Page 19 of Betraying the Mafia Boss

My eyes open this time and realization hits me. I wasn’t dreaming, I’m still in the storage room with Vincent and there’s…clanking of keys on the door as if someone is fitting different keys in the hole, trying to find the right one.

I jolt up, rubbing my eyes and covering my mouth as a yawn. “Did I fall asleep?” I hope he doesn’t answer because I already know the answer to that question.

“Someone’s trying to open the door. I think they noticed we’re missing.”

The last key fit in the hole and I hear whoever is outside the door twist the doorknob. The door flies open and I squint when bright light hits my eyes. Thank heavens we’d taken the time to put our clothes back on before I drifted off or this might have been even more embarrassing than it already was.

“Isabella.” Naomi calls from me. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“Vincent.”

I recognize the second voice as Luca’s. He scurries towards us as Vincent helps me to my feet.

“I’m so sorry. My phone went off and there was no way to reach you,” I say. I feel Vincent’s gaze burn the side of my face, but the weight of what we’d just done is beginning to settle in me and I can’t bear to look at him right now.

Naomi plants her hand on her hip, staring suspiciously between me and Vincent. “How did you two get stuck in here? I mean, everyone else was running out of the door and…” She pauses and heaves a sigh. “You know what? Forget it. I’m glad you’re safe and that is all that matters.”

She holds my hand like a mother holding her toddler and drags me out of the storage room without letting me say goodbye to Vincent. I’m grateful because it was would have been really awkward between us.

We’re home an hour later and I take a quick shower, washing Vincent off me but his touch lingers. The way he kissed me and fucked me is something I can’t wash off. When I stand in front of the moon-shaped mirror in my bathroom, I trail my hand over the hickeys on my neck.

It doesn’t matter that I don’t want to think too much of it, tonight did happen and I need to find a way to work through it. That’s the only way I can keep working at LifePlus and not risk upsetting Elio. I need to remember my Nana’s life depends on me.

Naomi’s slouched on the sofa with my beige-colored throw blanket spread over her lap and my female husky, Oreo, snuggled beside her. They’re watching an episode of The Witcher, but both of them crane their necks to look at me briefly when I walk into the living room.

I plop down on the other sofa next to hers. My eyes are fixed on the TV, but I don’t see or hear anything flashing on the screen. I’m too lost in thought to pay any attention to it.

“Are you going to tell me what happened between you two, or should I mind my business?” she asks after a moment of us not saying a word to each other.

I rest my back on the backrest. “We had sex in the storage room.”

Naomi sits up immediately and Oreo whimpers as if she understood what I just said. “What?” Naomi’s gaping at me as if I just grew horns. “You had sex with him?”

“It was a mistake. We were alone and cold and it just happened,” I explain. I know deep down that nothing that happened was a mistake. It shouldn’t have happened, but I wouldn’t do anything differently if I knew it would, because I’d imagined all the ways he would fuck me right from when we first met.

“No, don’t give me that ‘it was a mistake’ bullshit.” A devious smile plays on her lips. “How was it? I bet he fucks as good as he looks.”

“Well…” I push my hair behind my ears. “It wasn’t bad.” Sex with Vincent was the best I’ve ever had. It doesn’t matter that I didn’t get a chance to admire his body or that we weren’t in a very sex-conducive environment. I enjoyed every moment of it.

Naomi looks impressed. “I knew it! I knew he would be good. So, you two had sex? Does he like you? Are you two going to date?”

I shake my head. “No, we both know it was a mistake and we won’t be doing it again.” Naomi rolls her eyes. “It’s not that simple.”

At least I know I won’t, not because I don’t want to, but because I can’t risk Elio finding out.

As much as I like Vincent, I don’t think he’s all that interested in me. Maybe he enjoyed the sex just like I did, but I doubt he’d want any more than that. And there’s Elio, Vincent certainly won’t want to look at me if he finds out about my relationship with Elio and that Elio is using me to get to him.

It’s too complicated.

“Well, if you say it’s not that simple, then it means there’s more than meets the eye, doesn’t it?” she says, raising an eyebrow.

“There’s nothing more. What happened tonight will never happen again,” I state with a force I know I should feel, as if I’m trying to convince myself and not her.

Naomi simply shrugs, sensing I’ve said more than I’ve let on. She sets aside the issue of Vincent and move on to other matters.

“Want to order some takeout? I’m craving some pho.”

“Sure, why not?” I answer, trying not to let my thoughts about Vincent consume me.

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