Page 95 of Salvatore

Chapter Twenty-Six

Salvatore

I grind my hips against Aedry, every pound forward bowing her spine and lifting her breasts closer to my face. I pull one of her nipples into my mouth to suck, prolonging her orgasm. Each thrust, each stroke, each kiss makes me feel close to her. The problem is, this is the only time I feel close to her.

Since we returned from the island, nothing has been the same between us. Vin has me watching his back or someone else’s almost every night?his way of punishing me for grabbing him by the throat and slamming him against the desk the minute I got a hold of him.

“You fucked me and my family over,” I told him, squeezing his throat tighter.

“You’re wrong,” he said, gasping and batting at my hands. “I’m the one saving them.”

I released him only because I wouldn’t walk out of the building alive once his men found him dead. He claims to be the one saving my family, but he’s wrong. His idiotic strategies, his ineptness with being a leader, and his increasing incompetence are slowly killing everyone under him. Where will that leave my brothers? Shit, where will it leave Aedry?

His shock and fear when I attacked him quickly dissolved, turning to anger and reminding me how deeply screwed I am. “What are you going to do, Sal? Leave? I’d like see you try.” He slides away from the desk, brushing himself off, like he almost didn’t piss himself when I had him by his scrawny neck. “The only way you leave me is in a body bag. Friend or not, no way in fuck do you leave alive.”

My hips slow as I finish filling Aedry and lean down to kiss her. Our quick breaths don’t allow my lips to linger, but that doesn’t stop me from meeting her face. For a brief moment, she stares back at me like she’s done a thousand times, with nothing but adoration and love. But it doesn’t last.

She averts her gaze. “I need some water, okay?”

In other words, get the hell off me.

I roll to my side. She shifts to the edge, reaching for her silky robe. That’s the other thing she does, cover herself around me. Instead of watching her walk naked to the kitchen, all I see is her trying to shield herself from me.

She fills a glass at the filtration system in her refrigerator and takes a few sips. She then fills another one and returns to bed, passing the glass to me. “Thank you,” I tell her, drinking it down.

I place the half-empty glass on her nightstand and slide beneath the covers, waiting for her to join me. God damn it, it’s been a week since I’ve been able to spend the night?to do more than kiss her in passing.

Instead of losing the robe and crawling back to my side, she sits quietly at the edge of the bed. I hate feeling like she’s so far away, but what I hate more is the feeling I’m losing her.

My arms slide around her waist as I lower my chin to kiss her shoulder. She sighs like she’s sad, placing her glass beside mine. I think she’s going to stand or find some excuse to get away from me. Instead, her arms hold mine, keeping me close to her.

“I miss you,” she tells me.

I still, knowing she means more than the nights we’ve spent apart. She misses what we had before our trip, before I almost got us killed. “I miss you, too,” I say, resting my forehead against her shoulder.

Part of me wants to tug down her robe, drag my tongue along her delicate skin and spend the night inciting her passionate screams. I want to feel close to her. Jesus, I need to feel close to her.

“I know I’ve been working a lot. I’m hoping that’ll change,” I tell her, despite knowing there’s little chance in the near future. “The summer’s coming up. Maybe we can take a few days and go to the mountains. If not, maybe this winter, we can try skiing during one of your breaks from school.”

There’s more I want to say, but her stiffening posture halts my thoughts. “What’s wrong?” When she doesn’t answer, I straighten, turning her so she faces me. “Aedry, what is it?”

She purses her lips as if wrestling with what to say. “My lease is up next month. I’m not going to renew it.”

I want her to tell me it’s because she wants to move in with me. Based on her tone and the way she seems to slip further away, I know that’s not it. “Why?” I ask, pulling her closer and scared out mind over what she’s about to say.

She doesn’t look at me when she speaks, something’s she’s been doing a lot lately and that kills me every time. “I was given notice last week,” she says. “All the counselors, with the exception of Jalisa, were let go. The principal said he was sorry, but there was nothing he could do.”

“You have to be fucking kidding me. What about all those kids you see?”

“They have volunteer counselors and students earning their masters lined up for the fall—” She releases a breath when I curse. “It’s okay. I knew it was coming.”

“Move in with me, until you get a new job.”

I’m spitting out the words, despite what remains of her disappears within my grasp.

“I’m not moving in with you, Salvatore.” She swallows hard. “I’m moving back to North Carolina.”

I’m barely breathing, waiting for the next blow to come. All that follows is a heavy silence that pries us further apart.

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