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He laughs. “Okay–”
“As I’m doing that, you breathe in for a count of four, hold it for four, exhale for four and hold again. You have to picture your breath drawing the sides of the square, as I am doing it with the tip of my finger.”
“Got it.” He grins as I look up at him.
My cheeks heat and I turn away, focusing on his knee. The second my finger touches, I hear his breath hitch behind me. Resting his hands on his muscular thighs, I start to instruct him, following the same pattern with my finger.
He leans back, his arm resting behind me on the back of the couch, his eyes closed. I take a moment to admire him, even when his hair is tousled and the first few buttons of his shirt are undone. Any woman would drool over him, me included, apparently.Who needs Superman when I have my very own right next to me?
He peers out of one eye. “You stopped.”
“Oh, sorry.”My face flushes for a whole new reason: the fact he caught me ogling him when he’s supposed to be relaxing.
“It’s fine. Can you do that thing on my knee a bit longer? It feels so good,” he growls contentedly.
I swallow, my eyes wide. Knowing I can make him feel good makes me smile. I kick my legs up to the side to try to get comfy, leaning into his frame to adjust.
My head is just inches from his chest, but my eyes are still heavy. I tense my muscles in my arm and hold my weight. He asked for me to show him, not to start cuddling and use him as a human pillow.
I keep tracing the square on his knee, his gravelly humming in appreciation lulling me to sleep.
I startle myself back awake as my head hits the pillow. Luca stands above me.“You fell asleep, and it didn’t look comfortable at all. I carried you up here.”
I snuggle up into the blanket. “Thank you,” I manage to whisper before I fall back into a deep sleep, but not before the bed dips and he cuddles into me.
That’s the moment I can finally let myself sleep.
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
luca
Iget the coffees ready, waiting for Rosa to make her way downstairs for our normal routine. Coffee on the balcony watching the sunrise. Everything is peaceful at that time.
The main reason I slip out of bed at the first opportunity is to hide my morning wood. A whole night of Rosa snuggling up against my side is almost torturous.
Picking up my phone vibrating on the counter, I hesitate to answer it with an unknown number flashing up on the screen.
I slide to accept and turn it on speaker. “Hello?” I call out, pouring in Rosa’s caramel syrup.
“Ah, Mr. Luca Russo.”Marco’s husky Italian voice greets me. I quickly pick up the phone, sending the sound back through the earpiece.
“How the fuck did you get my number?”
“I’m a resourceful man. Your hacker’s phone was quite handy.”I don’t even want to imagine what he had to do to Nico to break the encryption he had on his phone.
“Are you calling to make a deal in exchange for your daughter, or are you wasting my time, Marco?”
Resting the phone on my shoulder, I start on my own coffee. I only have a few minutes until sunrise. I’m not missing our routine for this asshole.
His dark laugh makes the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
“I don’t know why you’re laughing, Marco. Your poor daughter is tied up, begging for her dad to save her. She only has a few days to live, and you haven’t even made an attempt to save her.”
I’m disappointed for Rosa. Her own father hasn’t even tried to come to her rescue. I shouldn’t be surprised. After what she told me, it doesn’t sound like he makes a habit of trying to be there for her.
“You’ve grown weak, Russo. You don’t even know I have snakes in your den. I’ll get her back, but I don’t have to make a deal with you. When I bring you to your knees, I’ll take my junkie daughter back. But you having her is no threat to me.”
I bite my tongue.
