Page 33 of Under His Watch

But I was satisfied to an extent, too. Lying there and waking up slowly, I recalled the tight, wet vise of her pussy on my dick, her sexy mewls and determined, ravenous kisses.

Tessa could be the lover I’d always dreamed of, the woman I thought I’d never find—if she could compromise and meet me in the middle like I was used to when fucking a woman.

She stirred, as though she could sense I was thinking about her.

And I want her again.Even if I couldn’t take her hard like I yearned to. Even if I refused to push her and test her limits in what she could submit to.

Despite it all, I wanted her again and again, however I could, and to begin something lasting between us.

Her phone buzzed on the nightstand, and with the vibration of the device, it skittered close to the edge. I reached out to catch it before it could fall, and as I set it back on the surface, I frowned at the caller ID line.

Liam? Who the fuck is Liam?Yesterday, I’d been so on edge with how distant she was acting with me. At first, I assumed it was her reluctance to accept that I was a killer or in the Mafia, but I hadn’t considered the idea that another man could be on the scene.

No. She said she was a virgin before those men caught her.

And she wouldn’t have begged me to sleep with her last night and say she wanted me if she was thinking about anyone else. Right?

The jealousy that took root irked me, but before I could wake her up and ask who Liam was, her phone rang with a call, not a text this time.

Tessa stirred, programmed to the ringtone. She woke, cranky and so fucking adorable with that grouchy expression as she turned toward me and scowled at her phone in my hands.

“Goddammit.” She took the device and ignored the call. “They won’t stop.”

“Who is it?” I asked.

She slumped back to the bed. “My parents.”

Her parents whom she wanted to avoid for good.

I watched her rub her face, both her hands dragging up and down over her still sleepy expression. It was revealed as only a show of annoyance once she lowered her hands.

“I don’t know what the hell I’m doing anymore, but I cannot fathom going back to them.”

I took her hand and sighed as I rubbed my fingers over hers in a kneading massage. “You’re here with me.”

She huffed. “For now. I mean, I appreciate what you did last night, um, comforting me and all, but I know I can’t stick around and bother you for good.” As though she regretted speaking so candidly, she sat up more and turned worried eyes toward me. “Not that I’m expecting to or anything.”

“Tess, you will stay with me for as long as you want.”

She rolled her eyes. “No, I won’t. You’re a busy man. You’ve got commitments and jobs and responsibilities.”

I shrugged. “I’m not too busy for you.”

Her expression turned sad. “It seemed like you have been since we came here.”

Fuck. Is that why she seemed distant? She thought she was a burden?

“I get it. You’re a man in a high position in your, uh, organization. I don’t want to interrupt and take up your time when you and Dante and Frank?—”

“Franco,” I corrected.

“Franco. When you guys are all gearing up to stop another Mafia family and a biker club from hurting anyone in your family again. I see that. This is a hectic time, and I don’t expect you to stop and pander to me.”

I growled, rolling her to her back. “I told you, Tess. I want to help you. However I can.”

She sighed, rubbing her hands over my upper arms. When she didn’t protest me lying over her, I hoped it was a good sign.

“I know. And I appreciate that. But I’m not going to just barge into your life. I’m complicated, and I am not holding it to you to uncomplicate anything for me.”

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