Page 57 of Hidden Rocco
He wouldn't wish the mess of his life on anyone. His skin was alive from her being near. “How do you see that?”
She laughed in a hollow way he’d heard in jail and said, “I’ve never once had the chance to even have my heart broken in a relationship. Ali preferred killing me over sending me away.”
His heart dropped into his gut. If he could have stopped Ali, he would have. Luckily he was already gone. It was probably the one thing he’d ever have to thank his brothers for. His pulse was like butterflies practicing their wings. “Why do you think he did that?”
Her eyes were glassy but she shed no tears. “Because he wanted my money. Everyone wants my money. It’s all anyone sees when they look at me.”
Until today he hadn’t realized the depths of what wealth she had. Money alone didn't define her, she was so much more. “That’s not true.”
She scoffed and shook her head like he was wrong. “Yes, it is. What did you think when you met me at the hotel the first night?”
His gaze narrowed. “That you were going to call the police and have me arrested like you should have.”
Her lips curved into a reluctant smile. “No. I mean about me.”
She shouldn’t doubt herself. He wished she saw her own value as she was worth far more than everything she possessed. “I thought you were kind in giving me a place to sleep out of the cold. You didn’t have to.”
Her face wrinkled like she didn’t believe him as she glanced at the crib and then said, “I don’t know what you mean by kind, but I’ve clearly had sex before and I’d like-”
Rocco fought the urge to wrap her in his arms and hold her tight, clenching his hands. “I don’t mean any man, but agoodman--he would have scooped you up a long time ago.”
She sucked in her breath and those pretty lips of hers pouted. “Okay… I don’t know any other good men, just you.”
He pressed his hand to his chest. “See? That aims right for the heart. What are you trying to do to me?”
Her soft sigh made him pause as she said, “Your gentleness was part of what I fell in love with.”
Everything in him was on pins and needles. He had no right to touch her or feel or ever tell her how his heart was already hers.
All he could offer was his protection. She deserved more. “You really love me?”
Mica flinched but she took a step toward him and reached for his hands. “I love you more than words can say, more than I can express.”
Her touch made him aware of parts of him he long thought dead. He tore himself back and said, “I have no right to love you.”
She hugged her waist. “How do you feel?”
“About you?” He pivoted toward her.
Her huge eyes were full of emotion as she asked, “Yeah, about me.”
The words came without thinking. “It’s my job to protect you.”
She winced and pushed her hair behind her ear, taking a small step back. “That’s it? Just what I’m paying you for.”
The fact that he'd hurt her wasn’t good. He didn’t budge. “It’s not just a job.”
She turned from the window where she'd paced and glanced at him over her shoulder. “It’s not?”
If he admitted to her that he loved her, he’d ruin her life. She would try to be with him, but then realize that he didn't fit. He hoped that in time she understood why he had to deny a relationship. He stood at attention. “I’ll die to protect you and Jacob. I’ve never had a family to care about, but I know what it’s like to never trust anyone. It’s why I can’t offer you more than my life. You deserve to have the world.”
She headed back to her bed and pulled her sheets over her as she said, “I don’t want the world. I just want you.”
He settled into his own bed and hoped somehow the tension ended so he could get some rest. He fluffed his pillow. “We’ll need to leave early in the morning.”
“Okay, Rocco. I won’t push you anymore.”
Her voice was haunting, but she was better off without him.
