Shadow Warrior

by Feehan, Christine

  She went silent. He was used to her taking her time before her response, but he was very tuned to her and tension in her had gone up several degrees. He kept breathing. Stayed conscious of the air moving in and out of his lungs. He kept his energy low, nonthreatening. No fear. No anger. Just breathe. He kept the mantra going in his head. She had said she would stay and Grace Murphy was not the type of woman to go back on her word.

  “You lead a difficult life, Vittorio.”

  “I suppose that’s true. It’s the only one I really know, so for me it doesn’t feel difficult. Grace.” He turned her head toward him deliberately, forcing her to look at him. “I swear to you, you’ll be happy with me. I’m the same man you fell in love with. We talked, remember? I know what you like, and you know what my preferences are. We fit. You’ll be happy in my family. They’ll welcome you. Eloisa will back off. She snipes at all of us, but she’s also intensely loyal.”

  “I’m not worried about Eloisa, Vittorio. I’m worried about you.”

  He bent his head to brush a kiss across her mouth just because he detected a slight trembling of her lips. “I’m extremely good at what I do.”

  “You live life on the edge all the time. You hunt and kill criminals.”

  “I bring them to justice when no one else can.”

  “It doesn’t matter how one words it, that’s what you do. There is excitement in that. It’s high adrenaline, right?”

  He studied her face while he gave her a nod of confirmation. “Yes. It’s a rush. It takes a while for the adrenaline to recede and in the meantime, I’ll warn you now, the rush goes straight to my cock. I’m going to come home to you and want a day or two of constant sex every way I can get it. That’s a fact.”

  “So an adrenaline rush and hot sex for days after.” She turned her head straight so she was back looking at the ceiling.

  “Talk, bella. You need to voice your concerns. We promised each other.”

  “I’ve seen the things you do. Skydiving. Driving race cars. Flying planes. Climbing mountains. Sailing. It’s all there to read about over and over in the tabloids and magazines. I’ve read them all, every story about you, and I looked at the pictures. The proof those articles weren’t made up. You really do all those adrenaline-junkie sports.”

  “I do.”

  “I don’t.”

  “You didn’t,” he corrected. “You will.”

  “I wouldn’t know how. I’d be terrified. I’m a boring person, Vittorio, and within a month, you’ll be bored out of your mind.”

  “That’s been your hesitation all along, hasn’t it?” He rubbed her belly, those muscles flowing like silk under her skin.

  “You have to admit, it’s a genuine reason to be concerned.”

  “You already agreed to try the things I want in the bedroom. Some of those things are bound to scare you, but you’ll trust me to make things good for you, right?”

  “That’s different.”

  “Trust is trust, Grace. If you trust me to take care of your body when we have sex, it isn’t a leap that you’ll trust me to take care of you inside the house, right? You’re already doing it.”

  She nodded warily, sensing a trap.

  “Then it won’t be a huge leap if you trust me to take care of you outside the house. I want you to learn to fly a plane. To climb a mountain. To scuba dive. I want to share my world with you, all of it. You have to trust that I’m going to go slow and careful with you, introduce you to things I know you’ll love.”

  Vittorio rolled over top of her to blanket her body. He framed her face with both hands, so he could look into her eyes. “You’re my world. You. You’re my life. Do you really believe for one minute that I would put you into a dangerous situation I couldn’t control? You would be trained properly before you were ever allowed to try anything. I would always be with you. I wouldn’t chance losing you. I want us to share adventures together. You learn to trust me all the way, Grace, so you know you’re always going to be safe with me. Can you do that for me?”

  Her eyes moved over his face. She swallowed. Hard. His heart clenched in reaction. His woman. She was going to give him this. To please him. Because he was hers to take care of and she knew he needed her trust more than anything. Trust was intertwined with love. The more he felt her faith and belief in him, the more he knew she loved him.

  She nodded very slowly. “I’ll try whatever you want me to, because I know it will please you and that’s important to me.”

  He kissed her gently. “Thank you, Grace,” he murmured when he finally lifted his head. She’d kissed him back without hesitation, although she breathed shallowly and he knew he had to shift his weight off of her.

  “I’m very tired, Vittorio. I need to go to bed. I have the feeling I’m going to need a lot of sleep to keep up with you.”

  He felt the rush of happiness and let himself feel it. Happiness hadn’t been in his life. He enjoyed his family, but he hadn’t felt complete. Whole. And he hadn’t been happy.

  “I’ll get you cleaned up, gattina, and then carry you to bed.” He loved performing that little ritual after sex for her and he knew the more he did it, the more it would become normal for her. He kissed her again and got to his feet.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Vittorio got the alert from Stefano as he came out of the physical therapy room, Grace tight against his body. They’d planned to go swimming together, something the doctor said would be very good for her shoulder and she was already addicted to doing. Midnight Madness was coming up fast and she was pushing herself in order to be in the best shape she could in order to pull off the event successfully.

  “What is it?” Grace asked, looking up at him from under her veil of long lashes.

  He tightened his arm around her, locking her to him. “My brother. The family is on their way for another quick meeting.” That was the truth, but not all of it. He wasn’t certain how much he should tell her. She’d accepted what his family did, she’d even accepted that he was a shadow rider, but talking about being an assassin—whether it was for justice or not—and actually carrying out the order were two very different things.

  She continued to look up at him as they walked down the hall toward her room. “This is about Haydon, isn’t it?”

  “I don’t know for certain.” That much was true, but he had a gut feeling and his feelings, so far, had never been wrong. “Most likely,” he conceded. “I’ll tell you when I find out.”

  Once in her room, he closed the door and turned to frame her face. “It’s almost over, Grace. We’re going to get him, and his reign of terror will be over. You can live free.”

  Her green gaze moved over his face for what seemed like forever. He found himself holding his breath. She reached up with her injured arm, her fingers brushing his five-o’clock shadow, sending fingers of desire dancing down his spine as if that intimate touch could be felt all over his body.

  “I’m already living free, Vittorio. You gave that to me. I breathe easy when I’m here. I feel safe when I’m with you. I know he’s out there, but the longer I’m with you, the more I believe I’m safe and I feel it.”

  He wrapped his arms around her and brought her in tight against his body. “I’m having your clothes moved to the master bedroom today. Merry’s arranged for three women we trust to come in and make the move for us.”

  Alarm turned her eyes a dark emerald. “Wait.” One hand went defensively to her throat.

  He smiled down at her. “I’ve been sleeping in your bed for a while now, gattina. Why would you object?”

  The tip of her tongue moistened her lips. “It’s my space.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “Are you thinking that if you’re annoyed with me you could just kick me out of the bedroom?” Vittorio never took his gaze from hers. His beautiful woman. She lit up his world.

  “Well,” she hedged. Her nod of assent was slow. “I did have that in mind, yes.”

  “Bella, you’re priceless.” Laughter wel
led up and he didn’t try to stop it. Happiness was something he wasn’t used to, and it felt good to just bask in it. She was going to be the best mother, the best partner. She would give their children a happy childhood filled with laughter and fun.

  She glared at him. “It isn’t funny that I need the room to be mine, so I can kick you out of it.” She took a step away from him to look around at the large space.

  “What’s funny is just how you think you’re going to get me to leave. I’m twice your size. Size does count in these situations,” he was compelled to point out.

  She gave him her snippiest look. “I will ask you to be a gentleman and leave.”

  “Gattina.” His voice was very gentle. “We talked about what kind of man I am. There will be no throwing me out of the bedroom. If you’re upset, we will talk it out. I think this is about you having your own space, not your own bedroom. You don’t mind me being with you at night, sleeping the way we do.”

  His body was always tightly around hers, so much so that there was no getting a thin piece of paper between them. He liked it that way. He wanted to feel every inch of her soft skin. He enjoyed being able to stroke caresses over her breasts, or feed there, his mouth hungry for her, his fingers curling into her to feel her waiting reception. He loved waking up to her mouth on his cock and the feel of her hair sliding over his thighs. He wasn’t giving that up.

  He wasn’t going to get into the fact that if he was in that room with her, aside from his need to spend as much time with his woman as possible, he knew he could protect her. Should Haydon find a way to penetrate his security, he would still be there to keep the man from getting to Grace. It was important for that alone that they stay in the same bedroom.

  She wrapped her hand around the bedpost. “I think that’s partially right. I do want to sleep with you at night and yet at the same time, I like knowing I have my own place.”

  He heard reluctance to take the conversation any further. “I’ve had a room fixed up for you. You clearly need an office here at the house. It has a private bath as well as a sitting room. Having your own office will allow you and Katie to have privacy when you need to discuss details of upcoming events. The phone and Internet systems are fast and reliable. And don’t worry, I didn’t have it painted some bizarre color. I should have clarified, I had the phone system installed but the rest is up to you. I thought you might have fun designing exactly the way you want the interior to look.”

  She practically beamed at him. “I’ve always wanted an office. It will make things so much easier, and knowing Haydon can’t get in and look at anything I’ve put together about clients and vendors will be such a relief. Thank you for thinking of that.”

  He loved making her happy. He’d have ten offices built on the property if he could get that particular smile from her. Still, there was something bothering her she didn’t want to tell him, and he couldn’t have that. He needed to know when she was upset over something.

  “I want to know why you’re reluctant to share the master bedroom with me.” He made it a statement. “Tell me, Grace.” He made that an order.

  She made a small face at him. “It shifts the balance of power to you.” She made the confession in a little rush. “Everything about that room screams you. I think you can fit two of my rooms into it, and this room is enormous. The colors are all you and sort of . . . intimidating. The bed looks as if you might really be able to tie me to it, although I looked through the entire house and didn’t see any kind of dungeon, so hopefully I’m perfectly safe.” She ended on a nervous laugh.

  He stepped close, forcing her to look up. One finger went under her chin so that she had to look him directly in the eye. “Just so you know, you’re never going to be perfectly safe from anything sexual I demand. Tying you up or not is my option no matter where we are.” He brushed a kiss across her lips, smiling as he did so because her eyes had widened and looked slightly shocked yet filled with a dark lust and clear anticipation. “It doesn’t matter what room we’re in. I want you in the master bedroom with me. Always. We’re moving you today.” He waited. Watching her expression.

  She nodded slowly. “I’d better start before I get my swimsuit and go swimming.”

  “First, you aren’t lifting a finger. I’ve instructed the movers to begin immediately as soon as we’re out of here. Secondly, there’s no swimming until I can go with you. I’m not taking chances that something might happen while you’re in the water.”

  A storm of protest crossed her face and her eyes turned ominously dark. “First, nothing at all is going to happen when I’m doing laps. I’m swimming slowly, just like the doc ordered. I don’t need a babysitter in the pool. Before I came, did you swim alone in your pool?”

  Her chin had gone up and he couldn’t help himself, he leaned into her and bit down gently until she yelped at the pressure. “It doesn’t matter what I did or didn’t do, gattina. It only matters what I want for you and above all, that’s your safety. You’re not swimming alone. That’s a rule I expect you won’t break.”

  She looked positively mutinous. He wrapped his arm around her waist and brought her in tight against him, locking her there. His mouth came down hard on hers. He was rough, indulging himself, kissing her until she couldn’t breathe. Until he couldn’t. Until he was certain air wasn’t strictly necessary. He loved kissing her.

  Somewhere along the line, he’d become addicted to her taste—to the fire roaring in his belly the moment his mouth was on hers—to the flames pouring like a liquid inferno through his veins when he was kissing her. His woman, kissing him back, was a miracle. She felt like a living flame in his arms. He got lost there, swept up in the magic that was Grace.

  He lifted his head reluctantly when his watch vibrated, letting him know his family was arriving. They had all agreed to travel to his home using the shadows, so Haydon had no idea where any of them were, other than Giovanni, who had no choice but to arrive in a car. Mariko used the shadows to get to the hotel, so she could stay with Francesca. His family always met in the same conference room overlooking the herb garden. The garden was closed in with fences. Ropes of wisteria in purples and whites rose up from every inch of fencing to further hide the room with its glass wall from the outside world.

  “I would like you to sit outside on the patio and contemplate the perfect wedding for us. What is your dream wedding? Have you already pictured it in your head? Do you know what you want? Now would be a good time to write down the details.”

  He turned her toward the door. Her face paled as she looked up at him. He kept them walking right out into the hallway. The matter with his family had to be urgent for everyone to be told to arrive immediately.

  “You’re going too fast, Vittorio. You need to slow down. We’re just beginning to know each other. We can’t get married so soon.”

  She sounded breathless. Shocked. Scared. He chose to address the scared. “Grace, you have to get used to trusting me. You’re wearing my ring on your finger. You’ve made your promise. We’ve lived together for a couple of months now. A little more. You know you’re in love with me and you know that I love you. I am not going to wait to marry you. There’s no reason not to do it as soon as we can. Haydon Phillips aside, and we’re going to find him and remove him from your life, what reason is there to wait?”

  “Haydon is a huge reason, Vittorio. We absolutely can’t have a wedding ceremony until after he’s in custody or dead. Seriously. You have no idea how dangerous or how sick he is.”

  “I do know. I made it my business to know. I’ve read every report that’s been prepared on every single death you suspected he was involved with. I’ve studied the reports. I know more about him at this point than he knows about himself. My investigators have put together timelines and traced his travels, using the pictures on your phone. They can place him right at the murder scene of three of the victims at the same time the victims were killed. Somewhere along the line, a year or so ago, he began messing with the camera, making it ha
rder to trace him.”

  “He probably figured out that his whereabouts could be traced using the photographs. He’s like that. He doesn’t need a formal education. He was always smart, he just didn’t want anyone, including teachers, telling him what to do.”

  He slid his palm down her arm to take her hand. “Let’s go. The sooner we get this over, the sooner we can swim.” He led her outside. “Merry will bring you refreshments. The three women will move your things to the master bedroom. All you have to do is plan your perfect dream wedding.”

  Merry had already, at his texted instructions, brought a pitcher of strawberry lemonade, a bucket of ice and a tall glass. Beside it was Grace’s iPad with the planner program on it. She slipped into the chair without arguing further with him.

  “I shouldn’t be long.” Vittorio kissed her again, taking his time. He could hurry everything else in his life, but he was never going to make the mistake of hurrying his time with Grace. She was too important, and everything else could take a back seat. His watch vibrated impatiently, telling him his older brother was ready for him, but he ignored the summons.

  The third time, he lifted his head. “I love you very much, Grace Murphy.” His thumb slid over the little indentation in her chin. “Marry me soon.”

  She nodded slowly, looking a little bemused. “I will, but just know you’re cheating by kissing me. I can’t think straight.”

  He was having a little trouble himself. Mostly, his body was making urgent demands, which circumstances forced him to ignore. His watch vibrated again and this time he imagined it trying to shake his entire arm. Giovanni must have arrived. He’d been so into kissing his woman, he’d ignored the car.

  “You’re the expert, bella. Plan us a spectacular day. I never thought I’d look forward to my wedding, so give us both our dream day.”

  “Men aren’t usually especially thrilled for a wedding that’s considered spectacular by a woman.”

  He loved the amusement in her voice so much that he brushed kisses across her eyelids. “This man does.” Anything for his woman. He wanted “spectacular” for her. “Emilio and Enzo are close and while I’m in the meeting, their sister, Enrica, is here if you need anything.”