Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 126060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
We’ll have to come up with ways to ensure your safety, he added on their intimate path.
Amara nodded. “I had safety features built into my changing room at both studios where I teach and work.”
“Those aren’t going to be enough,” Geno said. He sounded in charge. Implacable. She needed to know who he was.
An electrical current ran along his nerve endings. Sparks snapped and zapped, shocking his cells, coming far too close to certain parts of his anatomy.
She looked serene, but the woman had bit of a temper. Maybe more than a bit. He struggled to keep a straight face.
“You haven’t tested my safety features. You haven’t even looked at them.”
“You’re right, la mia danzatrice ombra, but I prefer to have every advantage when it comes to your safety. Stefano knows me very well when he says I wouldn’t be much of a gentleman when I retaliated against anyone who managed to harm you.”
“Is that what I said?” Stefano asked. “I meant to tell her you’d turn into a demon.”
“Perhaps it would be best to keep that information private and not put Mr. Archambault on the spot when he has to make a report to the council,” Amaranthe suggested.
Elie coughed into his fist. “I’ve been friends with Geno quite a long time now, Amara. I’ve sent my report to Jean-Claude and have no more to do with him or the council. My loyalties are strictly with the Ferraro family. I’ve lived here many years now and regard them as my family. Stefano’s only telling you the truth.”
“We’ll work out the details together, Amara,” Geno said, doing his best to find a gentler tone. He wasn’t certain he had one. “You most likely have more ideas than we do. You’ve been at this longer than we have.”
He wasn’t going to concede when it came to her safety, but he recognized that she was extremely skilled, and that was who she saw herself as. She might look delicate and feminine. She danced with passion and sensuality, but the person she was inside was all warrior.
She studied tactics all the time. The intelligences she read were reports riders turned in to the Archambaults. She trained daily using programmed robotic opponents to ensure she continued to increase her speed. Her mind fascinated him. She solved puzzles at a fast rate of speed. Her predatory nature was hidden under her delicate beauty, but she was a hunter, every bit as lethal as he was.
Amaranthe sent him a small appreciative smile, clearly reading his opinion of her.
“When are your brothers returning home?” Stefano asked.
“In another week. They weren’t happy I sent them away,” Geno admitted.
“Have you already placed the announcement of your engagement in the society pages?”
“I sent it in early this morning,” Geno admitted, a trace of amusement in his mind.
The smile faded from Amaranthe’s face. “You did what? You didn’t even consult with me first. We’re just now discussing it.”
“Do I look like the kind of man a beautiful woman with brains is going to say yes to when I ask her to marry me?” Geno raised an eyebrow. “Especially one who dances like an angel and kicks ass like the devil.”
Elie burst out laughing. Stefano shook his head and regarded Amaranthe over the top of his steepled fingers. “Just remember the plan.”
“He could have waited.” She narrowed her eyes at Geno. “You could have discussed it with me first. That would have been the polite thing to do.”
“I’m not considered polite, and you would have argued with me. In the end we would have been engaged anyway, so I just saved us a lot of time.”
“We should go out a few times first and let people see us together. It’s more believable that way.”
Geno gave her his stone face. No one argued with his stone face. “You’re staying here, where I know you’ll be safe. We already established that rule, so it’s a moot point about being seen together as if we were dating.”
“Do you know what a partnership is? Partnership involves discussions.”
“I’ll have to look that up.”
Her laughter was soft in his mind, stroking very unexpectedly like a caress along his nerve endings. She might have that hot little temper, but she had a sense of humor as well. He appreciated that trait in her. There was so much to her.
“So, your engagement will be announced. Did you call your brothers?” Stefano persisted.
“Yes. They wanted to come back immediately, but I told them to stick to the plan. I need another week.”
Stefano nodded. “Tomorrow night we can take Amaranthe to the restaurant. Elie and I’ll go with you. I’ll have a few of my brothers come, but I don’t want Francesca here until it’s safe.”
“Brielle has the instincts of a rider,” Elie explained. “The moment anyone’s in danger, she reacts like a rider, not an investigator. I’ve come too close to losing her, so I think I’ll ask her to keep watch over Sasha, Giovanni’s wife, and Francesca this time around. I don’t like being away from her for very long, but she’ll understand.”