Page 42 of Bound to the Crime Lord

“It wasn’t for me, and I have a feeling that it wasn’t for you either.”

His voice softened like he was speaking to a frightened creature.

“You have a cold.” I reached for my bag and pulled out some paracetamol. “Take these for your fever. I’ll go and make you some food in the kitchen.”

Before he could protest, I got up and headed to the kitchen. I all but sprinted away, to put much-needed distance between the two of us.

I got to work on the chicken soup, and all the while my mind was plagued with thoughts of Manuel.

The problem wasn’t that we’d had sex. Sex could be just sex if you allowed it to be. The real issue was that I felt weird in my chest when I was around him.

Before, it had been nothing more than a fantasy, something that had no way of manifesting into reality. But now? The lines had been crossed, and the complicated feelings had emerged.

I knew myself well, and my heart tended to lead a lot of my life. I could not be as reckless as I had been before. I needed to proceed with caution when it came to him.

I took about an hour to make him his soup before I walked back to the living room area. He sat on the couch, watching some old-school romance film.

When I walked around the couch, his neck moved in my direction. His eyes moved from the tray in my hand to my face and then back again.

“It’s chicken soup. You need something warm to help dislodge any mucus.”

He was silent for a moment, simply observing me. His face looked a little better, but he was still a little too pale.

“Come here,amor.” He opened his arm out to me.

“You need to eat.”

“Come here,” he said again, but this time with a little more conviction in his tone. “Please.”

In all the time I had known this man, I had never heard him say the word please.

I put the tray down and made my way over to him. I took my place beside him and allowed him to pull me toward his chest.

The logic inside my head told me to pull away and keep some space between us. But my internal mind was in a frenzy.

“Please,” he uttered the foreign word on his lips. “Just for now.”

I would be lying if I said me laying on his chest didn’t feel right.

It felt so good, like I was meant to be there. I didn’t want to get up. We fit like a perfect puzzle piece.

Woah, I was getting ahead of myself. We didn’t need to revisit that night. It was a mistake that would be left in the past from this moment on.

I closed my eyes and willed my body into relaxation, but it didn’t take much effort on my part. For the first time since I met Manuel, I didn’t feel on edge or like I needed to keep my guard up. I was at peace, and that was far more dangerous than viewing him as a threat.

I was swimming in uncharted waters, and I needed to find a way to stay afloat.

Chapter Nineteen

Manuel POV

Something on my chest stirred drawing me out of my sleep. My head pounded and my nose felt like it had taken in at least 3 liters of water.

I blinked my eyes open. The first thing I noticed was the tray of chicken soup that had gone untouched for what seemed to be a few hours.

I tucked a stray strand of hair from her face and cupped her cheek gently. My hands were used to destruction and violence, and yet they held her so gently.

A lot had shifted in the time that had passed since I first saw her. That one night was nearly enough for me. I needed more of her. I craved more of her.

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