“That isn’t good enough. You tell Joanna that excuse is bullshit. The minute she knew Francesca was living in that building and wouldn’t listen to reason, she should have come to me. I don’t give a flying fuck if I intimidate her. She could have gone to you or Giovanni,” he hissed. “She could have had her uncle call us. What she did was totally unacceptable.”

He glanced over his shoulder, feeling Francesca’s eyes on him. She had crawled out of the sleeping bag and dragged her T-shirt over her head, tossing it aside on the couch. She pulled on his shirt hastily, giving him a glimpse of bare skin and full curves. Need slammed into him, in spite of the anger. It was urgent, hot and decidedly uncomfortable. He watched her slide the buttons closed, one by one. He didn’t take his gaze from the sight and she didn’t look away from him. Not once.

“I’ve got to go, Vittorio. Please make certain she understands that Francesca will never be allowed in that kind of danger again. I will hold her responsible, and she doesn’t want that.” He snapped the phone closed and shoved it in his pocket.

Francesca swallowed hard. “Are you angry with Joanna for some reason?”

“Yes.” His voice was clipped. Abrupt. It was the best he could do because he still wanted to drag Joanna out of her safe bed and scare the holy hell out of her.

“Why?”

She walked closer to him on her bare feet. She had small feet and shapely legs. The tails of his shirt came just midway down her thighs. The shirt enveloped her, but she looked sexy and enticing, as if she was wrapped up like a present for his bedroom.

He allowed his gaze to drift possessively over her body before coming back to her face—that face that he found so beautiful. “Francesca, you live in Ferraro territory, and that makes you mine. You don’t have to understand it, but just accept that what I’m telling you is the truth. My family looks out for the people here. We take their safety and well-being seriously. If anything had happened to you, there would have been far-reaching consequences.”

She nodded slowly, the pad of her thumb slipping between her teeth. She bit down in agitation. His cock jerked in reaction.

“What has that got to do with Joanna?” She halted a few feet from him.

“Joanna has lived in our territory all of her life. She’s been safe and she counts on feeling safe. She knew better than to allow you to live in that shit hole.”

She winced at his language, making him aware of it. He wasn’t a soft man. He never had been and he certainly didn’t mince words.

“Joanna doesn’t have a say in anything I do. She objected, but I didn’t want to take her money. She lent me the money for the bus ticket out here. She’s been nothing but kind to me. She didn’t turn her back on me even when it meant she was jeopardizing herself. I couldn’t take more from her.”

There was a long silence and her gaze skittered away from his when she realized exactly what she’d revealed to him. So there was a problem, something big that made her other friends and possibly family turn their backs on her. Joanna hadn’t. He could be grateful for that.

“What happened that others turned their backs on you?” He made a conscious effort to soften his tone.

Her chin went up. She squared her shoulders. “It’s of no consequence. I asked you why you would hold Joanna responsible for my actions. She couldn’t force me to do what she wanted.”

“She should have come to me.” His tone said it all and he knew she got the message. Joanna might not be able to force her to compliance, but he could. He kept his gaze on hers, not allowing her to look away from him again. Wanting her to see he meant business.

“You aren’t responsible for me.”

He shrugged. “You saying that doesn’t make me feel any different.”

“Stefano, I have to ask you this, and I don’t want you to be angry with me. It’s just that you’re very scary at times and I don’t understand what’s going on here.”

“What’s going on here is that I’m attracted to you. Aside from that, you belong in my territory. That means I protect you whether or not you like it and whether or not you’re always comfortable with how I go about protecting you.”

“Are you mafia? A part of organized crime?”

He kept his eyes on hers, refusing to allow her to look away. If she had the audacity to ask such a question, she should have the courage to look him in the eye while she did it.

“Does it matter to you what I do?”

“Of course it does. I don’t like the idea of anyone selling drugs or running guns, doing anything so deplorable, protecting me.”