your shirt?” I breathed out.
“On the floor. Wet.” He smirked.
“I meant Darien's. That shirt. Not yours. I know yours is wet.”
Oh God, he was hot.
This was wrong.
“On the chair. I need to dry off before I put it on.”
Sure you do. I swallowed hard and took a step back. That didn't help, because all it did was put his whole body in my line of view, and Jesus fucking Christ, it was one hell of a body.
All perfectly chiseled muscle, from the sharply defined abs that ran down the center of his stomach, to the teasing lines that swept above his hips beneath the waistband of the jeans. And right between those lines of sex god muscle, just peeking over the button of his pants, was a black tattoo. I couldn't make it out fully, but it looked like some kind of mythical creature.
I forced myself to look up at his face. I failed. Miserably. My eyes fell on his right arm and the ink tattooed onto his bicep. I'd never been able to see it fully before, but it was an angel, kneeling, her wings spread out behind her. My fingers itched to reach forward and trace the feathers that made up her wings.
It seemed out of character for him, but yet... fittingly perfect. Killer, assassin... Angel of death.
Was that what it signified? That he was the angelo della morte?
“Are you done staring at me yet?”
My eyes snapped upwards and locked onto his. “Screw you.” Mature, Adriana. Nice.
He chuckled quietly. “The option is there, Principessa.”
That pissed me off. “Listen here, stronzo.” I jabbed my finger against his solid chest. Asshole. “We're not kids anymore. We're not goddamn soulmates. We're not even friends. We're strangers, Hunter, and you're a prize fucking prick.” I took a step closer to him and tilted my head back to hold out gaze. “I don't give a fuck if you're here on my father's orders. Remember who has the Romano blood. Remember who you belong to.”
The amusement disappeared from his eyes, and they went cold. Chills cascaded across my skin from the iciness of his gaze, but inside, a fire roared. His flip-flopping attitude from killer to friend to suggestive piece of shit pissed me the hell off. I wasn't going to take it, no matter how attracted to him I was.
“Who I belong to?” he said in a deathly low voice that was almost threatening. “Is that you, Adriana?”
“Funny, isn't it?” I responded in the same tone. “I'm Princess when you're cocky, but Adriana when I call you out. Your respect needs some goddamn work, Rosso.”
No sooner had I turned away than he'd grabbed my upper arm and had me pinned against the wall. His body was hot despite his cold, steel gaze, and he held me in place. I couldn't move, and it wasn't for a lack of trying. He was simply too strong with his hands wrapped around my arms and one of his legs between mine.
“My respect?” He dipped his head down so his warm breath skated over my lips. “My respect? How about your own, Adriana? You're pretty fucking short on it yourself. Just because I won't kill you doesn't mean I can't. I could put my hands around your neck right now and you'd be dead in five minutes.”
Defiance flared through my veins. “So fucking do it.”
He laughed, each sound as cold as the soul I was sure he didn't have. “I already told you won't.” He let go of my arms and moved backward. “You might be princess, but you're not fucking queen yet.”
I wanted to laugh in his face, but I couldn't. My mother was dead. The queen was dead. That meant one thing—her crown was mine, whether his punk ass liked it or not. Instead of reacting, I acted.
My arm shot out, my hand connecting with his cheek. The sharp slap rung out through the room, echoing off the walls and the ceiling, bouncing back and forth until all it rang in my ears.
Hunter clenched his jaw and a raised a fist to his cheek. His knuckles brushed across it, and for the first time, the tiniest pinch of fear flickered in the pit of my belly. But I didn't move. I stood my ground.
He deserved it. He deserved more.
Then, like a predator waiting to strike, he pounced on me.
His solid body collided with mine against the wall. He grabbed my thighs and lifted me, sliding one leg between mine, and his mouth found mine. I