Page 72 of Protection (Mobsters + Billionaires 2)
MADS
Holy shit.I can’t believe he just said that.
As soon as the words are out of his mouth, however, Anthony squeezes his eyes shut, breathing deeply as he taps his forehead with the side of his fist. “Stupid, stupid, stupid,” he says under his breath.
I still his fist with my hands. “Anthony?”
“Yes?” he asks, still not looking at me.
“You’re looking like somebody who just got kicked in the nuts. And since you clearly regret Vienna, I don’t know how to take what you just said.”
His eyes—fuck, his beautiful, soulful eyes—fly open. “I—no. I don’t regret Vienna. Did you…do you really think I regret it?”
My brows shoot up. “Are you kidding me? I’ve been dying these last few days, feeling like the world’s biggest clown for thinking that Vienna was this profound thing for me and fuck-all to you. Like, I was there. You were with me, so lyrical with how you held me. And then you weren’t, and now I don’t know what the fuck to think.”
He closes his eyes again, his face creasing into a pained expression. “I’ve been fighting how I feel about you for months. I thought in Vienna I could get a little relief from the torture of it, and I felt so fucking guilty because I’m supposed to be protecting you, not making love to you. But trying to pretend again after…it’s impossible. I can’t.” He bites his lower lip, the insecurity out of place in his expression. “I won’t.”
I settle into his lap and hold his face in my hands. “Wait, so this is real? You really love me?”
He opens his eyes and looks into mine, searching. My heart starts pounding and my breath catches at the intensity. He must see something in my expression because the vibrating tension in his body settles and certainty returns to the set of his jaw.
Oh. There he is.
He holds me close and then kisses me, and I’m one hundred percent convinced my heart is gonna fly right out of my chest. He keeps kissing me like he’s trying to inhale me, and I wonder briefly if I can turn myself into air molecules and let him do it. Let him inhale me.
It’s so easy to get lost in this place, but…I need the words.
Finally, I tap his shoulder and pull away, panting. “Um, I’m going to need a verbal confirmation, sir.”
He smiles, carding his fingers through my disheveled hair. “Yes. I do. I love you very much. And I don’t regret any of it. Well, except for the part where I was an idiot.”
I sway my hips and do a little raise the roof action with my hands, happier than I've been in a long time.
“What are you doing?” Anthony asks, a bemused tilt to his voice.
“Shush. I'm celebrating.”
“What? I don’t get my verbal confirmation?”
“Ugh. So needy,” I tease as I kiss him. When I sit back, emotion and uncertainty are at war in his eyes.
Might as well put the man out of his misery.
I roll my eyes. “Fine. I love you too.”
A smile, wanting to be shy at first, blooms across his face, broader than I’ve ever seen it.
Wait, what?
“Is that a dimple?” I ask, poking his cheek.
“Maybe,” he answers, his dimple deepening as this beautiful, unprecedented smile takes up even more real estate on his face.
“Oh shit,” I breathe out. “Where has this guy been hiding the whole time? Stern, law-abiding Anthony is gorgeous, but fuck. Like, I’m going to tell Luca that your mob name should be Tony Dimples. Oh man.” I grip my chest, full-on drama queen. “There are palpitations. And my fingers are weirdly cold. But my crotch is really warm. My body is so confused right now.”
Is that…?
“Are you fucking blushing now?” I practically yell at him. “You are going to fucking kill me with this. I was fishing for a little love declaration, but now I’ve got to book a cardiologist. Thanks, assho—”
