Page 22 of Fight Me Daddy

Calix

I fumbledmy keys and they fell in a heap on the porch. Groaning, I bent over to pick them up but Gabriele scooped them up first. He pushed the key into the lock as I stared at him before he opened the door for me.

"Are you going in or not?" he asked when I continued to eyeball him.

"You can leave," I pointed out. "I'm home."

Gabriele glared at me. "Seriously if you keep talkin' to me like I'm a fuckin' moron..."

There was that accent again. Every time Gabriele got irritated the small hint of Italian accent I normally heard amplified. I wonder if he even knows he's doing it?

"Get in the house, Gonzalez."

"Calix," I said as I walked past him and stepped inside. "And I'm inside so you can-"

"Shut up," he said as he closed the door and locked it. Gabriele shed his suit jacket and tossed it over the back of the couch before he unbuttoned the sleeves of his shirt and rolled them up his strong forearms. I stared at the veins prominently displayed on his skin and swallowed hard. "You need to take that medicine with some food or you're gonna feel like shit."

I blinked at him trying to focus on what he was saying. "Okay? I'm capable of making myself-"

"Sit down," he said pointing to the couch. "Now."

I groaned. Shit, I hated being treated like a child. But I could tell by the look in his eyes that there was no room for negotiation. I rounded the couch and sat down slowly before I toed off my shoes. The shot the doctor had given me at the gym was slowly starting to wear off and those pain pills were looking better and better.

Gabriele nodded when I gazed at him before he disappeared into my kitchen. I heard him rustling around in the refrigerator and cabinets and my stomach tightened. There was hardly anything in there. The Bianchi’s had major money and knowing that Gabriele was seeing I had nothing filled me with embarrassment.

"Listen, I can make a sandwich for myself," I called out. "It's no big deal."

"Have you eaten today?"

I frowned. Come to think of it I hadn't. I'd woken up late after my fights the night before and while I had more money, I had also hurt my hand. I thought it would be fine so I'd just grabbed a cup of coffee and headed off.

"Calix?"

"No," I answered. "I didn't."

"You need more than a sandwich."

I stared in the direction of the kitchen, confused as hell. Why is he acting like he gives a damn about me? I toyed around on my phone for a minute before I couldn't sit still anymore. When I walked into the kitchen Gabriele had four pans going on the stove and he was chopping onions as he moved around the kitchen as if he belonged there.

"What are you making?" I asked slowly.

He turned around and glared. "Didn't I tell you to sit down and rest?"

"I wanted to know what you were doing," I said as I walked further inside and my stomach growled from the amazing aroma. "You actually found stuff to cook in here?"

Gabriele turned back to what he was doing. "You had just enough to make penne arrabbiata. It won't take long."

I had no idea what penne arrabbiata was, but it smelled so good I didn't care. I sat at the table and watched Gabriele as he worked. Seeing him the way he was at that moment, moving around my kitchen almost gracefully, I let my mind wander. If he wasn't a grade-A asshole, he would be hot. Underneath his fancy clothes I imagined was a body that I would appreciate, all hard muscle and tanned olive skin. Heat raced up my back and my cock throbbed.

Gabriele turned to me and I stopped daydreaming fast. Reality check time. This man is a killer. If I wasn't working for him, he wouldn't hesitate to take me out. I stored my fantasies back where they belonged as Gabriele poured water out of a pitcher in the fridge and sat the glass in front of me.

"Here you go," Gabriele said as he put a plate in front of me. "Eat it while it's hot." He sat another plate across from me and went back to dig around in my fridge before he returned with a beer.

"I want a beer."

"No," he said as he cracked it open. "You're about to take medication."

I scoffed. "Are you trying to tell me you've never taken pain pills with a drink?"

---