Page 33 of Captivated

She felt his refusal before he could even say it.

Rejection swept hard against the current of her lust.

Liliana blinked, and then took a step back. “Sorry, I guess I thought—”

“Hey, don’t do that,” Joe said, coming closer again.

“No, it’s fine. I suppose this was fine, but anything else probably isn’t your style, huh?”

Joe frowned. “You don’t know that.”

She knew enough about men like him to make an accurate assumption, as far as that went. And really, if he was going to reject her, she would much rather save some of her pride in the process.

Liliana waved a hand, and took another step back. Grabbing her bag from the spot where she’d set it down on the couch when she first entered, she slung it over her shoulder. “No, it’s fine, Joe. I should really get back to my sister. Thanks for helping me today—I appreciate it.”

“Liliana, just wait a damn—”

“See you around, Joe,” she said at the door, not bothering to even give him the chance to say more, or make some lame excuse for all of this, “or maybe not.”

FIVE

JOE STUFFED HIS hands in his pockets, and kept his head down as he walked on the Upper Manhattan sidewalk. In his leather jacket, and dark-wash jeans, he could have been any damn New Yorker taking a stroll. The baseball cap added in keeping his face covered, though he probably didn’t need it.

He was being precautious today. Probably a little extra, really. He figured it was better to be extra safe than ruin the Marcellos plans before they could properly get started—even if he didn’t know what those damn plans were for the time being. His entire job in New York was to stay out of sight, and live up to his namesake as the Shadow.

Joe could do that.

It was what he did best.

Joe had gotten a call earlier that Liliana would be staying late at the ballet company, and then heading to a dinner later to celebrate the upcoming show she had a major part in. Given her sister and cousin were going to be attending the dinner along with their mothers, there would be more than enough enforcers watching over them that Joe wouldn’t be needed.

Which was fine.

Sort of.

After the week before in his hotel room, Joe was still trying to figure out a way to step in on Liliana without her realizing he was the one watching her, and also apologize. He hadn’t meant to act like an ass, or offend her.

There were just things about them that was out of his control. Like the fact he was hired to do a job—one she didn’t know about, and then on top of that, had gotten guarding her added on top of the list.

Joe suspected that despite being the daughter of a Cosa Nostra underboss, Liliana probably was not all too familiar with the underlying rules that suffocated and surrounded the made men in the life. Things like women and daughters and dating were not something a man like Joe could just jump in to without some sort of preparation.

But Christ …

He wanted to.

More than anything, he found that he had wanted to say yes to her. To figure out some way to give her the date she asked for without showing them off to the public, so he could keep his cover like he had been told to do.

Surely, he could make it work.

Except he couldn’t …

He hadn’t said yes because respect came first in this life—it was the very first and last thing he had been taught before he was made. Sure, he liked to push the boundaries occasionally, but not so much that it might cause more tensions between the Marcello family and the Chicago Outfit.

Joe wasn’t that stupid.

He couldn’t explain all of that to Liliana, though. If she didn’t already know, then maybe someone hadn’t meant for her to. It did seem like her family gave her a little more leeway and freedom than most principessas.

That wasn’t a bad thing, either.