He heard the balcony door open down the hall and then close a second later. He tensed, wondering if Natale had gone outside.

“Mr. Orsino?”

He felt his bear grumble in the back of his mind. He wasn’t making the kind of progress that he was hoping to make, bringing them closer together. If she couldn’t even call him by his name, how was he going to convince her to accept him in her life.

Salvatore waited until he saw her step around the corner and into the kitchen. “Yes, Natale?”

He deliberately drew out her name as if he could keep their connection by sound alone.

She stood there for a moment, and he could see subtle movements in her jaw, as if she was chewing on her thoughts. He wanted to say something to encourage her to tell him what was on her mind, but he felt like the very air around them was charged with indecision and the last thing he wanted to do was scare her like a deer in the woods.

And yet he was the one caught in her snare when she looked up at him with what he hoped was longing in her eyes.

“I started to go outside,” she made a vague gesture in the direction of the doors, “but I didn't think that was a good idea. At least,” she was stumbling through her thoughts, “without telling you first.”

He smiled and was rewarded when she smiled back. The simple gesture warmed him like sunshine and he leaned closer, just the fraction of an inch to enjoy the warmth.

“I’ll go with you.”

She stared back in shock and he wondered what she was thinking.

“I'm not here to hold you prisoner like a princess in her castle, Natale. I'm here to protect you.”

Setting down his tablet on the counter, Salvatore moved to join her in the hall, following her back the way she had come. He tried to keep his energy easy and seemingly relaxed as he walked slightly ahead of her.

At the door, he peered out into the night sky first. Then looked from corner to corner of the balcony from his position inside the apartment. His brother had verified the distances from her balcony to others on her side of the building, looked into sightlines from other buildings.

For a moment he wanted to tell her no, turn her around and find something else to occupy her time, but one look into her expectant upturned face, her rich cinnamon-brown eyes and her expression which could only be described as hopeful, he reached out and undid the lock for the door, and slid it open. He took a step outside and drew in a long breath of the outside air.

Even hundreds of feet above the New York City streets, there were some smells that never went away. Salvatore scented the very concrete around him and felt the walls of the city like a rather extensive cage. Up where they were, the scent of trees and flowers was nearly impossible to detect. “Natale?”

“Yes?”

He stepped to the side to give her room. “Come outside.”

She stepped out onto the balcony and drew in a breath the same way that he had, but instead of her lips pulling into a tight line, they relaxed into a smile. “Freedom!”

Salvatore rubbed his hand over his nose as his bear woke grumbling inside of him.

He heard laughter and turned to watch her giggling, her eyes narrowing as she leaned on the balcony for support. “You should see yourself.” She laughed again, her voice coming back from the breathy tones she had a moment before. “You look like you just smelled something bad.”

He wasn’t a man who liked to be laughed at. Few had ever dared, but when Natale looked back at him, her eyes shining with humor, he didn’t mind. “There’s not enough nature up this high.”

She looked around them, her gaze tracing over the city skyline. “True.” Her laughter was nearly gone, her face softening into a more wistful expression. “And where you live?”

The question was genuine, but he knew she was trying to discover more about him. He was happy to oblige. “A building not far from here.” He set his hand on the balcony and turned to face her. “When this is all over, I’ll bring you there to see it.” Salvatore gestured to the sky above their heads. “The trees are tall enough that I can barely touch the bottom branches.”

“You must love the shade.”

He nodded. “It’s the only place in the city that I can truly be myself. Where no one can see me.”

“Except,” she hedged, “for your friends, your brothers?”

“My brothers, of course. We live in the same building, but we don’t have visitors.”

“But you’d bring me there?” She shared a soft chuckle with him. “I don’t want to break your rules.”

A breeze stirred the ends of her hair and he reached out and tucked a loose curl behind her ear. “Because you’re meant to be there, Natale. You’re meant to be with me.”

He saw the way his words affected her. Laughter or shock weren’t her first reactions this time. The set of her lips softened and she touched her fingers to the top of the balcony, tracing her fingertips along the cold concrete in a slow contemplative sweep. “The way you say that,” an indrawn breath seemed to steady her nerves, “I want to believe, but it’s so fast.”

He heard the truth in her words. She didn’t have the experience that he had. She didn’t have a family like his. While the Durante family originated near the village where he’d grown up, he was sure they didn’t know anything about the Orsino’s unique history. The brothers had grown up hearing the stories from their father but the thought of a mate, of a woman, didn’t make sense to three rowdy children. Girls were ridiculous, frilly creatures with sneering looks and ear-splitting giggles. The Orsino clan was insular, rarely leaving their mountain home for other locations. The food and resources had always been plentiful in their village. But it was a rarity to have a girl born into the families that made up their clan. The number of males tipped the scales on the family trees of their people. To continue the line and ensure their survival, the men found themselves venturing out into the world to look for their mates.

Salvatore had always heard the stories, seen the women when their men had brought them back to live, but finding a woman of his own seemed more like a fairy tale than their family history. Now, he knew better.

“It may seem like that, Natale, but you’ll come to see that it's real.”

“Real?” Her voice had been reduced to a whisper. “Real is deadlines. RSVPs. Fabric wholesalers. Fashion reviewers out for blood. I can't let myself believe any of this right now. If I let myself get wrapped up in the way I feel, I'm going to mess everything up. You don't know how important this is, not if you're going to ask me to… ask me to-”

She stopped short and stared at him for a long moment before she shook her head in disbelief. “But you didn't, did you?” She blinked back tears. “You didn't ask me to do anything, it's all in my head.”

He touched her cheek with the palm of his hand and slipped his fingers through her hair until they traced the hairline at the nape of her neck, feeling her shiver at his touch.

“You need to know, that this isn't just a job. I would do anything to keep you safe, but it goes deeper than that.”

* * *

She wanted to believe. She needed to believe. All of her life she was the ‘sweet’ one. The one with ‘personality.’ Taken on their own, those words would be compliments. Pair them with a half-smile and a pitying sigh, and they cut deeper than a knife.

Men like Salvatore Orsino didn't show up every day. They didn't walk into your life and tell you they were going to make your troubles go away. Okay, at least one of her troubles.

It should be easy, she told herself, he says he cares for you. So, he does, right?

Or is he saying that because he thinks it is what she wants to hear. Because it was her Papa who hired him.

It was easier to assume that her fairytale knight in a bespoke suit was only putting on an act. That way, she didn't get her heart wrapped up in the tangle of disappointment when he walked away once the whole mess was over.

But there was something deep inside of her pushing her toward the edge. Something that told her the water wasn't that deep, that she could swim, or at least tread water long enough to give herself the gift of joy. That if she reached out and took a little happiness for herself that the world wasn't going to punish her later.

Ericka made it sound so simple.

But Ericka was the personification of bravery and courage. She would climb a mountain just to do it. She went out and grabbed at happiness because it was what she wanted.

Natale looked up into the night sky, struggling to find the dark amongst the glow of light from the city that surrounded her. She tried to find the stars in the haze of night and found herself dizzy with the possibilities before her.

She reached out, her hands fisting in his shirt, as she struggled to find her balance.

He didn't flinch or pull away. He stood there with one hand at the nape of her neck, holding her gently.

Natale lowered her gaze, watching as the sky darkened before her eyes. Stars swept through her vision and she barely recognized the Little Dipper and a few other nearby constellations before she met Salvatore’s eyes with her own.

And lost her breath.

It was a trick of the shadows. Or just her sudden movement throwing her off her axis.

Whatever it was, she knew she was lost in the midnight sky of his eyes. She felt like she was falling, or floating, there really wasn’t a name for it.

There was a glimmer in the darkness that she grabbed a hold of and felt her legs go weak. She knew she’d lost her mind and didn’t seem to care. It felt like there was something as old as time staring back at her from the depths. It didn’t scare her. It didn’t make her run for the hills.

Instead, she dove right in.

Letting go of his shirt, she swept her hands up over his chest, feeling the heat of his skin and the crisp scratch of his hair beneath the fine cotton of his shirt. The ripples of sensation danced along her skin a moment before her fingers brushed along the skin of his neck and her fingers felt like they were on fire. She wanted to burn.

Grasping the back of his neck she pulled him down and kissed him.

She knew she was doing it wrong. The only experience she’d had was a fumbled kiss at a high school dance with a boy named Dale who had cold lips and clammy hands, and he’d done all the work.

She felt a sudden shock when she bumped her nose against Salvatore’s and then the sharp sting as her teeth scored her own lip.

Natale mumbled her frustration against his lips, but that only lasted for a moment until he tilted his head and took possession of her lips.

She wanted to open her eyes and see him, to memorize the moment she lost her heart to a man she barely knew, but she just couldn’t seem to get her body to cooperate. Not when the sensation of his lips against hers sent electricity through every inch of her body, taking conscious thought and rolling it under physical need. She could have fought it and answered the warning bells going off in the back of her mind, but she was tired of fighting.

Salvatore turned slightly, his lips lifting from hers for a moment, and she gasped in a breath.

He cupped her face with his hands, holding her in place as his lips skimmed over hers. As she relaxed beneath the gentle friction of his kiss, she felt the soft scrape of his teeth against her bottom lip. She pressed closer, eager for more and felt a scratch against her skin.

A mumbled apology was followed by the soft swipe of his tongue.

It wasn’t fair, she decided, and she wanted to have a taste of her own. Grabbing a hold of his collar, she pulled him closer, and rising up on her tiptoes she opened her lips over his, touching the tip of her tongue against his lip. He stilled against her, but didn’t pull away and when she felt the heat of his breath against her cheek she leaned closer and tasted his lips in a hungry kiss.

He dropped his hands to her shoulders as he leaned into her, and then wound them around her in an embrace. She felt safe and on the verge of danger, as if he held her at the edge of a cliff, with only his arms to keep her from falling, and she realized that she wanted to fall, but only if it was with him.

And then she decided she didn’t want to wait. She wanted to jump in, right at that very minute.

Natale turned, grazing the corner of his mouth with her lips, unwilling to completely let him go. “Come inside with me, Salvatore.” She felt his body shiver against her, an indrawn breath expanded his chest, nearly squeezing the breath from her body. “Don’t sleep on the couch tonight.”

* * *

She staggered him. Knocked him off balance. Made him feel like he could rule the world. The sound of her voice giving him his name shook him down to the depths of his soul.

All he wanted was to have her forever.

It was so simple and within his grasp. He could easily sweep her off her feet and carry her inside. He could lay her down beneath him and worship her body the way no other man had ever dreamed of. He couldn’t wait to taste her from head to toe, drink in her breathless moans, and take her over the edge.

His bear rose up in his thoughts, eager and ready to claim her, fangs bared and his heart pumping volumes of blood through his body giving him strength.

And flooding his mind with worry.

Natale wanted him, but she didn’t know him. Not really.

She knew the man, but she had no idea about the beast beneath the surface. Could he take her, bury himself in her, and claim her without giving her the truth?

“Natale, wait.”

She’d tugged the ends of his shirt from his slacks and flattened her palms against his skin. The heat of her hands was incredible. She made him burn from the inside out, threatening to push reason from his head. Instead of wanting to pull away, he pressed closer and felt her hands move over his chest.

A growl breached the wall of his lips, instinct to possess her rising like a flood, and he wanted to drown in her touch.

She pulled back a little and reached for the bottom of her blouse, grasping the fabric in her hands and tugging it free from her skirt. She gave him a tantalizing view of her pale belly.

He stepped closer, his hands reaching for her, but stopped just shy of her body. He wanted to feel her soft skin under his lips, to dip his tongue in her navel, to scent her skin and memorize her flavor.

But he knew he had to wait. He had to stop this until he could explain.

She didn’t let him. Her hands were at work, tugging his buttons free and pushing his shirt aside. “Salvatore,” she said his name again and he heard her sigh like a siren’s song, luring him into ruin. “I want this-”

Heaven help him, he wanted her more than his next breath, but not like this. Not when he was hiding the truth from her.

“Stop.”

He saw her brow furrow in confusion. Saw the pain that blossomed in her eyes. “I thought,” she shook herself and her hands grabbed at her blouse, tangling in the fine silk, “I thought you wanted to-”

“Natale,” he begged her with his tone to listen to him, but he could see the bare emotions on her face and knew he’d let things go too long. He’d gotten too close to giving in and he’d done more harm than good. “Please listen. I need to explain.”

“No, please,” she backed away from him, putting a patio chair between them, “not now. I don’t want to hear your excuse.”

He moved, using some of his preternatural speed to reach the door before her and he saw the shock on her face as clear as day in the darkness. The lights from inside her apartment only made her eyes shine with stark fear as she stared back at him.

Salvatore felt his heart seize at that realization. He could take anger from her. She could yell and scream at him and he would let it roll over him like the tide.

But fear and the pain of uncertainty in her eyes nearly killed him and robbed him of his desire. He knew he was a heartbeat away from ruining any chance he had with her. And if he destroyed what was left of her trust, he’d lose her in another way.

He’d never be able to protect her if she wouldn’t listen to him, if she pulled away from him when he needed to keep her safe.

Salvatore backed away from the door, retreating into the shadows of the unlit balcony. Natale only hesitated for a moment before she wrenched open the door and disappeared inside.

He didn’t move or breathe again until he heard her slam her bedroom door.