Page 23 of Rogue

Laying draped over him, I listen to the steadiness of his heartbeat and wait for the interrogation.

It doesn’t come. Instead, I lay over him as he gently rubs my back with one hand and holds me against him with the other.

Minutes pass, I don’t know how many, but there is this comfortable silence between us.

“Jennings,” I break the quiet, “why aren’t you asking me questions?”

He stops the back rub, “what do you want to share?”

“Sharing puts you in danger,” I explain. “Sharing puts your family in danger.”

“Your family trained you well.”

I lift up at that insinuation. “Giulia’s work has never and will never touch me.” One thing about Giulia, she doesn’t let herbusiness and affiliations anywhere near family. Maybe on her dad’s side, but none of it ever had anything to do with me or my grandparents.

“Who taught you sharing is dangerous?”

“This is so complicated,” I try explaining away my reluctance to share.

“Uncomplicate it, buttercup.”

I lay against him as I notice the day has become night around us. “I’ve had a long day, Jennings. I’m going to shower and then pray I can fall asleep.”

He presses a kiss to the top of my head, “sleep well, buttercup. I’ll be right here. You are safe.”

To my surprise his arms around me release and he allows me to get up and retreat without a fight. And he stays put on the porch, when the front door to his home is merely feet away.

Tossing and turning,I can’t relax.

He literally remains on the damn porch. I thought he would come inside, he hasn’t.

Unable to resist the pull to be close to him, I step outside moving to him on the couch. He is stretched out with a pillow under his head, shirt off, and jeans unbuttoned. I approach and once I’m close enough he tags me by the arm and pulls me down onto him. My legs falls between his as he tucks me against him and reaches for the blanket he had earlier to drape over me once again.

“You okay?”

“You could come inside,” I mutter not sure what to even say.

“Not goin’ in there, baby.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

“About as much as you want to dive into your relationship with Benincio Cartagena,” he tells me honestly.

One thing about Jennings, he really is honest to a fault. He seems to have found out about my problem.

“I dropped this on your doorstep. You know I can go home and deal with this. No need for you or any of your brothers to get caught up in my mess.”

Scooting up, he dramatically looks around, “you see something I don’t? Cuz, baby, my doorstep is empty. As for you goin’ home, nope. Me and my brothers are caught up. The moment Cartagena decided to involve the Legion’s Demons and they came in our territory, they put this shit on my door. Ain’t got shit to do with you, they know the unspoken rules. They brought this on, not you.”

I don’t know what to say so I say nothing. He casually rubs my back as if it soothes him as much as it does me.

“Like you in my shirt,” he tells me and I find myself smiling. “Don’t exactly have my clothes here. Decided you would be okay if I borrowed it.”

His shirt slides up and his hand hits my back. From there it slides down to my ass. I feel him and I can’t help but squirm.

“Hmm,” he mutters and his chest vibrates.

“I hand wash my delicate pieces. They are drying on the shower curtain rod.” I try explaining my absence of panties as I find myself being slid up his body before his lips crash to mine in a fury.

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