“I don’t know. Rafael said he’ll talk to Cooper about our next move. I assume we’ll eliminate our problem, but they seem very tentative about the entire thing.”
“Probably because they have enemies on each side. When my old bosses felt pressure from other families, they reacted real slow. The fear was reacting too fast might lead to an escalation.”
Dino has a point. I never worked in an organization where I took orders. As a freelance operator, I got a job, completed the job, and walked away. Remaining in White Horse makes me care too much about the details like Ruby and the victims at the meth lab. I normally avoid the politics and maneuverings of these various criminal organizations. My job is to draw blood and end the problem. Let the bosses worry about cleaning up after me.
“You okay?” he asks, caressing my knuckles.
“I guess. This job bugs me.”
Dino watches me, and I watch him. His dark eyes show me nothing. I wonder what he sees in mine.
“I’m not playing with you,” he finally says, taking the check. “Were you this distrustful with Troy?”
“No, but he and I were friends first.”
“And where did that end up?”
I follow him to the register and then to the SUV. The cold morning air burns my tired eyes. Dino stretches again, and I take in the sight of his long, lean body.
“I never loved Troy,” I say, studying the traffic around the restaurant. “Even if we hadn’t been friends first, I was never going to fall in love with him. You can’t force these things.”
“No, you can’t,” Dino says, surprising me with a kiss on the cheek. “Let’s head back to the hotel so you can take a nap and sleep off your grumpy mood.”
Holding my tongue, I climb into the SUV. Dino joins me and drives back to the hotel. My stomach still burns from stress, and I can’t avoid confronting the reason.
Walking upstairs, I never think to go to my room and separate from Dino. This behavior is part of my problem. I’m thinking of us as a pair. I never did that with Troy. Even when we were sleeping together. I craved my private space. He wanted his too. We made sense in a way I’m not sure Dino and I do.
“This isn’t just sex, right?” I ask him as he stretches out on the bed. “If it’s just sex, I can handle that, but I need you to be honest with us both.”
Dino watches me and smiles slowly. “Why are you scared, Apples?”
“I don’t want to look like a fool.”
“Your mom always kept everyone at arm’s length. She used men and never loved any of them. You don’t know how a real relationship feels. I get you’re coming from a messed up place, but I’m being square with you.”
“Don’t make me into a pathetic broken girl,” I mutter, kicking off my shoes. “And you’re the healthy fucker saving me. You have issues, Dino. The entire mob hitman thing is a giveaway.”
“I never said otherwise.”
Narrowing my eyes, I smile at him. “Is this passive thing something your father used against your mother?”
Dino reveals a tiny smirk. “I plead the fifth.”
I jump on the bed and smack him on the head lightly. He laughs at my expression.
“It worked, didn’t it?”
“So, was anything you said for real or was it part of your tactic?”
Dino wraps an arm around me, forcing my body to rest along his.
“I see good things for us. You intrigued me, and I wanted you. You acted like you hated me, but now you don’t. The sex is great. We get along great. Why fight what is coming along so easily? Just enjoy what’s enjoyable.”
“Fine, but you need to stop making promises you won’t keep. Talking about going with me to see my mom was too much.”
“I meant that, though.”
“I know, and that’s what’s scary. You say whatever you’re thinking. Tomorrow you can think something else. You don’t plan anything out.”
Dino looks at me in an odd way, and I feel small under his gaze.
“I get it now,” he whispers. “You want to know if I’m all twisted up over you like you’re twisted up over me. Well, I am, and I’ve been twisted up since you punched me. It’s a good twisted up, though. It feels warm and inviting like something I’ve always wanted.”
I flick the tip of his nose. “Was that really so difficult? I simply need everything spelled out for me.”
“Women,” he snorts, trying not to laugh.
Smiling at him, I rest my head against his shoulder. “I am twisted up over you. When you offered to go with me to see my mom, I could picture it. I imagined feeling brave because you’d be there.”
“Just feel it then. I know being a smart bitch has made you a badass all these years. Sometimes you just need to feel. I learned that myself, and it’s why I left my old life. Now I’m feeling this feeling with you, and it feels great.”
“You’re getting a little too emotional for my tastes.”
Dino laughs, but his expression is as soft and warm as his fingers on my arm.