Page 23 of Spring Break with a Mafia Prince
She’d also asked that I didn’t leave her. That seemed an impossibility, but I had an idea on that front, though I wasn’t sure how she’d take the offer when I made it.
“Morning, Falcon.” She looked up at me, all heavy eyes, dozy with sleep.
So fucking beautiful.
I don't deserve her.
“Morning, beautiful. How did you sleep?”
“Good.” She pressed into me with a contented sigh.
I swore my heart would explode with every fresh sound she made. “Hurting?”
She shrugged. “A bit. In the right way, though.”
I swallowed. “Yeah.”
Fuck, she was brave. I saw how much taking me hurt her last night, but she did it anyway. The feel of her clamping down on me afterward tested every inch of my resolve. I continued stroking her hair, and rested my head back on the rug. Sure, my back ached a bit but I’d survive. She felt too damn good where she was to move.
“Shouldn't we?—”
“Nope.” I pressed my hand to the back of her head and held her to my chest. “If you get up, I'll find out just how many swats it takes to mark up that pretty, pale backside of yours.”
“You promise?”
I raised my head. “Girl, I don’t know if you just sassed me or bratted out on me, but damn if I don't want to find out.” I squeezed her tight. “Don’t. You. Move.”
“Yes, Falcon.” She settled into me, her weight heavier with every breath that left her body, tension releasing from her slim frame.
So fucking perfect right where she was. The natural submissive in her called to me, but it was the spirit in her that sassed me when she needed to that I loved the most.
Loved.
I swallowed hard and shoved a hand through my hair.Fuck Me.My breaths came short. But the panic I expected didn’t slam into me with the force it should have.
Eventually, my existential crisis abated and the sun flared into my eyes. And my bladder decided it couldn't take any more. “I’ll be back in a minute. Alright?” I pulled her up my body and kissed her puffy lips.
Christ, she did mark up fast. Her lips were red and swollen and I hadn't even been that rough with her. We could have some fun with that later. I stroked her cheek as her lashes fluttered and she gave me a dozy nod, snuggling back beneath the jacket when I slipped out from beneath her.
By the time I found a tree to relieve myself against and returned, Bella was sitting upright, her hair unwound as she ran her hands through the long strands, pulling out the knots.
“I can do that for you,” I offered, coiling some of the flyaway waves in my fingers.
She bit her lip, then nodded. I knew that look. Pressing a kiss to her temple, I worked out the knots gently with my fingers and began a long braid down her back as I sought out the right words. “No one has looked after you for a long time, have they?”
She jerked like I had pinched her. “That’s– Dad just needs a lot of help,” she rushed to explain, twisting on the spot. “He hasn’t been the same since?—”
I pressed my fingers over her lips. “I know you love him, beautiful. You don’t need to explain that to me. I have an…easily influenced father of my own.”
I didn't want to portray him as weak, not even to a girl who I suspected would understand him just fine. Even if she probably wouldn’t like him or any of his habits. Hell, I hated him half the time myself, even if I’d still step in front of him the next time someone tried to end his life.
If I was there that day.
That she mightn’t be able to deal with the lifestyle that came with my family deep stung at chest level. I tied her hair off at the end and dropped the braid over her shoulder. “Can I walk you back home?”
I still had a few more days before we hit a critical level where I’d have to walk away from her, but the job my father set earlier hung over me. I needed to get that done so I could work out how to keep Bella near me, if that was what she wanted.
I cleared my throat when she didn’t move or say anything. “I know we just met, but I wondered if?—”
