Page 19 of Protected By the Mafia

He waited for her to get it all out of her system, watched her cheeks flush as her voice picked up and her breathing came faster. Guilt churned somewhere in the base of his stomach. Guilt because he should have let her know the damn door was unlocked. Guilt because she was right. And guilt because watching her get worked up the way she was only made him want to pin her to the nearest wall.

She chewed on her lip for a second before adding, “Please just, give me something other than another apology.”

He smiled, took her hand, and pulled her to the sofa. “I can do that.” When they were close enough, he lifted the shopping bag. “I bought you some things while I was out.”

She blinked at him; confusion evident on her face.

He extracted the boxed item first and handed it over. “Make sure to read the directions.”

Her focus dropped to the product in her hand and another flush built on her cheeks. “You actually bought it…”

“Of course. I got your pills and some other things from your apartment, too. You can go through all of that after we eat.” He motioned to the duffel still on the couch, then pulled the other set of items from the bag.

Felicity’s eyes widened and she adjusted her hands to accept the unboxed phone and packaged charge cord. “This is— but this isn’t mine.”

“It is now.” Her gaze snapped back up to him and Cristiano shoved the bag back onto the couch before explaining. “I’m not the only one who knew your number. Phones are traceable. So instead of having you go through burners on a regular basis, I just bought you a new one. Most of us have spare numbers and spare plans, all I did was activate one of my backups.”

Her fingers tightened over the device. “You trust me with a phone?”

He stepped into her personal space and cupped her jaw, angling her face up to his. “Real trust is something that has to build,” he said, “but I want to. And I want you to trust me, too. That has to start somewhere, so I’m choosing to start it here, now. I’m going to ask you to use it sparingly, but technically you’ll have free reign over what you do with it.” He leaned in, unable to fully resist, and pressed his lips to hers.

She opened for him immediately, moaning softly as his tongue tangled with hers.

The sound of boiling water drew him back to himself, and Cristiano straightened. “There are only three numbers programmed into your phone right now,” he said. “Mine, Ryoma’s in case something happens to me, and Taylor’s.”

Felicity gasped and the soft padding of her feet told him she followed when he started toward the kitchen. “You know about Taylor?”

He grinned. “Baby, I did my research. Also, she’s sent you at least half a dozen messages in the last twenty-four hours. I’m not sure if I find that mildly concerning or cute, but I figure cutting you off from your best friend won’t win me any favors.” He added some ingredients to a pan to enhance the last of the fresh-diced tomatoes he had on hand and set that on heat before draining the pasta.

A chair dragged across tile before Felicity spoke again. “Taylor’s really the only one who’ll look for me,” she said, almost too quietly to hear over the water pouring into the sink. “She’s still at Stanford and spends most of her time buried in notes and books, but she makes time for me every day. She’s the only friend I’ve had in years.”

Cristiano dribbled some tomato sauce to add substance to his base, gave it a stir, and set the lid on the pan. Then he moved for a pair of plates, set one in front of Felicity and one at the seat beside her, and said, “You have me now, sweet Felicity.”

She smiled at him. The expression was everything she was. Warm, beautiful, sweet, and fucking captivating. “But you’re saying I can still talk to her?”

Cristiano faced her, keeping his expression serious. “Yes, you can talk to her. But while you’re in hiding, it’s smarter to move your conversations to phone calls. I know those aren’t popular these days, but instant messenger can be hacked and traced.”

Felicity screwed up her face. “Yeah, she’ll totally find that suspicious. I’m definitely guilty of being on team no-phone-calls.”

He chuckled, tapped his finger on the island counter for a second, then turned back to add the pasta to the gently simmering sauce. “I already downloaded a secure text app onto your phone. If you can get her to download it, too, that should be all right. Regardless of how you communicate, it’s smart to be mindful of what information you put out there.” In general, because it had only taken a single social media search for him to know information about Felicity’s friend the woman should arguably not have made publicly available, and specifically in this situation, because Felicity’s safety was paramount.

“So I could, for example, text her in the morning and tell her a little fib about having lost my phone and had a super exhausting day and give some excuse why I’d prefer to jump off Messenger? And that would be okay?”

Cristiano switched off the stove, grabbed up a potholder, and returned to the island with a pan of hot pasta. He’d opted for meatless to save time, so it wasn’t his best showing, but he portioned out two platefuls anyway before setting the pan onto the potholder in case either of them wanted more. “Yes, baby. I’ll even help you iron out a story if you want.” He paused to drop a kiss to her temple before moving to the refrigerator to grab a couple of drinks, detoured for silverware, and rejoined her at the island.

Felicity laid her fingertips on his forearm as soon as he sat, looking at him with big eyes. “It really means a lot to me that you’re trusting me with this. Thank you.”

He caught her hand, bringing it to his lips. “It’s the least I could do, considering all I’m taking from you.”

She shook her head, a sad smile twisting her lips for a second. “What’s happening to my family isn’t your fault. I’m not saying I’m okay with it, or that I’ve even fully processed it, but I recognize you didn’t decide to … go there. And besides, they’re horrible.” She stared at the pasta and drew a deep breath. “They always have been.”

seven

The Other Intimacy

“Here,” Cristiano said when Felicity plopped down beside him on the couch after dinner. He was offering his phone to her, and it looked as though his contacts list was pulled up.

Felicity blinked at him, taking the device on reflex. “You already gave me a phone?”

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