Page 18 of Thiago (Family Ties #6)

Chapter Eighteen

I n the darkness, Thiago had his arm thrown across India’s back, and his thigh sliced between her legs.

He shifted, and she moaned in her sleep, also shifting, her soft body moving sensually against his.

Her bottom pushed into his pelvis, and a familiar hunger stirred in his blood.

Slipping his hand beneath the sheet, he gently caressed the length of her thigh before sliding the same hand up her stomach and stopping to cup one of her breasts.

He knew he should get up, but he was extremely comfortable in this position. Leaving her bed was the last thing he wanted to do. Ten more minutes, and then he’d get up.

His body relaxed, and his breathing became even.

Ten more minutes, he thought.

Then darkness overtook him as he sank into the arms of sleep.

As Thiago woke up, he knew immediately he wasn’t in his own bed. Rolling onto his back, he squinted against the sunlight streaming through the sheer curtains at the window.

“Good morning, sleepyhead.”

His attention shifted to the doorway, where India was holding a steaming mug of coffee. She wore a long white robe, the silky material clinging to her body and highlighting the fullness of her breasts and nipples.

“What time is it?” Thiago asked.

“A little after eight.”

“After eight!” He lifted onto his elbows.

He never slept late. Ever. He couldn’t remember the last time he had slept past six a.m., even on the weekends. He was simply wired to rise early. When he went to bed late, he still woke up by six.

What the hell was wrong with him? Was he sick?

“I made coffee. Would you like some?” India asked.

“How long have you been awake?” Thiago asked.

She leaned against the doorframe. “About an hour.”

He sat all the way up and ran a hand down his face. “I cannot believe I slept so late,” he muttered.

“You probably needed the rest.”

“Doubtful.”

He had functioned perfectly fine for years with the amount of sleep he normally received. He worked a lot but didn’t often stay up late. He believed in restorative rest for the brain and body, which was important for overall health and operating at peak performance.

“You should have woken me when you woke up,” Thiago said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

“You were sleeping so peacefully, I didn’t want to bother you.”

He stared at her in disbelief. Not because she didn’t want to bother him, but because he had enjoyed uninterrupted, peaceful sleep until after eight in the goddamn morning.

“I need to use the bathroom.”

“You know where it is,” India said.

Thiago slipped from under the sheets, and India brought her mug to her lips, her gaze following his movements. She posed nonchalantly against the inside of the door, but her eyes betrayed the hunger consuming her at the sight of his naked body.

“You did not get enough last night?” he asked with a smirk as he walked past her.

“There he is,” she said sarcastically.

With a laugh, Thiago continued into the bathroom and flipped on the light. After he relieved himself, he washed his hands and then stared at his reflection. He raked his fingers through his tousled hair and then smoothed the strands.

He wasn’t simply bothered by oversleeping. He was also disturbed by the normalcy of waking up in India’s bed and seeing her first thing in the morning. The casualness of her drinking coffee, looking relaxed and perky, had him wondering—what would it be like to experience this on a regular basis?

Such a ridiculous thought. He shook his head. Then he paused, frowning at his reflection.

Was it ridiculous? Why couldn’t he spend the night on occasion?

Maybe he and India needed to reevaluate the parameters of their relationship.

Spending the night should be on the table.

Also, he had never invited her to his home.

He had never invited any woman to his home.

It was his sanctuary, and he didn’t want them to get the wrong idea about their role in his life. But he could bend the rule for India.

He exited the bathroom and found her seated on the settee by the window, legs crossed, holding the cup of coffee in one hand and her phone in the other. She didn’t look up when he came out. He picked up his boxer briefs and pulled them on, all the while watching her.

India lifted her gaze from the phone’s screen. “Why are you staring at me?”

“I was thinking about how absolutely stunning you are. You have bewitched me with your personality and beauty.”

“We already had sex. No need to butter me up,” she said in a teasing voice.

Thiago lifted his shirt off the dresser where India had tossed it in last night’s haste to get naked the second time they had sex. “You don’t think you’re beautiful? Stunning?”

“I’m attractive. Stunning might be a stretch.”

“You underestimate your appeal. Isn’t that why you have such a busy dating calendar now?”

She arched an eyebrow at him. “I don’t have a busy dating calendar.”

“No? Last night was the first time you and I have been together in three weeks.” Thiago shoved his arm forcefully through the sleeve of his shirt, the thought of her with other men grating.

“One of those weeks was because you went to your sister’s engagement party, remember?”

He ignored the question. “How many men are you seeing now?” he asked.

“Let’s not do this,” India said, sounding tired.

“That many?” The tightness in his chest returned, like iron bands around his torso.

“It’s not that many,” she said carefully.

“Two? Three? Five?” The tightening of his chest increased as he waited for her answer.

“I’m seeing the same two men I told you about. There’s Simon and a friend of Kiara’s husband, Leo. Actually, I’ve already broken things off with Leo.”

“I also want you to end your relationship with Simon. Today.”

“Oh really? And why would I?” India asked in an overly pleasant voice.

“Because I am asking.”

She laughed. “I know you’re used to telling people what to do, but this is my house, and it’s my relationship. So, no, thank you, I need a better reason than ‘Because I said so.’”

“You want another reason? I don’t like the idea of another man putting his hands on you.”

“Do you plan to piss a boundary around my apartment to mark your territory?”

“Do I need to?”

“You have really lost your mind.”

“I don’t see what you see in him anyway.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He looks like a weasel,” Thiago remarked.

“He does not look like a weasel,” she said.

“With his pointy nose and his beady fucking eyes.”

“He does not have beady eyes! Again, the way you’re talking, I’d think you were jealous.”

“Why would I be jealous of a beady-eyed weasel?”

She glared at him. “You’ve gone too far.”

“Call him and end it now, India.” His voice brooked no argument.

“Or what?”

“Or else.” He kept his voice low and threatening.

“Or else what? You have no power over me.”

“Don’t I?”

India shot him an incredulous look. “Are you threatening me?”

“You have left me no choice,” Thiago said, ignoring the twinge of guilt in his chest.

Her mouth fell open. “So you would fire me if I don’t do what you say? You asshole !”

“I’m glad we understand each other.”

“Why do you think you have the right?—”

“Because you’re miiiine !” Thiago’s fist clenched at his right side as he dragged out the last word for so long it turned into two syllables.

Silence filled the room. His words shocked her as much as they did him. Good. Maybe now she would stop acting so nonchalant about seeing other men.

He waited in the silence for her to respond. Finally, she stood, straightening to her full height.

“I am not the property of any man?—”

“Spare me the feminist bullshit. I’m not sharing you, and that’s final.”

Her lips pressed together. “All right, Thiago, you want me to stop seeing him. Fine. But I’m confused because you and I don’t have that kind of relationship. We sleep together, but we barely know each other. Last night was literally the first time we went on a date.”

“What do you want to know? Ask me anything,” Thiago said.

“Really?”

“Yes. Really.”

“Okay.” She carefully placed her phone and the coffee on a side table. “Why are you so mean?”

“Is that a real question?” he demanded.

“Yes. When you walk down the halls, staff tremble when they see you. They’re terrified of you.”

“You are exaggerating,” he said, pulling on his pants.

“I’ve seen their reaction with my own eyes. I’m not exaggerating.”

“You are one to talk,” he muttered dismissively.

“I’m tough, but I don’t make people tremble in their shoes.”

“Because you bribe them with macaroons,” Thiago said, looking around for his socks. Where were they?

“You also don’t take criticism well,” India added pointedly.

His head snapped up, and his eyes narrowed at her. She looked right back at him, a challenge in her direct stare.

He resumed the search for his socks and found them in a corner. He picked them up and sat on the bed with his back to her. “I change my mind. I don’t like the direction of this conversation. We should change the subject.”

“That went well,” India said sarcastically.

“If you were not such a smart ass, the conversation would have gone better.” Thiago slipped on his shoes and faced her across the bed. “So what are we going to do now?”

“About what?”

“Your boyfriend.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Silence cracked between them. She was purposely provoking him. Trying to drive him insane.

Thiago studied her for a moment. She had definitely bewitched him because he was about to offer something he hadn’t offered the opposite sex since Kimberly in high school.

He walked over to India, and she eyed him warily, her body going visibly still.

“Did you sleep with the good doctor?” he asked.

“I told you I didn’t.”

“Then it will not be difficult for you to stop seeing him. Cut him off. I will be the only man in your life moving forward.”

“You understand you’re talking about monogamy?”

“Yes.”

She didn’t immediately reply, looking at him as if the words he’d spoken were so foreign to her, she had to ascertain if they were real. “You’re serious.”

“I want you to myself. You want to go out, we will go out like we did last night, and you should wear more dresses like the one you wore to Wine & Bone.”

When her jaw hardened, Thiago guessed she didn’t like what he’d said.

“Please,” he added.

“Was that so hard?”

“Excruciating.”

She shook her head in disgust, but the corners of her mouth twitched upward.

Thiago kissed the right side of her neck and took a deep breath, inhaling the intoxicating fragrance from her skin. “The thought of another man touching you…” He couldn’t finish the sentence. “You are mine, India.”

She lowered her gaze.

“You are going to call him?”

She swallowed. “Yes.”

“Do I need to?—”

She lifted her gaze. “You don’t need to be here for the conversation.”

“Let me know when it’s done.” Placing a hand on the back of her neck, he drew her flush against his body and kissed her.

Her soft mouth yielded beneath his, and the irritating tightness in him loosened.

His mouth moved over hers in fiery possession, fierce at first and then softening to unmistakable tenderness that conveyed his deep affection and desire to hold onto her.

When he finally lifted his head, he gazed down at her, reluctant to leave. His fingertips sifted through the soft hairs at her nape. “I better go.”

She rubbed his chest. “Yes, because I have errands to run, which I can’t complete during the week because I work for a man who’s a slave driver.”

“Sounds like a real bastard,” Thiago said, catching her wrist.

He kissed her again, deeper and more thoroughly until his body awakened, and she was practically fused to him, her fingers caressing his hair with gentle strokes.

Finally, with more reluctance, he stepped back from her embrace, but not before double-tapping her bottom. “I’ll see you later.” He walked away.

“Thiago.”

He paused at the door.

“Don’t ever threaten my job again.”

He watched her in silence, weighing his words. Normally, he didn’t give a damn what anyone thought, but India was different. She held more power than she realized. More power than he liked.

His threat had been an empty one, simply made to get his way. While he appreciated she was no pushover, he needed to make sure she understood he was no pushover.

“Do not give me a reason to,” he said.

Then he strolled out of the room.