Ollie went easily to bed. I kissed him on the forehead and shut the door on my way out. I don’t know what’s going on between me and Bass, but I’m taking the normalcy we established as a good sign. Grabbing the blanket off the couch, I go to lie down when he grabs my arm, pulling the blanket from my hands and tossing it back on the couch.
I raise an eyebrow in question, but he says nothing as he leads me to his room and shuts the door with us on the inside.
“Um….”
“What?” He goes to his dresser and takes his wallet and phone out of his pockets, glancing back at me.
“We ready for this?” I gesture to the bed, then the whole damn room.
“We moved past casual a long time ago.”
He pulls his shirt off and tosses it toward a bin in the corner. It hits the edge, then falls on the ground. I purse my lips at it, already knowing Bass isn’t the type to pick it up right now. So, I do it for him. If only to give me something to do and not start freaking out about what sleeping in his room means. The guy might think he’s acting aloof about all this, but I know this isn’t his usual thing. He bangs chicks at the club, not at his home. If it weren’t a big thing, we’d have christened his bed a while back.
“Just means this will make it complicated.” I don’t know ifI’mthe one ready for what this means.
“Pretty sure we moved past complicated the second you stuck your tongue down my throat in front of half the damn club and your mafia family, don’t you think?” He turns to me and takes a few steps to close the gap before he pinches my chin. “We also moved beyond it when you asked me to bring back what’s mine.”
I tilt my head—though not much, as his hand is hard as steel on my chin—and give him a questioning look.
“You asked me to get Ollie. He’s yours, and you’re mine. Thus the kid is mine too. That complicated enough for you?”
My eyes go wide at his words.His?I’ve never been anyone’s anything before. I’m my own woman. I can take care of myself.
But as he leaves me standing there stunned, I can’t help but think that it’s a word I don’t hate.
The sound of the shower filters into my brain, pulling me out of my head. I don’t take the time to notice his room, only noting he’s not in it. I follow the noise and head to thebathroom. The door is open, and I can see his silhouette on the other side of the shower curtain. I lean against the sink counter and just watch him. I can’t see any details, not really, but I just take him in. Take in the moment. The fact that we evenhavethis moment. So many things are against us, so many odds.
I fought for our lives daily for the last few years, protecting the kid as best I could. Then I had to fight to survive what Ivan’s men did to me. Bass and his boys went through the ringer. I know they did. You don’t go against anyone in the mafia, even if it’s someone who others might not see as the biggest dog on the block. He was fucking mafia. That leaves scars, and usually bodies. Lots and lots of bodies.
But he walked away. He came back.
And he only went because of me.
“Why?”
He pauses his movements. “Why what?”
“Why me?” ’Cause that’s the real question. Why go through all of this for me? I know what I am and what I’m worth. And I know I’m not worth a war. No one person is.
The water shuts off, and the shower curtain opens. He stands naked as the day he was born before grabbing the towel off the rack beside him, drying himself off unashamed. He holds my stare as I look for a reason why in his eyes.
Wrapping the towel around his waist, he comes to me, placing his hands on either side of the vanity, caging me in. “’Cause you’re worth it.”
This time when he kisses me, I don’t fight for control. I let him have it. Have it all, including me and my heart.
His lips are soft and in no rush, coaxing me to open my mouth and teasing me with his tongue as I get a taste of him. I can’t hold back my moan of pleasure from his kiss as I wrap my arms around his head and pull him closer. He bends a bit, gripping each side of the backs of my thighs and hoisting me up.
I wrap my legs around him, pushing down the towel as I go, but neither of us cares as he carries me out of the bathroom and into his bedroom. Each movement has his bandage scratching at my skin. It’s dry, so I guess he had something in the shower to wrap it, or maybe he just kept it out of the water. Who gives a fuck at the moment?
He lowers me slowly but never lets his lips leave mine. I cling to him like a damn baby chimp, barely allowing him to move his hands as he rolls us till I’m on top. Only then does he break the kiss to tug my shirt off. I flick the clasp on my bra, throwing it behind me as I lean back down to my prize. And what a prize he is. We roll again till I’m flat on my back, and then he descends.
A slow path of kisses to every part of my body as he sinks lower. My shoulder, each of my knuckles. Kissing over the bandages that I have to wear for another week before we can go in for a checkup.
He grasps my breasts with both hands, holding them up to his mouth like an offering. He licks one nipple straight up and down before going side to side with that swirling tip of his tongue around the damn thing. Just when I want to scream for more, he pulls it into his mouth and sucks generously, nibbling just hard enough with his teeth to cause shudders that rock through my body. I reach one handforward, pushing the hair out of his eyes as he looks up at me and moves to the other nipple to do the exact same thing.
When he’s had his fill, he goes lower. My shorts and panties come off next, right after my shoes and socks. He moves his hands up my legs, massaging them as he goes till he gets to more bandages. He kisses everything and then settles between my thighs.
He leans in close and just inhales my scent, cursing at my smell.
