Page 38 of Enduring Caine
“No.” I pressed my lips to his bare shoulder, catching sight of a few stitches on his back which hadn’t fallen out yet. My stomach clenched at the memory of the gunshots and shattering glass that caused them.He’s okay. We both survived.“I need to talk to Elliot.”
“Sì.” His large hand splayed across the small of my back and he held me tight against him. “But you also need to be extra careful. They know about your involvement in the auction, the fresco in Pompeii, and the paintings in Brenton. Leonardo’s suspicious of you already.”
That explained some of his attitude. He thought I was a spy. “So we don’t have to keep my past a secret?”
“I think it’s wise to hold as much back from them as possible. Let them make their guesses and assumptions, rather than accidentally offering more than they know.” He exhaled slowly. “He said Fiori was behind all of those crimes.”
“That makes sense, since Parker was involved with the auction painting and the ones we found last week. But why would a wealthy Corsican thief be funding operations in tiny little Brenton?” I sucked in a quick breath as it dawned on me. “Of course! Detroit!”
“Detroit?”
“All of Parker’s paintings came through a pawnshop in Detroit. And the doctor on Fiori’s yacht told me that’s where he’s from.” I’d asked him to distract me with stories while he worked on the ankle I’d injured on a hike. “And he told me they were planning a trip up the St. Lawrence River this spring. Detroit must be one of their hubs.”
“You’re as brilliant as you are beautiful.” Antonio’s hand swept up to the middle of my back and down again, gliding over the curve of my ass. “They must be delivering pieces to that pawnshop to filter through the States, picking things up, or both.”
“Except Elliot told me—in the airport, before we left for here—that they shut the pawnshop down.” I bit down on my lip. Elliot needed to hear about the trip Fiori was planning if he didn’t know already. He’d need to have people ready—watching—for the yacht to deliver or take out stolen goods.
“I see that look in your eye. Before you sneak out of the villa and into town, you should also know they’re claiming they’ve stationed guards around you are because they fear Fiori will come for you.”
I pulled back, unable to control my frown. “Hardly.”
“I’m just reporting what they’re telling me, bella.” He gave a half-shrug. “The only other news I have is that we didn’t go to a quarry. We went to see the building he’s converting for the new conservation studio.”
“Why did you lie about that?”
“In the car—” He pressed a kiss to my temple, and I let out a little sigh. “—Zio Gio said you couldn’t be told about his plans. He said family only.”
“I don’t understand. He showed me the blueprints.”
He cupped my chin, gazing into my eyes, the silentI love youfilling them. “I told him very clearly youaremy family.”
I swallowed hard, searching for moisture in my mouth, pins and needles shooting up my fingers. The invite to Vegas. Joking about celebrating the new year as newlyweds. Giving me the necklace his father gave his mother and telling me he wants it to hang around my neck for the rest ofourlives.
Vin swore he’d move to the States, then abandoned me for this job. Matt said “I do” and abandoned me for someone else.
Everything was temporary. Nothing—
“Stop.” Antonio leaned closer and kissed me, his tongue easing into my mouth. Slowly, so slowly. Like he was savoring each taste and touch, showing me how precious I was to him.
Heat poured through me, filling my heart as much as my core. I loved him with every ounce of myself. And my fears were not strong enough to hold me back from him anymore.
“We’ll finish this conversation later.” He separated from me and tugged at his belt, then the button on his jeans, his cock straining at the fabric. “Right now, I need your body naked in this shower.”
I clenched my inner muscles hard and hauled off my pants and underwear. “Good idea. But what about your arm?”
“Dr. Steve said to keep it dry for forty-eight hours. After that, just no soaking.”
“We could use the bed.”
“Too far,” he growled, ripping the tape holding his bandage while I tore off my bra.
“Let me.” I moved to his side and began unrolling the bandage for him, so he could slide his pants and underwear off.
He stroked his ready shaft, watching me work.
I’d dealt with a lot of injuries in my day, but when I saw the small, round wound under the gauze, a lump caught in my throat.
He could have been killed.