Page 25 of Dirty Big Sins

The heat and conviction in her voice could have been enough to convince me she meant every word if it were not for the pain so visible in her eyes. Or the truth that lay in the way she moved effortlessly against me every time I touched her. There were times when actions were far more potent than words and this was definitely one of them.

Although her words did piss me off. She may have thought she was doing the right thing by being harsh, but still I had to exercise an enormous amount of restraint not to blast back.

Instead of arguing, I chose to focus on the connection between us as I reached up and brushed my fingers across her cheek to the lone tear slipping from her eye. “I wasn’t kidding when I told you that day I couldn’t let you go. I still need you and despite everything, you need me too.”

She squeezed her eyes shut and leaned into the palm of my hand. I wasn’t going away and I didn’t believe she wanted me to either.

“Why do you insist on confusing me? I need my life to be simple—straightforward.”

“Bullshit. You are way too complex of a woman for something that basic. Look what you’ve managed to accomplish in such a short time. Cooking school, an eatery in New York City, a television show, and now you’re about to open Zia’s Kitchen here in Vegas. Your life is about as far from simple as it can get and despite the stress that causes you, you seem to love it.”

She shook her head. “Yeah, and that’s why I’m having panic attacks, right? Because I love it.”

I gently cupped her chin and tilted her head until she faced me head on. “Open your eyes, Zia, and look at me.”

“I don’t want to.” She pouted. “And how do you know so much about me? Are you stalking me?”

I deepened my tone and repeated my demand. “Open your eyes.”

This time she said nothing before she complied. No argument. No shake of her head. Just simple compliance that led to her opening dark gorgeous eyes awash in unshed tears.

“There you are, beautiful. The woman I have no intention of letting get away again. The woman who wants what I have to give because having me there to catch and control you gives you a taste of freedom unlike anything else. It’s the balance to your chaos that you seek, even if you don’t fully grasp that concept—yet.”

I leaned forward and captured her lips with mine. A simple coax of subtle pressure that had her opening on a quiet sigh. For once there was no urgency that had us ripping at each other’s clothing. No breathless desperation to fuck. Although it would be a lie to pretend my dick wasn’t hard. It had been since the moment I laid eyes on her wicked curves back at Club Berserker.

But this wasn’t about that. Sex between us was potent—that we’d proven tenfold and had the sordid pictures to prove it, but getting her to the right state of mind would be far more powerful in getting her to understand.

By the time I released her mouth, we were both breathing hard. The need between us had intensified, but it still wasn’t the complete focus.

“As you already figured out, the night we met is the same night I met my father for the first time.” I hesitated a moment to take a deep breath before I continued. “To say it didn’t go well was an understatement. Romeo Rossi had turned his back on my mother and me years before and appeared to have no use for a reunion. As is common knowledge, he already had a first-born son he’d groomed to one day take his place. My appearance in his life would have been an inconvenience at best, a catalyst for war at worst.”

Once again, her eyes blinked open and I tried to read the guarded emotions waiting there.

“He wouldn’t do that. Family was everything to him.”

A smirk crossed my lips before I could stop it. Her naïveté toward Romeo didn’t come as a huge surprise. The Rossi family was old school and that often led to a facade that even most of the family couldn’t see through.

“Oh he did. And after summarily dismissing me from his office, he said I could stay at his party as long as I entertained his guests. I told him he could go to hell.” That familiar burn of anger raced through my blood at the memory and the smug look on his face. Romeo had been more of a bastard than I’d imagined and only a strong sense of self-preservation had prevented me from knocking him on his ass that night.

“Then why did you stay?” She bit at her lower lip and that action tightened everything inside me. Sex may not be on the agenda for this evening, but fuck if that little nervous move of hers didn’t make me want to rescind that asinine decision.

“You walked into the room before I could get out. You and that red dress that screamed sin and sweetness.” That much was the truth. What happened after may have been a little more calculated, but that initial punch to the gut was as genuine as they came.

She blinked several times, but it was impossible to miss the wide-eyed shock stamped across her face. Although to her credit, she quickly recovered and promptly rolled her eyes.

“Don’t bullshit me, Vincent. I am not in the mood to be toyed with. I am not the kind of woman that inspires that kind of reaction.”

My body went rigid at her response and I tightened my fingers around her hair. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

She tried to push from my chest, but my grip prevented her from going far. “Exactly what I said.” She fell back against me in a huff of air. “I’m not that gullible so try again.”

I leaned forward and placed my mouth next to her ear. “I don’t have to try again. I don’t mince my words, nor did I bullshit you. And if you quit hiding from me, you’d know that by now.”

“I’m not hiding anymore.” Her words were on the edge of breathlessness. “But don’t take that to mean anything more than it’s literal definition. I needed some time to deal with everything. Romeo may not have been perfect, but he was a force in my life for as long as I can remember.”

“You took his death hard.” I pushed a strand of hair from her cheek and cupped her chin. “My issues with the man were my own. I don’t begrudge your relationship.”

She shook free from my hold and pushed to a sitting position. “I appreciate you saying that, but you’ve misunderstood what I meant.”

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