Chapter 8 - Cornered in Marble
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The tension in the ballroom thickened like smoke as the music drifted toward the vaulted marble corridors outside the main hall.
Nora stepped away from the crowded dance floor to catch her breath, seeking the cooler air near the grand arched promenade.
Her heart hammered against her ribs, the intoxicating rush of standing up to Julian Rossi still coursing through her veins.
She paused beside a massive fluted marble pillar, pressing her warm palms against the cool stone surface to steady her nerves.
Suddenly, two broad-shouldered men in tailored dark suits materialized at the end of the corridor, blocking her path back to the ballroom.
Nora’s instincts screamed in warning as she saw the subtle bulge of firearms beneath their jackets.
Before she could turn to retreat, a heavy, authoritative presence surged from the shadows behind her.
Roman appeared like an avenging phantom, moving with terrifying speed and lethal grace.
With a single, devastating movement, he stepped between Nora and the approaching enforcers, his eyes burning with absolute savagery.
"Back off," Roman snarled, his voice vibrating with a primal fury that made both hitmen freeze in their tracks.
Lev and three armed Moretti guards appeared from the adjacent foyer, their hands inside their jackets, cutting off the enforcers' retreat.
The two Rossi men backed away with raised palms, vanishing into the crowded shadows of the ballroom entrance.
Roman spun around, his chest heaving with barely suppressed adrenaline, his eyes wildly searching Nora’s face.
He crowded her against the cool, vein-patterned marble pillar, his towering body blocking out the rest of the world completely.
His large left hand came up, strong fingers gripping her jawline and lifting her chin toward his searing gaze.
His thumb brushed firmly across her lower lip, tilting her face upward until her wide, breathless eyes locked onto his.
Nora gasped, her back pressed flush against the stone, her hands resting against the lapels of his black tuxedo jacket.
She could feel the furious, powerful thudding of his heart beneath the fine fabric of his shirt.
"Did they touch you?" Roman demanded, his voice thick with ragged desperation and dark possessiveness.
"No," Nora whispered, her breath trembling against his parted lips as the heat between them flared out of control.
"I saw them coming, but you were already there."
Roman leaned closer, his forehead resting against hers, his breath hot against her skin in the shadowy corridor.
"You cannot wander away from me, Nora," he growled softly, his fingers tightening gently against her jaw.
"The moment you leave my side, this entire city becomes a viper’s nest."
"I'm not made of glass, Roman," she whispered back, her defiant spirit refusing to surrender even as her body melted against his.
"I survived Greg, I survived the window, and I survived your alleyway."
A wild, dangerous smile broke across Roman’s rugged features, his gaze dropping to her trembling, parted lips.
"You are not made of glass, little bird," he murmured, his thumb tracing the curve of her cheekbone with reverent intensity.
"You are fire."
"And God help any man who tries to put you out."
He lowered his mouth, brushing his lips against hers in a brief, agonizingly tender kiss that tasted of danger, rain, and forbidden promise.
Nora’s fingers knotted into the fabric of his jacket, pulling him closer as a bolt of electricity shot through her entire being.
When he finally pulled back, his hazel eyes were dilated, dark with an emotion that transcended mafia politics and survival contracts.
"The car is waiting at the side entrance," Roman said, his voice husky and strained as he released her chin.
"Rossi is making his move tonight, and I am not letting you stay in this city another hour."
"Where are we going?" Nora asked, struggling to regain her breath as she smoothed down her crimson gown.
Roman took her hand, interlacing his fingers with hers in an unbreakable grip.
May you like
"To the only place where I can keep you safe," he replied.
"My private estate in the Hudson Valley."
