By Fate I Conquer (Sins of the Fathers #4)(25)

Greta sighed and picked up the leash. I might as well have been air for her. “Come, Bear.”

“Where are you going?” Alessio asked her.

“Taking Bear and Momo outside so they can relieve themselves. Bear will protect me, so don’t worry.” Before she headed out, her eyes slanted to me for a moment and my heart almost jumped out of my chest. I definitely wasn’t air.

“Take a piss,” Alessio said motioning toward the bathroom.

“I don’t take orders from you.”

He shrugged. “Then piss your pants.”

Maybe I could just knock him out. Dad would probably hang me by the balls if I did that. I headed into the bathroom, trying to figure out a way to get Greta alone again with all the Falcones following me around.

I leaned against the door.

“Alessio, you have to help me. Momo ran off again. I think he headed for the basement. Can you go looking for him? Dad will be angry if I go down there again,” Greta said.

“Fuck, Greta. I need to watch Vitiello.”

“Please, Alessio.”

A hard knock sounded. “If you’re done with your piss, you head straight back to the office!”

Steps rang out and then a soft voice sounded right in front of the door. “I’m outside at the pool at the back.”

I closed my eyes briefly. What was I doing? I unlocked the door but Greta was already gone. Checking my surroundings, I headed outside as I kept my hand loosely on the holster with my gun.

I knew it was a horrible idea to seek Greta out. Her family, especially her crazy brother would throw a major fit, and I was about to marry Cressida. A thousand reasons spoke against talking to her, but I couldn’t stay away. I needed to see her again, to hear her voice. I wasn’t sure what the hell was wrong with me. I’d never felt so incapable of controlling myself.

I walked around the house where a big pool landscape illuminated the night.

Greta sat cross-legged on a sunchair that someone had pulled into the shadows, away from the pool’s glow, and she was peering up at the night sky. For a few moments, I simply watched her, how the moonlight made her skin glow, how content she looked cloaked in the dark and all by herself. My heart sped up and heat flushed my body. Fuck. What. Was. I. doing?

This question kept repeating itself in my head.

I approached her slowly, making my steps heard so she didn’t startle. She peered over her shoulder and I waited for her to tense. She didn’t. Instead, she patted the place beside her. “You can sit down if you want.”

I folded myself down on the sun chair. It was too low for my long legs but I wanted to be close to Greta.

“Why are you out here alone in the dark?”

I had a feeling she would have been out here even if it weren’t for me.

“I wanted some quiet,” she said before she motioned at the stretched-out beast at her feet that was eyeing me with eerie amber eyes. “And I’m not alone.” She stretched out one leg and began to run her toes along the dog’s side. I was mesmerized by her elegant petite feet, by the way she held them as if she was about to dance some difficult ballet move, by her toe nails, which weren’t painted. I’d never met a girl who didn’t paint her nails and still Greta pulled it off. With a satisfied huff, the dog turned on its back, presenting his vulnerable belly and throat so she could pet those too. A smile pulled at Greta’s mouth as she ran her toes along the bare insides of the dog’s upper thighs. It was a male dog, no wonder he was eager to be petted by Greta.

“We don’t have long,” I murmured. Reminding her. Reminding myself because being around her it was easy to forget that we weren’t alone in this world.

“It’s better if nobody catches us.”

I couldn’t read her. She sounded almost forlorn.

“Why did you say you wanted to kiss me?” I asked the question that had been haunting me since yesterday.

Greta tilted her head to the side, watching me quietly for several seconds. “Because I like your face.”

I almost choked on laughter. “Only my face?”

Her dark eyes took in every inch of my body, slowly, meticulously, as if she really wanted to make up her mind. This girl was out of this world. “I like your body as well.”

I allowed my eyes to wander over her body like I’d never dared before. According to my reputation I was cocky and boisterous, but so far I hadn’t been suicidal enough to undress Greta Falcone with my eyes in Camorra territory. “I like your face and body as well.”

Greta’s mouth turned into a small smile but pursed in confusion when I checked our surroundings.

“Just checking if there’s a risk of getting a knife in my back.”

Greta shook her head. “Nevio wouldn’t stab you in the back. He prefers the direct approach, so does Alessio. Massimo might do it, though.”

Something shifted on the ground and the white fluffy dog let out a huff where it lay hidden at the Cane Corso’s side. “You lied to Alessio. Why?”

“I lied,” she admitted softly, guilt tinging her words. “I like how you make me feel.”

My eyes were drawn to her lips. Maybe this was our only chance. I could claim Greta’s first kiss.

She didn’t deserve this. But I wasn’t a good man.

Her eyes met mine. “Why did you lie?”