Page 112 of Unraveled

She raged.

She was pissed.

Gian let her.

She had the distinct feeling he did that because regardless of how much she screamed, fought, swore at him, and said no, she was still going.

And it was going to hurt.

A lot.

Gian closed his laptop the second he heard familiar mumblings coming from down the hall. Cara sounded less annoyed than she had the night before. He took a phone call as he listened to the soft patter of feet down the hall, followed by the click of a closing door. The bathroom, likely.

By the time he was done with his call, Cara stood in the office doorway. She hadn’t bothered to put any clothes on; she still wore that frilly, delicate lace that she’d gone to bed in. And that was only the panties, not the bra. She had simply tossed his dress shirt on—unbuttoned—which did very fucking little to cover her breasts.

Never mind what it did for his cock.

Bathed in morning light from the wide office windows. Sleepy-eyed. Mussed hair. Peeks of her soft, smooth skin, from the valley of her tits all the way down to the lace of her panties, demanded his attention. Her lips had turned a faded, stained red from the lipstick she had been wearing the night before.

Gian was sure his maid was sick and tired of trying to clean red lipstick stains out of his white sheets.

Fuck.

He wished he cared.

Cara leaned in the doorway. “Morning.”

“You seem more pleasant today,” Gian said.

“I was pleasant last night.”

“After you yelled at me and then ignored me for hours.”

Gian had never imagined a time would come in his life when he found himself controlled by the ways of a woman. At least, he hadn’t expected that control to come because he loved her.

Cara had no idea of her control over him.

She probably thought Gian pulled the strings.

How wrong she was …

“I know you’re not happy about Chicago, Cara.”

“It … seems like a bit much,” Cara said. “Like an overreaction, maybe. I could go anywhere, but that’s where you think I should go.”

“Your brother is there. You have family to look after you until I think it’s safe to ask you back. It won’t be for long. It’s only a precaution, bella. Sending you to a safe house is one thing, but sending you out of the country is even better.”

“Safe.” She scoffed. “You do realize that the last time I was in Chicago, I buried Lea.”

“Yes, but—”

“Because someone killed her.”

Gian nodded, knowing this was one of Cara’s hot-button issues. “I’m aware, but shit is different down there now. Calmer, even. Your brother recently took over as the new boss. It might do you some good to settle a few things while you’re down there. And by settle, I mean stuff in your heart—the things that keep causing you pain. Your father died, you didn’t go to his funeral. Your mother killed herself not too long ago and you didn’t go back for that, either. And even if not for them, then for Lea. You miss her all the time. You say it enough, like you left her behind.”

Cara glanced away at that statement. “I hate Chicago.”

“You hate how it makes you feel, mon ange. That isn’t the same thing. Time to face that head-on, and bury it for good.”