Page 115 of Be With Me
He leaned down, pressing his lips to my ear. “The territory you waded into when you slept with a gangster.”
My eyes widened, and my thighs… God, theyclenched. That was the first time he’d ever referred to himself as that in front of me, and itshould nothave made me feel so hot.
“What if they call the cops?” I whispered, squeezing my legs together to relieve the sudden ache.
“I’ll handle it,” he murmured. “Now go get what you need.”
I hesitated, glancing at the sales associates. They stood frozen behind the counter, their nerves written all over their faces.
Romolo jerked his head in their direction. “One of you. Come here and help my girl.”
The statement of ownership in that sentence sent a shiver through me.
All of this felt surreal. I should have been horrified by what he'd just done. This man had bribed and threatened his way into a closed store for me.
Instead, I felt like I was floating off the ground.
He was taking care of me.
I didn’t have time to processthatand what it meant, so I turned to the sales associate and explained to her the kinds of pieces I was looking for. She gave me a nod and said she’d be right back.
The faint sound of Romolo’s voice drifted through the store, smooth and low as he spoke to the security guard. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but the security guard was visibly sweating. Maybe Romolo had simply told him his last name. I had to remember that most people feared that name, just the way I used to fear it.
But not anymore. I wasn’t afraid of the mobster who casually flashed his gun at people, showed up to appointments with bruised knuckles, and threatened to snap a man’s neck just for talking to me.
Our eyes met briefly across the room. The smirk he wore seemed to convey he was perfectly in control of the situation. He gave me a wink.
It brought a smile to my lips and heated my cheeks.
The assistant brought out a dozen or so pieces and laid them out in front of me. The coat I'd seen in the storefront window was a given. A bold red dress caught my eye. It would look perfect layered with a turtleneck Eliza already had. The wide-cut pants in a psychedelic print screamed seventies, as did the scarf with a similar print.
After some back and forth on sizing, I had what I needed. It hadn’t even been an hour.
I headed to the register to pay. The attendants, who now seemed a bit more relaxed, even gave me a few shaky smiles as they folded the clothes and placed them into glossy red paper bags.
As I pulled out my wallet, one of the women shook her head. “He said he’ll pay for everything in cash.”
Awkwardly, I slid the wallet back into my purse. I guessed Romolo didn’t want any record of us being here, which made sense in case the staff tried to report this. But there were cameras hanging up above?—
An arm wrapped around my waist. A warm, solid chest pressed against my back. “The security guard will erase the footage. They won’t say a word about this.”
My heart pitter-pattered against my ribcage. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Romolo’s lips drifted over my temple before he let go of me and moved to the counter to pay.
I stared at his back, attraction simmering inside my veins. I wondered how I’d gotten here. No matter how hard I tried to summon some disapproval for what he’d done in the past hour, I wasn’t getting anywhere with it.
Instead, I was grateful and…turned on.
I swallowed. Good girls didn’t sleep with gangsters.
But maybe I was tired of being good.
CHAPTER35
ROM
I leaned back in the chair and watched Mia scribble on the pages scattered all across her desk.
