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He reached my ear, and heat flooded me.God, I liked that.
“Anima mia?” I’d memorized all the things he called me, desperate to know their meaning, but scared, too.
He paused and pulled back, pinning me in place with his dark gaze. I wondered if he was going to leave me hanging with that one, but then he spoke.
“It means ‘my soul.’”
I wet my lips, only dimly aware of the rest of the room. This moment felt important somehow, or maybe it was just the alcohol in my veins, making this powerful man seem less scary for a second.
“I thought men like you didn’t have one,” I said quietly, without reproach.
“We don’t, but don’t worry about me, little nurse.” Renato smiled wickedly as he leaned in and spoke right in my ear. “You promised me yours, remember?”
Then, with the most embarrassing timing in the world, my stomach let out a protest so loud, the intimacy of the moment was shattered.
Renato chuckled, leaning back and heading toward the delicious-smelling omelet.
“Enough philosophizing for tonight. Let me feed you.”
“And then?” I wondered, my gaze feasting on the omelet as he put it on a plate and cut it into neat, bite-sized rows.
“And then…” He threw a dishcloth over his shoulder and speared the first bite of eggs, holding it to my lips. “Bedtime.”
25
RENATO
“Ren? Did you hear me?”
Elio’s voice pierced through my reverie. Charlotte had been circling my head all morning, probably because she’d promptly passed out as soon as we’d gone upstairs last night and left me with a raging hard-on. She’d reached into my barren chest in the kitchen and taken my withered heart in her perfect small hand…and then blithely went on to eat eggs and forget about it.
But I hadn’t forgotten it. Not by a long shot.
“Yes, I heard you. Commissioner Reynolds wants to meet. Why?”
“He didn’t say.”
“I’m not extending his credit again. He’s already in the hole for nearly a hundred grand.” I pinched the point that ached between my eyes.
Rich, powerful men like the police commissioner were the bane of my existence. They were too influential to waste by killing off, but they were fucking leeches the rest of the time.
“Do you want me to tell him that? Or just bar him from playing until he pays some off?”
“Bar him. I don’t have time for this. He thinks he can make demands? When he knows full well that I have more than enough evidence on his police department skimming? Bar him and keep him out of my sight. Let him sweat.”
Elio raised an eyebrow but otherwise didn’t comment. I needed Commissioner Reynolds more than ever lately, with Detectives Vane and Whitely sticking their noses where they didn’t belong, but I’d had enough of the guy. Plus, every word that was said in my office was going straight to the nosey detectives’ ears, thanks to the bug they’d had Charlie plant. Let them take that piece of info to their boss and see how it went.
“Giada also found this,” Elio continued and placed a photo in front of me.
It was Commissioner Reynolds, and the slimy, suited Castillo who’d walked into my warehouse a week ago. The one the dead guy from the woods had named.Juan Castillo. The posture of the man, and the amount of security that surrounded him, confirmed my suspicions. This was the head of the Castillos, and he’d been right under my nose the entire time. I should’ve cared more about that than I did right then. But I was distracted, and the reason was asleep in my bed.
Work was tedious beyond belief today, and every second I devoted to work felt like time that I could've spent fantasizing about my wife.
My wife.
Was she awake yet? I checked my watch and stood.
She’d slept enough, and it was time she did something about the ache in my balls.
