God, what do I do now?
They’re going to stop talking any minute and find me standing outside here – obviously eavesdropping. There’s nothing else for it…I have to go in. I take a moment to collect myself, then straighten my shoulders and nudge the door open with my toe. Dario is leaning against a desk against the far wall, an unhealthy flush on his cheeks. Raoul is standing near the end of the bed. As I walk in, both of them snap their heads to look at me. Raoul shoots me a smile, then looks down at his feet. Dario stares at me with a hunger that makes my heart clench. As if he hasn’t just been threatening to commit unspeakable horrors to another human being. Is he some kind of psychopath?
Oh, Lord…what am I getting myself into?
“Hey. I missed you.” His smile could brighten a room.
“I…uh…I brought you some soup. F-fresh baked bread…Carlos made it himself just this morning.” I’m stuttering and babbling at the same time.
“Mmm…looks great,” says Raoul, moving closer to sniff appreciatively.
“Fuck off, Raoul,” Dario says, not taking his eyes off of me. “We’re done here.”
Raoul snaps off a mock salute, but snags a slice of bread and winks at me before heading to the door.
“Don’t forget what I told you,” Dario adds as his brother leaves the room, then faces me. “You were gone too long,” he says softly, rising and heading toward me. I lick my lips. My mouth is suddenly dry.
“I was just gone a minute,” I murmur. “Carlos had food prepared, so it was easy to get everything together, but I uh…I…” I’m babbling again. Does he know I was outside when he and Raoul were talking?
“A minute is too long,” he says softly, reaching for the tray and setting it onto a bedside table. When he scoops me up against his chest, I make a little choking sound. It’s a sound that turns into a low moan in my throat as his lips close over mine.
Oh God, I’m so screwed.
Even though I know what he is…what he does…I go weak when he’s near. It takes me several long seconds to pull my wits together enough to break the kiss and step away from him. My body tingles, betraying the fragile grip I have on rational thought. I want him again, and from the look in his eyes, the feeling is mutual.
“You need to eat,” I say. Dammit, my voice breaks as I say it.
“I know,” he says, looking down the length of my body and licking his lips. All at once, I’m remembering his face pressed between my thighs, and I’m breathless all over again. I give my head a little shake, trying to clear it. It doesn’t help much.
“Get yourself back in bed,” I say as firmly as I can. “That’s an order…from Sister Lovie.” I feel like an idiot when I say it, but he gives me a slow grin.
“Oh, well…if Sister Lovie says so…” He sinks onto the bed, reaching for me. I dodge out of his grasp, picking up the bowl of soup and a spoon.
“Settle back now,” I say, more firmly this time. “It’s time to eat.”
I can do this.
I’m not some mindless nympho driven by my body’s base needs.
He rests back against his pillows, stretching that long, powerful body out before me. Even swathed in bandages, his chest is a thing of beauty. I perch on the mattress beside him and aim a brimming spoon toward his mouth.
“Open up,” I say. He keeps his eyes fixed on mine as he opens his mouth dutifully. I tip the spoon between his lips, and he tastes, swallows, then slides his tongue along his lips. I repeat the motion, trying desperately to stop staring at that tongue flicking out. “I…I uh guess you can probably do this yourself,” I say huskily. God, I feel like such a fool. But he reaches for my hand and guides it back to his mouth.
“I like it,” he murmurs. “I love that you want to take care of me.” He gives a half-smile that melts my heart. Without another word, he removes the spoon and bowl from my hands and sets them aside. When he leans up and brushes his lips against mine, my heart clenches. “Thank you,” he says softly, stroking my hair away from my cheek. “I wish I could tell you how precious you are to me,tesoro; my Nikki Love. So good, so pure…amore puro… I don’t deserve you.”
I suck in a breath that feels dangerously like a sob, and then he’s pulling me up against his chest, and I’m powerless to resist.
Despite everything that I know about him, in moments like this, he holds my heart.
∞∞∞
It’s dark when I pull myself from sleep, Dario’s arm draped over my hip. Aside from catching a movie in the home theater with Dani earlier, we’ve spent the entire day in bed – which is exactly where he should be while he’s recuperating. Except he’s had other plans for our time. The man should be resting. And thank God, he finally is.
Because I can’t do what I must do while he’s still awake, still holding me, loving me…
I ease myself silently from under his arm, then stand, looking down at him in the moonlight.
Oh, God…
