Page 10 of Recaptured by the Crime Lord

“No sex,” she growled and whirled away from him.

Out of habit, she took the side of the bed that faced the window. As she sank into the mattress, she suppressed a sigh of pleasure. It really was the little things in life...

Gavin climbed onto the opposite side of the bed. He didn’t touch her, but she felt his body heat. How was she supposed to sleep beside her ex who was now her husband? Lyla stared blindly ahead for a long time before her eyes fluttered shut.

CHAPTER FOUR

Lyla

Lyla opened her eyes and froze. She was lying on her side facing Gavin with her arm tossed over his middle. She was tucked against him as if they slept together every night. Apparently, her body forgot that she wasn’t with Gavin anymore. Lyla spied the blue diamond ring on her finger and bared her teeth in a silent snarl. So, ‘technically’ she was married to him. That didn’t mean anything.

Lyla took a minute to examine him. She had no idea what drove Gavin to do the things he did. He blamed her for Vinny’s death, refused to leave the criminal world for her and was an emotionless bastard when she woke in the hospital. Why look for her after he got out of jail? Why force her into marriage? Even though he denied it, she knew it had something to do with Manny. Maybe he felt guilty that she got hurt... No. If he felt guilty, he wouldn’t have threatened to kill Carmen to get her to marry him. Seriously, Gavin was too complex to try to figure out so she wouldn’t.

Although he was asleep, his features weren’t relaxed. He was tense as if he was ready to react at any second. Lyla’s hand twitched on his chest before she slowly began to pull away. Gavin’s eyes snapped open and she stilled. Alert amber eyes moved over her face and then he relaxed.

“Okay?” he asked.

He was asking if she was okaynow? She needed him to ask that when she felt as if she died with his father. She needed him to ask that when he saw her in Montana. He didn’t ask how she was, he just demanded that she marry him. Lyla pounded his chest with her fist and found small satisfaction in his grunt of surprise before she rolled out of bed and went into the bathroom. She locked the door and took care of business before she waltzed out. Gavin sat up in bed, but when she walked towards the door, he jumped up.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m hungry,” she said shortly.

Lyla was happy to see that Blade and the other security weren’t patrolling the hallway. Having them hover after being on the road with Carmen would make her feel suffocated. Dealing with Gavin was more than she wanted to handle. She opened the fridge, which was usually filled with premade meals and wasn’t disappointed. She made herself a bowl of yogurt, fruit and granola and dug in. Gavin appeared as she finished. She ignored him and went back to the fridge. She popped some waffles in the toaster and slathered them with peanut butter and honey and felt semi-human again.

Gavin leaned against the counter with a cup of coffee and said nothing. She knew he was waiting for her to make the first move, which irritated the hell out of her. He pushed and shoved when he felt like it and now he was acting like a patient gentleman, letting her set the pace of the morning.

“I want to talk to Carmen,” she said.

Gavin waved a hand at the house phone. Lyla ground her teeth as she picked it up and dialed Carmen’s prepaid phone number. Carmen picked up on the second ring.

“Lyla?” Carmen asked.

“Yes. Are you okay?”

“Yes. You?”

She hesitated and then said, “Yes,” a bit grudgingly.

“Really?” Carmen asked, obviously picking up on her tone.

“Yes.” Aside from manhandling her and nearly punching Carmen, Gavin hadn’t made any threatening moves towards her. The last time she arrived in Gavin’s mansion, he’d roughed her up and scared the crap out of her. But, she didn’t sense rage in him this morning. Of course, that could change in a nanosecond. “Are you with your mom?”

“Yes. And he was telling the truth. My dad’s gone.”

Her heart clenched with regret and sadness. Uncle Louie, a former enforcer for Manny had been a good man who had been there for Lyla in her younger years. “When’s the funeral?”

“In a couple of days.”

Silence on both ends of the phone.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Carmen asked.

“Yes, I’ll call you later. You’re going to keep this phone?”

“Yes. You left yours behind, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but you can call me here.”

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