Page 34 of Dirty Hearts

“Why?Doll, you want me to be with other people?”

The thought actually made me sick. “No.”

“Why?” Satisfaction filled his eyes.

“Because…”

“Because what, Angel Doll?”

“I want you for myself.”

He leaned in and pressed his lips to the hollow of my throat. “Here’s the thing,Angel Doll,you had me from the first day I set my eyes on you. And I declared you mine.” He trailed kisses all along the edge of my shoulder and down, down until he reached my breasts.

I sucked in a breath when he closed his mouth over the nipple of my right breast and sucked me through the soft cotton of my shirt. I started to enjoy it when he pulled back with that cunning smile.

“Does that clear things up for you?” he asked.

I struggled to refocus my mind, then I was stuck on what he’d said.

“You mean it?”

“The first thing you should know about me, is, I never say anything I don’t mean. This is me, straight up. I don’t have time to pussyfoot around shit.”

I smoothed my hand up to his beard, running my fingers over it and feeling his chiseled, sharp bone structure.

“I am yours.”

“Yes, but do you want to be?”

I couldn’t believe he would ask me that, but I kind of knew why. Had to do with my other question. The one I’d wanted to ask for a while but knew better than to be so curious about.

“I want to be.”

“So, ask me the next question on your mind, Doll.”

More courage. I needed more. And more than asking him what we were.

“Work…” That was it, and I wasn’t sure what to say. Pa said he and Luc were important, and one day, when I’d tried to ask him more about them, he’d told me off again for asking so many questions.

I knew Claudius worked with motorcycles and sold them. I’d been to his workshop. But I didn’t think that was all he did. That was just a hobby.

The thing was, I had a sneaking suspicion as to what Claudius and Luc were, but I liked Claudius too much to allow anything dark to enter my mind.

Mobsters.Just thinking it made my skin tingle.

“What about work?”

“What do you do?”

The cockiness in his smile disappeared, and I almost felt bad for asking the question.

“Mostly… I’m a bookie, but … it’s the kind of job that could include a lot of extra-curricular activities.”

“Oh.” That didn’t actually sound all that bad, but again, I wouldn’t be stupid. It was what he wasn’t saying that I knew I should take note of.

“More questions?”

“I don’t know if I should ask. Maybe I shouldn’t.”