She rolled her eyes laughing slightly. When he was this charming it was so hard to resist him. "Stop that, stop changing the subject."

"I wasn't aware I was?" There was no shame in his amused expression. He knew exactly what he was doing. Teasing her, making her blush, making her laugh was just so much fun.

"Yes you were." She pushed him back slightly, trying to get her bearings and get back to what she was trying to say to him.

"Terza," He began.

She shook her head, looking at him. "You see this, this...back and forth between us..." She refused to call it what it was, flirting. "That's the problem. We shouldn't be enjoying it because you have a girl. You are not my man and I am not your girl. But yet you threaten my choices even though I can't threaten yours because you are taken." She stared him down, an impish glint in her eyes. "But I am very sure that will not be an issue when I finally have a man, as my man will have no problem claiming me in public." And she had done it. She had pushed the wild wolf. Her heart was racing not from fear but from something else and she couldn't describe it other than it was more than excitement. The wild wolf was ready to come out and play. She took a step back involuntary groaning as she realized the wall was right behind her. To heck with it, she was standing her ground.

She was right but a little flirting never hurt anyone and he enjoyed making her blush. But did she just indicate that he didn't have the guts to go to O'Neill and claim her in public? Or that she would choose another boy over him? This brought back his aggravation from his encounter with O'Neill that night. Yes, the honorable thing was to claim Terza in public by going to her father. But he couldn't now, not without jeopardizing Letizia's life and he was loyal to his cousin. But he was getting so exasperated by this whole situation he was in. And his girl was definitely goading him right now.

"Terza, when you push me, you should be prepared to handle all the consequences that come with it." His gaze was feral, dominant, dark and dangerous as he moved into her space, placing both his hands on the wall, his arms caging her in, refusing to let her look anywhere else but at him. "Every single consequence. I am very creative Terza. My artistry and imagination can be very inspired by the action causing the consequence. And it could involve you or anyone else." His words would have sounded ominous but for the ardent, possessive glint in his eyes. He could think of oh ......so many consequences involving her that he would like very much.

She refused to back down, be intimidated, she wasn't a Giovanni/ONeill for nothing. She stared back defiantly at him knowing she should be scared by what he was saying but she wasn't. Vincenzo would never hurt her. He could make her blush, make her feel intense, fiery emotions she wasn't ready for but he would never hurt her. She wasn't so sure about 'the anyone else he was referring to' but if she was the cause she would do her best to protect them. "So, it's okay for you to threaten any choices I make?" She retorted.

"I am not threatening your choices just your choices of boys." He shot back. 'Any boy he added silently to himself. No one will and can ever have you because you are mine, only mine'.

"Do you think that's fair?" She raised her eyebrow.

"Yes." He smirked slightly. 'I don't play fair when it comes to you. He added silently to himself, because you belong to me'.

"So, you made your move." She pushed him back, the space between them much more respectable, her gaze mischievous, "Now it's my move."

He raised his eyebrow intrigued, his girl was so fearless, "Are we talking about chess?" They both played chess.

She leaned up whispering into his ear, "Yes and remember the queen is the most dangerous piece." She stood back looking at him.

He just loved the challenges she threw at him, they made him feel so alive. "But the king has infinite value and can capture the queen. It's a legal move in chess." He retorted. "And most importantly remember that the wild wolf will always catch his little red." He grinned as she rolled her eyes.

"Bye Vincenzo." She slipped under his arm and turned towards the door.

"Don't I get a kiss goodbye?" He teased.

She turned to face him, rolling her eyes again as she turned back towards the door. She groaned as he stopped her, pulling her back against his chest, his right arm wrapped firmly around her waist. Would those sparks and tingles just go away, she grumbled silently.

"Game on, " He whispered softly in her ear, his lips brushing her ear, smirking slightly as a shudder went through her. Yes, he would always affect her. "And remember Terza, there isn't a game I haven't won, I play for keeps. I play the long game. I will have you no matter what and however long it takes." Each word he uttered was a vow. "That will always be our endgame."

She shuddered with anticipation? Why was his possessiveness getting her so heated? She turned to look at him, making a sound, as she encountered his fierce, passionate, possessive gaze. Claiming her in private wasn't enough and she wasn't about to tell him of feelings she was struggling to accept herself. That she liked him, she was very attracted to him, she wanted to kiss him passionately over and over again. She had finally accepted those feelings after that night. But did she love him? How could she even think about love when he had a girl? She wasn't prepared to examine that any further as she knew the answer would likely be yes.

She moved towards the door, turning slightly, staring at him, biting her lower lip as the intense, heated, stormy emotions swirled between them again. She needed to get out of his presence before she started confessing feelings that would complicate things. She needed to stand her ground, show her worth and respect herself. She knew he was honorable and respected her so that wasn't really the issue. But he seemed stuck in an impossible situation and she wasn't going to make it her problem, because it was his mess to fix and she did have a life to live. But she couldn't deny anymore that something permanently had changed between them that night. Something passionate, fiery, enduring and indescribable. "Game on Vincenzo," She winked, opening the door. "Catch me if you can." She walked quickly out of the room, not looking back to see his expression.

A few minutes later, she stopped outside the door of her mother's office trying to calm her raging emotions down. He drove her crazy in a good way and she was now certain she was in l..o..v. Oh gosh, she didn't even want to think about that word. Yes, she was now very convinced it would be a very good idea to go away this summer. Travelling with her dad was always fun as long as he didn't ask too many questions about the wild wolf. And they could meet her mom and the boys in Italy on their way back home. Maybe during the summer she would finally get those words out of her head.... Soft, tingles, pleasure, the taste of soda mixed with something uniquely him....somehow she doubted it. But whatever this was, whatever these fiery, passionate feelings meant, it was now game on and she wasn't going to make it easy! Her heart thundered in excitement about being chased by the wild wolf. Game on, she thought smiling to herself.

********************************************

"There you are."

"You were looking for me?" He looked at her.

"Did I just see Clarissa leave?" She asked.

He stared at her, his face expressionless. "Yes."

"What's going on with you two?" Letizia asked.

"We are friends." He replied calmly.

"I saw you dancing on prom night." She divulged quietly.

"She lost a bet." He shrugged.

Letizia looked at him, unable to read his expression. "That's what she said."

"Then why are you asking me?" He raised his eyebrow.

"It's the way you two danced. There was just something. I can't explain it." Letizia admitted.

"It was just a dance." He looked at her. "So, you decided to go and ask her about it? Not that she told me anything about your conversation."

Letizia looked at him, surprised Clarissa hadn't said anything. She was beginning to wonder if she was underestimating her. She just seemed too friendly to be Sancia Giovanni's daughter maybe she was more like her father, though he also terrified her just like his son Tristan. "I am your girl in public and I don't share well."

Vincenzo looked at her astutely, "You do know we are pretending?"

"Yes, and that's why I had to ask her questions. Anyone would expect that of me." Letizia replied.

Vincenzo shrugged, "Remember who her big brother is."

Letizia paled, "I wasn't offensive to her and she didn't seem to care about the questions."

Vincenzo looked at her as he thought to himself, his girl had been trained not to show emotions in certain situations. But not with him she would never be able to hide anything from him. "Good." He nodded. 'Because Tristan is not the only one you will have to deal with if you hurt Terza he added slightly. You will have to deal with me'.

"Do you want to have lunch?" She tried to change the subject as the mention of Tristan always made her heart race in fear.

He nodded motioning for her to walk ahead.

Letizia smiled at him, turning to walk out of the room. Despite spending so much time with Vincenzo, he was an enigma to her. Even though he teased her, and was amused by her antics he seemed to keep a lot of secrets close to his chest, like his relationship with Cristina. He was also very unpredictable and a feral beast but he was very loyal to his family and that was an honorable thing. She wondered if he would ever fall in love, if he wanted a girl who wanted to be as powerful as she wanted to be. Maybe he was afraid of feeling passionate emotions like her. Because emotions got in the way and they made one weak. That is why she liked her relationship with him. They were alike in so many ways, he understood her, and most importantly, he wanted the same thing she did... power.

Power made sense to them, power was reliable, power made you invincible, influential and dominant, power had no place for emotions, power was strength, power made people tremble in fear, power made you rule the world, you could be anything, could be offensive, be vindictive, you could take away anything, have anything you wanted when you had power. She would not be on the Luciano's hit list if she was powerful. This was why she would do anything for power, she would kill for it, lie for it, die for it and knock down anyone who stood in her way of attaining it.

Of course, there was Vitale who was very good at throwing a wrench in her plans. She liked him enough, but he made her feel vulnerable sometimes. He was always so gentle and protective of her and she was grateful to him. But she wasn't sure what that meant because she wasn't prepared to feel anything more for Vitale if it meant she had to give up her thirst for power. She turned to look at Vincenzo who seemed very deep in thought. She didn't realize his mind was on another girl, his heart, his love, his desire.

Vincenzo stared ahead still thinking about Terza. Something had changed irrevocably between them that night, something passionate, fiery and intense.

"Hello Mr. O'Neill." Letizia said quietly.

"Letizia."

Vincenzo turned to see Emanuelle O'Neill watching them with an aggressive yet unreadable expression on his face. An expression he was realizing he was going to have to get used it until he could claim Terza publicly. Because Emanuelle O'Neill was even more perceptive than his son Tristan who had been regarding him with a similar aggressive look lately. What was up with these O'Neill males? Somehow, he knew it had to do with the kiss he shared with their O'Neill princess. "Hello, Mr. O'Neill." He nodded his head in respect.

"Nice to see you Vincenzo," Emanuelle then turned to stare Letizia down, hiding a smirk as she nodded quietly, looked briefly at Vincenzo and walked away quickly. He looked at the boy, the beast he called him, who had feelings for his daughter yet had claimed another girl in public, motioning with his hand for him to go back into that empty room. He followed him inside leaning against a teacher's desk as he stared him down. "So son, a funny thing happened on my way here to see my wife, or should I say a funny thing happened on my way to the colosseum?"