Page 55 of Salvatore

“Oh, God,” Aedry says again.

She breaks through the tangled sheets and leaps out of bed. I try to snag her waist, but she’s too fast, racing around the floor and snatching up her clothes.

“Babe, come back to bed.”

She pauses in the middle of pulling up her panties. “Really? That’s all you have to say?”

I smirk. It’s either that or crack up again.

“Salvatore,” she whispers. “They heard us.”

If I didn’t think her face could get more red, she proved me wrong then. I throw my legs over the edge and march toward her. “They were bound to hear something sooner or later.”

She hooks on her bra, her thin brows drawing tight. Even when she’s pissed, she’s still damn cute. “If you’re trying to make me feel better, it’s not working,” she fires back.

She slips her sweater dress over her head, but when she reaches for her leggings, I clasp her arms and kiss her. “They like you,” I say between kisses. “Take their anger for what it is. They don’t want me with anyone else.” My tongue slips into her ear. “Not that I blame them.”

She jerks away from me. “I have to go.”

I shake my head, following her toward the bathroom. “Call in sick. Stay with me. Let’s make up for our time apart. We’ll go to brunch or order in. Your choice. I just want you with me.”

She smiles in that way I love that tells me she doesn’t want to leave. But that’s not what she says. “I can’t,” she tells me. She lifts up to kiss my chin before disappearing into my bathroom.

For a long few seconds, all I do is stare at the door. She’s my woman now. It’s the old school man in me that wants to take care and provide for her?so she doesn’t have to work and so she’s stays with me permanently. But she’s not my wife. And, unlike Donnie, she doesn’t want to live as a kept woman.

I tug on a pair of sweats, wrestling with what to do. If I offer to pay for her to take the day off, I’m only treating her like a whore. I can’t make her stay, even though I want her with me. Again, I remind myself that she’s not my wife. But the fact that I’m even thinking the word “wife” is messed up.

She slips out of the bathroom, her face freshly washed and her hair brushed. No make-up, and her eyes swollen from lack of sleep.

And she’s beautiful.

“There was an extra toothbrush that hadn’t been opened, so I used it. I’ll pick up a new one for you when I go to the store later.” She tilts her head. “What’s wrong?”

I sit on the edge of the bed, scowling. What am I supposed to say? Don’t go. I’ve missed you and need you with me? No, I’m already enough of a pussy around her. “You don’t owe me a thing. Take whatever you want,” I offer.

I lean back on my hands as she reaches me, trying to put some distance between us so I can let her go home. Aedry doesn’t make it easy. She bends forward to tug on my bottom lip with her teeth. She says she has to leave, but that bite to my lip is practically begging me to pull off her panties.

“Don’t be cranky,” she says. “It’s nothing personal. I have a job and responsibilities, just like you do.”

“I’m not cranky,” I mumble like a dumbass.

“It shows,” she says, laughing.

Anyone else would run for their lives at my glare, but Aedry isn’t anyone. “Has anyone ever told you that you do dark and brooding well?” she teases.

I smack her ass as she walks away, making her jump. “Behave,” she says.

I don’t bother listening, stalking after her when she tries to escape.

She sees me coming and keeps her hand out as she snatches her purse off the floor. “Salvatore,” she says laughing, as I loom closer. “I’m serious.”

She ducks out of my reach and races out the door. I storm after her, watching her pace slow when she finds my brothers in the kitchen. Apollo is bent over a cereal bowl, spooning in the contents for all he’s worth.

Gianno is pretending to read the paper. “Um, see you at school,” Aedry stammers as she swoops past them. Her back is to me, but I don’t have to see her face to know she’s blushing again. This whole scene and how embarrassed the three of them appear should make me laugh. But I can’t, not now.

I follow her out, the coolness in the hallway sweeping against my skin as she stops in front of the elevator and she pushes the button leading down. “Bye, love,” she begins as she turns to face me.

My lips smash against hers, my arms encircling her waist to pull her tight against my body. “Say you’ll stay with me again tonight,” I say, when I break our kiss.

She glances around. “I don’t know. The boys?”

“The boys will deal. You and me are together and what we’re doing is normal. They’re just not used to it being with you.”

She averts her gaze. She didn’t like what I said, probably because it was a stupid comment on my part, reminding her of all the women my brothers have heard me go at it with. But that’s not how I meant it. “I’m sorry,” I say quietly. “I’m only trying to tell you I want you with me.”

She nods as the elevator chimes open and the doors part. “All right. I’ll stop by tonight.”

She slips from my hold and into the elevator, taking a part of me with her.

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