“At least once a week, and I want to get back to it, so leave.”
He thought about refusing so that he could see more of that scorching anger, but just feeling that desire told him that he needed to get away from her. He wanted her, and it was abadidea.
“Fine, I’m going,” he said, throwing his hands up in surrender. “But I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”
Unable to come up with something more ominous to let her know he meant business, he settled for leaving the empty office space first. Marching down the hallway the way he came, he promised himself that he would follow through with what he said. He’d keep an eye out, and if she was somehow setting them up, he was going to figure it out before anyone got hurt.
5
ALESSIA
Alessia opened the door of her apartment and barely took one step inside before a furry body was winding its way around her ankles. She looked down and smiled.
Cleo was a Persian longhair cat with a cute round face and snow white fur. She’d been Alessia’s companion since she moved into this apartment five years ago, and it was nice to have someone to greet her when she came home.
She didn’t have many close friends and her relationship with her family was complicated, so Alessia felt lonely more often than not. She knew that she had trust issues, but she figured anyone that was raised by a father like hers would. When your parent was a man that cared more about power and control than you, it was natural to have walls up. Those walls kept people at arm’s length, even when she wished they didn’t.
But at least she had Cleo. People weren’t easy to trust, but this cat wormed her way into Alessia’s heart right from the start.
She scratched behind Cleo’s ears before heading to the kitchen, where she opened a can of cat food for her. Then, she made her own dinner. The whole time, she was thinking about the women she was trying to help. She thought it would be enough to just tell the Irish about it, but they still needed her help. She couldn’t refuse, despite how dangerous it was.
But Alessia had no idea how she was going to find the location of the women that had been abducted. She didn’t even know how many women had been taken so far. All she was able to learn from eavesdropping was that there were women being held somewhere until her father could organize an auction.
She was sickened by the whole thing, but she finally had some hope that the Irish would come through and help. It was obvious that they didn’t trust her, but she could see the concern in their eyes when she told them about the women.
Even Connor seemed to care, despite the fact that he was openly disdainful toward her.
She still couldn’t believe that he’d shown up at the suicide hotline like that, questioning her presence there. It was none of his damn business why she volunteered there. She never told anyone about it, and she wasn’t going to start with him.
She didn’t want to even think about it. It was too painful, and the memory was better left in the past. She preferred to focus on the good she did at the hotline.
The apartment was too quiet, so she played music while she ate dinner alone at her kitchen table, but it didn’t help her to feel less isolated. Strangely, her mind wandered back to Connor. What was he doing right now?
Shaking her head at herself, she tried to push him out of her thoughts, but as she finished her meal and sat on the couch with a book, he lingered in her mind. The man was infuriating today, hurling accusations at her and following her around.
He’s also hot.
Her own thought startled her. Connor was not her type. The man had a dangerous edge to him that she’d always shied away from. The tattoos and his profession were bad enough, but he was also a member of the fucking Irish mafia. She might have gone to them for help, but that didn’t make them her friends.
All of that was enough reason to be completely turned off by the man.
Yet, she found herself thinking of those pale green eyes locked on her. She’d felt almost vulnerable under his searching gaze, as if he could see parts of her that she kept hidden from the world. Her pain and anger. The guilt she carried for benefiting from the terrible things her father did.
The idea of anyone seeing that part of her should have been terrifying, but she felt the most unexpected thrill from the idea of being truly seen by Connor. She couldn’t explain it, but something inside of her craved his full attention. To be stripped bare in front of him, both physically and emotionally. She wanted to show her darkest parts to someone, and she instinctively knew that he wouldn’t shy away from it.
Or maybe she just wanted to believe that.
Either way, she had to admit to herself that she was attracted to the man. He had the whole tall, dark, and handsome thing going for him. His dark hair was long, almost reaching his shoulders, and she found herself imagining running her fingers through it. He’d have to be close for her to do that, so close that their bodies would be pressed together.
She’d let her book drop to the floor beside the couch as she got lost in a fantasy, imagining Connor’s hands running down her back, his lips tracing her jawline. In her mind, he was rough, tearing open the front of her buttoned blouse and burying his face between her breasts.
She bit her bottom lip and moaned as her own hand slid into her pants, finding her clit and rubbing as the scene in her mind played out.
She imagined him stripping her bare and burying his face between her legs, those captivating eyes locked on hers. He’d devour her before burying himself inside, taking what he wanted from her, even though she was his enemy.
It didn’t take long for her pleasure to peak as her fingers rubbed circles over her clit, and Alessia came with a low moan there on the couch, her body going rigid as she tried to imagine when Connor’s voice would sound like moaning her name.
When it was over, she didn’t feel as satisfied as she expected. It wasn’t the real thing and, despite the orgasm, it was disappointing to know that the fantasy she’d just conjured up would never come to life.
