I finish my banana and toss the peel into the overflowing trash next to the kitchen island. My feet picking up crumbs and dirt, I decide it might be a good time to turn on the robot vacuum. I don’t have a maid, I don’t like people in here in my space before Luna came along, so the closest thing I have to house cleaning is the Roomba. Grabbing the remote, I turn it on and hear the little motor start up as it begins sweeping up the hardwood floors. Crossing my legs, I place my hand on the counter and watch the robot move about as I think about the dangerous job I’m contemplating.
Where do we even start?
Actually, where do I start, I don’t want Luna to do this. It’s too risky. What if we go in there over our heads? Not only will they have a field day with me being the son of Emilio DeAngelo, but they’ll take Luna back into the ring. A place I don’t think many women escape, if at all. Her captors will take it out on her, making what she thought was a rough life look like a walk in the park. She won’t be invisible anymore.
The rain splashing against the window from a hard side wind has me staring at it, rivulets of water rushing down the glass. It’s been raining all day.
The sound of dainty little footsteps has me look up to find Luna coming out of my room with freshly washed hair and wearing a light pink silk robe that I got her. She sits on a stool, resting her head on her hand, her brows furrow. My eyes fall to her lips, I just want to lie in bed and stare at them all day. To have my hands explore her body and feel her skin against mine. But I’ll never admit it, not out loud. I’ve never been scared of anything in my life, but the things she’s making me feel lately. They terrify me. What will life be like when this job is over and she can be on her own? Out there, without me. What will I do? Will I long for an actual relationship now that I’ve experienced a taste of it? Or will I just gag Denise more, wanting to get farther away from it?
“I can hear you thinking,” she says with a little sarcasm, and I smirk. She’s come a long way in just a couple days.
“Just about your plan,” I reply, opening the fridge, I grab the gallon of milk and take a large swig. It helps wash down the banana, but I need something stronger to help shift this plan into action. Putting the gallon back into the fridge, my eyes sweep across my wet bar, the need for a drink growing stronger by the second, before meeting her gaze.
“I just. I really don’t want you a part of this,” I explain.
Her face doesn’t change. She’s not budging. She’s being fucking stubborn.
“Flower, I’ve seen you hold a gun and—”
“Wait, what’d you call me?” she interrupts me.
I re-track my words, unsure of what I said.
“You called me… flower?” she says with an unreadable tone.
I did? I did. What the fuck is happening to me? Now I have a pet name for her?
Rounding the island, I reach for a glass on the wet bar and pour myself a small drink. Neither of us saying anything as I finish it in one swallow and set it back down. Turning, my hands behind me on the bar, I inhale.
“You’re the biggest ray of sunshine in my corner of darkness, Luna,” I explain, and her cheeks redden with the flattery. My eyes drift anywhere but in her direction, the words I spoke feeling cliché but honest.
She slides off the stool and walks up to me. I look down at her, her up at me. She wraps her arms around me and like a lit candle my flame of anxiety is snuffed and I relax into her. Why am I so relaxed around her?
She lays her head on my chest and I raise my hand to cup her head. The feeling of her touching me still so foreign, but I like it too. It’s hard for me to explain.
“You can teach me to shoot a gun,” she mumbles.
Inhaling sharply, my fingers in her wet hair, I know I’m not going to win this one. I’m going to take down the trafficking ring, and she’s going to be by my side. I’ll need a crew, one that isn’t up my father’s ass.
“Yeah. Yeah, I can,” I reply. My hands slide down her back, pushing her into me more, the feel of her perky nipples pressing against my chest. I can’t help the hardness of my cock, I want her. I want her real fucking bad.
But I’ll jerk myself off a million times before pushing Luna into something she’s not ready for. I’ll wait. For her.
“Today, we lie around and I put something into motion,” I tell her. She pushes away from me ready to object and I cut her off.
“You need to learn to trust me if we are doing this.” My tone grim.
You can’t do a simple job without loyalty, let alone something as massive as the one we’re about to walk into. She closes her mouth and nods. Flicking my finger under her chin, I push her mouth where I want it, lean down and kiss her again. She closes her eyes and I pick her up, her legs wrapping around me. Deepening the kiss, I groan into her mouth. My now hard cock presses against the bottom of her ass, and I desperately want to move the silk of her robe to the side and slip into her heat. I need her off me. I need space before I make a move and scare her away.
I pull my lips from hers, my head
