Page 95 of Power & Punishment

But before I can answer, his lips smash against mine, and I forget what I was about to say.

27

LEO

Ethereal is the only word that comes to mind as I stare at Emilia blissfully sleeping against my chest.

I’ve been up for a while now.

My phone keeps buzzing on the nightstand, but I can’t bring myself to ruin the way the sunlight pours across her face and casts her entire body in a golden hue.

I thought about waking her up with my head between her legs, but I knew if I started, I wouldn’t stop.

We’d spend the entire day in bed, and that wasn’t an option today. There was work to be done, and as much as I wanted to make her my new job, we both needed Enzo gone sooner rather than later.

She stirs in her sleep. I hold my breath until she goes still again. And then my pulse skitters to life under my skin as she curls her body tighter against mine.

Before I can stop the train of thought, my mind goes back to how I felt when I saw her missed call. And then I got word from Michael a few seconds later.

I was in hell the entire drive to her, eventually kicking my driver out and taking control of the vehicle myself. I got there as fast as I could, but when I saw that door kicked open and blood splattered on the stairs, I was transported back to the night my parents died.

And then when I saw she was okay…I knew I was in trouble.

I’ve known for a while now, but last night was just confirmation of the inevitable.

I won’t give her up even if she begs me.

And that’s why I continue to be a creep and watch her as she sleeps. Because the second she wakes up, I’ll see that unforgivable look in her eyes. One that tells me she’s not ready to give in to me.

But last night was different. She let me hold her and leaned into me instead of running away.

That’s all the hope I need.

The trust thing might take time. But it isn’t the first time I’ve played the long game, and it won’t be the last.

“Is it too early to call you out for being a creep?” she whispers, her voice groggy and undeniably cute.

Cute.

I must be in deep because that word feels wrong even in my subconscious.

“Good morning, Tesoro.”

She sighs—somewhere crossed between a yawn and a groan.

Again. Cute.

Very cute.

“Not so fast,” I say, slipping my forearm under her sheet-clad body and forcing her to roll back toward me.

“I’m not in the mood for your weird, only-behind-doors domesticated bullshit,” she mumbles, finally opening her eyes.

My chest tightens when she finally opens her eyes.

“Would you prefer me to take my obsession public?” I ask, raising one brow.

Mia rolls her eyes, but that just encourages me to pull her onto my chest. She gasps as her hips fall onto mine.