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Talk about a knockout. There’s no doubt about it, I’ve got itbad.There isn’t a hint of annoyance behind his gaze, but his stare is there. Without a hint of shame, his eyes move from my bare legs up to the gown I’ve been given. Once he reaches my exhausted expression, his eyes soften and I take even more damage.
Every time I think about him being the one to kill me, my heart takes the punch. This ache is something I’ve never known before. Iwantto live for his sake. To see these rare expressions of his, the ones he doesn’t show anyone else.
If this man wanted me to hack into government systems, I’d try my hardest to break a list of laws. Anything to make that scowl of his melt away.
“We don’t get to sleep when there is work to be done.” A chuckle rumbles through him and he takes a step back to look around to see what changes I’ve made to the room.
My clothes are scattered about, half of them hanging from the dresser drawers. If I had brought my whole closet with me, then I can only imagine his nose scrunching at the piles of clothes.
“Get dressed. We can take a detour to the casino.” Tossing my pillow to the floor where I can’t reach it, he shoves his hands in his pockets. “That’s the best I can offer.”
That gets a laugh out of me. Seeing how close the buildings are to each other, I can’t imagine how far we’d walk. Still, he’s not going anywhere unless I put in some effort to move. I need to get ready for the day. Get out of this gown so he doesn’t have an excuse to stare at my chicken legs.
“Give me ten.” Sitting up, I fight the urge to comb down the mess of my hair. He doesn’t need another reason to think I look off. “I’ll meet you down there.”
“Don’t keep me waiting. Oh, and put on a hat. It’s scorching out there today.” He turns, leaving the way he came. His words have a playfulness hiding beneath them which catches me off guard.
Am I overthinking this? Most definitely. I must be hearing things.
* * *
When I find Dante waiting in the lobby with his arms crossed and attention toward the front door, I swallow thickly. Hopefully, he’s not too bothered by my laziness this morning.
Catching his attention as I drift near, he straightens up a bit when I approach.
Biting back an apology, we leave the building together. As usual, he plants a hand on my shoulder to help avoid any accidents. He never complains about having to do so.
Once more, I feel heat trickling toward my cheeks. As each day passes, I’m finding it harder and harder to conceal my feelings for the man.
If he finds out, I don’t even want to imagine how he’ll react. Will he be disgusted?
My stomach turns and I grimace. I don’t like that thought one bit.
Even if he sees me like most people do, I’d like to think that there is a small chance of something happening between us. With all this time spent together, I’m sure if I hold out long enough, my patience will be rewarded.
If only. When did I become such a hopeless romantic, anyway?
Turning toward the casino, I’m surprised when Dante stops me and leads us in the opposite direction.
“Detour,” he explains when I give him a look, “it won’t kill anyone to be a little late. I doubt they’ll even notice. I’ve already messaged Dario, he’ll enjoy the silence.”
“That’s debatable.” Letting out a laugh, the corners of his eyes crinkle. Look at us,joking with each other.What has this world come to? The end must be near.
Taking note of the space between our bodies as we walk, I consider taking a risk. Curious to see how he’ll react if I walk a little closer to him, I find the courage to move.
Dante doesn’t shift away or release my shoulder. Instead, he matches my footwork and we walk together slowly, like he’s in no rush to get to our final destination. Soaking my side with his heat, he doesn’t seem in any rush to put me back in line.
Can he hear how hard my heart is pounding? Blood is rushing to my ears, momentarily silencing the wave of ‘what ifs’ I’ve thought about in the past few days.
I’m a hacker, not a scientist. I shouldn’t get excited by the thought of testing out what actions I can get away with to feed my need for this man.
Unless I want to get ahead of myself, I need to pull back before I hurt my feelings. I don’t want to mess up this nice moment between the both of us. I have to act normal, as much as I can to avoid him catching on.
“You’re sure you won’t get in trouble for this?” I ask as we pause to cross a street. “I mean, you arealwayswatching over the camera feeds. They might not notice me missing right away, but you’re a big deal. One of the head honchos.”
He cocks a brow, his lips twitching upward. “And how would you know that?”
Nearly sputtering at my slip, I look away while internally cursing myself. So much for not being obvious.
