“I want you to enjoy being back at college! The last thing I want is you worrying about anything.” He slaps a hand over his chest. “You are mine to protect, and I won’t apologize for shielding you. Is that so hard to understand?”
“I can’t be kept in the dark, Leo.” I try to rein in my anger. I know my brother and Leo acted with my best interests at heart, but they can’t keep things from me. “I won’t be treated like some helpless female.”
“We don’t think that.” Ignoring my protests, he pulls me into his arms. “We love you, and we’re just trying to keep you safe.” He tilts my face up. “If anything happened to you, Nat, I would die. I mean it. I’d be following right behind you because I cannot live in this world without you any longer.”
“That doesn’t make it right, Leo, but I understand why you did what you did.” I step out of his embrace. “Don’t do it again.” I fold my arms across my chest and level him with a warning look. “I assume you had to tell Brando and Nario given how frequently I visit your apartment?”
He nods. “They won’t say anything. Brando because he cares for you, and Nario because he’s very loyal to me. Unless Ben asks them outright, they will keep it a secret.”
“I don’t like it,” I admit. “Already, people know.”
“I couldn’t not tell them.”
I sigh in frustration. “I know.”
He hands me my bag. “I will tell you everything from now on, if that’s what you prefer.”
“It is.”
“Okay.” My shoulders relax at the sincere expression on his face.
“Now that’s sorted, let me walk you to your next class.”
* * *
I’mat Leo’s stove, stirring the mushroom sauce I made to go with our steaks, when Leo arrives home later that night. “Perfect timing,” I say, turning around to accept his kiss.
“It smells delicious, and I love coming home to you slaving over a hot stove.”
He smirks, and I slap his ass. “That’s twice you have made sexist comments in one day. Don’t make it a third.”
He reels me in by the waist, nibbling on my ear. “You know I’m teasing.” He nuzzles that sensitive spot under my ear, and I throw my head back, granting him better access. “I love you being at my place. It truly feels like a home now.”
My heart melts, like it always does when he’s romantic. Which is a lot, because Leo might be a feared mafioso, and he’s definitely got a dark side, as well as a kinky side, but he’s hella romantic with me. I circle my arms around his neck, pressing my lips softly to his. “Being here with you is everything I want and all that I need. I don’t care that we can’t go out. I prefer hiding away at your place, just the two of us.” I wish it was permanent, and I can tell from the wistful look in his eyes he wishes that too.
His eyes fall to my neck. “You still have it,” he whispers, fingering the delicate silver locket he gave me for Christmas the year I was seventeen.
“I could never bear to part with it,” I admit.
“I still have the box and the gifts you gave me for my twenty-first birthday. It’s one of my most treasured possessions.” He kisses my brow, his look one of total adoration. “Do I have time to grab a shower before dinner?”
I shake my head. “The steak is resting, the baked potatoes and salad are already on the table, and the sauce is just done.”
“You’re spoiling me,” he murmurs, taking two wineglasses out of the overhead cabinet.
“I like spoiling you, and you know being in the kitchen makes me happy.” He pours us both a glass of red wine, bringing them over to the table as I plate up our meals. Without a word, he walks back out to the hallway, reappearing a minute later with a massive bunch of red roses and a large box of chocolates from my favorite chocolate shop. “I haven’t had these in years,” I admit. “When did you find the time to drive to White Plains?”
“I didn’t. I called the shop and had them delivered to me downtown.”
“You’re so thoughtful.” I peck his lips, setting the chocolates down on the table as I walk back to the kitchen to arrange the roses in a vase.
Returning to the table, I place the vase in the center, smiling like a loon. Gino has never bought me flowers, and I’m not sure I fully understood how much it can mean to receive them until this moment. “Thank you, baby.” I lean across the table to peck his lips. “I love you.”
He cups my face, his features bursting with emotion. “Love you too. So much, Nat. So, so much.”
We dive into our meal, talking about our day in between mouthfuls.
After, we clean up, side by side, before taking the chocolates, the bottle of red wine, and our glasses over to the couch. Leo puts Nat King Cole on, and I kick off my shoes, snuggling up beside him as we share the chocolates and sip our wine in between kisses. “I love this,” I truthfully admit, placing my hand on his chest. “Just existing together. Doing the simple things but having you there by my side.” I lift my face to his. “It feels like I have a true partner for the first time in my life.”
