Page 66 of Charity's Redemption

“Sleep,bella,” I said, my lips brushing the shell of her ear.

She squirmed against me, rubbing her thighs together with a groan until, eventually, she settled.

I closed my eyes, willing sleep to consume me, even for just a moment.

“Where are you going?”Max’s groggy voice broke the silence in the darkened room as I padded towards the bedroom door.

“Shh. Go back to sleep. I’m just getting some water.”

I’d woken with a mouth so dry my tongue stuck against my teeth like feathers on a tarred man.

Max dropped his head back to the pillow. “Hurry back.”

I made my way downstairs, which held a mysterious placidity to it in the night as shadows danced along the walls, something that would put me on edge in my house, but not here.

A soft glow illuminated the path towards the kitchen, and when I turned the corner, Luca came into view, standing at the counter with a glass of liquor in his hand.

His bare chest kept going down until it stopped at low-hanging sweats, which had my mouth watering. What I wouldn’t give to run my tongue across his tattooed muscles right now. It’s a sin to look so good—it has to be.

“I swear you guys are turning into alcoholics before my eyes.”

“What are you doing up?”

“I um… I’m thirsty.”

I kept my gaze square on his chest for fear if he looked in my eyes, he’d know exactly what I was thinking.

Luca grabbed a glass from the cupboard, then filled it with water and handed it to me with a troubled expression.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Did you get some sleep?”

I took the glass, our fingers brushing against one another.

Butterflies shot up in my stomach in a sudden onslaught of nerves, as though it was the first time he’d touched me. I chewed on my split lip, letting the pain ground me as the swirling in my belly made me dizzy.

I nodded. “Yeah, not much, though,” I said, then brought the glass to my lips and swallowed. Cool water soothed the heat in my chest as it flowed into my belly, calming the jitters.

How was he doing this to me? That he had the ability to affect me in such a way that had me acting and feeling like a young teen.

I finished my glass and set it down, wiping the excess from the corner of my mouth.

“You weren’t kidding.”

“Nope. Why are you up?”

“Couldn’t sleep. I guess I’ve gotten used to you in my bed these last few weeks.”

My heart skipped a beat at his admission. But there was a good reason I wasn’t in his bed tonight.

“Well, maybe if you apologized for assuming I went against you, you’ll have me back there.”

“I’m not apologizing.”

“No? You don’t think you did anything wrong?”

“No, I don’t. Look at it from my perspective.” He leaned over the counter towards me, resting his forearms on the slab. “I send you to John to do a simple job—make an example out of him. You end up getting high—”

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