Page 46 of Mob Princess

“You all right?”

“Yeah.” I push up onto my hand beside his shoulder.

“You didn’t answer me.”

“I didn’t hear what you said. Sorry.”

“I blew your mind that well?” He grins.

“You did. I was off in la-la land.” I roll to my side and tug at his shoulder to bring him with me.

Our hands caress up and down each other’s ribs and waist. We share brief pecks, closing our eyes for them, then gazing at each other in between. My eyes shut as I sigh.

“I know we can’t stay like this forever, but I wish we could.”

“Me too. I?—”

He freezes when an alert goes off on his phone. It’s not a buzz. It’s an actual sound. He sits up immediately and grabs his phone. His thumb swipes up as he reads. He presses the side button and locks it as he looks at me.

“I have to go.”

I knew he was going to say that the moment he reached for his phone. I’ve never had a man jump out of bed to pick mob shit over me, but I’ve seen plenty of men in my life abruptly leave after getting a call or text.

“Come here.” He holds his arms out to me as he lies back down. I didn’t expect that.

I scoot back to where I was a moment ago. His palm cups my jaw, and he sweeps his thumb over my cheekbone. Every way he touches me that isn’t purely sexual is so calming. I want to curl up and sleep. It’s not because I’m chronically tired. I don’t have narcolepsy. I feel that at ease and that safe with him. He tells me he wants to protect me and take care of me. That’s all good and well. He shows me he can and will. That matters more than I can put into words.

“I have to go out, and I don’t know when I’ll be done. It might be in time for dinner. It might be in time for brunch. Or it might not be for a couple days. I don’t know yet. I need you to answer me truthfully. Is Justin going to force you to deal with your brother? Are you going to have to deal with Ewan when I leave?”

His gaze is so earnest. It’s unwavering. The eyes are the windows to the soul because the way he looks at me tells me his character as though I can look straight into his mind and heart.

“Justin can’t make me do anything. I just won’t open the door to him. He won’t bang on it again or get hotel staff involved. He knows it would make a scene. Ewan can call until he gives up. I don’t have to answer. But I will have to deal with them both.”

“What is Ewan going to do to you?”

I don’t want to answer that because there’s no good way to do it. “He’ll either chew me a new one or ice me out. He’ll either jump down my throat or ignore me for a week or two. I’m staying with him, so it sucks when he does it. But it also means I don’t have to listen to him nag.”

“Will he tell any of his men about us? Would he let any of them say shite to you about either being with me or not finishing the mission?”

“Maybe. I don’t know.”

He goes quiet as he stares at me. He’s mulling something over, so I won’t rush him.

“Do you have to go back to Boston tomorrow? Would you rather stay here? Go to Montreal?”

“However angry he might be right now, if I don’t go back to Boston, it’ll make everything a thousand times worse. He might ignore me while he sulks, but he expects me to be there to watch him. If I go to Montreal, he’ll assume I ran to my grandfather. If I stay here with you, he’ll know I choose you over him.”

Choose. Not chose. Choose. As in the present tense. As in ongoing. I am, but I didn’t mean to say something that sounds so—presumptuous. Like now the postcoital bliss is over, I assume everything said was real and not dirty talk. I know I said what I meant, and I believe Sean did, too. But what if he didn’t, and I completely misread all of it?

“I want my cousins Seamus or Cormac with you while I’m gone. If you decide to stay in the city, then they’ll rotate outside your door. I want them to go everywhere you go. That includes Boston if you decide it’s there. They will fly up with you in our family’s jet. If you can stay somewhere—anywhere—else, then I suggest you do. But if you have to go to Ewan’s, then they will be in cars discreetly outside his house. Believe me when I say Ewan and his men won’t know they’re there. I know you know your brother, but I doubt you’ve been in this position before. I don’t trust him because we’re in the unknown. I trust my cousins with your protection. If the men don’t share my DNA, then they aren’t good enough to guard you.”

“If you can send me in the jet with your cousins, does that mean you aren’t going to Boston?” I know it’s unlikely I’ll get an answer to that. He just looks at me. I nod.

Maybe he’ll fly out tonight, and the jet will be back in time to take me tomorrow. Maybe he’s staying in the city. Maybe he’s going to Timbuktu. I won’t know unless he tells me. He won’t if he believes it could jeopardize me or anyone in his family or organization. I know how it goes.

“If whatever this is, is because of me, I’m sorry.”

“It isn’t. Even if it were, you don’t have to apologize. I hate that you already know this life, and it means I don’t have to explain most things to you. I hate that I’m not the one to explain it because it means you know way more than I wish you did. I told you what I want. Are you okay with that? What do you want?”

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