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“Ava,” I murmured, lost in the pools of sapphire that were his eyes.
At first glance, I’d simply thought they were blue, but they were so much more than that. They were the calm rippling ocean of the Caribbean. The tumultuous roar of a cascading waterfall. The deep sparkle of a gemstone. The silvery glow of the moon. They were all that and more and I found myself staring into them with wonder.
The rest of him was hard. Dangerous. Strong.
But not those eyes. Those were different. As he looked at me, I sensed nothing but security within their depths.
“Tell me who you’re running from,” he coaxed gently.
I opened my mouth, ready to let my story go but something stopped me. It wasn’t anything he did, but my own fear that stopped me. My story was the type of tale that belonged in a book or in a movie. Things like this didn’t happen to normal people.
He wouldn’t believe me. He probably already thought I’d lost my mind. I’d stumbled into this place in the middle of the night, eaten a meal, and promptly had a breakdown right before I tried to leave.
I didn’t want him to think even less of me if I told him the reality of what had happened tonight, of how a simple girl like me had earned the ire of a powerfully dangerous mafia kingpin.
His grasp around me never wavered, still steady and strong and too impossibly good for this world.
So I lied.
“I got in a fight with my boyfriend,” I said.
He sighed heavily and for a moment I worried that he wouldn’t believe me.
“Do you need a place to stay for the night?” he asked softly. For the thousandth time, his voice rumbled through me, soothing and gentle and making my insides scream at me to just trust him.
“I don’t have anywhere to go. He kicked me out of our apartment,” I mumbled. I hated myself for lying, but I really didn’t have any other choice. I couldn’t trust anyone, not even my own gut.
“My apartment is upstairs. Why don’t you come with me, and I’ll get you settled in for the night in my guest room?” he replied. There was a certain tenderness to his tone that couldn’t be faked. At the offer of a comfortable bed, a wave of exhaustion hit me, and I had to stifle a yawn.
“I shouldn’t,” I began, but he shook his head.
“It would be no bother at all. You can rest easy and figure things out in the morning. He won’t find you here,” he said resolutely, and I nodded hesitantly before I realized what I was doing.
His grip on me loosened, sliding down to my lower back. He guided me forward, putting his body between mine and the exit as if he knew that I was ready to flee at any moment.
“It’s this way,” he offered as he passed through the kitchen to a hallway in the back. Once we were both through the door, he closed it behind us and locked it with a key. I almost said something, but he opened another door that revealed a stairway. He pushed a little harder on my back, cornering me inside and cutting off my escape so that the only way I could go was up.
Maybe he was right. I was so very tired. I should sleep.
“If he comes to the door—” I started.
“He’s not getting inside. I promise you. And even if he did, he’d have to get through me first before he laid a single finger on you,” he growled. There was a dangerous edge to that delicious rumble now and I knew in my heart that he meant every word. “You’re safe here with me. Nothing and no one will hurt you when you’re under my protection, Ava.”
I turned my head and walked up the rest of the stairs, letting his vow of protection enfold me. I let myself believe it, telling myself it was only for the night so that I could get some sleep. I’d be more clearheaded in the morning, and I’d be able to figure out what I needed to do.
“Okay. I believe you,” I smiled weakly.
“Good girl.”
My core squeezed in on itself. Those two words practically set my body on fire. I was thankful that my bra hid my suddenly erect nipples. My fingers curled at the edges of my jacket, pulling it close as if that would hide the fact that my clit had suddenly throbbed to life with vicious urgency.
It was official. I’d lost it.
This man had shown me nothing but human kindness and I was practically ready to jump into his bed.
I really needed sleep.
We ascended the stairs into his apartment. It was far nicer than I expected. It was an open layout for the most part, revealing expensive marble counters in the kitchen, plush handwoven carpets in the living room, and simplistic design elements that screamed money.
