Chapter 4
Isabella
Back at the house, which was more like a palace, and a home I didn’t know; I changed into my new dress and waited for papa to get ready. I tried not to think about Leo as I walked around the house. I didn’t want to harp on why he hadn’t kissed me.
The sexual tension between us was palpable. I wanted him and I knew he wanted me. He looked like the kind of man who was capable of making me feel good, who would touch me just the way I wanted and needed to be touched. And just when I thought that he was finally going to kiss me, he had walked away.
Why was I even surprised? A guy like him, so loyal, so faithful to papa…wasn’t going to touch his boss’ daughter. I was stupid for thinking that he would.
I walked around the mansion, looking in empty rooms, admiring the art on the walls and the crystal chandeliers that hung from the ceilings. I couldn’t help but wonder what papa did with all this space? Essentially, he lived here alone; other than the beastly men he had with him as his bodyguards at all times.
I tiptoed towards a closed door and slowly opened it. The door creaked as it gave way to a big room which might have been the library, but papa wasn’t much of a reader.
The room had tall shelves, filled with dusty books that I could see nobody had touched or read in several years. There were also boxes filled with things, scattered around the floor of the room. When I came close to one of them, I recognized the items inside it immediately—they were things from our old house. The one I had grown up in, the one mama had nurtured and looked after all those years.
I crouched down to the floor, feeling a wave of nostalgia overtake me as I sifted through old photo frames and bed linen. I shook my head at the realization that none of this meant anything to papa anymore. He just kept this all locked up in a dusty forgotten room of the house.
While I looked, my fingers fell on a necklace and I scooped it out of the box. I recognized it the moment I saw it. It was a thin silver chain with a beautiful silver pendant hanging from it, in the shape of a dove. I remembered it around mama’s neck and how she always wore it everywhere, even when she slept. I clutched it tightly in my hand, a smile crossed my face. I had finally found a piece of her!
“Bella!” I heard papa’s voice outside in the halls. Slipping the necklace around my throat quickly, I rushed out of the room to him. He was in one of his three-piece suits, waiting at the end of the hall, flanked by his two trusty brutes.
“Ready to go? My beautiful daughter,” papa asked, smiling as he looked me up and down.
“Yes, papa,” I replied, walking towards him. I could feel the warm touch of the pendant as it sat on the center of my chest, and now finally, I felt like I had come home.
***
The party that papa had organized for my homecoming, was at the most exclusive nightclub in Naples, or at least that was what papa had told me. And just like he said, he’d invited all the people I knew from my time here.
I was greeted by old acquaintances, faces I thought I’d lost in memory a long time ago. Everyone was excited to see me and as I mingled and talked and laughed with them, I felt like slowly; my anger towards papa was diminishing. It was good to be back, it was good to feel at home again.
I hadn’t seen Leo at the club yet, and I tried to convince myself that I didn’t care. I was too caught up with catching up with my old friends to look for him and a few hours went by, drinking and laughing, before I noticed that I hadn’t seen papa in a long time.
Excusing myself from the group I had been talking with, I tried to go look for him. This was supposed to be a celebration of my homecoming, he was supposed to be there with me, by my side, drinking with me, reconnecting.
Instead, I could see him sitting at a dark corner table, surrounded by a group of men who he was deep in conversation with. Clenching my fists, and bubbling with frustration, I weaved my way around the tables towards him.
Just when I was a few feet away from him, Leo intercepted me. Once again, I had walked right into him.
“I’m sorry, Isabella, you can’t talk to your father right now, he’s in a meeting,” Leo spoke firmly, formally, meeting my eyes.
“Let me through! This is supposed to be my party, he’s supposed to be celebrating with me,” I said, but nobody could hear my voice over the music playing in the club, except Leo.
I could see that he hadn’t gotten dressed up for the party. He was still in those jeans from the morning, and the same tight t-shirt and dark leather jacket.
“You’ll just have to wait a bit, I’ll let him know you’re looking for him,” he said, holding his hands up.
“It’s always business that comes first with him, doesn’t it? Family means nothing!” I snapped and before Leo could say anything, I grabbed his wrist and started tugging him towards the dance floor.
“Isabella! What are you doing?” I heard him shout, but I didn’t stop. I kept dragging him to the dance floor.
He was stronger than me, more powerful, and it didn’t take him long to yank his hand away from me.
“If I’m not getting the attention from papa, then you’re going to have to give it to me. Now, dance with me!” I snapped and I could see Leo squaring his shoulders, his chest rose and fell. He was at a loss for what to do. I was asking him to do something that was in clear defiance of papa.
But right now, all I wanted was for him to hold me. I just wished he would hold me in his arms.
***
“Isabella, I can’t dance with you,” I heard Leo say, as we stood on the side of the dance floor. I felt like a teenager again, looking up at his face, craning my neck. I didn’t know what being rejected by a man felt like, but ever since I’d met Leo that morning; all I had experienced was rejection.
“Why?” I asked, and my lips quivered. The music in the club was loud, we were both shouting to make ourselves heard.
“Because I’m supposed to keep an eye on you, not dance with you,” Leo replied.
“Do you always do what papa says?” I asked and I saw him clench his jaws.
“Yes,” he replied and I reached for his hand again. This time, I wasn’t going to let him get away so easily.
“Well, papa isn’t going to like it if he hears that you didn’t do what I asked you to do,” I said and I lightly touched his hand, guiding him towards the dance floor. This time, Leo followed me.
The dance floor was filled with people already, and I squeezed my way through, with Leo fast on my heels.
I found a spot that I thought would be perfectly private, hidden by other people who were at the club. Even though I had forced Leo to dance with me, I didn’t want him to get into trouble with papa either.
We stood facing each other, me looking up at him and Leo’s eyes fixed on me. I reached for his hands again, this time placing them on my hips. I was surprised to find that he didn’t flinch, he didn’t take his hands off me.
Instead, he grabbed my waist with his hands, yanking me closer to him. I gasped, my mouth fell open. I could breathe in his scent, I could feel the strength of his grip on my waist.
I moved, rolling my hips along to the sensual music. My hands rose up and I ruffled my hair. Leo moved slowly, just keeping pace with the music. He clearly wasn’t an extravagant dancer. Instead, he was more focused on watching me and I was fine with that. I enjoyed it when he looked at me with those deep dark eyes of his. I could see him thinking, undressing me with his eyes, his gaze dropping down from my face to my cleavage. I could feel my nipples hardening under the dress, pebbling and throbbing.
His hands remained on my waist as I moved my hips. They were big and warm, with long thick fingers. I tilted my head back, exposing my neck to him. As I danced to the music, I pressed my eyes close; visualizing what it would feel like to have those hands on my breasts, his thumbs teasing my nipples.
I had seen him without his t-shirt on already. I knew the six-pack chiseled abs he was hiding under his clothes. I’d seen those biceps bulging, just moments before those men took their punches.
Leo yanked me to himself again, I straightened my face, opening my eyes. I could feel his hot breath falling on my eyelashes.
“Isabella…you…” he began to say and I parted my lips. Every cell in my body was aching for him. I wanted more than just his hands on my hips, I wanted them on my ass, I wanted them on the insides of my thighs. Leo leaned in closer, his lips grazed mine and I gasped again. He was finally going to kiss me!
The sound of the gunshot filled the air and a cry rang out in the club in unison. I cried out with shock too and Leo placed a hand over my head, pushing me down. He had covered me with his body.
I wrapped my arms around his torso, breathing hard, trying to see past the people running. Who shot their gun in here?
“Leo, papa!” I cried and he turned to see what I was seeing. A gang of men, with guns waving in their hands, were pushing and squeezing past the panicking people towards papa’s table.
“We have to go to him!” I screamed, trying to wriggle out of Leo’s grasp.
“No, we can’t go there now. We need to get out of here,” Leo wrapped his strong arms around my waist and lifted me up. I struggled in his grip, trying to get free so I could go to papa. I could see the men closing in on his table now. There was going to be a shootout. Was papa going to die? Was I going to lose my father too?
“Isabella, don’t struggle! I have to get you to safety. Those are my orders. You can’t help him now!” Leo was running out of the club, dragging me along in his arms. The doors closed on us as we burst out into the night air, people were storming out around us, there were screams ringing everywhere. Complete and utter chaos.
Leo didn’t stop, he ran with me all the way to his parked car. With one hand, he yanked the front door open and threw me inside. I could feel the hot tears rolling down my cheeks as I stared out of the window.
Why had I come back here? In one day in Naples, I had seen more violence than I had seen in the past thirteen years in America. What had possessed me to come back to this place?
Leo jumped into the car beside me and he revved up the engine and charged ahead, without stopping once to look back.
“Are you okay?” he growled, driving us out of the parking lot in top speed. I didn’t know what to say to him. I didn’t know how to answer that question.