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“It’s alright, Frankie. If there was something here, then we must’ve just missed it.” He ran a hand through his hair before looking around the cluttered room. “I could’ve been wrong. Maybe the bastard didn’t know your uncle. Could be fate kicking you down undeservingly,” he explained with a tight jaw.
“We can’t give up,” I tried, my fist tightening at my side.
Marco turned away, hiding his face from me. I already knew what kind of expression lingered on his face. Then he spoke the words I’d been dreading.
“Even empty-handed, I need to go back, Frankie. If they think I abandoned the family and find me here, I’m putting you at risk as well. I’ll get my punishment out of the way and then have my family help find–”
“No,” I interrupted, “I won’t let you.” This was one of the topics I planned on putting my foot down.
His shoulders sank and he still looked hesitant.
I stepped closer to him, reaching up to cup his tight jaw. “We can’t give up until we know he’s not going to be a problem. One more unsuccessful day can’t throw all our hard work away.”
One of his hands overcame mine, keeping my palm against his cheek. “I just want to keep you safe.”
My smile softened. “What better way than to stick around and protect me? Let’s just keep taking one day at a time and if we still can’t find the guy by the end of the month, then maybe you can do what you need to.”
I didn’t want to let him go, but I knew I only had so much control over the whole situation.
“Let me enjoy some more time with you, Marco,” I pleaded. I was one lost cause and I knew he had to understand that much.
He sighed long and hard, nodding his head. “You make it hard to say no to.”
We were both lost causes. Lost for each other.
Dropping my hands away, I collected one of his hands in mine and pulled him toward the set of stairs.
Maybe after a shared meal and some time to distance ourselves from our repetitive failures, everything could go back to normal. Back to us both smiling and feeling satisfied with each other.
Marco helped cook. While he worked alongside me in the kitchen, I tried to stay positive for the both of us. Thankfully, he didn’t linger on the possible downfall of our relationship for long.
I think he wanted to cherish what we had as well. Why else would he have paused cutting up vegetables to squash my body against the counter?
Holding him close, I pressed a smile to my lips. My fingers tickled the back of his neck when he swooped down for a kiss. Less sweet than normal, I sighed against his mouth as his hands curled around my hips.
“Is this your way of telling me you aren’t hungry?” I mused, biting back a more natural smile.
“I’m always hungry, Frankie. You just normally try to feed me food to satisfy me,” he explained as his lips brushed my forehead.
“What else would you eat?” I asked, laughing. Pausing, it took a moment to catch onto what he was insinuating. “Oh.”
There was a stir in my chest. A longing brought to light that had always been there. The kisses were lovely and all, but the hinted heat in his voice gave me hope for more.
Chewing on my lip, I considered crossing the line we drew out for ourselves. Once we moved past the invisible line, everything would change. Leaving would be that more impossible. Not without resulting in some serious heartbreak.
“So, you’re hungry now then?” I asked. Releasing his neck, I dragged my hands down his chest. “For something other than food, I mean.”
My touch resulted in his chest rumbling. One look into his dark eyes and he didn’t even need to speak. I couldfeelhis hunger.
How long had Marco wanted me? Likethat. If I’d known, I would’ve crossed that line weeks ago. Shamelessly too.
The corners of my lips continued to rise. “I’m sure food could wait for a little longer-”
A gasp left my lips when he suddenly lifted my body up, setting me down on my counter. Now at his height, I got a better look at seeing the hunger hiding behind his gaze. Oh boy, there was a bunch of it.
“You sure about this?” he asked, his hands pressing flat against the counter at my sides.
I mean, it wasn’t often I got such a good looking brute to salivate over me. So yes, I was definitely sure about what I wanted.
