Page 46 of Vicious Rule

“So how long has this been a thing?” she asks, her face the picture of curiosity.

If Alex thinks I’m going to answer that or any other question, he’s out of his mind. He wanted to have this little true confession sit-down, so he can give her all the details.

He usually doesn’t like telling anyone anything, but with her, he’s an open book. “Not long, but I think it was inevitable. Don’t you?” he says, turning to look at me.

Nodding, I wish I had something to say that didn’t make me sound like I’m lying. The problem is I’m not sure what he’s up to. Why he told his mother anything about us makes me think I possibly have what’s going on all wrong.

“You’re uncharacteristically quiet, Sasha,” Kerry says, likely sniffing out the lie her son is trying to perpetrate.

I lower my head and hope she can’t see the truth in my eyes. “I’m just caught a little off guard. Alex didn’t tell me he was letting the world know we’re together now.”

She leans over toward the bed nudges his right arm and shakes her head. “You are so much like your father I can’t handle it. Helix has done this to me so many times, and I never fail to be stunned when he drops me into a situation just like this. Maybe we should give Sasha a reprieve from all this relationship talk and you can tell me how your shoulder feels.”

Alex touches the area around his wound and groans. “It’s fine. Nothing I can’t handle. I’ll be up and around later today. We can have dinner. I’ve got a cook that used to be a chef in one of the finest restaurants in Rome. He’ll make you anything you want. Just tell me and I’ll have him whip it up.”

I’m touched by how sweet he is with his mother. I’ve never seen this side of Alex Rule before. Then again, I’ve never seen him with Kerry before.

She gushes over him for being thoughtful and then turns to look at me. “He better be treating you this good. He is, isn’t he?”

I nod as I try to remember Alex ever having Antonio make me anything special. This Alex isn’t the same person any of us get to experience. I’m not sure what I’d do with this kinder, gentler version of him.

Kerry abruptly stands up and leans over me to give Alex a kiss on the cheek. “Okay, enough bonding. You need to relax with your girlfriend, and I need to rest up after that terrible flight. Can we do dinner in a few hours?”

“Sure, Mom. I’ll tell him to have it ready for six. Is there anything special you’d like me to have him make for you?”

“You are so sweet, but no, anything will be great. I just need to calm down after that flight. The next time you talk to your father, Alex, please mention to him that his plane is a deathtrap. Maybe with the two of us telling him he’ll listen. Okay, I’m off to rest up for a little while. See you two at dinner!”

I watch as she sails out of the room before turning my attention to Alex sitting next to me with a grin on his face. I’m happy he’s pleased, but I’m furious and plan to let him know how much I didn’t appreciate being ambushed.

“What the hell was that all about? Why didn’t you tell me you planned to say any of that? And since when are we girlfriend and boyfriend?” I snap.

The smile fades from his face, replaced by a sheepish look as he says, “You said you didn’t want to pretend. I thought that’s what we were—girlfriend and boyfriend. What did I say that wasn’t true?”

Good God, this man is a lot to deal with sometimes.

“I didn’t say you lied. I just wish you would have given me a head’s up that you planned to tell your mother about us. I mean, girlfriend and boyfriend? Really? I don’t think I’ve thought of myself as that with anyone since I was in college. We don’t exactly do things together that would count toward being that.”

“You didn’t have a problem when I told Salvatore you were my girlfriend. What’s the difference?”

Men can be so dumb.

“The difference is you told him that to put him in his place. I can’t stand that guy. He’s an oaf with a dirty mind and a dirty mouth to go along with it. I like your mother. She’s always been nice to me, and what this feels like is we’re lying to her.”

Alex takes my hands in his and kisses them. “We fuck. I can’t exactly say that to my mother, now can I? Anyways, you were worried when you found out I got shot, right? That sounds like something a girlfriend would do.”

“That’s something anyone who doesn’t hate you would feel, Alex. Couples actually do things as a couple, which we don’t do.”

“I’m not exactly a go-to-the-movies kind of guy, Sasha. What would someone like me do to be like a boyfriend?” he asks, and I think he’s sincere.

“Do you want to be that?”

He thinks for a few seconds before nodding. “I don’t think it would be a bad thing. We’re great together in bed, so we should be just as great everywhere else, right?”

“Who are you trying to convince, me or you?”

“Nobody,” he answers with a sly grin. “Don’t worry about titles. You and I are who we’ve always been. Us.”

Before I can say anything to that little nugget of wisdom, he pulls me onto his lap and kisses me hard. “Enough talk. Let’s get doing what we do best.”

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