The Santinis: Leonardo, Book 1 by Melissa Schroeder Read Free Book Online Page A

woman for two weeks. People didn’t fall in love in two weeks with someone they barely knew.
    Dammit. He was almost all the way in love with the woman.  
    Santini, what the hell are you thinking?  
    She’s a pain in the ass, prickly as a porcupine and so damned defensive. Just the look on her face today when he brought her lunch…he sighed. He knew she didn’t like showing her vulnerability to him, to anyone. But she had for him. That little bit had awakened a need to do things like that more often. And forever.
    Before he could work through the feelings, the door whooshed open. She was still in her scrubs. They were blue today, almost the same shade as her eyes.  
    “Gonna stand out there trying to open the door with your mind, Santini?”
    “Uh, no.” Oh, that will win her over.
    She gave him a saucy smile. “Is that pizza for me or are you just happy to see me?”  
    The words didn’t register. He was in love with her. Leo loved just about everything about her, from the sprinkle of freckles that danced over the bridge of her nose to that smart mouth of hers. Damn.   He was pretty sure that she would be pissed when she found out.  
    Her brows furrowed. “Santini? Are you okay?”
    He shook himself, trying to push all those thoughts aside, but his voice was still a little rough when he answered. “Yeah.”  
    “Okay, come on in.”
    She stepped back and allowed him to pass. After she shut the door behind him she leaned back against it. He turned to face her.  
    “Are you hungry?” he asked.  
    Her eyes widened. He didn’t blame her for being surprised. Arousal was thrumming through his blood and he heard it in his voice. Leo just couldn’t help it. His fingers itched to touch. His mouth wanted to taste.   Every bit of his body needed her in a way that should scare the hell out of him.
    “Maryanne?” he asked. He would take a step back if she asked. It might kill him, but he would do it.  
    Then, a small smile curved her lips. “Not really hungry for pizza right now.”
    Relief coursed through him as he strode toward her. He tossed the box on the table without stopping.
    “Thank the Lord,” he said as he pulled her away from the door and into his arms. The moment he pressed his lips against hers, he knew he couldn’t let her go. Ever.
    Now, he just had to convince the woman in his arms.

Chapter Six
    Leo stumbled into her bedroom and they fell on the bed with a tangle of limbs. He fell off to the side, bouncing on the mattress to avoid crushing her beneath him. He rose up and rested his weight on his elbow and looked down at her. She was smiling up at him and it struck him then. He wanted to see that smile ever day of his life. He wanted to be the one that made her this happy all the time.  
    After a few moments, her smile faded. “What?”
    He shook his head. He couldn't tell her how he felt. She was skittish as it was. If he told her he was falling in love with her, she would freak out.
    “Oh, God, I look horrible, don’t I? I didn’t sleep last night because I was worried about Jack and then I had a long day today. I must look a mess.”
    She didn’t have much makeup left on her face that was true. But there was a wholesome inner beauty to her, something that had nothing to do with her physical appearance. It would have shone through regardless of her outward appearance.  
    “No, it isn’t that.”
    It was hard to hold back his true feelings. Leo wasn’t a man who ran around singing to the world about private things, but he wanted to for her. Something told him Maryanne wouldn’t accept it just yet. He was the kind of guy who planned everything out and he hadn’t planned on this. But seeing her now, laying in bed, and feeling her body next to his, he knew that he had come home. For a man who had spent his life in the military, that meant more than anything else.
    He couldn’t tell her but he could show her.
    Leo leaned down and kissed her, softly at first, keeping his eyes open