Page 41 of Bought By the Mafia

“Why? Everybody loves cuddling.”

“Not me. It’s too intimate.”

There was a time when he enjoyed it. When we slept together for the first time on his yacht, it had been in the bedroom of the main cabin and we had cuddled. I remember it well because I don’t think I’ve ever felt that feeling of belonging to someone before or since. It had not only felt nice; it had felt right. Had that night on the yacht had something to do with his rule? I didn’t want to find out. I might learn I’m the reason he’s broken, and we had only started being nice to each other.

18

Simona was still sound asleep by the time I was done showering. She looked so beautiful in her sleep I didn’t want to wake her, so instead I pressed a small kiss on her forehead. I was about to give her another until I realized what I was doing and stopped. We had agreed to be cordial, not loving. The issues between us were still there after all, and pretending that every problem had disappeared was foolhardy. And besides, our agreement was going well so far. Why ruin it with useless intimacy? That was not how I operate and it would confuse things between us now that I had destroyed a long held boundary; No sleeping in bed.

Technically, I hadn’t broke the rule because all we did was sleep, literally. Not that it was a peaceful night. Knowing that Simona was an arm’s reach from me and that I could just pull her to me, kiss her senseless and make love to her tormented my mind the entire night I hardly slept. By five am, I was tired of tossing and turning, counting sheep and looking at the ceiling that I got out and went to the gym. The workout provided some relief, but upon returning, I noticed the sheets had partially covered her body, and her pajama top had slipped up, revealing her alluring stomach, which immediately reignited my desire. One tiny movement and I could see her breast, I thought. Before I could succumb to the urge, I rushed to the shower and took a cold one. My boner didn’t let up. I was still hard, so the next best thing was to let my thoughts go there and jerk off to the prospect of stripping off—no ripping off those offending pajamas and suck her rosy nipples until she screamed for me to stop. Then moving on to her lips and kissing while I drove deep into her warm heat. I jerked off so hard I came in record time.

And now fully dressed in a suit and tie, I was still in the mind of fulfilling my shower fantasy. It was pathetic, really. Pathetic and unfair. She slept soundly while her mere presence tormented me. If she knew this was how she made me feel, she would not doubt her power over me. And who knew how she would use it? It was something I was determined she should never learn. That and the fact that she was the reason behind my rule. That night on the yacht, I completely surrendered to her. I’ve never behaved like that with anyone and that turned to have disastrous results. I shook away the memory. Better to focus on the present than the past, I thought.

Allison was already awake and in the kitchen when I got there. Brita was helping her make coffee and they only belatedly noticed my presence. “How did you sleep?” I asked Allison as soon as she saw me.

“Like a log of wood. That pill you gave me works like magic.”

“Good,” I said and waited for Brita to leave. Once she was gone, I continued the conversation. “And your wounds? How do they feel?”

“The eye hurts a little, but it will survive. Tell your wife she’s a natural healer,” she said.

“If I could crush that man, I could.”

“Thanks, but I don’t want it to. I want it to end. And dragging him through the courts would only be another form of harassment he would inflict on me. He hates to see me win.”

“There are other ways I could deal with him,” I said, and she quickly caught my meaning.

“I just want to let it go. I doubt he would do anything once he knows who I’m with. His family is smaller than yours and if they knew he did this, they would fuck him up.”

She had gone through a lot and it was understandable if she wanted to let it go, but doing nothing made me feel helpless. Ever since she came back, I’ve been wondering if her initial visit had something to do with her trying to flee her boyfriend. She had been a little reserved, and I felt she wasn’t saying more than she should. Maybe it was a relationship with Simona that complicated things. According to Simona, Allison hadn’t told her she knew me, even though she had gotten several cues that Simona and I were together. Simona thought Allison was being duplicitous and what did she call it? Pulling a fatal attraction? It was an odd accusation. One I had a tough time agreeing with. The truth was much more likely to be more innocent than that. I also wouldn’t be surprised if it had something to do with her situation.

“If you ever change your mind, know I’ll be there for you,” I said.

Allison nodded. “I’ve never doubted that for a second,” she said. “You were very protective when we dated. I don’t know…” She lowered her eyes. “Carter was the same at first. Just like you. Protective and sweet. And I liked that about him. And unlike you,” she lifted her gaze to face me, “he seemed serious.” I felt a pang in the pit of my stomach. “Allison…”

“I’m not saying I wanted you to be serious. I knew what I signed up for when we got together. I’m not saying that. It’s just that I thought Carter would give me what was missing from our relationship and instead he gave me bruises. Your maleness led me to let down my guard and forget other less savory forms of maleness.”

“Are you saying I ruined you?”

She chuckled, and I was glad she understood my joke. Then she quickly turned serious and said, “I guess you did.” Her voice was low when she spoke and the distance between us was significantly less than before. Were we standing this close all along, or had she been tentatively moving forward? I stepped back, feeling uncomfortable at the closeness.

“It’s time I get to work,” I said. Something about our conversation had shifted, and I didn’t like it. An odd sense of guilt had grabbed me and wasn’t letting go. “If you have any issues, don’t hesitate to call,” I added, and left.

I got to the office earlier than usual, ready to start the day. My conversation with Allison was still on my mind and I was willing to respect her wishes, but I still wanted to help her. Maybe if I look into the Carter guy and dig up some dirt on him, that might help her in the future if she ever thought of doing something. My private investigator was first on my schedule and he was already by my office when I came in.

“Come on in, Lewis,” I said as I marched past, entering my office. I heard only the sound of the door closing. When I finished taking off my coat and starting my computer, Lewis had already seated himself on the chair opposite my desk. He moved like a cat for a bulky man. It always unnerved me, but it made for an excellent investigator. He was the best I’ve ever had so far.

“Found anything?” I asked him. Lewis was never one for pleasantries, so I never wasted his time with them. His face was sour when I asked him, and he didn’t look like he had found anything.

“I found something.”

“And?”

He took out his notepad and placed it on the table. Looking into Simona after last night’s truce felt like a violation, so I made a mental note to tell him to end his investigation into her. Lewis cleared his throat, flicked through his notes looking for a page and then said, “We found three storages.”

“Three?” How many clothes does she have that would need to be fit into three storages.

“One in her name and two others in the name of her assistant. She’s not storing away any money or drugs, if that’s what you were worried about. The storages are mostly for clothes. I even had one of my guys break in to see if there was any money underneath, and I can assure you there was nothing.”

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