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“I know.”
“You know about Lorenzo, too?”
Declan’s face darkened. “I know you ran away from your boyfriend. My PI disclosed that he has connections with the mob. Unsavoury man, I heard.”
“He is the mob,” I bit in hotly. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
He rose from his seat and knelt before me, covering my hands with his. “I figured you’d tell me when you were ready. Don’t get upset, babe.” Declan wiped away my renegade tears. “He’s not worth you getting all worked up like this.”
“Declan. There’s something else you should know.” I untied my robe and slid it off, onto the floor. I gathered my loose hair into a tight bun and slowly turned to the side, showing Declan my back. I told him about the real Lorenzo and his fondness for knives when he was frustrated by not being able to perform sexually. Lorenzo had always been careful not to disfigure my face or places that people could easily see. But my back was a testament to his madness. He’d carved my back so many times that my skin was marred with keloids and twisting scars. Declan hadn’t found out about it because he’d never seen me completely naked—I’d kept my shirt on when we’d had our tryst in the limo.
I stopped talking when I heard no reaction. I turned to him, shocked to see tears welling in his eyes. He looked crestfallen, caught between disbelief and anger.
“This is why I don’t think we should be together. Lorenzo is an unreasonable man. I don’t want to drag you into my mess. If he ever finds me—”
“I’ll kill him. If he ever so much as lays a finger on you, I’ll kill him.” Declan touched my back, running his hand from my shoulder to the swell of my buttocks. The anguish in his face was palpable. “Jessica, I know you’ve been through a lot, but I didn’t know just how bad it was. I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve this. No woman deserves this.”
“Declan—”
He pressed a finger to my lips. “I’m not afraid of Lorenzo. Don’t ever suggest that I should back down because the shithead loves to play with knives.”
“Be reasonable. You’re young. You should find a nice girl and settle down. I’m not good for you.”
“Only I know what’s good for me, Jessica. Don’t say silly things like that.” Declan’s eyes flashed dangerously.
I clammed up. Declan was one of those men who was impossible to dissuade once he’d set his mind on something. With his background, I shouldn’t be surprised.
I enjoyed the sex and his attention. And he was great with Bobby, too. But the thought of Lorenzo and Declan meeting face to face sent abominable chills down my spine. Declan had no idea what Lorenzo was capable of.
“Listen.” Declan lowered his voice. “I brought you here so I could woo you—”
“Woo me?” I bit down my laugh.
“Court you. Seduce you. Get into your pants. I want you to know me as more than just your boss. I want you to consider that I might fit into your future.”
Him in my future? That sounded like a fairy tale.
“So why don’t we put everything else behind us? For now. I don’t want you to worry about anything else but us. It’s just you and me. Nothing else matters.”
“Okay.”
“Good girl. Get dressed and we’ll have a romantic dinner. I’ve made a special reservation.”
“You didn’t strike me as a romantic person.”
Declan looked hurt. “Come on. I’ve been scheming this plan for months. The least you could do is play along.”
“I would love to have a romantic dinner with you, Declan.”
“Excellent. Get dressed. Or do you need my help with that?”
“No!”
“You’re right.” He sounded disappointed. “If I help you get dressed, we might not get to dinner.”
Chapter Three
I felt a thousand pounds lighter as I stepped into the villa’s courtyard an hour later. A heavy weight had been lifted off my chest. I got to keep my job and it appeared I was now seeing my own boss. Bobby was having a good time and he didn’t miss me at all. Curran had treated him to Baskin-Robbins and allowed him to have as much ice cream as he wanted. Braden had taken him to a hobby shop and bought him a rocket kit. Bobby and Braden were working on a project together.
