Page 38 of Born into Sin

I turn my head without slowing down. “And I’ve told you a million times it’s a sign of respect, old man.”

He laughs again, and before I’m too far away, I yell, “Lucia said supper is almost ready.”

I turn back around in enough time to see his eyes light up, and then it’s my turn to give an amused laugh. He waves his hand at me in a playful, shut the hell up kind of way that has me laughing as I close the door and head back into the kitchen. The tray Lucia made is already loaded to capacity and ready to go. I notice she’s put my supper on here as well, and I don’t question her on it. Instead, I pick it up and tell her thanks and make my way back upstairs to my room.

The mouthwatering scent of spaghetti wafts up to me, reminding me of how hungry I am. I’d gotten sidetracked with work and hadn’t bothered eating lunch. The truth is I haven’t had much of an appetite over the last two weeks. All I’ve been able to think about is Natalya, and it had taken all my willpower to not text her like some fucking desperate teenager. My pride is the only thing that had kept me in check.

Walking into my bedroom, I shut the door behind me for reasons I can’t explain and set the tray of food down on the dresser. The bathroom door is still shut, so I give a soft knock and when she doesn’t answer, I call her name. When she still doesn’t answer, I knock harder and feel my heart rate start to rise.

“Natalya, are you okay?”

Images of her unconscious and under the water from some head injury I didn’t know about run through my mind. Had I asked her if she’d hit her head on the sidewalk when Grigori pushed her down? I can’t fucking remember. A cold sweat breaks out along my spine, and I give her three seconds to answer. When she doesn’t, I open the door, terrified of what I’m going to find.

Rushing into the bathroom, I see her in the tub and freeze. She’s not unconscious and under the water like I’d feared. Her head is resting back against the towel she’d put under her neck, dark strands of hair framing her face, eyes closed, and naked body on full display. I didn’t have bubble bath, so nothing is hiding her from my view. I let out a harsh breath at the sight of her small, wet body. My eyes start at her feet, running up her tan, slender legs, and when I reach the bare, smooth skin of her sex, I have to choke back the growl I want to give. Fisting my hands to keep from reaching out and touching her, my gaze continues upwards, drinking in the sight of her—hips that I want to sink my fingers into, a stomach I want to kiss my way up, and two perky breasts with nipples in the prettiest shade of pink I’ve ever seen. She’s fucking delectable, a woman I could spend a lifetime fucking and getting lost in and still never have enough.

When her lips part in a small sigh and I see that full, top lip of hers, I growl out in Italian, telling her how badly I want and need to fuck her. As soon as the words are out of my mouth, her eyes pop open. Confused and disoriented, she looks around before meeting my eyes again.

“Dominic?”

It takes her less than five seconds to remember where she is, and when her eyes drift down to her naked body, a red blush creeps up her chest, settling in her cheeks and turning them redder than I’ve ever seen them. I drink in the sight of her, knowing I need to turn around but unable to do so.

“Dominic,” she whispers again, and I hear the need in her voice.

I’m so close to stripping out of my suit and joining her, but she’s so fucking innocent and so fucking off limits. With a pained groan, I turn around and run a hand through my hair, forcing myself to take a steadying breath.

“I’m sorry. You didn’t answer me, and I was worried you’d passed out. I’ll wait for you in the bedroom.”

Knowing I can’t handle the temptation of being around her right now, I get my ass out of the bathroom as quickly as possible. Back to pacing my room with a raging hard-on, I experience another case of déjà vu, and it pisses me the fuck off. This situation is spiraling out of control, and I’m doing a shit-poor job of getting things back on track. I’ve just readjusted my cock when I hear the bathroom door open.

All my hopes that things will get easier from here on out since she won’t be naked fly out the damn door when I see her standing in my clothes. The sweats are way too big on her, but she’s managed to tighten the drawstring so they’re at least staying on. I curse myself for choosing a white T-shirt, and I can’t help but wonder if subconsciously I’d done it on purpose just to torture myself as much as possible. She’s not wearing a bra, and her nipples are still hard, pressing against the thin fabric and taunting me like nothing else on earth ever has.

She shifts her weight, shy once again as she looks up at me. When she hesitates, I say, “Lucia made a tray for us. You need to eat.”

Looking down at her feet, she chews on her bottom lip. “I don’t want to stain your carpet again.”

“Fuck,” I sigh, pissed at myself yet again for forgetting about her feet. I’d been too preoccupied with thoughts of her naked body to remember the cream and bandages I’d gotten for her. Closing the distance, I pick her up and carry her to the bed. I force my mind away from thoughts of her tits pressed against me and the fact that she’s most likely not wearing any underwear, and instead think about her hurt feet.

She watches me grab the bandages and cream, never taking her eyes off me, and I wish I knew what she was thinking. Her expression is a mix of so many things—confusion, hurt, desire, worry, and I want to take it all from her. I want to erase everything that happened to her tonight and give her what her big, blue eyes are begging me for, but I can’t.

With a tired sigh, I kneel in front of her and place her foot on my thigh while I grab the tube of antibiotic cream and a band-aid.

“You really don’t need to do this, Dominic. I’m okay.”

“No, you’re not. You’re hurt, and I’m going to take care of you.” When it looks like she’s about to argue with me, I give her ankle a squeeze and shake my head. “There’s no use fighting me on it, principessa. I will get my way on this.” I may not be able to get my way on everything I want tonight, but she’s damn well getting her feet looked after. That at least I can do.

She sighs but keeps her mouth closed, giving up and letting me doctor her feet, and I can’t resist giving her a soft smile, pleased at her submission.

Cupping the back of her foot, I hold her still while rubbing a thin layer of ointment on the small scrapes and cuts. The bleeding has stopped, and it’s certainly not anything I’d be worried about if it were on my own feet, but I like taking care of her, so that’s what I do. I take my time, slowly sticking band-aids where I want them, and when both feet are bandaged up to my liking, I hook my fingers under the sweatpants at her ankle and slide the material up, exposing one knee to my hungry gaze.

She inhales sharply when I run my thumb along her skin, tracing an invisible line along the side of her knee until my finger dips under her pants, lightly grazing her inner thigh.

“I shouldn’t be allowed near you,” I whisper. “I shouldn’t be left alone with you, and I sure as fuck shouldn’t have you in my bed.”

With a shaky hand she reaches out and runs her fingers through my hair, and that one touch threatens to undo me. I close my eyes and lean into her, knowing it’s wrong, knowing I shouldn’t, but also unable to muster up enough strength to pull away.

“Maybe you should stop worrying so much.”

I sigh and open my eyes. Her blue eyes are searching mine, naively begging me for more, but she doesn’t have the faintest fucking idea of all the things I want to do to her.

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