Page 17 of Resisting Royal

It was still early. Staying out most of the night was part of the job. Holding fights in the early hours of the morning, taking bets, collecting loans, that tended to work better in the dark. Plus, I didn’t sleep. I wanted to sleep, don’t get me wrong. But, I fell into a fitful few hours before my alarm blared, or I was jarred awake, and there’s no going back to sleep after that. There were no solid eight hours, more like three, tops.

“Does she scare you?” He laughed.

I knew who he was talking about. “Who?”

“Your wife.” His amusement was apparent in his words.

“She couldn’t scare me if she tried.”

He snorted . . . fucking snorted at me. “She sure scares the fuck out of me.”

“You’re a fucking woman, that’s why. I’ve heard you scream at a mouse.” This was a lie. He’s probably the meanest fucker disguised as a sweet choir boy. He could smile at you, while his knife was running through your gut, spilling over his hand.

“It was a rat,” he clarified.

“Still screamed like a female,” I taunted.

“Really, though, go home. We don’t need you here right now, you’re tired. You have a wife at home now, things are different.”

He was right. Things were different now, but still very much the same. “You coming?”

“I don’t have to hold your hand to your marital bed.” Fucker. He knew what I meant. He lived in my fucking guest house with his kid, so I was just offering him a ride.

“You know what, you can take a cab.”

He held up some keys. “I’ve got the boat.”

He was referring to one of the larger SUVs in my collection. The boys alternated using them, and I didn’t mind. “Fine. Don’t fuck it up like last time.”

”You crash one time . . .”

”With a body in the trunk!” I emphasized, and he groaned.

“Get the fuck out of here. Like seriously, nothing more is happening tonight, besides drinking until our vision blurs.” I stared a few more beats before turning, walking the other direction to my car.

The house was pitch black when I pulled up, and I made a mental note to install some motion sensors. With Bianca here, I wanted her to be as safe as possible. She couldn't feel safe walking in the dark.

The moment I opened the door, I flipped on the light, then blinked a few times as my eyes adjusted. I hung up my coat, then started the trudge up the stairs, my heart suddenly speeding up and my palms sweating. I made a left at the top, heading for the double doors that were once my room, but now belonged to both of us.

The door was cracked open, a small stream of light spilling into the hall. At first, when I opened it, I thought she was awake, but as I moved closer, I saw the steady rise and fall of her chest as she slept, her hair spilling over her pillow and half of mine. She was exquisite, with her perfectly formed lips and high cheekbones.

I stepped in slowly, not wanting her to wake, and headed to the bathroom where I stripped out of my suit, showered, and then stared at the bed some more. I could sleep in the chair, in fact, that was probably the wisest choice. But, sometimes the most sensible choice wasn’t the most satisfying.

Going to the opposite side of the bed, I pulled back the covers and climbed under the sheets. The material was cool but did nothing to dull the heat radiating off Bianca’s body. Fuck, was this what it would always be like? Just lying next to her had me so uncomfortably aware. I closed my eyes and took in a breath; her scent filled the air.

Shit. It took everything in my power to not reach out and touch her. I blew out some air trying to level my breathing and calm my mind, so I could drift off to sleep. I counted numbers backward, then forward. I wrote a grocery list in my mind that I wouldn’t actually use. Then, when my mind slowed, my heart settled, my pulse leveled and I began to drift off . . . her fucking rabbit started doing laps around the room, and she slept through the whole damn thing.

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