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“I can respect that. Now, enough of the hard stuff. What’s for dinner?” I asked cheerfully.
“What do you want?” she asked, adding the final touches with long streamers of silvery tinsel.
“I think I’ll make pizza. I’ll need to get the dough started, but it’ll be worth it, I promise.” Up on my feet, I went into the kitchen and looked at the tree with the lights on. It was beautiful, reminding me of trees at home as a kid. “Nice job.”
Amelia walked over to the kitchen island, took a stool, and watched me. “I’d like to learn to make bread and dough from you.”
“It’s not hard, just learning the techniques and the language of the dough,” I said with a grin, loving the way she looked at me as if only I existed in the world, how she paid attention and wanted to be involved in things I did. “Come on, I’ll show you.”
Sitting at the island, her elbows on the counter, her chin propped up in her hands, she watched me, this gorgeous woman who’d turned my life upside down in the span of a few days.
I’d turned into a hard man after my military time and my parents died. Those events made me stone-cold… until I saw Amelia’s beautiful emerald eyes. Back then, I’d been a young man with dreams, but the gangsters in Ireland and my enemies had crushed that dream. I was a gangster now, a killer, a man who didn’t have time for the kind of feelings Amelia made me feel.
There was a time when I thought I was normal, that I’d have an ordinary life. I’d been a boy who dreamed of being a righter of wrongs. I’d seen shows about cops and knew that was what I wanted to be when I grew up. I still had that desire to fight for what was right, but I’d become the bad guy the comic book heroes fought against. Maybe I didn’t deserve to have Amelia in my life.
Fuck that. Amelia deserved to have a man who would protect her like only I could, even if I didn’t deserve her. I might not be much of a good man now, but I could make sure she had a good Christmas. It was the least I could do for her with all the horror she went through and hadn’t turned into a menace because of it.
“Dinner will take about an hour or so. Do you want to find something on TV to watch while you wait?” The dough was resting in a bowl near the stove, but not too close.
“Sure. Anything in particular?” She strolled over to the couch where we’d just nearly killed each other. She glanced back at me when I was silent for too long and patted the seat beside her with a wicked grin.
“Let me just wash this dough off my hands,” I hurried to say and ran water over my hands to get the flour off. I kept looking over at Amelia on the couch, trying to think of all the reasons I shouldn’t have her here, but they all turned to dust. There was only one way I wanted to live the rest of my life, and that was with Amelia by my side.
“Come sit beside me already.” She shuffled over so I’d be next to the arm of the couch.
When I sat down, she slid into my side, a soft, warm body against me. I’d never shared this kind of closeness with a woman. Yeah, I’d had sex with lots of females, but I’d never slept beside one or shared moments like this. I wasn’t used to this kind of touching, not with anyone, but it was good.
“Are you okay, Brick?” Amelia moved so she could see me better in the light from the TV. “You seem a little stressed.”
“I’m actually really good, Amelia. Just... enjoying this, that’s all.”
“So much for the grumpykins who just wanted his peace and quiet the first day I was here,” she murmured with a quiet laugh.
“Yeah, I had no idea you were going to be like a storm in my life, in the best possible way.” I winked at her, garnering myself a poked tongue.
“Well, I hope you’re ready for crappy Christmas movies and me laughing at them because I’m going to show you what you’ve missed the last few years,” she explained.
I rolled my eyes closed.
“Oh, that sounds like I’ll have a headache later,” I promised her, but she just barked a laugh.
“You might, but I have a plan. I’m going to suck that massive dick of yours. I bet that’ll perk you right up.”
Opening my eyes, I burst out laughing.
“I think you’ve already perked it up with that comment, little lady.” I gently poked her ribs. Now, my head was full of images of her on her knees, looking up at me as she tried to swallow what many women had tried—and failed—to conquer. She might manage it, though, if she kept trying.
I’d give her all the time she wanted.
Chapter9
Amelia
Cold hands grabbed my ankles and yanked me off of the bed in the middle of the night.
Screaming as I startled awake in a panic, my hands flung outward, and the blanket bunched up around my middle.
In the dark, I had no idea who was in my room.
