Page 15 of The Sicilian's Obsession
Arturo
I was livid. To say that Rebecca was a bitch was an understatement. I overheard everything they said to Katima. I was standing directly behind them, and Katima was looking at the floor. She hadn't even noticed me. She just kept looking at the ground. I wanted to punch all three bitches in the face. I have sisters and I can honestly say if anyone spoke to either one of them like that, I would deck them in the face, male or female. As my youngest sister would have said, 'They can catch these hands.' I didn't like that Katima thought she needed to take that. No one should be treated like that, and I don't know who pissed in Rebecca's Cheerios, but I was going to tell Mr. Sweets he needed to let her go. I gave Katima a chance to decompress. I could tell she was trying to calm down. I could also see that she was getting twitchy. Rather than letting her have a panic attack, I figured it would make sense for her to do a little of her ritual. It would soothe her and calm her nerves. She looked at me like I was crazy. I don't think anyone has ever done that for her. That's a damn shame, but I'm here now. Anyone could see Katima was a sweet girl. It made absolutely no sense to me that she gets so much shit from people.
Her light footsteps sounded behind me, "Arturo?" I turned toward her with a slight smile.
She jumped into my arms and if I didn't have good reflexes, I would have dropped her. Not because she was heavy, but because she surprised the fuck out of me. I didn't even think she knew how to show affection. Katima had wrapped me in a bear hug. Trying to get a better grip on her, I bounced her twice in my arms, my hands palming the curve of her ass. Her head snuggled into my neck. I inhaled deeply. She smelled like chocolate and antiseptic. Those two scents shouldn't turn me on, but it was Katima. I felt like a dirty old man, which was funny because she was only a few years younger than I am, sitting at thirty to her twenty-eight. Still, I was a dirty old man, having these impure thoughts when her gesture was so pure. I yanked my head out of her neck and stared down into her beautiful eyes. Time stood still. The only sound that could be heard was our breathing, and my dirty thoughts won. They ran rampant in my head as I tilted it down toward her.
Katima's lips parted and her eyes dilated. I doubted she even knew what I was about to do. I waited on more breath, hoping she would stop me, hoping she pulled away, but no, she leaned forward. Her sweet supple lips grazed mine gently and I lost it. I ravaged her. I fucked her mouth the way I wanted to fuck her body. Her tiny tongue darted into my mouth and I groaned, gripping her luscious ass in my palms as I brought her closer to my body. She was plastered against me. Her strangled moan made me want to pull all her clothes off. But I couldn't be a beast. Gradually, I dragged my mouth from hers. We were both panting from our exertion. I rested my forehead on top of hers and just reveled in the feel of this woman in my arms. She was heaven. Slowly, achingly, I let her slide down my body. Her legs wobbled as they hit the floor, leaving me feeling satisfied as fuck. I bit back a small moan as she backed away from me. She was trembling, and I wasn't stupid enough to think it was because of anything other than being scared. I had to fix this.
"That wasn't my intention." My voice was huskier and deeper than I had ever heard it. I sounded like I just woke up, rather than kissed the hell out of my charge. Still, she remained silent, her eyes on the floor between us. I stopped myself just in time. I almost reached out and caressed her face, but I could see she wasn't ready for that kind of intimacy. She probably would never be ready. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that said she would be able to handle me. A smarter man would reassign someone to this mission. But ask my mama; I'm dumb as fuck. No one was going to be watching her. No one other than me. Katima darted upstairs like the devil was on her heels and I went back into the kitchen to start food.
I was lost in my head as I made a hearty meal for the two of us. Katima needed to eat more. She also needed a keeper, someone who could take care of all her wants and needs. I just wasn't sure I was the best man for the job.
I'd lost my best friend in a war I didn't even want to fight in. He was the one who wanted to serve and protect this nation. I just followed behind him after we graduated, because I had no life plans. Now I was keeping his memory alive with this company. It was a part of those late-night dreams, when I'd been awake for over twenty-four hours and was just shooting the shit to keep my eyes open. I could picture that night like it was yesterday. The sights, the smells, everything, hit me like a ton of bricks. His death came out of nowhere. One minute, he was there with me, laughing about going home again and eating a delicious meal. The next, bullets were raining down on us. His head exploded all over me. No matter how much I washed myself, I couldn't get the blood off my skin. It should have been me. I should've been the one to die back then, not him—never him.
I shook myself out of the memories and kept stirring the sauce I was making from scratch. I couldn't protect anyone close to me. Katima would be another casualty. I needed to get my head together and stay far away from her. I thought about calling in back up so I could cruise the town for a quick lay, but this town was too small. The chances of my exploits getting back to Katima were high. That was something I couldn't risk. I would have to hold off until I was done with this mission. I foresaw a ton of hand jobs in my future, just me in the shower, alone.
I heard her before I saw her, like usual. "What are you making?"
I grunted, "A quick sausage and pasta meal." I knew she did nothing wrong, but I couldn't bring myself to turn around and look at her. If I did, she would end up spread over this counter with me feasting between her thighs. I felt crazy. We had only known each other for a short time, and I was already acting like a pigheaded Neanderthal. Her footsteps retreated and I felt like a fool. Katima needed a gentle hand, not emotional whiplash. I didn't care about her issues. In fact, I was certain I could help her with them. She could use a friend, but I didn't know if I could be that friend. I could try. Right?
She sighed from behind me. "Why did you kiss me?" I had to stop myself from jumping out of my skin, or worse, grabbing the knife in my boot and throwing it straight into her chest. I couldn't even remember the last time someone had snuck up on me. That just didn't happen. This woman had gotten into my head.
I jerked. "It was a mistake."
Her intake of air told me I'd hurt her with my words. I was no better than Rebecca and her band of skanks at this moment. I should've just told her the truth. I was attracted to her. I mean, who wouldn't be? She was down to earth and a little quirky. I wanted to play with her dark nipples. I shook my head again and concentrated on the food. Conversation closed. The end. Nothing left to say, but Katima just stood behind me silently watching. I had a feeling she had a ton of practice with being an onlooker.
She sniffled, "I'm sorry." Then she fled away from me.
If she cried, I would probably break. The one thing I couldn't handle was a woman's tears. My sisters got away with murder using theirs. Maybe I should take Katima into the city. She could use a change of scenery. She could come to dinner with my family. We may be large and loud, but at least we were safe. I banished those thoughts as soon as they crossed my mind. That sounded like I wanted to introduce her to my family. Which, of course, I didn't. She was just a client.
Dinner was done. I grabbed Katima and fixed her a bulky plate, but we didn't talk at all. We kept our eyes on our plates. I scarfed mine down while Katima ate at a leisurely pace. I was still waiting to hear back from her old man. How long did it take to answer an email? I just wanted to check if his information was going to match up with our investigations. I double-checked, making sure there was nothing from him. There were three reports to go over from Jake. So, I rushed through my meal and collected the plates. I tried to do the dishes since I made a mess in the kitchen, but Katima shooed me away. I retreated upstairs to check the monitors. I could use my phone, but it was better to see on a large screen. I was about to sit down in front of them when I saw a slight shift in the shadows in my peripheral. I looked at the right screen and noticed rustling in the northwest quadrant of the property. Someone or something was there. I grabbed my gun and my night vision goggles. I headed downstairs and barked at Katima not to move from the spot she was in. Last thing I needed was for her to get in the way or give away my location before I was ready. I barely looked her way as I headed out the back door. Silently sneaking off the porch, I jogged to the northeastern section of the property with my goggles on, looking for anything amiss. There was nothing, no movement. I looked at the ground between the bush I had seen rustling and the tree off to the side. I couldn't find anything. Just as I was about to turn around and head back to the house, I saw the little white stick—a cigarette butt. Cursing inwardly, I picked it up by the bottom and hurried back into the kitchen.
Harried, I said, "Do you have a sandwich baggie?" Katima dug through a drawer before pulling out a Ziplock bag. I placed the butt inside and closed it. While we didn't have any kind of DNA scanners on site, I had a guy who owed me a favor in the Philadelphia forensics department. About a year ago, I'd saved his wife's life. She was taken by drug smugglers working with the mob. She had seen a few of their guys exchanging money and drugs outside of the restaurant where she worked, on Broad Street. It was too late to call in my favor right now, but I added it to my list of things to do in the morning. If I could pay to put a rush on it, we might find the DNA of whoever was trying to scare Katima. We needed to get as much information as we could before it was too late.
