It's what he deserves for putting me through the misery of not knowing he’s okay and for being a complete asshole last night.
Mind made up, I move over to Winter’s nightstand and grab the healing ointment that I know is inside the top drawer. My gaze pauses when I see a little black box sitting inside. I glance back at Winter but she’s not paying any attention to me, her gaze on her feet now.
I pick the box up, popping the lid. A necklace rests inside, a silver chain with a snowflake pendant on it. A diamond sits in the middle of the snowflake.
A note sits inside of the box as well.
Happy Birthday, Winter.
Winter’s birthday was a while ago, not long after she got here. I hadn’t said anything to her about it on the day of, simply taking her to work. Giovanni had given me a very basic profile on her a day before she got here and I’d remembered the date.
I stare at the note, my brows pulling together as I recognize the handwriting.
That’s… surprising.
I place the note back inside and place the box back inside.
I move over to Winter. She doesn’t seem quite as rattled now but she’s still quiet. Sighing, I pull my handkerchief from my pocket and use it to dab at the blood on her cheek. Once I’ve gotten all of it, except for the bits that have already dried, I swipe the ointment across the cut. It’s not deep and I'm pretty sure it won’t leave a scar, but the initial blood I’d seen had been worrying.
“Thank you,” she says softly.
She’s looking down, so I place a finger under her chin to make her look at me. Her brown eyes don’t quite meet mine and she’s still shaking slightly.
I don’t think about what I’m doing for too long because I know I’ll back out otherwise. I wrap my arms around her, the way that Maximo does anytime my PTSD kicks in and I wake up covered in sweat, the taste of the desert on my tongue.
The distinct displeasure I’d felt when Maximo had done it to her after she’d been kidnapped flashes through my head.
Things are different now.
After last week when I’d helped Vito take care of her, something shifted and I don’t like it.
Get her through this last thing and then find your distance from her.
It's dangerous enough having my loyalties lie with Maximo instead of Giovanni. If he even thinks that there’s another person who I’m more loyal to than him, especially Winter… it won’t go down well.
Winter relaxes into the hold after a few moments, her heart rate slowing down where it thumps against my own chest.
Once I think she’s okay, I pull away from her. She looks up, her eyes meeting mine as she brushes a curl out of her face. It flops back in the way. I reach out, pushing the curl out of the way for her this time and tucking it behind her ear. My hand lingers on her soft skin and when she looks up at me from under her lashes, I know I’m fucked.
I think she leans in first, or at least that’s what I tell myself to absolve me of my guilt.
Her lips are soft under mine, reminding me of the kiss we’d shared in the poolhouse.
But that was under the order of Maximo.
No one is making us do it this time.
The kiss turns from soft and slow to frantic and hard. Winter’s hand wraps in my shirt before she moves to work the buttons. Her hand slides along my chest, my shirt now hanging half off.
I allow my own hands to roam, grabbing her hips and pulling her up until she’s fully standing flush against me. I pull at the top of her dress until it gives, falling down her waist to the floor. Her hands move toward the button on my slacks, but I’ve already popped them open.
She reaches into my boxers, wrapping her hand around my cock, but I don’t need foreplay, already hard. I slap her hand away, grabbing onto her hips and hauling her up. Her legs wrap around my waist, supporting herself. I free one hand long enough to push her panties out of the way and then I slam into her.
This is wrong.
She’s wet but her pussy is still tight around my cock as a muffled whimper leaves her lips. Her pussy contracts on my cock and I close my eyes, taking a deep breath to keep from cumming too soon.
What the fuck am I doing?