Page 11 of Midnight Revelations

His eyebrow arched. “Protect me?”

“Hmmm. You left your heart with me so you could go with Jordan and do what was needed.”

Ash returned to studying the ceiling. “The guy who kidnapped Cassandra is involved in some very shady shit. Looks like he’s been involved in human trafficking. Jay wanted to follow some of the money trail before it went cold.”

“Why would it go cold?” I asked.

“Because he’s cold and stiff.”

His words slowly sank into my brain. “Do you mean that he’s dead?”

His shoulder lifted in a shrug. “Welcome to my world.”

I should be shocked or horrified, but the girls at school took delight in telling me and my sisters all about Papa’s business and the fact he was a mafia boss. That meant death and torture. For years, I had tried to see that side of Papa with no success. It had been starting to show lately now that I had displeased him.

“Did you find what you were looking for?” I asked, trying to find my way in his world.

“Maybe. We found a hidden room. Jay still needs to search through what we found. I headed here instead of home when I got your text.” He traced a trail down my spine.

“I’m sorry, Ash. I wish I could be as confident as other women I see, but I look at myself and the women that surround you and find myself lacking. Why choose me when you could have any or all of them?”

His lips tipped up in a lazy smile, his arm tugging me closer. “I don’t want any of them, Angel. I spent my life running from relationships and one found me anyway. I wish I could walk away from you. God knows that I fucking torment myself about dragging you into my world. You burrowed under my defences and made my cold, dead heart feel again.”

I crawled over him to stare down into his eyes. “It wasn’t dead, just in hibernation.” My lips gently met his and I smiled when his head followed me as I moved back. “Do you have to leave tonight?”

“Nope.” A faint hint of a smile curved his full lips. “I just said that to Lucas. By the morning, he’ll be called away on urgent business and you’ll have a business meeting you need to stay in Paris for.”

My heart beat erratically. “Are we staying in Paris together?” I felt ready to burst with excitement.

His eyes finally met mine. “I have a few days free in my calendar and thought we could spend some time together.”

I screamed, wrapping my arms around his neck to pepper kisses all over his face. He grinned, trying to quieten me before Francis kicked the door in. His legs pinned me to the bed and he grasped my wrists in his hands.

“You need to quiet down before Lucas fucking murders me for being in your bed in the suite he’s paying for.”

I didn’t give a damn about anything anymore. He’d just given me the keys to happiness. I always wanted to walk along the streets of Paris with my lover and Ash just ticked that box for me on my bucket list.

“He’ll have to get used to it since I’m staying here,” I replied, scrunching my nose up.

“We’ll be staying at my place as soon as he leaves. The guys and I own an apartment in most of the major cities to stay in if we’re here. It’s secure and private.”

It sounded delicious. Just Ash and me together for a few days without having to worry about anything else. “Do you plan on making all my fantasies come true?” I asked.

His lips twitched. “Just a few of them. Any you want to share with me?” He leaned forward and the tip of his nose traced the edge of my face.

How did I tell him that he was my ultimate fantasy since I first started noticing boys?

“You can tell me,” he encouraged. “There’s nothing in this world that shocks me anymore.”

“I only had books to spark my imagination before you,” I slowly confessed. “Some confused me, others scared me because there was no way people did some of that shit without breaking a bone. I fell for you a long time ago but you never even noticed that I existed. You starred in every single one of my fantasises, Ash. There wasn’t a hero in the books I read that I didn’t envisage you in the lead role.”

I sighed and tried to turn away from his blue gaze that saw too much. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Ash. It’s only ever been you for me. Cat used to tease me about how I acted around you. Even Jordan took me to one side and told me to find someone else. In the end, I hid in my room and hoped that you’d never see how awkward I felt.”

His hand cupped my cheek to force me to look at him. “Women tend to want me for who I am or what I can give them. I doubt any of them care if I live or die.”

I cared. It would devastate me if anything happened to Ash.

“You’re the first person who sees the man behind the mask. You were the daughter of a man I feared and admired, and then you walked into that restaurant and knocked me sideward. I noticed you, Lucrezia. I just never thought I was good enough for you.”

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