Bennett Mafia(70)

“They’re idiots.”

I looked over to the window, not alarmed but comforted instead. Kai stood there, his hands in his pockets. He’d been turned to look outside. Hearing them start to bicker again, he raked a hand over his face.

“I apologize for both of them,” he said. “If I could fire Brooke, I would.”

“You’re here.”

A brief nod. “They don’t know I’m in here, though. They think you’re sleeping, and they have strict instructions to leave you alone until I arrive.”

“You snuck in?”

It was early in the morning, early enough that it was still dark. The slight coloring on his cheeks indicated he’d just gotten in himself.

“I snuck in. Brooke called Eric into her room down the hallway for a second.”

“Would you fire Eric?” I pushed myself to a sitting position, scooting back to rest against the headboard.

He came over, keeping his voice quiet as he stood next to me. He reached idly for my hand, caressing my fingers. “Eric was purposefully assigned to Brooke. They dated when they were younger. If anyone will watch over her, Eric will.”

It felt right to be in here with Kai, him holding my hand, having this intimate moment while they were out there.

And that felt wrong.

I coughed lightly, my fingers squeezing his for a second. “They dated?”

He nodded, almost absentmindedly. “Eric’s from an old family. I owed his uncle a favor, more than one, and he called it in. They’re no longer active in the mafia lifestyle, but Eric wanted to learn. He might be a security guard now, but he has promise. He’ll step in and bring his family back into the fold one day. He’s not ready yet, though.”

Another thought came to mind. I felt a tug in my gut.

“And if Brooke were dating him again, that’d tie your families together?”

He’d been gazing at our joined hands, but he looked up. The corner of his mouth tugged up too. “No. I’m not like that. Brooke can date who she wants, but she’ll have to make a decision to either bring that person fully into the family or keep them out. There’ll be no in-between.”

There was an ominous note in those words.

I echoed, dully, “You’re either in, or you’re out.”

He nodded. “Something like that.” His eyes held mine for a measurable minute before he let go of my hand and moved onto the bed beside me. I started to scoot over, but he clamped a hand on my waist, holding me in place. There wasn’t enough room until he lifted my leg to lay it over him.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked.

Gah. I almost didn’t hear him.

“Yes.” My voice was raspy again. “You? Comfortable there?”

The barest hint of a smile graced his face, and his eyes began to trace down my body. “I am, actually.” His hand slid to my stomach, lingered, and began to move down.

My heart picked up. So did my body heat.

I felt a throb beneath his palm, wherever it moved.

He rested it just under my belly button, pausing on the curve. The end of his palm pressed above my clit. He wasn’t watching me, only staring at his hand. “On the phone you were asking about yourself, not Brooke.”

My mouth watered, as if I saw a mirage in the distance during a twenty-mile trek over the Sahara.

“Yes.”

His hand moved down another inch. The slightest hint of pleasure coursed through me—a shot, a zing, a tingle. He held his hand against my clit.

Not much separated us. A sheet, my underwear, and the softest material I’d ever worn for pants.

The conversation outside the door quieted as everything about Kai took my focus.

The way his finger began rubbing over my tummy in a slow circle.

How if he pushed down, just the slightest bit, I would need to bite down to suppress a groan.

My heartbeat picked up. My breathing grew deeper. And that throb only increased. It had become a yearning, a thirst, and my mouth kept watering.

“If I would let you go, if you wanted that.”

Another inch and I felt him right there, right on the throbbing.

I tried not to squirm, but I wanted him in me.

I was damn near panting for it.

“Yes,” I whispered, my eyelids growing heavy. I watched him, my chest rising and falling, faster and faster.

He began tugging the sheet away, but kept his hand in place. It bunched around him, as if he were a dam.

“And do you?” he said softly. “Want to be free?”

You’re either in or you’re out. His words flashed in my head again.

“Brooke left, and you went after her,” I pointed out.

His eyes flashed, and his hand pressed against me, grinding over my clit. “She left without being safe. Her boyfriend is an added complication, but if Brooke wanted out, I would let her go, as long as she was safe.”

I licked my lips, gasping as he lifted his palm and began to pull the sheet over me. It was a caress, the slow slide of that sheet. The texture teased me.

“So you wouldn’t completely let her go?”

“If I knew she was safe, yes.”

My mouth fell open. That sheet grazed over me, a whisper in the air, sending pleasure through me.

My mind felt muddied. What were we talking about?

“You’re feeling better?”