Steps thundered down the stairs. I assumed this was Sofia, Anna抯 sidekick and Samuel抯 sister.
She rushed into the room, and I did a double-take when I saw her. She was dressed in a skimpy white bikini and was displaying womanly curves. How old was she?
Seventeen. Fuck. I always forgot that Anna would be seventeen soon as well. I still saw her as the annoying kid.
Five fucking years and no end in sight. As long as she wasn抰 married, I was bound as her bodyguard. I really hoped Cliffy had his own security team once those two closed their doomed bond.
揟hat bikini looks hot on you. Good choice,?Anna said when she pulled out of Sofia抯 embrace.
Leonas nodded, leaning back against the sofa with a shit-eating grin. 揧ep, you look like a hot piece of ass.?
揝hut it,?I growled even if the little shit had spoken the truth.
Samuel walked over to Leonas and hit the back of his head. 揥atch it. You抮e not Capo yet, so we can still kick your scrawny ass until your balls shrivel to the size of raisins.?
揂s if they were ever bigger than that,?Anna muttered, giving Leonas a smug smile.
As if she抎 ever seen anyone抯 balls. 揑 don抰 care if you two torture each other. The only thing I care about is that you抣l return to Chicago more or less alive and that you don抰 get on my fucking nerves.?
揙ur other bodyguards don抰 say fuck because our mother hates the word,?Leonas said.
I was close to exploding. 揊ile an official report and see if I give a fuck.?I turned to Samuel and Carlo. 揑抦 heading to the guardhouse. I trust you to keep them alive.?
I didn抰 return to the lodge until dinner, which was surprisingly pleasant thanks to the fact that Anna was busy talking to Sofia and Emma, and couldn抰 be bothered pissing me off. That, and the fact that I didn抰 trust the other guards to do a good job watching all of the teenagers alone, was why I joined them afterward as everyone settled around the fire pit. Unfortunately, Anna sat across from me and her gaze promised trouble.
揑 want to take a dip,?Leonas said with a grin I knew too well. That boy was the spitting image of Dante but his troublemaking ways were a far cry from my Capo抯 poised attitude. When I抎 agreed to becoming Anna抯 bodyguard, I hadn抰 taken into consideration that her equally annoying brother would be part of the deal as well.
Samuel gave me a look before he turned to Leonas. 揝ounds good. Maybe a creature of the lake will devour you.?
Anna met my gaze in challenge. 揥e could go skinny-dipping.?
I almost said go ahead. She抎 probably get a heart-attack seeing all that nakedness with her virtuous eyes, but so far I抎 avoided seeing her in any state of undress and I wanted to keep it that way. I finished my beer. 揅lothes stay on, and you two won抰 behave like bickering toddlers.?
揑抦 not a kid, Sonny,?Anna muttered.
I wished my father hadn抰 called me Sonny by accident around her. She抎 never stop annoying me with the hated nickname.
Leonas got up from his chair and undressed to his boxer shorts. 揑抦 going. You keep on chit-chatting.?
He ran down the path to the lower deck and catapulted himself into the black water with an ass-bomb.
Samuel followed shortly after.
Anna was still watching me with a daring smile. She didn抰 take her eyes off me when she got up and began to unbutton the summer dress she was wearing. I leaned back, trying to keep my expression cool. She wanted to get a reaction out of me. If she thought her little striptease would get a rise out of me, she was mistaken. The last button popped open and she parted her dress only to let it glide down her shoulders slowly. I simply stared back at her face. I wasn抰 a teenage boy who抎 blush and snicker because I saw her in her underwear. Sure, she looked like a woman, a good-looking woman, but it took more than that to get a reaction from me.
Her eyes flashed with anger at my lack of reaction before she dashed toward the lake and dove in.
Shaking my head, I got up and tugged my shirt out of my jeans. 揑抣l ask for a fucking pay raise once I抦 back in Chicago.?
Emma giggled as if she thought it was a goddamn joke. Did my face look like I was fucking joking?
Ignoring her and Danilo, I stalked down to the lower deck, following Anna抯 and Leonas抯 laughter.
I jumped in headfirst. I needed to cool off for various reasons and was glad for the silence beneath the water抯 surface for once. When I emerged after almost a minute, laughter and shrieks drifted back to me. I floated on my back while making sure to keep an eye on my two troublemakers.
My moment of peace was short-lived when Anna began swimming toward me.
揇o you ever just have fun??Anna asked, hovering beside me.
揧es. When I抦 not working.?
Anna began floating beside me, revealing way too much of her body. I cast my eyes up to the sky. 揧ou mean when you don抰 have to be around me.?