Page 83 of Unravel Me

"Alright, boys, have fun. I hope you don’t mind me watching. In my boring life, observing two handsome men spar is definitely something I won't miss," Silvio adds with an eager chuckle.

He swims toward the edge of the pool and says, "I've had enough swimming for today, but you two can keep playing around. Just be careful!"

"I'm getting out too. I'd like to lie down. I'm tired," I say, because heat recovery has its own rules, and even this short time floating in the water has left me drained.

I swim toward the edge of the pool, but Mauro is already there. He gets out of the water in one smooth motion, which looks crazy good as the water runs down his wet, powerful shoulders. He climbs onto the edge, turns around, and reaches his hand toward me.

Of course, I don't refuse. A second later, I fly upward as Mauro pulls me out of the water effortlessly. We bump lightly into each other in the process, and I can't resist sliding my hand over the pleasantly firm, raised shapes of his biceps.

Geez… it’s becoming oddly close to some kind of obsession. I constantly want to touch him, scent him, see him. What’s wrong with me?

Only when both Veyron and Silvio get out and start watching us do I step back and clear my throat.

"I'll go change. That was nice, thanks for the swim."

"Of course, sweetheart," Silvio says. "Will you come down for dinner, or do you want Mauro to bring it to you?"

"I'll try to come down, if I don't fall asleep first."

"Don't push yourself, Jared. We don't expect you to entertain us. We know what condition you're in, so take it easy."

I grab my towel and leave the pool room, feeling Mauro's gaze following me. He watches me intently, his eyes slightly narrowed. I can feel his lingering attention on my ass, almost like a physical touch, and as I walk away, I allow myself to sway my hips a little. I know I have an excellent butt, round and full, and it's always attracted looks. I made sure to include plenty of glute-focused exercises in my workouts to keep it that way. I'm not going to hide my assets now.

When I return to my room, I'm so exhausted that I can barely manage to change into something dry, specifically one of the T-shirts Gianni left for me.

I practically collapse onto the bed, close my eyes, and drift away into sleep almost immediately.

CHAPTER 15: MAURO

6 years ago

It really didn't take Mark long to win Jared over. Just a few short months after they met, the bastard had already convinced him to get married. I stand in the shadow of the hedge surrounding the hotel where the wedding reception is being held, watching everything from a distance, remaining unseen.

Jared looks absolutely breathtaking, his long, angelic hair flowing all the way to his hips, and my heart falls apart as I realize that winning him over could take years… or maybe it will never happen at all.

Should I just give up?

What if he really is my True Mate? What if I'm giving up on the one person who's perfect for me because the obstacles piling up in front of us seem impossible to overcome?

I squeeze my eyes shut, overwhelmed. Why did Fate tear us apart? Is it my fault? Maybe I don't deserve Jared right now. Maybe… I need to grow into the person who can be with him? But how? I'm nobody in the mafia world. I have no status, no connections, and I'm only just starting to make decent money fighting in underground cages…

Is that really an excuse? Maybe I could—

My phone buzzes softly in my pocket, but for the moment I ignore it.

I keep staring at the bridegrooms' first dance. They sway across the center of the ballroom, and Jared looks fairly happy… At least, that's how he seems. On some level, though, I'm convinced that he doesn't love Mark. I don't know why; I just have that feeling. But maybe that's simply my own projection and wishful thinking.

Still, Mark has done one thing I'm grateful to him for, whether I like it or not.

He got Jared out of the Ring.

Jared is untouchable to those men now, even though they weren't happy about losing him. According to my uncle Vincenzo, Jared had been the most prized and beautiful model they had, and they complained endlessly about losing such a treasure.

There's one more person who's especially furious about it, though.

Rocco.

The two of us have been on icy terms ever since everything happened. A few times Rocco tried talking shit about me to Anzo, but Anzo never seemed particularly interested in our little feud over some omega. From his perspective, it was beneath his attention.