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I put my head to his. “Has a shelf life, I know.”
He doesn’t answer just kisses me. There’s so much I want to say, but I don’t know how or even if I should. So, I climb off him and go and get ready for the day.
When I’m in my room, I sit a moment on the bed, my hands in tight fists on my knees. The thing is, I don’t hate him at all. I want him, yes, but there’s that other part to him beneath the bossy overbearing protector I like.
Oh shit. I don’t want this to end because I’ve got feelings, and I might have caught them for him because he’s in every part of me.
Last night, I was nowhere near tipsy. The drinks I had were weak and consumed very slowly. Yet, the moment I laid eyes on him, I was a little drunk on him.
I pull on jeans and an oversized shirt, the jeans ripped up, and the shirt emblazoned with one Iggy Pop. Pulling my hair into a messy bun, I grab my boots and head out, looking for coffee and food.
Tizio’s in the kitchen, reading something on his phone, his disgusting sugarfest he calls coffee on the island. He’s in jeans and a black sweater, and there’s a gun next to the sugar bowl.
I stare at it. Even though I know what he does, the gun thing still takes me by surprise.
He turns. “Karlee . . .”
My heart sinks.
“I should apologize for all that. You and I, well . . .” He blows out a breath. “I’m sorry.”
“Do you mean it?” I narrow my eyes.
There’s a long pause. “No, not really.” Tizio picks up his coffee and takes a sip. “But I should be sorry. I keep saying that’s it, and then I keep taking.”
“I keep giving.”
“The point is,” he says, setting the mug down, “I’m a confusing mess when it comes to you. I shouldn’t be. You deserve better.”
“I might,” I whisper, “but I want you, and I love every minute, Tizio, so don’t you dare take it away. I told you, I know there’s a shelf life.”
“Karlee, I love every fucking minute too. That’s the problem. I can’t seem to fucking stop, and I should. I should know better, set an example.”
“How can you make hot sex sound so boring?”
Tizio laughs and shakes his head. “I’m trying to do the right thing when all I do is the wrong one.”
“That depends on how you look at it.”
“The only way there is. The right one. The thing is, I’m laying claim to you when I shouldn’t. And the more I?—”
Tizio stops and shakes his head.
My stupid heart goes wild in my chest. Because I can’t stop myself from going there, but . . . does he like me more than he lets on? Beyond the sex? Surely if it were only sex, he wouldn’t care. Would he?
“I’m trying to end this so you get your life back. The danger,” he adds. “You don’t have anything until this afternoon. I’m not going to be able to take you, but Wendy will. And she’ll have someone near too.”
“You get to take a break from me.” The humor I attempt falls flat on its face.
He half winces. “I have to work, Karlee. But be careful. Because there’s a lot of shit going on, and it all seems to tangle.I don’t know what your brother was into and if it has to do with what I’m looking into outside of that.”
I don’t know what he’s talking about, but I nod wisely. Mafia, gangs, territories, drugs, they don’t interest me. None of that does. I want to do the things I like, and the heaviest mood-altering drug I take is coffee or an energy drink.
A small smile hits his mouth like he can read my mind, and I resist the urge to scowl.
I rewind everything he said. “You mentioned Fallon?”
“He’d never put you in danger or do something he thought would throw you into something bad. I think he’s in prison protecting a woman. But don’t quote me.”
