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I swallowed. Then, he placed his arm around me protectively as we walked down the stairs with security again to the street.
We weren’t far from the car, and with each step, I knew he would fly off soon.
I stopped walking.
“Adelina?”
I shook my head and sniffled.
Rocco clasped my arms. “Tell me what’s wrong?”
“You can’t leave.”
Rocco stopped in the middle of the block and stood facing me as people walked around us. He loosely took my fingers. “Adelina….” He said my name and blew out. “I have to travel because I have to, not because I want to.”
He had a production office in L.A. and I knew he had to leave. However, I didn’t want to leave things as they were between us.
I licked my lips. “Yes, I know you can leave, but I want us to move forward….”
He squeezed my fingers. “I want that, too. Tell me what I can do?”
I blinked rapidly. “I’ll always be hurt by what Luca did, and I know you didn’t do it. But what I’m having a hard time with is that I…I feel guilty.”
His brows pulled together. “Guilty? About what?”
“Because your grandfather used you, too. You were forced to marry me. How can I live with myself knowing you don’t want me?” Tears fell down my face, and he cupped it, his thumbs wiping them away as his gaze fused with mine.
“Te adora, Mi Bella. I chose you.” He kissed my cheeks and tugged me into his arms. “Please let that thought go. You’re mine and I want you.”
I laid my head on his chest and relaxed against him as if a weight lifted off of me at hearing him say that.
Rocco suddenly went stiff and eased me out of his arms. His expression turned grim. “Someone’s recording us.” He cursed under his breath.
I recovered, schooling my expression to blank. “I forgot we have no privacy. Sorry.”
“You have no reason to be sorry. We’ll have some soon. I promise.”
On our walk back to the car, I couldn’t help but replay how emotional I’d been with him on the street. It frightened me how much I wanted him to care about me.
We climbed into the car, and Rocco took out a handkerchief from his jacket. I reached for it, but he brought it to my face and gently wiped down my cheeks, clearing my tears.
I curled my chin under, but his fingers gently lifted my head, forcing me to look into his eyes, which were full of compassion. He wasn’t letting me pull away from him. He stayed close to my side, even as we rode away. The tension between us continued to build, and I became aware of his bicep warming my arm, and his thigh heating mine. But I didn’t move because even this contact soothed my loneliness. His scent of cedar and his natural sweat worked as a seduction of their own.
I inhaled it and impulsively moved closer to him, his words from before ruining any defenses I had for wanting him.
“I chose you. You’re mine and I want you.”
He reached over and slid his hand down my jaw and neck.
I trembled and pulsed in need and anticipation. Rocco never hid what he wanted, his breathing uneven and harder through his lips. My heartbeat pulsated in my ears, and my chest rose and fell quickly. I shifted my legs to create friction to soothe that growing ache. It was all happening right before him, and he knew he had me.
He wrapped a hand around my nape and gripped it. “Kiss me, Bella.”
I leaned over and pressed my lips to his. That was all he needed. He clasped my face and kissed me back. My lips parted, our tongues sliding sensually against each other. The more we kissed, the rougher we became, pressing harder, sucking tongues. I gripped his face to mine, craving his impatience to have me, urging his complete loss of control. And I got it. He thrust his tongue past my lips deeper, and I sucked on it.
He groaned into my mouth, his hand yanking the top of the sleeveless dress so hard it ripped. “Fuck, you’ve made me desperate.” His mouth latched hard on my nipple and sucked, and I groaned, clutching his head and arching my back for more. He yanked more of it down to squeeze my other breast, his teeth grazing one as he lightly pinched the other. I buckled at the jolt in my clit. “Mmm, yes, take me, Rocco.”
“Damn it, you’re so fucking hot,” he growled.