Page 3 of A Valentino Princess
Two blocks down, a doorman welcomes Helena into the building. I follow right behind her, checking the lobby as we enter.
“Nice place,” I comment when she presses the button for the elevator.
“Why are you still following me? I’m home. You’ve done your job,” she says without looking back at me.
I chuckle. “Yeah, I’m staying. I hope you have a guest room.”
“Oh, hell no, you’re not,” she says.
When the doors to the elevator open, I follow Helena inside there too and she scowls at me.
Her hands dig through her bag before she pulls out her phone. “I’m calling Neo. This is not happening.”
I stand next to her. Without another word. I’m following orders.Don’t leave her side. At all.Let her call her brother. He’s not going to send me anywhere.
Chapter Three
“Neo, tell your goon he is not sleeping in my apartment!” I scream down the phone at my brother.
“Yes, he is,” Neo replies.
“No, he isn’t!” I yell back. “This wasn’t part of the deal!”
“You said you wouldn’t give my guys any trouble, Helena.” My brother sighs.
The elevator doors open and I stomp down the hall towards my apartment. “Yeah, well, that was before I found out you intended to have one of them move in with me.”
“He’s not moving in. It’s going to be a couple of days, max. Just until I get my hands on that Kye fucker.” Neo’s trying to keep his voice calm, but I know he’s losing his patience.
I unlock my front door and I’m about to enter when an arm wraps around my waist and pulls me backwards. “I need to go in first,” Marco says.
“It’s my damn apartment. Why the hell do you need to go first?” I hiss, trying to shove him aside when he steps in front of me. My efforts are pointless. There is no moving this hulk of a man.
“Helena, he needs to check your apartment. Let Marco do his job. Please.” Neo’s voice comes through my phone.
“Fine. I’ll let him stay. Maybe I’ll even let him share my bed. He’s not exactly rough on the eyes. Maybe I’ll let him do all kinds of things to me,” I say to my brother.
Marco stops dead in his tracks before spinning back in my direction. His eyes are wide. “You trying to get me killed?” he whispers.
I shrug. “If it gets you out of my apartment, I’m not opposed to it.”
“If I thought for a minute you’d go for a made man, Helena, I wouldn’t have one in your apartment. I know you. I know the type of guys you date and my men are not it. I gotta go. Stop being so difficult.” Neo cuts the call without waiting for me to reply.
The thing is… my brother doesn’t know methatwell. I might have avoided dating someone from our world so far, but I’d belying if I said Marco wasn’t a temptation I’m trying not to jump on and ride like he’s my last ticket at the state fair.
“The sofa is there. I don’t have a guest room for you,” I grumble before continuing to stomp my way into my bedroom. I slam my door and make it two steps over the threshold when the door flies open again and a pissed-off looking Marco barges in.
“Okay, you need to lose the attitude, princess. I’ve been patient, but when it comes to your safety, I’m not taking the bullshit. I don’t care what your last name is—don’t!” He holds up a hand when I open my mouth to cuss him out. “I’m not going to repeat myself. You are not to enter a room until after I’ve scanned it for threats.”
“This is my home. There are no threats here!” I yell at him. “And get out of my bedroom.”
Marco ignores me, heading straight for the door that leads to my closet. “Huh,” he says, peeking inside before glancing in my direction.
“What does that mean?Huh?” I ask him.
He moves over towards the bathroom next. “I picked you for more of a designer wardrobe type,” he says over a shoulder.
My eyes dart to the doorway before landing back on Marco. I do have a designer wardrobe. I converted one of the spare bedrooms a few years ago. “I’m not the princess you think I am,” I tell him, instead of admitting he was right about me.
