Page 50 of Don't Break My Heart
His face grows a little more serious. “I can assure you I wouldn’t.”
I roll my eyes, taking a seat at my desk. “Hopefully this section is safe,” I mutter almost to myself as I switch on my computer. The security feed pops up so I can see every space within my club. It’s quietat this time of the morning, a cleaning crew still working on the private rooms and a couple of girls I don’t recognize practicing their dances on the main stage with Paige. Their provocative moves take me back to the night I danced for the twins. A lump gets caught in my throat, and I have to blink away the tears that instantly well. Get your shit together, Sloane. You can’t think about Orlando, he’s gone. It was his choice to stay in Italy and turn into his papa. Fuck him.
I suck in a deep breath and open my top drawer, expecting to see my bottle of pills, but surprise, surprise, all that’s in there is stationery. I try and shake off the icky feeling sweeping through my insides. But a little voice tells me I can’t do this. It’s all too much. Too much has changed. I have changed. And as much as I know it was me who pushed Onyx away this morning, I don’t know how to do it without him by my side. I feel empty and lost in a way I never expected.
“Are you looking for these?” Romeo holds up my little bottle of pills.
I roll my lips. Fuck, why does he have them?
“Onyx thought you might need them today.” He smiles, way too pleased that he has something he knows I want.
“Did he now.” I wonder when they had that conversation, after I kicked him out of my apartment or when they woke up and discovered I had taken off.
He leans his expensive suited ass on my desk. “Pushing us all away isn’t going to make you feel better, Sloane. We’re here to help you. We can do this together.”
“Together. Fuck that,” I huff. Is he kidding me?
His hand comes to my arm gently, forcing me to look up at him. “I know we hurt you going behind your back, but you have to understand, we did it for you. We couldn’t lose you.”
“Then you did it for you, not for me. And Reef thinks I’m the selfish one,” I murmur. “All you had to do was come to me and tell me how dangerous it was, tell me how you all really felt, and I would have listened.”
Disappointment flashes in his eyes. “Can you honestly tell me you believe your own words right now? Come on, Sloane, we all know you better than that. You’re stubborn as fuck and think you’re invincible. You would have refused to leave so you could save those girls and help Daisy. Orlando has a mess to fix, and he couldn’t do it worried that something would happen to you the whole time. None of us could. This was the best solution, you have to see it’s true.”
My brow props up as irritation eats its way into every one of my muscles, and I stiffen under his hold on me. “You broke my trust for the last time, Romeo. There is no coming back from this.”
“I know you don’t believe that.” His eyes roam over my face.
“Why, are you going to feed me some bullshit line about how wet I am for you and if you checked my panties, you would be able to prove it?” I snip back.
He raises a brow, and I know he’s considering it.
I shake my head, my glare hardening. “Don’t even think about it. I’m not a fucking toy for you all to mess with. I could have made a difference over there.”
His fingers brush over the side of my face, and I flinch away from him. “Doll face, you still can. It will just be from here. I have loads of ideas to run past you in relation to our family clubs. You can do it all, just from safety. From a place where we hold the control, not Valentine and the likes of Dante.”
I stare back at him. Is he serious? “Give me my pills.” I hold out my hand a little more aggressively than I probably should. But right now, I need something to numb this pain.
He places his empty hand in mine, closing his fingers around it. His touch is electric and sends a warmth through my body I wish would fuck off. He knows what he does to me. And I hate myself for it. “I’ll give them to you if you can promise me you will talk to Onyx and Reef and fix things. They only want to keep you safe because they love you.”
“Fix things.” I blink back at him. Is he kidding me! He thinksIneed to apologize and make things right between us all. “I don’t need them that badly.” I try to pull out of his grip, but it tightens.
“Yes, you do. Not only that, but you need us. Blocking us out is going to do nothing but make you more miserable than you already are.” He pockets the pills, his other hand coming to my waist as he tugs me closer to him. So close I can smell his intoxicating aftershave. I try not to breathe, try not to look directly into his dark eyes. I can’t be pulled back into his vortex. “You need us like we need you.” His head dips to my neck, and he inhales deeply. “I know we hurt you, but you have to see we did it for you. We love you too much to see you suffer at the hands of evil.” His words skate down my neck, sending goosebumps in their wake.
I suck in a breath, my heart hammering wildly in my chest. I know what he’s saying is true, and he’s right, I wouldn’t have listened to them. But they went too far this time. “Give me my pills, asshole,” I growl, not even recognizing my own voice.
He shifts just slightly, then his lips are on mine, kissing me so damn passionately I feel it right through to my toes.
And fuck, I kiss him back because I can’t help myself, having him for just a moment of peace. Then my hands move to his chest, and I shove him off me with as much force as I can.
He takes a step back, pulls the pills from his pocket, and places them on the desk. “Think about what I said, sweetheart. You know there is something real here. Don’t push us away now.”
I snatch up the pills and throw two down like I was desperate for them. Really, I was just desperate for anything to pull me out of my Romeo fog so I can think straight again.
My office door opens abruptly and Asher strides in. “What did I miss?” He grins, looking between us.
I turn away from them both, knowing my cheeks are red as hell. Fucking Romeo. I stare at the wall of women who have influenced my life in so many ways.My fucking life falling apart, Asher, that’s what you missed.
Chapter 23
