Page 142 of King of Obsession

MIA

My gorgeous man hung up, his hand lingering on the phone for a second before heturned to look at me.

The room was dim, and the only light came from the small bedside lamp, which cast a soft glow over the walls.

The air was thick with the quiet of the late night, the kind that wrapped like a blanket, shrouding us from the world outside.

Preceding the call, we’d been wrapped in each other’s arms, lost in a session of baby-making and wild fucking with unrestrained passion.

Now, my hand rested on his chest, moving with his breath’s rise and fall.

I tagged the conflict in his eyes, the pull of duty warring with the desire to stay. ‘You have to go, don’t you?’ I asked, already knowing the answer.

He nodded, his expression pained. ‘He needs me,’ he rasped as if that explained everything. And in a way, it did.

I sat up, pulling the duvet around me for comfort. ‘What’s happened?’ I asked, not sure I wanted to know.

‘Alessio’s been attacked,’ he murmured, a shard of pain crossing his face. ‘He also wants us to help him find a woman.’

I studied him and tagged the concern and care etched into Lorenzo’s features.

The lines on the edges of his eyes appeared deeper, the weight of his brother’s pain pressing down on him.

I wished to tell him to stay, to let someone else handle it, but that wasn’t fair. This was who he was, and part of me had always admired that about him.

But it didn’t make it any easier.

‘Do you ever wonder -,’ I started, then stopped myself.

I didn’t have an idea of how to finish that sentence.Do you ever wonder if things were different? That you didn’t always have to go? That you didn’t need to put your life and mine on the lineso often?

He reached out, brushing a strand of hair away from my face. ‘Sometimes, bella,’ he murmured as if reading my mind. ‘But this is what I have to do.’

I swallowed hard, forcing back the lump in my throat. ‘I know,’ I whispered. ‘I just wish it didn’t have to be tonight. Or this week.’

We’d set aside time to work on baby-making; these seven days were the window to make it happen this month.

However, Lorenzo’s family was his responsibility.

Alessio needed him, and the Calibreses never abandoned their own, always having each other’s back.

Lorenzo leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead.

‘So do I,’ he murmured against my skin, his breath warm and comforting. ‘But I promise, I’ll come back to you. I always do.’

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

My eyes locked on him as he dressed, his movements quick and efficient, like he’d done a myriad times before.

He strode to his safe and pulled out two weapons, tucking them into the waistband of his trousers, then threw on a leather jacket and boots.

When he was ready, he stood by the bed for a moment, gazing at me with soft regret and a love that always blew my mind.

‘Ti amo, bella,’ he rasped, the words heavy with meaning.

‘I adore you too,’ I replied, my voice trembling despite my efforts to stay strong.

He leaned down, capturing my lips in a slow, lingering kiss that felt like a goodbye and a promise.

---