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He drove with one hand on the wheel and ignored my question altogether. “What did you want to see first?”
“I don’t know. All of it.”
He chuckled. “We have to start somewhere. How about the Colosseum?”
“Ooh…that sounds great.”
He moved his hand to my thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Perfect.”
We spent most of the afternoon in Rome, seeing the historical culture that Cane was immune to. But I saw the way his eyes soaked up the magnificent buildings that stood the test of time. The fact that most of these places were thousands of years old made me feel so insignificant. In a few weeks, my life would be over, but these buildings would still be standing tall.
After a few hours on foot, we grabbed some lunch at a restaurant nearby. I was starving after all the walking we did, and I didn’t bother trying to read the menu. I’d just point to the first selection and hope it was good.
Cane eyed me across the table and ignored the glass of wine he’d just gotten. “I can explain the menu to you.”
“I’m sure whatever I get will be delicious.”
“I don’t know…Americans have specific tastes.”
“As long as there isn’t raccoon or something on the menu, I’ll be fine.”
He tried to suppress his grin. “Raccoon? Did you grow up in the mountains or something?”
Thinking about home quickly made me sad, despite the incredible day we were having. I was enjoying the sights while my family was terrified. They probably knew what happened to me, that I’d been taken into slavery. It kept them up every night, worried about how I was being treated or if I was still alive.
It made me feel horrible.
Cane noticed my mood change instantly. Over the course of the past two weeks, we’d been together nearly all of the time. He understood my facial expressions and my moods even when I didn’t say anything. I understood his just as well. “What did I say?”
“Nothing…” I placed my menu on top of his. “You can pick something out.”
Cane didn’t blink as he stared me down. His expression hardly ever softened. He seemed displeased most of the time, seriously annoyed. Sometimes I wondered if it was a mask he put on due to his line of work because that wasn’t always the way it worked. When we screwed, that expression wasn’t so fierce. “Tell me, Bellissima.”
That nickname always hit me right in the chest. It stopped me in my tracks and chased away any negativity I felt. There was something about the way he said it. It was full of affection and possessiveness. It made me feel beautiful, desired in the kind of way I liked. “When I think about home, I think about my parents… They must be heartbroken. I’m probably all they can ever think about.” I averted my gaze because I didn’t expect Cane to care. He wasn’t close to anyone besides his brother and sister-in-law, and even then, his affection was still hidden deep inside his psyche. He already didn’t feel bad for me as it was. I’d asked him if I could call my parents, and he rejected my request.
His hand moved across the table until it rested on top of mine. His thumb stroked my knuckles gently as he stared at me with a pair of soft eyes.
I eyed his hand, surprised by the compassion. My fingers moved with his until our fingers were interlocked.
Cane didn’t speak. All he did was touch me and comfort me with his eyes. They were dark and foreboding, but sometimes they could make me feel like I was living in a different world. They made me feel safe.
Made me feel whole.
After a round of rough sex on his bed, he hopped into the shower then dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.
My eyes were heavy, and I was about to slip away into my dreams. The only reason I was still awake because my body was waiting for him to join me. I was used to that powerful physique keeping me warm and safe throughout the night. “Are you going somewhere?” I sat up and held the sheet to my chest so my breasts wouldn’t get cold.
“I just need to do some stuff at the office. I’ll be back before you wake up.”
I’d never seen him leave so late at night. “Everything alright?”
“Yeah, don’t worry about it.” He leaned over the bed and gave me a quick kiss on the lips, the kind of kiss a husband would give his wife. “I just need to catch up on a few things.”
“Why did we go sightseeing if you had stuff to do today?”
He shrugged. “It slipped my mind.” He grabbed his jacket on the way to the door. “I’ll see you in the morning.” He walked out and shut the door behind him.
