I peeked inside the plastic and found red and blue carnations with a yellow daisy. My heart melted at his sheepish grin.
“They’re beautiful. Thank you.”
“I’m sorry, Victoria. I don’t deserve you, and I probably never will. But, I’m trying. Really fucking trying.”
I stepped forward and brushed his lips.
“You don’t have totryanything. I want you for who you are.” My hands slid up the sleeves of his jacket. “A broody, paranoid, sexy artist.” When I got a hint of a smile out of him, I planted a kiss on his chin, grabbing the flowers with one hand and handing him the bag of food with the other. “Let’s switch, this is heavy.”
I climbed the stairs to his apartment when he unlocked the lobby door. Butterflies ricocheted in my stomach from the memory of the last time I was here. All that tension and passion had finally spilled over and I wanted more. Alotmore.
But when it came to Anthony, more was dangerous.
I’d said I’d let it go, but Anthony’s hesitation still bothered me. I loved being with him so much that I tried my best put it out of my head, at least for tonight.
“My cousin Mari will be happy to know the snack tables she bought me when I moved in are getting some use.” He reached in the back of the bed and pulled out two folded TV tables.
“She bought you tables?”
“When I moved in. Mari and myTitiSofia were very concerned that I had no place to eat here. I usually just eat a sandwich at the desk because taking them out to eat alone just seemed a little...” He trailed off as he unfolded and set down two tables.
“Sad?” I offered.
“Stupid.”
I laughed at his crinkled nose as I shrugged off my coat and laid it on his bed.
“So, I guess you don’t have many guests here.” I averted my gaze and sat on the edge of the bed, digging into the bag of food.
“Did you mean I don’t have manywomenhere?” He folded his muscular arms over his broad chest, the corners of his lips twitching.
“I meantguests.Men, women, whatever.” I shrugged, setting the tin of Pad Thai on one of the tables. An irrational wave of jealousy came over me as I pictured another woman in Anthony’s tiny space, which was ridiculous but made me uneasy enough to not want to think about it.
Anthony hovered over me before sliding next to me on the bed, crawling behind me before pulling me back on the mattress and boxing me in on either side with his arms.
“Possessive much, Falco?” He nuzzled my cheek and started a trail of kisses along my jaw. “No one but you, sweetheart. No one but you in this apartment,” He ran his hand down my thigh and pulled down the zipper of my boot, sliding it off of my foot before throwing it across the floor. “No one but you on this bed,” I whimpered when he sucked on my earlobe while dragging the zipper down the other boot and slipping it off slower this time. I squirmed on the bed, drunk off his touch and hypnotized by the crazy lust in his eyes.
He cupped my cheek and ran his finger along my chin. “Just you. Only you.” Our lips crashed together as we rolled around on his bed, the both of us devouring each other as if it were the first and last time. I loved when things ignited between us, but I couldn’t shake the ominous feeling that we had a time limit.
I was too far in to think of an ending between us, but it haunted me all the same.
I pushed against his chest with a groan.
“We have plenty of time for that, and if we start…we won’t stop and the food is going to get cold.”
I laughed, but he only nodded, sifting his fingers through my hair.
“So fucking pretty. What are you doing here?”
I sat up on my elbows, hating the deep furrow between his brows that never seemed to go away.
“I’m here for you. Because I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
I glided my hand down his cheek. “You do have like forks or something, right?”
His sad smile tilted into a smirk.
“They gave me plates, silverware, and tables. I always end up using the plastic ones that come with whatever I buy to eat, but I don’t tell them that.” He dipped his head and kissed my lips, close-mouthed but lingering long enough to make my heart thump against my ribcage. “I guess it’s a big night, stay here.”
