Chapter Four
Celina sat in the spot beneath the palms, flipping the pages of Dumas’ “The Count of Monte Cristo.”
She had read the tale hundreds of times since childhood, but it never lost its magic to her and as the morning sun blazed into mid-afternoon, she suddenly realized she had been in the garden for hours, lost in the story.
Is it the revenge which gets me every time? The fact that Dantes never stopped fighting for Mercedes?
Celina couldn’t say for certain, but like all literature, she tried not to over-analyze what she was reading.
The fact that it made her feel was good enough.
In a world where I’m discouraged from having emotions, it’s nice to know I can still feel, she thought wryly, putting the book aside.
Blinking, she looked around Vizcaya, half-expecting to see someone staring at her.
She felt as if someone had been watching, but she was alone.
There was no one and for a moment, Celina felt a fission of alarm as if she was expecting the other shoe to drop.
It was eerie being alone.
Eerie good, she reminded herself, reaching for her purse which was tucked beneath the stone bench where she had situated herself.
She nodded dumbly.
Obviously, I have to get a new GPS for my phone. How the hell did he beat me here? And now he’s going to gloat. Asshole.
The novelty of the new guy was already wearing off, but she admitted she had a grudging respect for him.
He just might be… hard…to beat, she thought, giving herself a mental shake while her eyes traveled toward his crotch as she pictured him standing before her with an impressive hard-on.
A hot flush stained her cheeks.
What the hell is wrong with you? He’s someone to get away from, not invite into your bed.
Yet she couldn’t help but wonder if sleeping with him might solve her growing issue with this man.
Or at least that’s what she pretended her motives were.
In truth, she couldn’t deny that Ariano Francisco had an affect on her which was shocking and confusing.
“Celina, you’re not going to be able to shake me,” he assured her as she brushed past him angrily. “Better people than you have tried…and failed.”
“Great,” she replied, opening the door to her unlocked condo. “Now give me the key to my apartment.”
He shook his head.
“Sorry,” he replied in a tone which told her that he was not at all remorseful. “Boss insists we keep a copy on hand.”
“I suppose ‘boss’ has never heard of a locksmith,” she retorted aloud as she allowed the heavy door to fall closed behind her.
She wondered if he was going to follow her inside, her heart beginning to pound slightly at the idea.
Ariano jammed his foot in the frame but remained in the hallway, shaking his head.
“I think we both know you’ve tried that before and it doesn’t make a fucking difference.”
“Is that why you’re here, Ariano? You’re trying to show me that you have the upper hand? That you can come in to my apartment anytime?”
“Celina,” he sighed. “I really don’t want to fight with you. I just want to do my time, and then you can move on to busting someone else’s balls.”
She paused and turned to him, her cerulean eyes narrowing, her back stiffening at his phrase.
Do his time? I’m a freaking prison sentence to him, huh?
“You think I’m breaking your balls?” she asked, a smirk forming on her lips. “You have no idea.”
“That wasn’t a challenge,” he grunted, folding his arms across his chest. “Doesn’t this ever get old to you?”
For a second, she thought he was going to follow up with another sarcastic comment, but he didn’t. Almost as if he cared about her response? No, don’t be stupid, Celina. I’m just a job to him, remember?
“If you ever come in to my condo without permission again, I will have you fired,” she promised. “Get out.”
“As you wish,” he replied, his brow lowering with a sneer. “I won’t be far if you need me.”
“I won’t need you!” she snarled back.
I’ve never needed any of you, incompetent assholes.
The door closed and Celina stared at the entranceway for a moment, her mind scattered.
He only sees a selfish brat, a parolee whom he has to follow around in order to earn his stripes.
Again, a pang of wistfulness filled her and Celina was aghast by the emotion.
What the hell do you care how he feels about you? She wondered furiously, spinning to drop her purse on the computer desk overlooking Cutler Channel. His hotness is affecting your brain. Fuck Ariano and damn Papa. I’ve got work to do.
But as she sat at the desk, pulling open her laptop, she couldn’t stop thinking about the ripped abs and broad shoulders of the detail who was likely set up in her underground parking garage, waiting for her to make some irrational decision so he could bust her again.
As if I’m an unruly child, she thought angrily, flopping back against the high-back leather chair.
Celina was beginning to wonder if she had made a mistake by arranging for Ari to be her guard instead of Alex.
It was not too late to make the switch, but at what cost? It would mean Alex slobbering all over her, and she didn’t think she could stomach that.
It wasn’t as if Celina couldn’t handle the black-haired bastard, but like any other beautiful woman, she much preferred to feel secure at night, not worrying that her detail might use his key to enter her house and rifle through her underwear drawer.
No, she told herself firmly. Ariano can stay for now. I just need to handle him better than he handles me. I can’t risk him finding out what I am doing and telling Papa about my business plans.
Celina exhaled, nodding slowly.
She knew what she would need to do to keep Ariano under her thumb – and out of her hair.
She was going to have to screw him and use their relationship as blackmail. If Giovanni ever learned that Ariano had touched his precious daughter, the soldier would be as good as dead.
And that would be a shame, because he is just too fucking gorgeous. Oh well, she sighed inwardly. If I must, I must. Her pussy quivered at the thought of the big male using his skills on her body. I hope he has a big cock.