Dark Saint [Romano Brotherhood, #1]

20 | Santo

"Are you sure Nina is okay with this?"

I'm beginning to regret my promise to include Nico in things. He asks too many damn questions, and he's had a nervous look on his face since he heard of my plans for tonight. In a twisted way, it pleases me that he's worrying about her. I can't think of her without feeling like I have a ticking time bomb nestled beneath my skin.

She's never had anyone to protect her. I don't know how her brightness hasn't been dulled by the people in her life who have hurt her. The men. Her uncle, father, and brother.

Me.

A growl sticks in the back of my throat, and Nico widens his eyes, choosing to stay quiet. Smart kid. Now I'm thinking about things I've been trying not to think about.

Just forty-five more minutes. Forty-five minutes that I have to remain put together and be someone who makes sense. 

Nina took herself to bed an hour ago, completely unaware of my plans for the night. Her body curled beneath the sheets in a way that makes me want to trail my hands up the line of her hips, touch her not with the intent of making her feel good but maybe just because.

Maybe, somehow, to make her feel... safe. 

That can't be how that fucking works. But then again, what do I know? All I know are the nonsensical desires that have been clamoring at the back of my mind. 

Things I've never cared to do with a woman before. Things I would have laughed at before. I have never craved a woman's touch like I crave hers. Her lips on mine, my neck, wherever she wants to put them. Her small hands clutching my arm like I'm the one she wants when she's hurting. Her shoulder brushing my bicep as we're running and she's stumbling into my side a bit, off balance from sneaking peaks at me that she thinks I don't see.

Cazzo. This ridiculous woman has me dreaming about simple, mundane things like they're the most erotic acts that could be shared between two people. Now that I've tasted her, it's clear one kiss with her is more erotic to me than sex with another woman. And what the fuck is that? Once I get her out of my system, I'm sure I'll go back to normal. I'm sure I'll be able to enjoy the company of other women again.

Right now? That's not in the cards for me. It took a slightly embarrassing incident with a prostitute, in which things still weren't happening after several minutes for me to really consider what the fuck was going on in my head. That kind of thing will really make a man sit down and think. Fucking hard. 

Because even buried in another woman, I only thought of her. Then I thought about how the woman beneath me wasn't her, and that was kind of a vibe killer. 

Nico decides I'm not a good conversationalist at the moment and moves away, sending me a cautious glance that just makes me want to hit something.

Thirty-nine minutes.

I'm standing impatiently by the door by the time the loud rumble of the helicopter seeps through the walls of the house. Footsteps pound on the stairs, and Simo is by my side in seconds. Nico and Tommaso stand in front of us, serious expressions on their faces.

"If anything—"

"I know. If anything happens to her, you'll skin me alive. She'll be safe," Tommaso interrupts with an eye roll. "Sleeping Beauty up there won't even wake up until you're back."

"Are you going to tell her?"

We all look at Nico, the echo of his soft-spoken question hanging in the air. He bites his lip nervously but meets my gaze steadily. Unexpected warmth presses on my chest cavity, and I work to not let it show on my face.