Soft, gentle, tingles, pleasure, the taste of soda mixed with something uniquely him

"What are you doing? Stop it! Leave him alone!" She run to them, yelling at him.

He paused and turned to look at her, his expression murderous and his blue eyes full of fury. "This does not concern you Terza."

"Yes it does," She shot back. "You are beating him because he danced with me."

He gritted his teeth and turned to continue punching the boy pulling his punch to avoid hitting her as she stepped in between them. "What are you doing?" He was furious.

"Mario is under my protection." She stated calmly, though her heart was racing. She was scared but not for herself because she knew Vincenzo would never hurt her but she was worried about the boy lying on the floor, blood dripping from his swollen nose, his jaw bruised, his left eye swollen shut, his white shirt bloody. He wasn't from a prominent family she later realized but she hadn't been thinking about that when she had accepted his invitation to dance. She liked the song and just wanted to dance. Yes he had threatened any boy she took to the prom but she wasn't going to allow him to dictate her choices. "You said I will always be protected as I am a Giovanni/O'Neill. And I told you I will protect any boy I danced with so he is under my protection."

He gritted his teeth infuriated that she knew the boy's name yet unable to decide whether to yell at her for interfering or hug and kiss her for the impressive way she was handling this. His girl was fearless, wonderful, beautiful in a lovely blue halter gown which enhanced her blue eyes, standing there so calmly as she challenged him. "Terza.."

"You are going to have to go through me." She shot back not prepared to give an inch.

"What do you mean?" His gaze was furious and feral.

She gasped slightly, knowing she was possibly making things worse. "Nothing I told you I would protect anyone I dance with that's all."

"Are you saying you like him?" His tone was very aggressive.

"No." She answered, her heart racing slightly. He looked so feral.

"Then what do you mean?" His gaze was penetrating and aggressive.

"Nothing," She whispered, trying to defuse the situation. "Please, it was just a dance." She stated quietly,

He took a deep breath trying to calm himself down as he moved back. It was not just a dance, not to him. No one was supposed to look at his girl let alone dance with her. But he couldn't deny her anything when she asked so nicely. He turned to look at the boy, bloodied on the floor. "Get out of here before I change my mind."

Mario tried to get up and fell against the wall. Clarissa moved to help him stand up. "Are you okay?" She whispered.

He nodded quietly.

A loud growl startled both of them causing them to turn and look at Vincenzo who was advancing towards them with a look of murder in his eyes.

Clarissa gritted her teeth at the ferocious, murderous look in his eyes. "He can't get up." She tried to rationalize with him not sure why he was so furious.

"You interfered with my punishment for him so he can walk." Vincenzo shot back, enraged, reaching out to grab the boy growling as Clarissa stepped in his way again. "Get out of my way Terza."

She stared at him warily, her heart racing, knowing the feral wild wolf was awake, dangerous and ready to do damage. But Mario was hurt enough and it was her fault as for some reason Vincenzo felt he could control her life. "He is under my protection," She whispered, placing her hand on his arm as she stood her ground, her eyes pleading for leniency from him.

He gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the tingles and warmth he felt were she touched him. He was glad he had rolled up his sleeves when he decided to do damage to the boy's face so he could feel her touch. He was jealous, infuriated and resentful that she tried to help the boy she had danced with, the boy he had just beaten up but he didn't like the wary, pleading look in her beautiful blue eyes.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes trying to calm himself down, realizing her touch was his anchor in the violent red haze of his fury. Somehow her touch calmed him down reducing the turbulent fog of his fury. He opened his eyes much calmer. "Get out of here." He glared at the boy.

Mario got up staggering and then run off limping. Not wanting to be hit again by a feral wild wolf.

She sighed quietly, removing her hand from his arm, her rapidly beating heart slowing down as she realized he was calmer. "Thank you." She knew it would not be a wise idea to check on Mario now but she would later. She just wanted to make sure he was okay because it was her fault he was beaten up.

He didn't say anything except remove the bloodied hand-wraps from his hands throwing them into the nearby garbage. He flexed his hands and turned to stare at her, very impressed that she had not backed down and had somehow gotten him to calm down. His girl was so beautiful, so fearless and so strong but she had been avoiding him tonight. "You have been avoiding me."

She groaned slightly, of course the wild wolf would notice, "Not really."

"Terza.." He raised his eyebrow.

She bit her lip, "Maybe."

"Why?" He raised his eyebrow.

She shrugged, "I don't know."

He stared at her, "You can tell me the truth always."

She averted her gaze slightly away from him, "I didn't want things to be awkward."

"Awkward?" He raised his eyebrow.

She groaned. "I should go."

"Terza.." He stepped in her path, his gaze piercing and intense. "Tell me. Did someone hurt you?"

"No," She turned to look at him. "It's just you are here with Letizia and we kissed for that dare and I just didn't want it to be awkward."

He stared at her, wondering if she knew how much he wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her repeatedly. But he couldn't, not now. "It's not awkward. It will never be awkward with us."

She looked at him, refusing to read into what he meant and nodded her head, turning to walk away.

"You owe me a dance." He called out.

"Can we dance another time?" She turned to look at him.

"Why?" He asked.

She stared at him, "You beat up Mario because I danced with him. I am not in the mood to dance anymore."

He gritted his teeth moving closer to her, hating that she mentioned that boy's name. "So, you will not honor your loss on the court, rather you will dance with some stranger, help him and protect him?"

She stood her ground as he advanced towards her, "I am single. I can dance with, help and protect whomever I want."

"No, you can't." The gleam in his eyes could only be described as murderous.

"Why are you being so over protective? What is with you and beating up everyone I dance with or who talks to me?" She raised her hands frustrated. "I am single, you are not my man so stop trying to control my life."

He moved forward getting into her space. "I am trying to protect you from weaklings. Is there a boy you are interested in?"

"No but it is my life." She shot back.

"It is not good for you to pick a weakling." He stared her down, or 'any other boy he added silently to himself because you are mine. You have always been mine. No one else's but mine'.

She glared at him realizing this conversation was going nowhere. "It is my life." She retorted trying to walk past him.

"Terza," His gaze was intense and penetrating.

"Go to hell Vincenzo." She shot back walking away only to find herself quickly pushed back gently against the wall, his hands placed on the wall on either side of her head, his arms caging her in. She raised her head defiantly as she stared at him. He was really a handsome wild wolf.

"Apologize," His gaze was piercing and feral.

"Make me." She snapped tired of his overbearing ways. She knew she shouldn't have said that when she saw his lips curl into a smirk. She averted her eyes from his and found herself looking at his lips. Soft, gentle, tingles, pleasure, the taste of soda mixed with something uniquely him ... those words again. Unable to handle what they meant, she lifted her eyes looking at him, gasping slightly at the challenging, feral look in his eyes.

"Is that a challenge?" He whispered softly, smirking as he leaned closer to her, staring blatantly at her lips. She was so defiant and the only girl who wouldn't back down from him and it made him feel so alive. He was ready to up the ante. He desperately wanted to kiss her passionately even though he had no right to cross the line. But he knew if she danced with another boy, he would beat him up because she was his, only his. He understood that would get her attention and he was fine with that because he could be a cruel, vindictive jerk.

She was in trouble, not many people challenged him. But right now all she could think about were those words... Soft, gentle, tingles, pleasure, the taste of soda mixed with something uniquely him .... They were more or less alone away from everyone else at the prom, there was no dare that she couldn't back away from. So why was she looking at his lips again, thinking about the kiss, wondering if it would feel the same or even better, what it would feel like to kiss him passionately, why she was thinking he looked so devastatingly handsome in his black tuxedo?

"Maybe." She lifted her head meeting his piercing gaze defiantly, both of them staring each other down, blue on blue, clashing, tension in the air, no one backing down even as the air became charged with electricity and something else.

"Terza," His gaze intense, daring her to challenge him so he could cross the line. "Are you challenging me?" He asked.

"What if I am?" She retorted, smothering a gasp as his gaze become dominant, feral. She was pushing the envelope, daring the wild wolf to come out and play. And surprisingly her heart was racing but not from fear, from excitement. She was certifiable to be excited by his dominance. But she refused to be intimidated or back down. This was her life. She had choices and he wasn't going to take them away from her with his feral dominant act.

He leaned in closer his forehead almost touching hers, "Are you sure you can handle my response to your challenge?" His gaze turned heated, appreciative and possessive.

She continued to meet his intense, heated gaze not realizing it was a reflection of her own, biting her lower lip unable to handle whatever this was.

He groaned softly, leaning closer, his lips hovering over hers, their breaths intermingling as they continue to stare each other down, caught in a current of fiery, stormy, passionate, intense emotions. Something was changing; something so real, so wild and so tangible was erupting between them.

She licked her suddenly dry lips, making a sound as he groaned again, his gaze even more heated and intense. Something was changing between them and she wasn't sure she was ready for it. She couldn't even handle what she was feeling, she didn't even want to examine it closely... not Vincenzo.. she wasn't interested in boys especially wild wolves like him.

"Maybe another time." She backed down for now, pushing his chest back a little, fighting a blush as she touched his rock hard muscles. This wasn't good, he had a girl. She was honorable; she would never kiss another boy willingly who had a girl. But she had, hadn't she? But it was a dare, wasn't it? But she could have picked someone else or kissed him on the cheek. But she never backed down from a challenge did she... except when it got as heated as now? She needed these thoughts running through her head to go away. She needed to get back to the ballroom, get away from his intensity were she could regroup and figure out what to do.

He moved back, smirking slightly, "Then apologize." He was a little disappointed she had backed down but then his girl though feisty and independent was also wise. Maybe they needed another game of truth and dare so he could cross that line and get another kiss because right now he wanted to kiss her so badly.

"For what?" She raised her eyebrow not ready to give in so easily.

"For telling me to go to hell." He shot back.

"But you can't control my life." She protested.

"Terza.." He raised his eyebrow looking at her.

"I am sorry," She rolled her eyes not really sorry. He was trying to dictate her life choices and she wasn't going to allow him to do that.

"Was that an apology?" He looked at her, fighting to keep the amusement from shining in his blue eyes. His girl was sassy, willful and he loved that about her.

"That's the best you're going to get," She smirked slightly, fighting a mischievous grin as she turned to leave.

He placed his left hand against the wall, pulling her quickly back to the wall, blocking her escape with his body, his hand spanning her waist, his thumb unconsciously stroking her bare skin. He groaned silently as he realized how soft her skin felt. Leaning forward he caught her rebellious gaze, blue clashing with blue, electricity crackling in the air, the swirl of heat, intense feelings rising again between them.

Sparks, that was what she felt were he touched her skin. She wondered if he knew how he was touching her skin and that all she felt was electricity. She stared back at him, blue on blue, caught up again in a maelstrom of fiery, stormy, intense emotions. She found herself leaning unconsciously towards him, even as he leaned towards her, her breath hitching as he lowered his heated gaze to her lips. The wild wolf was ready to play. Soft, gentle, tingles, pleasure, the taste of soda mixed with something uniquely him.. She wanted him to kiss her again but she couldn't cross that line. "Sorry." She fought not to roll her eyes, giving in only because she needed to regroup, figure it out and if she was honest she wasn't sure she could handle the intensity of emotions right now.

He nodded slightly moving back, fighting back an amused smile, knowing she wasn't really sorry. On another day he would have pushed her to accept his challenge but he wasn't so sure she was ready for the passion he wanted to unleash on her right now. That she was ready for the heated emotions still swirling around them. "Now you owe me a dance." He smirked.

"Huh....." She stared at him, still feeling the sparks on her skin where he had touched her, still lost in the fog of fiery sensations.

"A dance?" His smirk got wider, he affected her, he would always affect her because she was his. "Are you okay?"

She stopped herself from rolling her eyes, sighing knowing she wasn't going to win this battle. "There is no music out here."

"Do you really need music to dance?" He raised his eyebrow challenging her.

"Fine." She acquiesced, leaning back a little as he took her hands in his, hoping she wouldn't feel those sparks again.

She closed her eyes as they danced to imaginary music not wanting to look at him. He was a marvelous dancer, a wonderful lead and she let him lead them into a slow waltz. He was built with rock hard muscles, likely from all that working out he did, yet he was so gentle with her. And there they were again, those sparks..... Soft, gentle, tingles, pleasure, the taste of soda mixed with something uniquely him ... those words again... she needed to get them out of her head. But how could she when dancing this close made her heart race, made her feel things she wasn't ready for?

He stared at her. She was beautiful, so warm, so expressive, so feisty and so fearless. He had been waiting for this dance all night and knew it had to be in private. He smiled slightly noticing that her eyes were closed, realizing that meant she trusted him to lead her in this waltz. She was his and no one else's. He wasn't going to give anyone the chance to have her or give her the chance to be with anyone else because he was a very passionate, possessive, jealous jerk. But he couldn't do anything now and it was becoming a source of frustration. He was loyal to Vitale and would protect Letizia as much as he could but it was getting harder to stay away from Terza, it was getting really hard, after the kiss they shared, with the way he was feeling because he wanted to hold her in his arms and kiss her passionately over and over again. He almost tripped lost in his thoughts, lost in the pleasure of holding her in his arms, as she stopped dancing.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly looking at her.

She nodded, "I just have to get back." She needed to leave before they crossed any lines.

He gritted his teeth knowing he couldn't ask more of her, not here, not now. "Okay."

She smiled slightly, "See you around."

"See you." He watched carefully as she walked back into the ballroom. Once she was safely in it, he turned around, gritting his teeth as he walked to a wall and punched it a couple of times, his jaw clenched, his muscles taut as he tried to control his frustration. He didn't care that his hands was hurting, or that they were scraped and bloodied. He wanted to feel pain because it made him feel less aggravated. When he had been in her presence just now, he had felt alive, challenged, whole, and invincible. But yet he couldn't claim her publicly and that was beginning to get exasperating. He had begun to realize how bad it looked that he had claimed one girl in public but couldn't stay away from another one – the girl his heart wanted, his love, his passion, his desire. He needed to figure a way to get out of the mess he was in because tonight something had changed between them. A storm of fiery, intense, passionate emotions had erupted and he knew she had felt it too.

"So son, tell me again what your intentions are towards my daughter?"

He spun around, grunting as he saw Emanuelle O'Neill watching him with an aggressive yet unreadable expression, a glass of Irish whiskey in his hand.

Soft, gentle, tingles, pleasure, the taste of soda mixed with something uniquely him ...