Page 18 of Ravage God

Elio turned back to me. “Stay here.”

I didn’t say anything. I didn’t know what to say. I could only sit there and watch as he moved over to the small closet in the corner where Valentino kept his cleaning supplies.

“I can do that,” I said when Elio came back with a broom. I made a move to get off the island when he shot me a look. I quickly held still.

He nodded. “You’re going to stay there until I get this mess cleaned up.”

I opened my mouth, but I didn’t know what to say at this point. Besides, it didn’t matter because Elio had turned away from me once again.

I stayed where I was, my eyes automatically falling over him, taking in his massive physique and feeling something foreign begin to form in the center of my being…

Or perhaps not so foreign, considering I had been feeling this way since I was sixteen and realized I had a crush on him.

And that crush not only wasn’t going away but was getting deeper and deeper with each year that passed, until I realizedthere simply wasn’t a way to escape this… escape him, no matter how much I wished to not feel this way anymore.

I tried to have crushes on other boys when I was younger. I thought perhaps it would be a way for me to get over him, but nothing ever stuck. And then I got older and realized fully what it meant to be a daughter in the Gambino household. Then I was just waiting on bated breath until the year my father decided to marry me off to someone he thought would benefit him.

Thankfully, Valentino took over for my father before I was old enough for marriage.

And now…

I was still so hopelessly in love?—

I shook away the thought.

I was not going there.

Besides, it wasn’t true. Having a crush on someone was different from being in love.

It had to be.

Elio stood in front of me, bringing me out of my thoughts. I startled back in surprise and nearly fell off the island when he grabbed my arm and held me steady. Electricity zinged all over my skin, starting from where he touched me.

I gasped slightly, and he pulled away, frowning. Seemed like that was his go-to expression when it came to me.

I blinked and looked around the now-clean kitchen. How could I not have noticed he finished? I jumped off the island now that it was safe and winced when I felt a sharp pain shoot up my foot.

Elio’s frown deepened, and he looked down, then hauled me back up on the island once more.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“You’re bleeding. Why didn’t you say anything?”

I looked down at my foot. Sure enough, there was a smear of red on my skin, but I didn’t know where the cut was.

“I didn’t even feel it,” I responded. He looked up and met my eyes briefly before grabbing my ankle and moving it up until I had my leg crossed and my foot resting on my thigh, the bottom facing us. I could feel the cut now that I saw it. Something strange moved in Elio’s eyes as he took in my injury, but he was turning away from me and walking out of the kitchen before I could figure out what that look meant. I didn’t try to get off the kitchen island, afraid I might get blood all over Valentino’s floor.

It didn’t take long for Elio to come back with the first aid kit. We didn’t say anything to each other as he tended to me. Elio was fully focused on my wound, while I tried hard not to react to the simple touches from him but felt as if I was failing somehow.

What was wrong with me?

“Luckily, it’s not too deep,” he said softly as he cleaned it. “This might hurt a little.”

I nodded. It stung slightly, but it didn’t hurt that much. Elio looked up as if to gauge my reaction. I shot him a reassuring smile.

I took in a stuttered breath when he finally bandaged me up.

For a moment, it was quiet, and he wasn’t moving away from me like I thought he would once he was done. He stayed close by. So close, I could feel his breath on my skin, could smell his unique scent that always made my heart beat faster.