hostility bled into his expression.

The older patriarch didn't bother looking at me. He just curled his lip in utter disgust.

"I brought you in to handle family business, boy. And you slip out of a mandatory gathering to play cheap entertainment for your little whore?"

The ugly insult slapped me across the face. My jaw dropped, sheer disbelief rapidly transforming into hot fury.

"Who the fuck are you calling a—"

A massive, calloused palm brutally sealed my mouth shut. The sheer force of it snapped my head back.

"Do not speak," Giovanni ordered. His voice was an unrecognizable, freezing rasp that lacked a single ounce of warmth.

I stayed frozen on the cold granite top of the bar, paralyzed by the absolute menace rolling off the man I thought I knew. He turned his broad back to me, using his massive frame to block their view.

"Get out," Giovanni commanded them coldly. "I am right behind you."

The older patriarch went completely rigid, his face twisting with outrage.

"Do you honestly believe you are in any position to issue me orders?"

"Don't make me repeat myself," Giovanni warned, radiating the absolute authority of a ruthless despot.

"Not smart, Cuz," the rugged guy with the icy blue eyes remarked, stepping forward to break the suffocating standoff.

"I do not care, Corrado," Giovanni replied, hitting him with a frigid stare.

A deeply arrogant smirk played on Corrado's lips as he brushed off the tension, turning his attention to the older patriarch.

"Take it easy," Corrado drawled, casually disrespecting the older boss. "He's just a prehistoric dinosaur who hasn't managed a decent fuck in a decade."

Giovanni didn't flinch at the crude remark. He just exchanged a terrifying, wordless look with his cousin. It was a predator's mutual understanding, making my stomach bottom out completely. I honestly thought they were going to execute the old man right over the bar counter.

"Take my men back to my estate, Corrado," Giovanni instructed, his tone entirely flat. "I will follow."

*Wait, his men?* My mind spun wildly. Nothing about his supposedly normal life made sense anymore.

The heavy thud of designer Italian shoes echoed out into the corridor as Corrado herded them away. The very second the heavy wooden doors clicked shut, the terrifying tyrant vanished. That ridiculously charming, boyish grin reappeared on Giovanni's face like a flipped switch.

"What?" he chuckled, taking in my pale, horrified expression. "You think I'm bipolar or something?"

"I am completely, terrifyingly confused right now," I stammered.

His eyes softened instantly. He reached out, his warm palm cupping my jaw as his thumb brushed over my cheekbone.

"I know, baby. I am so sorry for the mess." Two minutes ago, he was a cold-blooded stranger. Now he was back to being gentle. "I refuse to leave you stranded here with a bunch of naked guys dancing around at a bridal shower. Adrian and Emilio are going to drive you straight home."

"What? Why?" I countered defensively, even though I knew the party was ruined.

"Just listen to me, please," he pleaded, locking his deep gaze with mine. "I will explain every single detail tonight."

Glancing around the frozen venue, I saw my friends staring at me with wide, severely judgmental eyes. My presence in this room was officially over.

"Fine," I muttered stiffly, unable to hide the bitter resentment in my tone.

Giovanni leaned in, ignoring my sour mood. His lips brushed the sensitive shell of my ear.

"You're my girl," he murmured, his voice dropping into a filthy, breathy register. "Don't pout. I promise to make it up to you the exact second I crawl into your bed tonight."

The sheer intimacy of his promise weakened my defenses. I remembered exactly what those hands could do behind closed doors. Leaning forward, I captured his lower lip between my teeth and bit down hard enough to tease.

"We'll see exactly how well you apologize tonight," I whispered against his mouth. "Maybe then I'll let you get some pleasure, too."

A rough, guttural groan tore from his throat. He cursed under his breath, his huge hands gripping my hips with bruising force before he finally forced himself to pull away.