Page 36 of He Should Be Mine

I startle and look up from my plate to meet his gaze. I didn’t think I whimpered out loud. But something has his brown eyes blazing with fury.

“I’m fine,” I say uncertainly, because I have no idea what we are talking about.

His eyes narrow. He stares at me intently, as if he is trying to pierce all my layers and reach the truth.

My heart flutters again. My stomach does a cartwheel. He can’t truly be concerned, can he?

“I’m touched by your concern for my asshole, Dario. It is very sweet of you. But I promise you my hole is just fine. A bit red and puffy, but fine. I know how to take a pounding.”

I finish my tirade with a wink, just for good measure. Dario scowls and turns his attention back to his food.

Disgruntled, I watch him for a moment, before admitting defeat and also resuming my meal.

Damn him. He is getting far too used to me. It is getting harder and harder to ruffle his feathers. At this rate, soon anything I say or do will be like water off a duck’s back. He’ll become immune to me.

That would be awful. Without my barbs and sharp edges, without my deflection of shock and outrage, where would I be? I shudder. I’d be exposed. Naked. Vulnerable.

He will be able to see me. The real me. The frightened, pathetic boy buried deep down under all the glitter and brazen show.

I gulp down more orange juice. My hands are shaking. There is a strange feeling in my chest. I think it might be nervous excitement. The thought of Dario seeing me isn’t all bad. If anyone in the world was going to, I think I’d like it to be him. I think there is a chance he would still smile at me.

We finish breakfast and take our coffees over to the sofa, which my ass is very happy about.

I glance out of the window. The sky is blue, peppered with a few fluffy white clouds and a scattering of airplane trails. It looks like the weather is going to hold and it’s going to be nice all day.

“Do you love Riccardo?”

I inhale coffee. It goes up my nose. I cough and splutter. Dario whacks me on the back and looks concerned.

“Hell no!” I screech as soon as my vocal chords are free of coffee. “He’s a client. Nothing more than work. What on earth gave you that idea?”

I don’t evenlikeRick. And that’s not something I have ever tried to hide from Dario. I didn’t think I needed to.

Dario’s expression is unreadable. He is giving absolutely nothing away.

“Just checking,” he says calmly before taking a sip of his coffee like he didn’t just ask the most insane question in the entire universe.

“Checking what?” I splutter, because there is no way I can let this go.

His eyes are turning intense now. Swirling with something I still can’t name.

“Checking that you’d be happy with a different client.”

I blink. “As long as they paid as well as Rick does.”

“Good,” Dario growls.

My stomach twists. “I’m I getting fired? Do you know something I don’t? Is Rick bored of me?”

Being free of Rick would be great. Being free of Rick and not via a shallow grave, would be more than I have ever dreamed of. But saying goodbye to Rick, would also mean saying goodbye to Dario.

“No, you still have Riccardo wrapped around your little finger.”

An echo of the words I spoke about Dario last night. I wince. Dario does know I only said that to try to get him off the hook, right?

Dario puts his coffee down sharply. “I need to go out.”

“What?” I’m still floundering and now he is changing the conversation? “What for?” I add, a little more coherently.