Page 91 of Mafia And Maid
“Good. You’re coming with me.”
“What?”
“Finish what you’re doing and go change. Something you don’t mind getting sweaty in. Marco will keep an eye on Ethan.”
She blinks at me, lips parting just a little. I watch as her tongue peeks out to wet them, and I can see the wheels in her head turning.
“Finish and change,” I repeat. “I’ll wait.”
Fifteen minutes later, Rosa is standing before me in a baggy t-shirt, shorts, and her sneakers. I can’t help how my eyes track over her body.
Every inch of skin sends another jolt through me. Even with her body hidden, I think of the curves beneath, just waiting to be lavished and explored. I shake my head, dismissing the thoughts.
I nod, holding open the gym door to her. “After you.”
“W-what are we doing?”
The door to the gym clicks shut, and I guide her toward the middle of the room with my hand on the small of her back.
“I’m going to teach you how to defend yourself.”
“What?” Her horrified squeak echoes in the room as she whirls to face me. Her brown eyes are doe-like, innocent, and captivating.
My lips stretch into a small smile. “I’m going to teach you how to defend yourself.”
“No.” Her head shakes furiously. “That’s not necessary. I don’t want to put you out.”
I step in front of her as she moves to go back to the door. “It is.”
“Camillo, I—”
“I don’t like the idea of you not knowing the basics.” And I hate the idea of someone else laying a finger on her without her consent—or the thought that she won’t know how to fight back. Something inside her is willing to fight to survive. She’s proven that much already. “Please? I’ll feel better if you know just a few things. Just enough so that you can buy your time until I can get to you.” I hold her gaze. “And I will always get to you, I swear.”
“Why?” She purses her lips before taking a calming breath, as if she’s scared of the answer I’ll give.
“Why am I doing this? Or why do I care?” I don’t have an answer to the second question. I just know I do. Something in me wants her. Something in me needs her. And if this is how I can soothe that beast, then I’ll take it. Every damn chance I can get.
She nods.
“I’m doing this because you need to learn. If not for yourself, then for Ethan.”
“And the second part?”
“We’ll go slow at first,” I say, brushing off the question as I move further into our gym. Already, the floor is covered in thick mats. I pushed most of the equipment that might prove a problem out of the way. “Just something basic you’ll practice every day from here on out.”
“But I don’t know the first thing about any of this.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
Her eyes drop, and she tugs at the hem of her shirt. “Do we have to do it here?”
“Is there something wrong with the gym?” Is this some trigger I don’t know? This is my sanctuary. The only place where the world fades, and I can just be me.
I watch as she tugs once more on the oversized shirt, pulling it and twisting the fabric between her fingers.
“Rosa, you can tell me.”
Her bottom lip trembles before she clamps her teeth down upon it. “It’s nothing.”