When I drift off to sleep almost seconds after my head hits the pillow, one final thought floats into my mind.
The mafia thug actually brings me peace.
Who the hell would have ever guessed that?
CHAPTER15
ROMAN
Idon’t remember falling asleep. I only know I haven’t woken up feeling this good in…fuck. Forever, maybe?
Feeling Chella’s body tight against mine, her smooth skin brushing against my chest as she shifts closer with a sexy moan, like she’s just been ravaged and is basking in the afterglow.
Oh, yeah.
That happened.
“What are we doing?” she murmurs with a deep sigh.
“I think it’s called spooning, not that I’ve ever done it with anyone before.”
Chella giggles. “Yes, it is called spooning and yes, that is what we’re doing. I wasn’t being that literal, though.”
“I know.”
“So?” she twists her head around to peer at me with heavy, sleepy eyes.
“I like how direct you are,” I murmur.
She shrugs. “If you want an answer, the first step is to ask the question.”
I bury my head in her wavy dark hair, breathing in her scent. Truth be told, I’d forgotten all about the big ass elephant in the room. “I didn’t exactly plan for this to happen.”
“Which part of ‘this’ do you mean? Just so we’re on the same page.”
“All of them.” I stroke the back of her head. “This is wrong on every level. I never should have…shit. The whole thing was a big fucking mistake,” I mutter.
Her eyes widen and she pulls away from me with a stricken look on her face and I let out a groan, realizing I actually spoke those words instead of thinking them.
“No, you’re taking it the wrong way?—”
She pulls the sheets around her, putting as much distance between us as she can without rolling off the bed. “I don’t see another way of taking it, but I shouldn’t be so surprised. I mean, I agreed to do things for you as part of my payment, so I guess this falls under my job responsibilities,” she snips, pulling her hand away when I try to grab for it.
“Hey,” I say, pulling her back to me. “Listen to me. Don’t read anything into what I said. Just know this. You’re the only bright spot in this fucking black hole of my life right now, Chella. That night at the restaurant…when I realized who you were, so many feelings came rushing back. I saw something in you, felt something I wanted to grasp onto, something I wasn’t able to touch all those years ago. But I knew I couldn’t. Not ever. You were too good, too high above me. I knew it the second you crashed into me at the bar.”
She lifts an eyebrow. “If memory serves,youcrashed intome.”
“Eh, semantics,” I say with a grin. “Maybe I did it on purpose because even though I knew you were out of reach, I still wanted to experience what it would feel like, being touched by that light of yours, even if it was for a split second. And I walked away feeling like I’d lost something huge that night. A second chance, maybe. Then my world got turned upside down and suddenly, the bright spot was within my reach again.” I scrub a hand down the front of my face and fall onto the pillow, the usual heavy weight in my gut dissipating as the words tumble out of my mouth. “Just so you know, I don’t ever talk like this. Hell, I don’t think like this either. I don’t give a damn about things like inner light and crap like that. I’m not a good guy, Chella. I do bad shit to people, and even if they deserve it, it still doesn’t justify my actions.” I let out a frustrated sigh. “I’m not making this any better, am I?”
“I didn’t know you felt that way.” She slowly creeps toward me, her eyes taking on a soft bluish-green tint, whereas only a minute ago, they were dark and heated, like flaming emeralds ready to impale my soul. “I didn’t expect for this to happen either, but like I keep saying, you surprise me. Over and over.”
“I hope that’s not the only thing I’ll get to do over and over,” I murmur, grasping her ass and giving it a squeeze. She lets out a tiny squeal, jumping against me. Then I let out a groan and clap a hand to my forehead. “Christ! What the hell am I doing?”
“Is that supposed to be rhetorical?”
My hand drops to the side of the mattress. “Yeah. I really messed things up. And being with you is only gonna mess them up worse than I already have.”
“Because you’re a bad guy.”