Page 80 of Captivated

~ Chapter 29 ~

Cassie

When we arrive at the Carfano building in Manhattan, Nico takes me up to one of their conference rooms, and I get a firsthand look at how tight their security is.

“This seems like a safe building,” I say casually.

“It is,” Nico confirms. “We take safety seriously. You’ll get used to it.”

I smile up at him. “Is that so?”

“Yes, because you’re going to be living here soon, and it’ll become second nature to go through the motions of the code, fingerprint, and eye scan.”

My head jerks back, surprised. “I’ll be living here with you soon?”

“You’ll graduate first, of course. But then yes, you’ll be living with me.”

“Did you not think to ask me?”

Nico pulls me into an empty office before we reach the conference room and backs me up against the nearest wall, caging me in with his strong arms on either side of my head.

“Will you please move to New York and live with me,la mia rossa piccante? You can do anything you want with my apartment to make it a home you love. It’s a little cold right now, but I know you’ll warm it right up just by being there.”

I lift my chin defiantly. “What else do I get if I agree?”

He smirks, turning on the charm and making my legs feel like they won’t support me for long. “You get to have whatever you want, whenever you want it.”

“Whatever I want, whenever I want it?”

“Yes.” He runs his nose down the bridge of mine and my breath hitches. He knows he already has me. “You can have everything your heart desires and then some.”

“My heart desires just one thing. One thing I need and can’t live without. Anything else will just be a bonus.”

He steps closer to me so his body is a mere inch away. Enough for me to feel his body like a magnet fighting its pair. “And what is it your heart desires, Cassandra?” He presses his forehead to mine and his lips hover just above mine.

“You. My heart desires just you. You in all sorts of dirty ways.” I smile. “But also in the gentle way you treat me when I need it. The dominance you use when I don’t want to be in control anymore. And especially in the way you accept me wholeheartedly.”

“I do, baby. Even when you’re sassy and stubborn, and yelling at me. I want all of you. I love all of you.”

“What?” My breath just left my body.

“You heard me, Cassandra. I don’t know how else this feeling can be described. The addiction I’ve had since I first laid eyes on you. The way I didn’t want to let you go even after spending every minute of those three days with you, when I’d usually be bored after the first night with a woman.

“The way your eyes shine when they look at me. It’s like I’m looking into the ocean on a bright summer morning. The way your hair lights my bed on fire as much as our bodies do. The way you were on my mind every day and night since the moment I met you, and my need for you never diminished. It’s only gotten stronger every time I’m around you, too. The way I want to be with you –all the time,” he emphasizes, and I don’t know how much more my heart can take before I pass out or have a heart attack.

“We’d be here all day if I listed every little thing, but I have more. Trust me. I discovered a new one today. The way you go about taking your first sip of coffee in the morning. I can’t wait to watch you drink a cup every morning.”

I can’t take any more.

I grab his suit jacket lapels and close the distance between us, fusing my lips to his in a kiss that I pour every single ounce of the built-up emotions he just caused in me into.

Every ounce of love.

I can’t get close enough to him.

I press my chest to his and have the urge to climb him like a fucking tree to get even closer.

Nico breaks the kiss first, and I grunt my disapproval, which has him smiling against my lips. “Piccante, we have to slow down or I’ll be fucking you against the wall with my family waiting for us a few rooms down.”

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