He took her from room to room describing the work that had been done, allowing her to place her hands on surfaces to feel the smoothness or the carvings in the wood. This was his pride and joy. Watching her enjoyment, he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. She would never know the true history of this place.
He didn’t want her to find out and was willing to do whatever it took for her to never know.
Running fingers through his hair, he glanced out of the window. His life as capo always caught up to him in some way. His secret wouldn’t stay that way for much longer, but until it did, he wanted to bask in all that she gave him. The way she looked at him. Even with her vacant eyes. She didn’t see him, and yet she did. It was the craziest thing in the world. He loved it when she cupped his face, touching him, memorizing how he looked by touch alone. She thought he was handsome.
When he told her how beautiful he thought she was, she blushed, denying his words. She didn’t think she was pretty, let alone beautiful. Her scar didn’t bother him. Staring into her eyes, seeing the scar, he knew his woman was a fighter. He was so fucking enthralled by her. If his enemies ever caught the way he looked at her, they would hurt her.
He had to be more careful.
After the full tour of the house, he led her out into the garden. Not much had changed with this. The flowers still grew, and he employed a gardener to keep it neat and organized.
On the porch, Belle didn’t move any further. She tilted her head up to the sky. The sun beamed down on the two of them.
If it was possible, she looked even more stunning in the light. Most often, he went to see her during the night, because of how much work he had to do. He tried to keep his nights for her, but there were a rare few when work got in the way.
“Come on, I’ve got a surprise for us.”
“You have?”
“Yes. Stay there.” He left her on the porch. Taking a single white rose, he removed all the thorns and checked for bugs. Returning to her, he slowly slid the rose into her hair. She’d bound her raven hair on top of her head. He wanted nothing more than to release it and run his fingers through the length. Instead, he put the rose into her hair.
“What is it?” she asked.
“A white rose.”
“Thank you.”
He took her hand, locking their fingers together, walking her back out to the garden. He’d stopped by before collecting her from her place to make sure everything was set up.
“You’re being all mysterious, Diego.”
“Can’t I have a few mysteries?”
“Yes, you can. You’re not taking me to kill me, are you?”
He pulled her in close, gripping her ass. “Never.” He claimed her lips, moaning as she ground herself against him. “I’d miss you too much. No man in his right mind would leave this.”
She chuckled. She opened her mouth and quickly closed it.
“What is it?” he asked.
“It’s nothing. I’m hungry. Feed me.” She pretended to bite him, and he laughed, wondering what she wanted to tell him.
He moved toward the patio in the center of the garden, pass all the rose bushes. A single table sat in the center, two chairs. Everything was ready for him to serve them lunch.
“Did you prepare a … dinner for us?”
“Lunch, and then I’ll take you for a walk so you can get accustomed to the garden.” There was plenty of space for her, and he had more than enough time to help her get used to the space and where she could walk. Whenever they were here, she was protected and he always had time for her. Back in their real world, that wasn’t the case.
Helping her into her chair, he opened up the basket and began to pull out fruit along with a couple of meats and cheese, which had been stored in a cooler.
Placing them on the table, he couldn’t help but chance a look at her. The smile on her lips was infectious. He loved that he made her happy.
It’s all lies, asshole.
Ignoring the pang of guilt, which seemed to come second nature to him around her, he took the seat opposite.
“First, a strawberry.” He held the green stem and presented the juicy red fruit to her lips, which she took with relish. Some of the juice dribbled down her chin, but he dealt with that, leaning over and licking it off her chin.
She laughed.
“May I try?”
He handed her a fruit, and then guided her arm to his face. He took a bite out of the fruit.
“What do you think?” she asked.