Yet I couldn’t get this one out of my head.
She was fucking up everything.
I shouldn’t have been in the club. I had orders, and Naz would be pissed when he learned I’d ignored them. He was stubborn and unbending. I had convinced myself that a small deviation in our plans wouldn’t change anything. Once I was back in Mexico, he’d get over my brief detour, and I’d have dealt with the little viper poisoning my bloodstream. It would work out best for everyone in the end. Well … maybe not everyone. Giada would have to accept her consequences whether she liked them or not.
I wasn’t even sure what kind of punishment I’d intended to dole out, but fear was a central component. I wanted her to regret messing with me. Regret her siren-like allure that ensnared men. Made them set aside their responsibilities and challenged their loyalties. I wanted her to regret approaching me the same way I did because I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her since.
Once I saw the fear in her eyes and she cowered away from me, the spell would be broken, and I could go on with my life.
Feeling far more in control and determined, I made my way down a hallway toward the restrooms and constructed a plan. The door across from the women’s room was locked but easily opened with a tool I kept in my wallet for just such an occasion. Inside was a storage room that would be perfect for my needs.
Once the trap was set, I found a place to wait where I could keep an eye on Giada. When she made her way to the restroom a half hour later, I followed her and stationed myself beside the door. My fingers twitched with the need to touch her. The second she exited the restroom, I wrapped my hand over her mouth and shoved her into the storage room.
She was momentarily too shocked to struggle, fumbling to stay upright and gasping against the palm of my hand. My veins surged with adrenaline. I’d been waiting for this moment for two weeks, tracking Giada down and biding my time for the right moment to strike. Now, I had her in my arms and at my mercy.
The rush of power was intoxicating.
Exhilarating.
Addicting.
The storage room light was set to a motion detector, so harsh fluorescent light flooded the space when the door flung open, making it hard to see since my eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting of the club. The far wall was lined with shelves containing supplies, and mops in buckets along with brooms and vacuums filled the center of the cramped room. That was fine with me. All I needed was a small space away from prying eyes.
As soon as we were inside the room, I slammed the door shut and spun Giada around. Pressing her back against the wall beside the door, I instantly replaced my hand over her mouth. The club was loud, but she could easily be heard by people in the hallway if she screamed.
The second our eyes met, shock and fear melted into recognition and … indignation? Her wide eyes narrowed to harsh slits of emerald rage, and she ceased struggling, her back stiffening and muscles tensing.
Who was this fucking audacious woman?
She had stolen from me, yet she had the gall to glare at me as if I were in the wrong. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to knock her down from her high horse or worship at her majestic feet. Just like before, she stirred an inferno of conflicting emotions inside me.
I held her gaze, steady and unyielding. She was brave, I would give her that, but too much courage could be foolhardy. Sometimes it was good to know when to yield. The more she stood against me, the more my primal side wanted to conquer her.
“Somebody’s been a very naughty girl,” I purred, breathing in her sharp citrus scent. “Did you think you were making a statement by stealing from me? Surely you could tell I’m not a man to toy with, which means you must be very self-assured. If I had to guess, I’d say this wasn’t your first foray into stealing from people, but I’d be willing to bet I’m the first who’s caught you. The first to confront you with your crimes.”
Her eyes flashed and nostrils flared just slightly, giving me my answer.
The corners of my lips lifted into the hint of a caustic smile. “This time, you got a little too brazen. A little too cocky. The problem with stealing from someone you don’t know is you could get yourself in terrible trouble. I’m not a man people disrespect.”
When Giada lifted her chin defiantly as if she had something to say, I was shamefully eager to hear what that might be. With a warning in my eyes, I slowly lowered my hand away from her mouth.
“It was a silly lighter. If it means so much to you, I can give it back.”
“This has nothing to do with the lighter. I told you, it’s about respect.” And a fucking insatiable lust, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. If she knew how hard I was for her, it would give her power over me, and that wasn’t an option.
“So, you’re going to teach me a lesson for taking a five-dollar trinket? This is ridiculous.” She spat her words at me in feigned ferocity, but a treacherous quiver to her voice betrayed her underlying fear.
“I’ve killed men for less.”
Her jaw snapped shut, eyes flaring. “My father is the consigliere to Enzo Genovese, the boss of the Lucciano crime family. Do you have any idea what that means? You fuck with me, and you fuck with the Italian mafia.” She pressed her lips together in a thin, satisfied smile as if she’d played the ultimate trump card.
Slowly, I lifted my hand and trailed the backs of my fingers from her temple, curving over the soft line of her cheekbone, down to her strong yet feminine jaw, then ghosted over the delicate skin of her neck where I gently placed my hand around her throat. “Of all the men in this club, I am probably the only one who doesn’t give a fuck who your father is.”
What I didn’t tell her was that I already knew. The identity of her family had only added to her mystery. Why would someone with money feel the need to steal trinkets from strangers? Did being raised in a world of crime skew her view on reality, or was it more about the thrill? Did Giada Genovese simply have a craving for a darker, more dangerous side of life?
“Then you’re fucking crazy,” she hissed.
“I’ve been called worse.”
Giada flailed, making a weak attempt at struggling against me for the first time since entering the storage room. Her face was still rigid with contempt, but her body was giving in to the fear. “My sister and cousins are here with me. They’ll start looking for me if they haven’t already.”
“You know what I think?” I asked in a low rumble with my mouth close to her ear.
Her movements stilled until the only motion in the room was the rhythmic vibrations from the music.
“I think you don’t want anyone to find us. I think you take things hoping one day, someone just like me will track you down and make you answer for your crimes.”
Her breathing shuddered in the abnormal stillness of our isolated bubble buried deep within the chaotic nightclub. The pounding bass penetrating through the walls pulsed at the same frantic rate as her rioting heart. The contrast between the frenetic energy outside and our cocoon of strained silence magnified the senses. It made time stutter on its continuum as if the universe itself knew the poignancy of this moment. A tilting of the Earth’s axis until nothing made sense.
A shift had occurred in those eternal seconds.
Something monumental and catastrophic.
Overwhelming and divine.