Page 437 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

“I’m not really sure,” I snap. “I mean, it’s not like you’ve been hanging around the apartment. You kind of pulled a disappearing act after what happened the other night.”

“Yeah, I’ve been…busy.”

“Busy trying to figure out how quickly you can get out of Vegas?” I say, silently chiding myself for sounding so bitter. Argh! My head and my heart are not on separate pages. They’re immersed in two very different books. On two different planets. In two different galaxies!

He slows down. “What are you talking about?”

My lungs are ready to revolt right about now as my run comes to a stuttering halt. I turn to look at him, quirking an eyebrow. “Heaven said you’re on your way out.” I shrug. “That’s cool. I’m sure there are lots of real estate opportunities waiting for you. I get that you want to move on with your life.”

I do, too. Just in a different direction.

“She told you that?”

I shrug. “Yeah, she said you’re not happy or whatever. That you’re not yourself. That you want to leave.”

He adjusts his cap, averting his eyes for a long second. “Yeah. It’s true. I did.”

“So what’s stopping you? If you want to leave, just go.” I glare at him, shielding my eyes from the sun.

With a shake of his head, he pulls off his sunglasses so I can see the confusion in his eyes. “Why do you even care?”

“I don’t!” I let out a deep sigh. “Look, Dante, it’s hot as balls out here, and I hate to sweat, so I’m just going to head back, okay? If you don’t take off before tomorrow, I guess I’ll just see you at the christening.” I start to run again but he grabs my wrist and pulls me back, but my foot skids along a patch of gravel and I collide with his chest.

My mouth waters.

I want to lick.

I need to taste!

Ugh!

I put my hands on his perfect pecs and shove away from them. “What do you want with me, Dante?” I ask.

“I’m still trying to figure that out,” he says, his voice low and thick with conflict.

“Well, let me make it easy for you. I know you’re leaving, so whatever this is? It’s done. I need to keep my focus…on the baby and my…my school plans. I don’t need any distractions, okay? We had a fun night and it’s done. So just let it go.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

I narrow my eyes and stick my hands on my hips. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

He lets out a sigh. “Anya, Heaven was right…kind of. I have been wanting to leave Vegas for a while. But over the past few days, I’ve been feeling differently. A lot differently. Like maybe what I thought I wanted isn’t what I want now, because of you. And it doesn’t make any sense to me because it’s been such a short amount of time and I barely know you. But I can’t get you out of my head. It’s why I pulled away for a little while. I needed to make sure what I was feeling…and who I was feeling it about…was real.”

My mouth drops open. “About me?” I whisper. “You’re feeling this stuff aboutme?”

“Is that so hard to believe?”

And just like that, my heart races faster than it did while I was running.

I could come up with so many reasons why it shouldn’t be possible.

But I know how I feel about him and that renders all of those reasons meaningless.

I swallow hard. “Are you sure?”

He nods, caressing the side of my face. “There’s something about you, Anya. Something that makes me feel like we’re more alike than we both know. Something that tells me this is crazy but right. I don’t know much about you, but I know a ton, if that makes any sense.”

Breathless. I am absolutely breathless right now, and I’m standing perfectly still.

---