Page 72 of Dangerous Contract: Part 1

“You never have to be nervous with me,” he told her. “I may be arrogant and demanding. But I’d never do anything to hurt you. I swear.”

“I’m not nervous,” she whispered.

“You’re shaking.”

She smiled. “Maybe I am a bit nervous.”

“What is it?” he asked. “What do you want to say?”

She swallowed. But still, the words didn’t come.

“Rosa...”

“You’re not horrible,” she blurted out. “You’re not a bad person. You’re just... too much for me.”

More rejection. No matter how nice her words seemed, she was still rejecting him. He didn’t think he could take much more of this. He pulled her hand away from his shirt. She released him. Standing up, he took a step away from the bed.

“Get your things together,” he told her. “I’ll take you home.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously, Rosa.”

“Thank you, Orazio.”

He couldn’t tell her she was welcome. Only one thought kept racing through his mind as she smiled at him, happy to be leaving him.

So, this was what it felt like to have your heart broken.

***

Letting go of someone shouldn’t feel like this. His chest shouldn’t ache. A headache shouldn’t be forming on the right side of his head. His mouth shouldn’t be dry. This felt like a damn illness.

“What about my house and bank accounts?” Monique asked, still seated on the bed behind him. “How long will all of that take to straighten out?”

That was all she was worried about, material shit. Couldn’t she hear his fucking voice cracking when he talked? Couldn’t she sense that letting her go was bothering him? Had she no heart at all? Or washisheart just that unimportant to her? Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and released it slowly. He opened his eyes and swallowed.

Orazio cleared his throat, then looked back at her and said, “I’ll get with my lawyer. It may take a few weeks, but we’ll get everything turned back over to you. After it’s done...”

The next words got stuck in his throat. He paused to take another deep breath, releasing it slowly.

“After it’s done, I’ll...”

Shit. Why couldn’t he get the words out? He turned away from her, not wanting her to see how this shit was affecting him. Orazio shoved his hands into his pockets, chest aching something fierce.

He needed to get this over with before he changed his mind. He took another deep breath and released it slowly, trying to calm himself down before he made himself look like a damn fool.

“After it’s done,” he started again. “After everything is back to the way it was before I stepped in and fucked it all up, you’ll never hear from me again.”

Shit!Who knew words could hurt? He closed his eyes when he heard her getting up and gathering her things. This was really happening. He was really about to let her go. He could stop this right now and force her to stay.

In the end, that would make him no different from his father. And like his mother, she’d only grow to despise him more and more with each day that passed. Though he wanted her, and though she was attracted to him, they could never have anything more than one night.

It was a night he’d never forget. And because of it, he knew she’d never forget him. Forcing her hand wouldn’t change things. Maybe love just wasn’t in the cards for him. Or maybe it was the timing. Maybe he was the right person at the wrong time for her.

Or maybe it was him. Maybe Orazio Cattaneo was the problem. He’d royally fucked this up from the start. Orazio held in his groan. He’d really paid off her ex’s debt and thought that meant he could have her.

That debt had nothing to do with her. If he’d truly wanted to help her, he should’ve just killed Trevor. Sure, she would’ve mourned the man. But at least she would’ve been free of him. Then Orazio could’ve approached her the way normal men approached women.

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