Page 62 of Until You Can't

He removed my hand from his forehead. “I’d be better if you told me Enzo’s deal.”

“That’s a story for another day.” I shrugged.

“Today looks to be as good a day as any. How about now?”

My shoulders fell. I had to give him something. It was only fair. “Enzo’s not who you think. He served like you, but then he had a rough time afterward,” I finally admitted.

“How’d I not know that until now? Is he ashamed of his service? My mom never mentioned it, surely your mom would’ve told her, and—”

“His service reminds him of a dark time in his life. Ultimately, it’s his story to tell.” I shook my head. “I’m not here to talk about him right now.” My gaze shot to the stairs. “But I do want to talk about something else in private.”

“It’s plenty private here.” He opened his palms. “We’re alone.”

“Yeah, but I’d rather talk in your bedroom.” I turned and started for the stairs, taking them quickly knowing he’d be right behind me.

“Natalia, get your ass back down here,” he demanded.

Ignoring him, I made my way to his bedroom and let go of a heavy sigh when I spotted his bed. Pulling my thoughts back together, I spun around to find him leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, a dark look in his eyes.

“You make me crazy.”

I sat on his bed and smiled. “Not hard to do.”

“You’re right about that.” His brows slanted. “How’s your sister coping with everything?”

“Hmm. The cheating or the attack?”

“Both.”

I planted my hands next to me on the cushy bed, searching for the strength to get through the conversation I’d spent an hour preparing for after Maria left for the park. “Maria’s tough. It’ll probably take her a minute to get her bearings, but she’ll be okay. As for the fight, I think she was more surprised than scared at how fast y’all took down those men.”

“The only thing surprising about last night was the fact Enzo wasn’t packing.”

I rolled my eyes. “Anyways, Maria volunteered to drive me to and from work tonight, so you don’t need to. She wants to hang out at the restaurant to help take her mind off everything.”

“Her car is in the city. Your parents taking her to get it?”

“Yeah, after they leave the park.”

“Well, I’m still going to follow you home tonight. I don’t want you going into the parking lot alone at night.”

I thought back to last night, to the words Ryan had said to the guy. A woman should be allowed to live freely without fear of a man hurting her. Chills crashed over my skin at the reminder that wasn’t always the case. It’d take a lot more men like Ryan raising boys to be the men we needed in life to change things.

Kids? Do you even want kids? “I’m not going to get jumped again. You need to relax.”

“What? I don’t look relaxed,” he tossed out sarcastically. “And do you really need to sit on my bed?”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re awfully hospitable.”

“Darlin’, you’re on my bed in my room when less than twelve hours ago you slid your dress up and set my hand between your thighs,” he murmured darkly. “And right now would be a bad time for my control to snap and remove those jeans so I can have a look at you in the daylight. So, yeah, the foyer downstairs is a much better place for us to talk.”

I pinned my knees together at his words despite the fact I wanted to do the opposite. I wanted to spread my legs for this man, wanted him to lose all self-control and do more than just look at me.

Also . . .

Darlin’? Holy hell.

He’d never called me that before. That kiss of Southern to his words just now when I hadn’t heard it from him in so long—my heart couldn’t take much more.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com