Page 36 of Trapped
He laughed. “I’m not yourfriend.”
“You’re my boss.”
“I’m not that, either, baby. Try again.”
He approached me until I’d backed against the car.
“You’re…a lover.”
Santino’s laugh was low, almost dangerous, as he leaned in closer, his body shielding me from the rain. “Is that what I am? Just some casual fling?”
“That’s what it’s supposed to be.”
“But it’s not.”
I opened my mouth to protest, to deny it, but the words wouldn’t come. I did feel it—the pull between us—even when I should’ve run the other way. He was right, and we both knew it. This was beyond sex. It had always been consuming. I couldn’t want more. That was the deal I’d made with myself. Letting Santino in was more than I could handle. What if he destroyed me?
My hackles rose. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately, but you need to back the hell off.”
His black stare stabbed into me.
All I could do was hold my own but judging by his complete lack of giving a fuck, there was no turning back. No escaping the darkness coiling around me.
Santino opened the car door. “Get in.”
I stared at him, heart pounding.
“Now,” he snapped.
TWELVE
DELILAH
When I got home, I stripped to my underwear and grabbed a robe out of the closet. Then I sat on the black-and-white checkered kitchen floor and drank black Sambuca.
I’d finished half the bottle and still couldn’t get Santino out of my mind. His rough hands haunted every drunken thought, pulling at something reckless inside me.
The Shangri-Las spun on my vinyl record player, the same song on repeat. “I Can Never Go Home Anymore.”That was the anthem of my life. I blasted it when my father pushed me into an engagement with Dimitri, and it echoed in my head the night I fled Providence.
I pulled my robe around me as I leaned against the cabinets. My thoughts centered on the keys—an offer that felt like a trap. As I swirled the dark liquid in my glass, the herbal scent mingled with the despair pitting my stomach. The keys lay on the table, cutting through the illusion that this was just business.
Why did he give me them?
My heartbeat throttled. He wanted a tighter grip on me. Maybe I should give in. More time with Santino meant more money, not having to pay for anything, and having my physical needs met. Not to mention being able to hang out at his awesome penthouse whenever I wanted. Having access to his stuff. But if I kept showing up at his place, he’d think we were more than a temporary arrangement. He already did.
I felt torn between running from him and longing to give in. I grabbed my phone and unlocked it, scrolling through the contacts list. I hovered over the nameLuca. My heart pounded.
My thumb slipped, hitting the call button.
It dialed once, and he picked up.
Slowly, I held the phone to my ear. Nothing greeted me but the crackle of static. I licked my lips, trying not to exhale.
“You shouldn’t be calling me.”
My friend’s smooth voice filtered from the speaker.
“I know.”