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)
“Stefano, when Geno is better, will you please talk to him and make him understand he can’t keep doing this? This is the second time now.”
Stefano arched an eyebrow at her. He knew perfectly well what she meant. He had that look, the one that could make her temper boil over. She had one. A hot one. She always kept it under control, but men looking superior tended to set it off. Stefano had that look down to perfection.
Amaranthe let her breath out slowly. The only person in the world Geno might listen to was Stefano. She needed to stay in his good graces. Rumor had it that his wife was the sweetest woman on the face of the earth and would never defy him. Maybe she really wasn’t cut out to be Geno’s wife. Her heart stuttered. Clenched hard. She’d made up her mind that they fit. She belonged with him. She knew she was so much better with him—and he was so much better with her.
She took another breath. Let it out. “He keeps putting his life in jeopardy, Stefano. He risks himself all the time.” Her throat closed, making it nearly impossible to breathe. “He’s so careless with his own life.” Tears burned behind her eyes, something no elite rider would ever do in front of Stefano Ferraro.
She looked down at Geno’s face. His eyes were closed again, those dark lashes standing out starkly against his skin. Even unconscious he looked tough. She leaned down to whisper in his ear. “You aren’t invincible, Geno. You can die just like anyone else. You have to stop throwing your life away.”
She couldn’t look at Stefano even though she spoke to him. “I think a part of him wants to die. Or at least he doesn’t care if he does.” To her horror she couldn’t keep the anguish out of her voice. Stefano had to hear it. She was making a first-class fool of herself.
“Amaranthe.”
Stefano’s voice was gentle. That only made the tears burn closer.
“Look at me, sweetheart.”
That was a command. No one disobeyed Stefano. He might sound gentle and caring, but he was definitely making a demand. She swallowed hard and lifted her chin, steadied herself and then raised her lashes to meet those dark blue eyes.
“Geno would never leave this world willingly now that he’s found you, but he will protect you with his life just as I would protect Francesca. That’s who he is, Amara. Fundamentally. At the very core of his being. Nothing I say or do will ever stop him, nor would I want to. He’ll protect his family as I protect mine. He’ll always put you first. You would have died if that blade had sliced into you.”
She couldn’t deny the truth of that. Pressing her fingertips to her throbbing temples, she just shook her head. “I can’t watch him do this to himself over and over.”
“Yes, you can. You’re strong. That’s why you’re his perfect partner. That’s why he fell so fast and completely for you. He needs a strong woman. Someone who can and will stand up to him. Geno doesn’t fuck around when it comes to his emotions, Amara. You’re it for him. I’m not going to pretend I wasn’t worried about him before. I knew he was reckless and didn’t give a damn whether he lived or died. We were all watching him closely. He didn’t feel he had much to live for. But the moment he met you, all that changed.”
The car pulled up to the private entrance of the hotel. Amaranthe could see that several of Geno’s cousins and bodyguards were blocking the area around the sidewalk and door, so the men had a clear path to carry Geno from the car to the private elevator. She slipped from the car, wishing she believed the things Stefano said were true. Since Geno had met her, he’d nearly died twice.
The doors to the elevator closed noiselessly, and the car took them swiftly up to the tenth floor, where the doctor waited for them. Amaranthe trailed after the men as they hurried with their burden to place him gently on the waiting bed. Two nurses immediately went to work, finding veins, placing IVs, taking blood pressure, quietly reporting results to the doctor, who was already bending over Geno to examine him.
Stefano nodded toward the door, and Geno’s cousins reluctantly left the room. His brothers ignored the order or just didn’t believe Stefano meant them. Amaranthe refused to believe it, either. She stayed stubbornly close. Stefano took her wrist, his fingers a firm shackle, gentle but unbreakable.
“Let’s go sit over here, Amara.” He indicated the chairs she had barely registered as they’d entered the room.
She went with him because he gave her no choice, and she didn’t want to make a fuss while the doctor worked on Geno. Salvatore and Lucca remained close, standing up against the wall, but where they could see their brother and everything being done for him. She envied them.