“Explain it to me then.”
“Tonight, I nearly lost you. If that shooter succeeded, I’d have to bury another body.” She paused and started to shake.
Marco wrapped his arms around her trembling frame and pulled her close. This woman, he mused, was sure something. She possessed an incredibly caring and unselfish heart despite everything she’d been through and what she’d seen hours earlier. She could’ve betrayed him, ran from the atrocity he committed in front of her very eyes but instead, she did the opposite. Lila stuck with him.
“I don’t want to lose anyone again,” Lila finally said after she calmed down.
“I promise you I’ll never leave you.”
“You can’t make a promise like that. Not when life and death are uncertain in your line of work.” He heard the accusation in her tone and dismissed it.
“I’m Marco Severin,” he said. He didn’t need to remind her who he was, but he wanted to give her some measure of comfort. “This city belongs to me. No one would harm a single hair on your head or mine. Be sure of that.”
“I trust you.” Lila breathed. “As crazy as that sounds, I do. Okay. Promise?”
“Yes.” Marco held her a little longer before reaching for the bottles near the tub.
“This is nice,” she murmured. He opened the shampoo bottle and began to do her hair. He took his time, running his wet and soapy fingers through her curls. Marco could already imagine Lila lying on his bed, nude, her dark curls spread out all around his silk pillows like a fan.
She remained still and obedient against him while he finished the job.
“There’s something nice and intimate about giving another person a bath,” he said.
He reached for the soap next. Lila giggled as he scrubbed them both. Tempted to tease her again, to touch and play with that body that rightfully belonged to him, Marco decided to be the boy scout for now. If not, they’d never be able to leave the bathroom.
That task done, Marco emptied and refilled the tub with clean water again. After, he rose from the tub and offered her a hand up.
Marco grabbed them both towels and helped dried her off. He grabbed one of his spare shirts from the drawers near the door.
“Hands up,” he said. She raised them so he could slide the fabric down her body. His shirt was two sizes too big for her but he could see the tempting curves of her body, her tits pressing up against the cotton.
“What next?” she asked him.
“Bed,” he said with a smile.
Chapter Seven
Marco felt his phone vibrate under his pillow. He should check his messages, but he was loath to leave the bed and Lila. He opened his eyes, almost afraid she’d be gone, an apparition that visited him in the middle of the night, and yet there she was. She slept like she always did over the past week, facing him, her face pressed against his chest.
Seven days of bliss. Marco never understood happiness until now. Before her, his number one priority had always been the family business. Family came first, but now, he was rethinking his choices. He’d pulled his weight, seen his brother, Ryker and recently, even his cousin Lucas get hitched.
Maybe it was time he finally claimed a woman. Made her his wife. Something he’d thought he’d never do. His own mother died early, died in a shooting. A gang war. His father had been devastated, and seeing his proud old man broken down like that, he thought he’d never want to go through that ever again.
Women were a weakness—at least that was what he used to think, but Lila had brought him to his knees. His phone pinged again. Marco groaned and untangled himself from Lila. He snatched his phone from under the pillow and checked his messages.
The delivery was today. He nearly forgot. Marco looked at his prize soundly sleeping in his bed. He leaned over, gave her a quick kiss on her mouth. He wasn’t worried Lila would stir. She slept like the dead every night and the effect seemed to rub off on him. Marco experienced insomnia every now and then but not anymore since she started spending her nights here.
He slipped on a pair of jeans and left the bedroom, quietly shutting the door behind him. The doorbell rang. Marco opened to see some of his guys carrying boxes. Lila’s things.
“Morning, boss,” Johnny said.
“Where do you want these?” Lorenzo asked.
“Living room’s fine,” Marco said, stepping aside so they could enter.
He was surprised to see another familiar face tagging behind Lorenzo and Johnny. His brother always had the talent to blend into his surroundings. Matthias looked like any other average punk in the street, dressed in a hoodie and jeans. He could don a suit and look sharp if he wanted but Matthias always preferred to be anonymous.
“Did you bring breakfast?” he asked his brother.