Page 51 of Because I Need You
“Of course, I made it.”
“From scratch?” My brows rose.
“From a box.” He laughed like I was being ridiculous. “I added milk and butter and stirred it up in the stove though, so I’m taking credit for it.”
“Well, it’s amazing.”
“Do you know how to cook?”
“Are you kidding?” I laughed. “I started cooking when I was twelve. Otherwise, I would’ve…” My words trailed off as the smile fell from my face. I didn’t want to get into that right now and mar the temporary bliss we had going.
“Finish that sentence.” He set his bowl down in front of him.
“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” I whispered.
“But you will. Another time, you will.” He pinned me with those serious eyes of his, and I merely nodded, not because I would, but because I wanted to move past this topic.
“What did Will say about you breaking things off?” he asked.
“He…” I frowned. “It was almost like he knew it was coming.”
“Hm.” He kept watching me as he ate.
“Like, he was ready to accept it.” I took a sip of the water he’d set in front of me. “I mean, he did try to convince me to stay with him.”
“He did, huh?” His jaw worked, eyes suddenly gaining that darkness he normally didn’t keep in check. “How’d he try to get you to stay?”
“Not by fucking me against the wall.” I raised an eyebrow back at him. He laughed, eyes twinkling. Yeah, he was hottest when he laughed like that.
“Good. Otherwise, I would’ve had to kill him.”
I grew serious instantly. If anyone else said that, I’d take it as a joke, but not someone who had any relation to what my father did. “I thought you didn’t ‘paint houses.’”
“I don’t, but I make some exceptions for people who touch what belongs to me.”
“I’m not your property, you know.” I shot him a look. “I’m not even your wife, legally, so as much as you like to throw that in my face, we both know it’s bullshit. That document was forged.”
“The law thinks it’s legal.”
“And you care so much about the law, right?”
His lip twitched. “In this case, absolutely.”
Why that made me get butterflies in my stomach, I didn’t know. I looked back down at my plate and continued eating.
“My father’s lawyer called,” I said, licking my lips as I pushed the plate away. He picked it up and started doing the dishes.
“What did he say?”
“There’s a safety deposit box,” I said. Gio’s eyes snapped to mine. “I can’t imagine they’d be there though. The keys you need. I mean, why would he keep keys that he needs somewhere he can’t readily access?”
“That would be logical, but Charles was…” He shook his head. “They might be there.”
“If you really think about it, those guys who broke into my dad’s house would’ve just kidnapped me if they thought that would be in a safety deposit.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Is that what you would do?”
“Obviously.”
He laughed, shaking his head as he set the plates down in the drying rack. “You continue to surprise me, Isabel.”
“Just because I can try to think like a criminal, doesn’t mean I am one.”
“Not yet.” He was joking, I knew it, but it still made me shake a little inside.
“I’m a teacher,” I said unnecessarily. His eyes darkened. I frowned, smiling. “What? That’s a turn on to you?”
“You have no fucking idea.”
“Really?” My nose scrunched. “That doesn’t seem like you.”
“What seems like me?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged a shoulder. “Natasha.” I gasped the moment the name left my mouth, clasping a hand over it. “Oh my God. Did you just cheat on her with me?”
“Would that be the worst thing in the world?” He looked entirely too amused with this conversation. I scowled.
“Yeah.”
“Says the girl who touched herself in front of a man while she was supposed to be having a sex call with her actual boyfriend.”
I clamped my mouth together. He wasn’t completely wrong. I thought of something and felt a slow smile bloom on my face. “Except, it wasn’t just a man I did that in front of. It was my husband.”
“Oh, fuck this.” He walked around the counter quickly and hauled me out of the barstool.
“You may have a marriage kink, not a teacher one. I’m not sure which one is more surprising.” I laughed as he threw me onto his bed and came down over me, enveloping me with his body.
“I don’t have a marriage kink.” He nipped my jaw, my neck. I sank my fingers into his hair. He glanced up at me. “I have an Isabel kink.”
My laughter died in my throat. My heart fluttering uncontrollably. Hell no. I could not, would not actually fall for this guy, right? It would be the gravest mistake I could make, for a plethora of reasons. I didn’t even have enough space on a sheet of paper to name them all line by line. Having sex, sure, yes, I’d take that, but falling for him? The thought made a surge of panic run through me.
