AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her cheeks deepen in color and her eyes drop down. “Are you sure Emilia hasn’t asked you to keep an eye on me?”
I slide my hand against her cheek and tilt her head, so she’s forced to bring her eyes back to me. Her eyes are a sparkling green that reminds me of sea glass. I am very careful, always touching the scarred cheek, needing her to see that it doesn’t matter to me. “Trust me, Kitten. Emilia isn’t involved. I love spending time with you.”
“I’ll fix dinner.”
“Now, I’m definitely free. Your cooking is addictive.”
She laughs. “I think that just earned your favorite dinner.”
Before she can realize what I’m doing, I lean in and kiss her forehead. I want her lips, but I hold myself back. If this woman knew how many cold showers I’ve had to take because of her, she’d probably run for the hills and hide away from me forever.
When I pull back, her gaze is unfocused, and it makes me smile. She has no idea, but soon, she’s going to be mine. We can’t keep going like this. If we do, I’ll be locked in a padded cell because the woman is definitely driving me crazy.
I open the passenger door of my SUV and let her in. Once she gets settled in the seat, I grab the seatbelt and latch her in.
“Victor, seriously, I can do this myself. I could even drive myself, or heck, take an Uber.”
“If you ever get in a car with someone you don’t know, I’ll turn your ass pink, Kitten,” I grumble close to her ear, while I adjust her belt.
Her gasp caresses my ears as I close the door. I’m starting to think Antonio is right. It’s time I step up my game and make sure Gia knows I want her.Fuck.I’m not a man who gets scared, but I don’t want her to run away from me.
I need to make sure she’s ready before I make my move.
angelina
. . .
It takes the entire ride home to calm my heartbeat. Victor has no idea how potent he is—at least not to me. I know he sees me as his kid sister. That’s the only possible explanation. He’s doing his best to take care of me. It’s sweet. I hate that he saw the mess I was when I found out just how twisted Dante truly was. I haven’t said a word about it to anyone, but I’m pretty sure my mother was involved in everything he did. I haven’t talked to her since the day I moved out and I don’t want to. She’s never been a mother to me. I kept thinking things would change and she would be the mother I always wanted one day. If anything, things just got worse and worse.
As we pull into the drive of my small one-bedroom rental, I sigh.
“Everything okay?”
“I’m just in a funky mood. I like to call it therapy lag,” I laugh.
Victor shuts his car off and turns to look at me. His head tilts to the side as he studies me.
“Was it a rough session today?” he asks, and the concern on his face makes butterflies take flight in my stomach. I feel my face grow warm. I fight the urge to touch my scar. I don’t want to draw attention to it. I know it’s like a shining beacon that I’ma failure. I’ve never been beautiful, even before my attack. Right now, I’d like nothing more than to be beautiful so that when Victor looked at me, he might see someone he could love. I shake my head, knowing that will never happen.
“Deanna is pushing me to get out more. She thinks I should start dating. She brought up Caleb.”
“Absolutely not,” Victor barks.
“Huh?” I squeak, blinking at the vehemence behind his words. I mean, I don’t really want to date, but why is Victor so against it? Does he see me as weak—so weak that dating will make me fall apart?
“You are not going out with Caleb Southwood,” he practically growls.
I blink slowly as I look at him.
“Um… I don’t remember telling you Caleb’s last name,” I whisper, my throat feeling constricted.
“You didn’t. I saw him flag you down outside when I picked you up at work a few weeks ago. So, I looked into him.”
“You lookedintohim?” I repeat, feeling—and probably looking—like my eyes are going to pop out of my head.
Victor gives me a cocky smile. It was the type of grin that I’m sure made the panties of all the women within a five-mile radius of him melt. I can say that because mine definitely did. He’s the only man I’ve ever wanted as a woman. Since my attack, that part of me died except when it comes to him.
It’s just another reason I didn’t fight my engagement to Dante more. He had no interest in me physically. The few times he held my hand or put his arm around me happened in public. In private, we barely spoke. I didn’t feel as if I was in danger with him—which is ironic since he turned out to be a murderer. Victor, however, makes me feel like no one else ever has. I’m almost a whole person when I’m around him—at least when itcomes to feeling alive. When Victor touches me, I forget that I’m broken. I breathe easier and I even feel…happy.
