Page 85 of The Woman in the Hollow
Of what?
Falling for him?
A mafia capo.
A dangerous man, by all accounts.
The concerns and fears swirled, kicking up more and more with each passing second until the cyclone they created threatened to lift me up, spin me around, and never let me go.
It was then that Dante’s arm slid under me, curling me until I was against him, my head on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart.
The sound of it shut up my thoughts. It silenced the whole world until all there was… was him.
And with that, I drifted off to sleep.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Dante
I was up first, my internal clock accustomed to early morning gym trips so I could squeeze in a workout before any Family meetings. I felt like I thought more clearly when I gave myself those moments of activity early in the day.
If there was ever a morning I didn’t need clarity, though, it was the one where I woke up with Hazel on my chest, her soft body melted into me, her warm breath on my skin, her hand resting gently on my shoulder.
All the noise of life, of my own mind, fell away, leaving only her, and the surety of this moment.
It wasn’t some grand revelation.
It was a quiet recognition.
Her, my soul seemed to scream.Yes, her.
So I settled into the stillness.
Until something in her sleep had her stirring, grumbling, then rolling off to my side.
I slid out of bed, pulled the covers over her, brushed my teeth, then made my way downstairs to get coffee and breakfast started.
“Fucking Christ!” I snapped, my heart stuttering, when I walked into the kitchen to find Domenico already sitting at the table, eating the leftovers from last night’s dinner. “Are you out of your fucking mind?” I asked, making my way over to the coffee pot and getting it started. Even if his little jump scare was enough to wake me fully up.
“Have a key and the code.”
“Still doesn’t mean you let yourself into someone else’s house unannounced.”
Dom’s gaze cut to mine, dark, keen, seeing everything.
“What? Afraid I might interrupt a morning fuck?”
“Dom…” I warned, slapping the lid of the coffee machine shut and pressing the button.
“Saw you,” he said, shrugging.
“What?”
“House was quiet.”
“Because it was early and we were sleeping.”
“Had to check,” he said, shrugging.
