The Virgin and Her Bodyguard

Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

LUCA

I ’m in the bathroom trying not to throw up when someone opens the door behind me.

“It’s occupied,” I call out, but by the time I turn away from the sink, I see it’s too late. The woman who has been following me around is already here and locking the door behind her. “Get out.”

My teeth are clenched, and my fists are at my side, but I won’t touch her. I’m not like those men out there, and I refuse to pretend any longer.

When Marco told me what was going on tonight, my stomach soured. I’ve heard of the kinds of parties they have, and I knew he’d expect me to participate. I’m good at pretending, but I can only do it for a short time. After a while, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to hide my disgust much longer. Which is why I came into the bathroom alone.

“What’s wrong? Don’t like what you see?” She moves her hands down her body, but I don’t watch where they go. I’m too fucking angry to look at her or anyone else here.

“Leave,” I say, and the threat is clear.

“Come on. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. We can go to a private room and talk.” I turn my glare in her direction, and that seems to put some fear into her. “I’m sorry, I just thought maybe you weren’t interested in the group activities. Or women.”

“If you don’t get the fuck out of here, I’m going to tell Marco you were the one turning me down.” I know these girls get paid well for their services, and the boss doesn’t want anyone complaining about their performance or eagerness to join them.

She squares her shoulders like she’s offended at the suggestion. At least she’s happy to be here. “Fine. Enjoy your evening.”

When she walks out of the bathroom, she makes a show of fluffing her hair and wiping her lips like she was servicing me in there. She knows I’m not going to say anything because it would make me look suspicious.

Once I’m out of the bathroom, I realize there’s nowhere safe for me to go. The party is a way for Marco to show off to all the other men and get in their good graces. If Pru’s father Renzo isn’t going to be leading this organization any time soon, then we’ll all have to endure Marco’s reign. I have to give it to him, it’s a smart play to keep the women, drugs, and money flowing. They’ll all be so addicted to it that they’ll do whatever the fuck he tells them to. And when he decides to overthrow Renzo, he’ll have their allegiance.

Vitaly wasn’t this kind of leader. He would rather have his men loyal to him because he made smart decisions and aligned himself with leaders who did the same. He didn’t rule with emotions, and that’s all Marco seems to be doing. This might benefit him in the short term, but if he manages to take over, he’ll be left with people working for him that would rather party than work.

Glancing around the room, I see that Marco is occupied at the card table. He’s not winning, which means he’ll be there even longer.

I was going to make my escape earlier, but I didn’t want it to look suspicious. I needed Marco to see me here talking to his guys before I left. Now when I’m gone, he’ll assume it was to take a woman to one of the private suites.

The night air is getting cooler as fall gets closer. When I step out onto the patio, it’s a literal breath of fresh air. I can’t stand the smell of all that cigar smoke and perfume. I’m about to make my way to the boat house when I see someone in the distance running away from the house.

Someone that looks a lot like Nolia.

“Fuck,” I hiss under my breath. Then I make sure no one is following me before I take off after her.

She must have gotten tired of waiting and came to see if I was here. She could have seen me walking out of the bathroom, and that would make things much worse. My heart is pounding against my chest when I see her go back to the boathouse instead of her cottage.

“Nolia,” I whisper when I reach the house and see the door ajar. There’s a light on in the distance, and I walk down the hallway, hoping I was right and this is where she was headed. “It’s me.”

“Go away.” Her voice is firm, but then I hear something that sounds like she’s been crying.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I tell her as I push open the old wooden door and find her inside what looks like a converted storage room. There are shelves on one side, but the rest of it looks like a bedroom that’s newly decorated. The bed is small, but the space is clean and a lot different than the rest of the old boathouse. Nolia is sitting on the bed, but she’s not looking in my direction. “What is this place?”

She brings her hand to face, and I think she wipes away a tear. “It’s Pru’s old room. Well, the one she would sleep in when those parties were going on.”

“Tell me why you’re upset.” I kneel down on the floor beside the bed, right at the edge of her feet.

“It’s nothing. It doesn’t matter.” She waves her hand in my direction like she’s trying to shoo me away.

“It’s not nothing.” I put a hand on her thigh, and she tenses. “And it does matter,” I say gently. “You matter to me.”

“Clearly.” I can practically hear her eyes roll as she turns to glower at me. Her tear-streaked face makes the ache in my chest turn painful. “I saw you with that woman, Luca. Don’t try and deny it.”

“Did you see when I refused her advances?” I ask, and she presses her lips together. “Did you see me tell her no and to get out? Did you see when I told her I would report her if she didn’t leave me alone?” My heart is beating faster at the thought that Nolia thinks I could ever touch another woman when I feel so strongly for her.

“She didn’t look like you turned her down.” She looks away, and her cheeks flush pink. “It’s fine, I get it. She was beautiful.”

“How could I look at another woman when all I see is you?” I shake my head because it’s the truth. “You’ve consumed me, amore .” Her eyes meet mine at the Italian word for love. “There is nothing and no one that could make me look in another direction. Let me prove it to you.”

“How?” She whispers the word so quietly as my hands slide up her thighs.

“Let me kiss you.” I bend down and brush my lips over her knee. “So I can show you how much you mean to me.”