“Sure,” I reply, the domesticity of this moment refreshing. We’re not going to kill each other after all.
Chiara and I sit at the table in silence, but it’s not even a little uncomfortable, which is a big fucking problem. It should be hell. This shouldn’t feel normal, especially not the way she’s inhaling my food with happy little moans leaving her. At one point, she even does a little dance in her seat because of how content she is with my cooking. It sets me on fire.Shesets me on fire. There is so much fight and passion in her, but she’s adorable when we’re not fighting, and that knowledge is fucking with my head.
“How was work today?” I ask to distract myself from the cute side of her personality and the way her lips seem even fuller as she chews.
“It was good. My boss gave me some new books for free because they were a bit damaged, so unable to be up for sale,” she explains, and I nod along to her words, internally cursing at the fact that Chiara struggles so much with money, she can’t afford books in good condition.
“You like reading a lot,” I point out, and she gives me a small nod before focusing on the plate in front of her again. “What books do you read?” This isn’t me just trying to be nice. These are things I’m usually curious about too but because we don’t have the type of relationship where I can ask this question, I don’t. Tonight, I have the opportunity to get to know her a bit better without it turning into a fight.
“I like romance books,” she says. “I’m very specific about them though. They have to meet certain criteria,” she explains, and my heart flutters at the fact that she wants to share more with me by herself.Fuck off, heart.
“What criteria?” A little smile tugs at her lips.
“I need my female main characters not to put love before their dreams. I need the male main characters to be hopelessly obsessed with her. I need the sex scenes to be very explicit,” she says, and I swallow so hard, I’m surprised my throat doesn’t burn in response. Images of Chiara reading sex scenes and touching herself flood my head, so I shake it to get rid of them. Unfortunately, my erection has returned, making me shift in my seat.
“That’s… interesting,” I reply, swallowing once more and feeling the burn this time. That little demon fucking chuckles at my perplexed reaction.Chuckles. Chiara hardly ever bloody chuckles.
“Relax. You look like I just told you what my favorite sex position is.” Yeah, that doesn’t help my cock calm down. More visuals slip into my head. She’s playing with me, she must be. There is no way she doesn’t realise how bloody sexy she is when she says things like that.Wait, sexy? God, no, Leonard, stop it.“Jesus, snap out of it, Champ. It’s just sex. Would you like me to say it again so you get more comfortable with the word? Sex, sex, sex,” she repeats with a smirk, and I grip my thigh under the table. Self-control.
“Don’t be such a smug pain in the arse,” I say, and she lets out aHa!
“Benzie, you’re going to spend next weekend with Auntie Chiara,” that little demon says, and I smack my forehead with the palm of my hand. Starling keeps chuckling at my reaction, and I can’t help but crack a little smile too, but only once I’ve covered my face with my hands. I will not smile at her.
Nope.
Over my dead body.
* * *
“Thankyou for letting me sleep here,” she says after I’ve shown her the guest room. I shrug my shoulders, pretending like this isn’t a big deal, even if it is.
After we finished dinner, which continued to be disgustingly pleasant, we watched a movie. We even commented on some things we liked about it throughout. So fucking unsettling. No part of me would have thought we’d have a quiet moment tonight. Instead, we barely had a loud one. It was bloody… nice, and I hate it.
“Let me get you a glass of water in case you get thirsty tonight,” I blurt out when we’ve been staring into each other’s eyes for several moments. Chiara is on the bed with Benz, that little traitor, when I return.
“I work atSunrisein case you want to stop by and make fun of me anyway,” she says after I’ve placed the glass on her bedside table. I settle down on the mattress where Benz is, scratching her head and ears until she’s groaning happily in response.
“What made you tell me?” The bags under her eyes awake something protective inside of me, something I’ve never, ever felt before.
“You’re soon to be the person I’ve spent the most time with in all of England apart from my Mamma,” she says, causing understanding to rush into my chest.
She spends some time with Lulu, her close friend, but apart from Graham, I’m the person she sees the most. Even though I’m gone for many weeks out of the year, whenever I’m here, I spend time with my family. She happens to live and be best friends with the brother I have the closest relationship with, so she sees my face more than anyone else’s. I hate how sad that makes her, and how strange I feel about it.
“That’s really fucking depressing,” she blurts out, and my heart breaks a little for her. I’d very much like to kick my brother’s arse for making Chiara feel this way. Another unsettling thought. God, I’m tired.
“Get some sleep,” I say because I need to get out of here. I need to be in my room, by myself, ignoring every single feeling she made me experience. Maybe I was onto something by staying as far away from her as possible.
“Okay,” she says absentmindedly as she strokes Benz’s chest. She’s fast asleep, so I decide to leave her right where she is. Chiara needs her love a lot more than I do tonight.
Which is the first and last time I’m going to put that little demon before my own needs. Otherwise, I’m going to be fucked, and I can’t let that happen.
CHAPTEREIGHT
chiara
Benz is no longer in the bed when I wake up the next morning. Rubbing my eyes, I throw the blanket off my chest and slip my legs out of bed. The scent of fresh coffee fills my room, and I trail after it to find its source. Leonard is in the kitchen, shirtless and listening to a slow R&B song over his speaker. My breathing hitches instantly at the sight of his lean but muscular chest, covered in tattoos. No one pulls them off as well as he does, and it’s fucking annoying. Why can’t I find him unattractive? Why does he have to be so ridiculously hot?
Ignoring the heat pooling between my legs and the tension in my chest, I bend down to pet a patiently waiting Benz. My eyes remain fixated on Leonard’s backside, but it’s hard not to when this is the first time I’ve seen him half-naked in almost five years. I’d forgotten how gorgeous he is without a shirt on, or how much I love the angel wings on his shoulder blades. The irony of him being the devil incarnate doesn’t go past me, but I drag my eyes away when he turns around to face me.
