Page 70 of Enzo DeLuca

“He got everything I asked for this time,” Eve muttered, surprised. “I thought I’d have to send him out again to exchange things.”

“This time, he showed your text to the lady at the counter, and she found the items for him. He said he’s gone to that store so many times now that he and she are on a first name basis.”

“Is she young or old?” Eve asked.

“Are you trying to play matchmaker?”

Eve shrugged. “I’m just asking.”

“I don’t know.”

“I should text him and ask.” Eve reached into her pajama pockets.

Enzo grabbed her wrist. “You can ask him tomorrow.”

He wouldn’t admit that he didn’t want her texting Stefan all of the time. There was no reason for him to be jealous. Even so, he was selfish as hell. After spending his day away from her, he wanted every second of their time together to belong to him. He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. She blushed.

“Go shower,” she told him. “I’ll heat the food. Is that blood on your collar?”

Enzo stared down. He couldn’t see his collar. More than likely, it was blood.

“It’s uh...”

Eve sighed. “I’d rather it be blood than lipstick.”

“It’s blood,” he assured her.

“Good. Go shower.” She turned and headed for the kitchen.

He watched her walk away. They hadn’t been together long, and he already couldn’t remember what his life had been like without her. It was as if he’d been walking through a fog all these years. Like he’d been lost at sea, and he’d finally found his lighthouse. She was that lighthouse. Enzo headed in the opposite direction of Eve.

It didn’t take him long to shower and meet her in the kitchen. Together, they ate the food Maria had prepared in advance for them. Afterward, they retired to the bedroom and climbed into bed together. Eve watched television while Enzo replied to some texts. He ended up putting his phone down because he wasn’t getting the answers he wanted, and that was making him angry.

He didn’t want the outside world to affect him when he was with Eve. When she noticed he’d put his phone down, she inched closer to him. He stretched his arm out and pulled her close. Resting her head against his chest, she resumed watching her show. Before her, he’d spent his nights alone. He’d usually eaten alone. He’d rarely watched T.V., but when he had, he’d done it alone. Now, he was just as invested in the shows she watched as she was.

“She’s the mother of dragons, right?” Enzo asked.

“Yes.”

“Why won’t she use her dragons to burn up everyone who refuses to follow her?”

Eve chuckled at his question.

“What?” Enzo asked. “That’s what I’d do if I had dragons.”

“Which is why you don’t have dragons. Half of Italy would be on fire.”

“Yeah. It’s probably best that I don’t have dragons.”

They stayed up late watching reruns of Eve’s favorite show. She fell asleep before him. He didn’t know how long he stared at her while she slept – an hour, maybe two. Enzo yawned. He was tired. However, he wasn’t ready to stop looking at her. She looked so peaceful, so innocent. If he told her what he’d done today, what would she think of him? If he told her he’d cut a man’s tongue out for giving him false intel, what would she say?

If he told her he’d then shoved that man’s tongue down the throat of the man’s accomplice, choking him to death, what would she think? Enzo raised his hand to caress Eve’s cheek, then froze midway. How could he touch her with the same hand he killed with? How could he love her with the same heart he viciously hated others with?

Enzo sighed, feeling like he was carrying the weight of the world on his back. He quickly lowered his hand when Eve’s eyes fluttered open. Blinking, she gazed up at him. Yawning, she raised one of her arms and stretched. He moved back a little, giving her room. As soon as she lowered her arm and settled against him again, Enzo moved closer.

“I didn’t realize I’d fallen asleep,” she murmured, still sounding sleepy.

“It’s late. Go back to sleep.”

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