29. Claudia

Chapter 29

Claudia

I glimpse a spacious downstairs, expensive rugs, beautifully maintained rooms, and an enormous bed with silky sheets, as Angelo drags me against him and takes off my clothes.

It's unclear if this is celebratory or what, but I'm not about to ask questions. He pins me to the bed and goes down on me until my back arches and his fingers slide in deep. I come gasping, and he doesn't give me a chance to breathe before he's kissing me again, teasing my naked breasts, my stiff nipples, my goose-pimpled skin.

"I've been thinking about getting you in my house since the moment I saw you," he whispers as his fingers tease between my legs, going nice and slow. I'm still sensitive, but he seems to know how to get what he wants.

"Really? Just in your house?"

"In my house. In my bed. In my shower, my bathtub, my couch, every fucking surface available." He laughs as he licks my breasts. I stretch my arms out and push my fingers against the cushioned headboard as he spreads my legs. His hard cock teases my slit, up and down, soaking his tip.

"Come on, you just got out of prison. I bet you've had a few dozen women in here before me." I say it with a smile like it's no big deal and I'm just joking around, but jealousy knots my stomach.

Except he lets out a low growl and bites my lower lip. "No, baby. Not a single woman until right now." He kisses me nice and deep, and I'm not sure I believe him.

"Honestly. It's okay. I mean, I don't own you or anything."

"I'm not joking. When I went away, I learned how to turn myself off. I shut down, and when I get out, I figured I'd stay shut down. Things are easier that way. But then I saw you."

I stare at him, heart racing. "Really? I was so pretty you just lost your mind."

"I wouldn't use the word pretty ." He kisses my neck and I let out a whimper. "You were sex in that cage, baby. You are so fucking gorgeous it breaks me in half. If I hadn't met you, I would've been single-mindedly getting revenge, except now it's like I can't think of anything else."

"I'm in your head," I whisper and pull back so I can look into his eyes. "You're in mine too."

We hold that gaze for a moment. Then he buries my mouth with his and slides himself between my legs, and that beautiful aching pleasure rips into my core as he starts to fuck me. I grind into him, greedy for every gorgeous inch, and we're not talking this time, we're too busy kissing as the tension builds and builds. Ten seconds stretch to fifty hours which compress to twenty minutes. Time loses all meaning. There's only Angelo inside of me and our bodies pushing together. There are my moans, my gasps, his growls and grunts, his hands on my body, his gaze like lightning grazing across my flesh.

I feel like I'm jerking awake as I come on his thick cock. I see him so clearly it's almost terrifying, and he moans as he kisses me and comes too. We're a sticky, gorgeous mess, and I've never felt so taken before in my life. My ears ring and my muscles twitch, and Angelo holds me against him until I have to go to the bathroom.

The spell breaks. I stare at the granite counters and the gorgeous tile. Everything looks brand new, like this room gets updated every few years. When I'm done, I find him still in bed, and take a beat to appreciate his muscular body before exploring his room a little bit.

"You're thinking something," he says as I peer into the massive walk-in closet. It's not even half filled.

"What? No, nothing at all. I'm just wandering around your absurdly expensive house. What would I have to think about?" I grab my clothes and pull them on.

"It's just a house," he says, fluttering a hand. "It's just furniture. They're just walls. Who cares?"

"I don't care —" But how can I explain to him that this is more luxury than I've ever seen in my life, and this is just one room?

I drift into the hall and give myself a tour. The extra rooms are all similarly furnished, but empty and devoid of personality. It's pretty clear he doesn't use them. Downstairs, I marvel at the gourmet kitchen, at the gorgeous living room and the spacious backyard. I find him pouring wine when I come back in.

"Are they all like this?" I ask, trying not to sound incredulous, but this has been one hell of a day already.

"More or less. I've been gone for a while and I guess my mother did some updates in my absence, but I never really cared what my place looked like anyway."

"Your parents live here too?"

"A few houses down. My sister Laura's nearby, and my brother Davide and his wife, Stefania, are over there. Only Elena and her husband live away from the oasis."

"One big, happy family." I accept my glass and take a long drink.

"I was thinking…" He trails off and pulls me against him. I look up into his face as he leans down to kiss me softly. "Before you answer, think about it."

"Think about what?" I already don't like where this is going.

"You should come stay with me."

I put one hand on his chest. "Angelo?—"

"For a little while. You can still work at Cage. I won't stop you. But at least when you're not working, you'll be safe, and I can put that security detail on your sister instead."

I blow out a breath. "You're just trying to get me in your bed some more."

"Yes. Absolutely."

I take another drink and he lets me go when I wriggle away. I pace across the room, thinking about it. This is a beautiful place and we'd have plenty of room—but there's still a voice in the back of my head telling me to be careful.

I have one goal. Anything else is secondary. Help Serena, get her sober, get her away from Cage and from Tommy. I don't know how staying here will help that. If anything, it could make things harder.

Though I like the idea of diverting more resources towards keeping her safe.

"I can really keep working at Cage?" I ask, crossing my arms, glass held near my face.

"I won't stop you, but I will keep making it clear that you aren't safe when you're there."

"I've never been safe at that place." I look away from him and close my eyes.

For so long, I've put Serena's needs before mine. I sacrificed a lot working at Cage—opportunities, time, my freaking dignity. I did it all for my sister, and now, for the very first time in almost a year, I'm thinking about doing something for myself.

It feels wrong. Like I'm betraying her. But doing this won't necessarily mean she's in a worse-off position. If Angelo says I can keep going to Cage then I believe him. I don't like being away from my apartment, in case Serena needs me for something, but it's not like she couldn't just call. Or come here.

"I'm not saying no." I hesitate, trying to find the right words. "I mean, I want to, but it's just—" I gesture at him. "You're asking me to move in with you, and I don't even know what we're doing."

I feel stupid and needy, but if I'm going to make an enormous decision like this, I have to know what he's thinking. I don't want to be some whirlwind affair that ends the second he gets sick of me—it'll break my heart, and that'll only be worse if I'm living in his house with him.

Saying all that leaves me too vulnerable.

He comes closer. His head tilts to the side. "You know what we're doing."

"I know, we're having sex, but?—"

"You think this is just sex?" His eyebrows raise. "Are you telling me that's how you see this?"

"No, I just mean—" Frustration bubbles up. I feel my old habits break through. "You've been too busy fucking me to actually say how you feel." It's too sarcastic and I didn't mean to put so much bite behind those words.

But it just makes Angelo smile. "I like when you snap at me," he says.

"Great, keep acting like this, and you'll get plenty of shit from me."

"I'm not just fucking you. I'm not inviting you to stay with me in my house because you're only some toy to be filled and pleasured at my whim."

A shiver runs down my spine. "That wouldn't be the worst thing in the world."

He touches my cheek and kisses me. "I want this. I want you in my life. I'm not sure exactly what that's going to look like because everything's up in the air, but I know that when it settles, I still want you here."

My heart's racing and my head's light. I feel that strange spinning sensation like his house is on a fault line and we're tilting into the abyss. "I want that too."

"Good. I won't rush you. Think about it and take your time." He kisses me again. "All I ask is that you spend the day with me."

"It's going to be hard to think with you distracting me all the time."

"Good. Remember what I said before? I have a lot of surfaces that haven't been tested with you yet." Another, deeper kiss. "Or you can go back to your apartment if that's what you really want."

"Staying here sounds… nice." But also terrifying and exciting.

Another kiss, and I can tell this one isn't going to end anytime soon when he takes my wine from my hand and puts it down onto the table before steering me over to the couch. I end up in his lap, straddling him, feeling giddy, like I just made a momentous decision and I can't wait to find out where it leads.