Diavolo

xix

PRESLEY

"Excuse me!" I slowly blinked, willing my eyes and mind to work in the same manner portraying the gorgeous man standing between my legs. Gazing at me with that look.

The one I never got a chance to see with all my last boyfriend; the look I knew all too well from Octavius and a glimpse of it crossed his face. "Are you fucking crazy?"

His gaze darkened, glimmering olive-green eyes softened as he bent down to capture my mouth. "Marry me."

"No!" I held his face in my hand, my pink nails digging into the side of his cheek and pushed his handsome face away with a slight roughness. "Hell the fuck no."

I couldn't hear any of this bullshit anymore. I was obviously way in over my head with this man and I'd already given him an inch and now he was asking for a damn mile. Marriage. Marriage my ass.

I made a move to jump off the counter and this time, I shot daggers into the side of his head, silently warning him to let me down and he did exactly that.

With a resigned sigh, he stood to the side and watched as I struggled hopping off the high counter.

A heartbeat passed before he shook his head with lingering amusement and placed those large two hands on the side of my hip to help me down.

I'd seen various tattoos before but I couldn't help but admit that there was something strangely attractive about the tattoos carved down his arm meant to attempt to cover up the burns but never actually touching the scars.

They surrounded the curves of it like the tips of a sparkling fire left to sizzle.

"What are you doing?" I asked facing him. He was staring at me with an unreadable expression, dark brows pulled tightly in a way which made me want to smooth the line with my fingers. "What is this?"

"A solution."

I was blow back a little by his statement, so effortlessly smooth and unfazed in comparison to the burning wildfires inside my body at the utter mention of marriage.

"A solution?" I repeated, and he nodded curtly. Crossing those large arms against his chest. "Okay so you want me to marry you because you think it'll get rid of whoever is following me?"

His gaze burned into mine. "A little unorthodox but I believe so."

I couldn't help but let out a soft laugh, shaking my head to myself as I buried my face into my palm.

He had to be fucking crazy, this was the only explanation for suggesting to marry a man who'd supposedly hated me before he wanted to fuck me.

"Presley." He murmured in a soft voice, coming around and behind me to slide a hand around my waist. I made a move to flee but he held me in the position, stroking down my arms.

I hated the fact that in such little time, he'd managed to know the inner workings of my body and the ways to calm me down.

"Think about it first. It would help me protect you better and if you're engaged or married to someone else, I'm hoping it'll keep him away since you're not attainable. Or it'll cause him to face you."

I breathed in a deep breath inhaling the smell of his cologne and a little bit of the sanity this man had stole from the minute he pressed those sinful lips to mine. Yeah, this needed to stop.