Page 14 of Tease

I swear I was going to combust on the spot with him saying precious and darling. Calling mehis. How I wanted to be his.

When he finally pulled back, his pupils were dilated, and I was breathless. Reaching up with one hand, he stroked my hair and stared into my eyes like they held all the secrets I kept locked inside me.

“Will you let me take you out on a date?”

“A-a-a date?”

He nodded. The thought of him taking me out made me happy and nervous at the same time. I didn’t like being in crowded places, but I’d do it for him. To be honest, I think I’d do anything for Arlo if he asked it of me.

“Okay.”

“Yeah? I promise it’ll be somewhere you can be comfortable and not surrounded by people. I know you’re not a fan of that.”

I nodded, reaching for him and stroking my hand down his chest.

“I’d l-l-like that.”

The way he smiled made my heart beat faster than it already was. He captured my hand from his chest and pressed kisses to my fingertips. It made my face heat, having him give me affection this way. I never wanted it to stop.

“I’m going to make you breakfast.”

Before I could say a word, he pulled away and straightened.

“Stay here. I’ll bring it up for you.”

I wanted to tell him it wasn’t necessary, but he was gone before I could. Turning back to my computer, I logged into the system. Pippin jumped up into my lap and settled himself in it. He purred when I stroked his ginger fur.

“Have you been nice to Arlo or have you and Merry been little menaces?”

He didn’t respond, of course, just kept purring his little heart out. My cats were the only living beings I could talk to without any problems. These two were five years old. They’d been my eighteenth birthday present from my father. They stayed in my room most of the time but ventured downstairs to eat and went outside when they wanted to.

I leaned over my kitty and pressed a kiss to the top of his head before whispering, “I love you.”

I wasn’t sure what I’d do without my cats. They were my companions. I infinitely preferred them to most people. To be honest, the only humans I tolerated in my space without reservation were my mother and Sofia. Verona was someone I could only deal with in small doses. And Arlo? Well, I would be happy to spend as much time with him as he wanted to spend with me.

When Arlo came into my room again, he’d made me tea along with avocado toast, which he set on the desk next to me. Then he reached down and stroked Pippin behind the ears.

“I’ve got to get some work done, but I’ll come check on you later, okay?”

“Okay, thank you f-f-for breakfast.”

He leaned closer and pressed a kiss to my forehead.

“Be good,mia preziosa.”

And with those words, he left the room. I stared at my computer screen for a long moment, trying to process everything that had happened this morning. The man I’d been pining after for years was going to take me out on a date. It excited me more than it made me nervous. If that went well, then maybe this would be the start of something amazing.

I really, really hoped it was. Now Arlo had kissed me, I couldn’t go back. I wanted to call him mine. And judging by the things he’d said to me… Arlo wanted to call me his too.

Six

Arlo

Rina fidgeted in the passenger seat, her eyes fixed on the city passing us by. I’d wanted to take her out yesterday, but my father called with a lead on Orsino’s death. It turned out to be nothing. Another frustrating dead-end. Over a year on from his murder and we were still no further forward in finding out who was responsible for killing him.

The truth was out there. We just had to find it.

My father and I had kept our investigation a secret from Martina. She didn’t want to dredge up old wounds, but the fact the girls were being threatened couldn’t be a coincidence. Gennaro’s death and the subsequent change in leadership could only go so far in explaining why someone would want to harm Zayn’s cousins. We needed a fucking breakthrough at this point. One I hoped would come soon.

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