Page 57 of Liberated By Sin
Placing my hands on his chest as leverage, I intended to push off and make good on my plan from earlier by running, but he was faster and tightened his arms around my waist. A flash of panic swelled inside me until he crooned words of reassurance in my ear.
“I don’t regret what happened here, nor should you. And I don’t want to go back to the way things were between us.” His palm opened against my back, pressing me to his chest. “I’ll take however much you want to give,preziosa.”
My eyes drifted closed as I nuzzled deeper against him, the weight of his arms and the warmth of his chest soothing the last tendrils of my anxiety. I couldn’t remember when I’d felt so…safe.
Thoughts of my time with Kai and Derek came to mind, but I shoved their memory back into the vault where they belonged.
Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I opened my dressing room door at the exact moment Santino had intended to knock. Not holding back my smile this time, I leaned against the frame.
“I’m heading home.”
“Can I walk you to your car?”
“You’re not going to start getting all overprotective on me, are you?”
He moved in closer, and my stomach heated.
“You have to know by now that’s just part of who I am when it comes to you.”
I grabbed the front of his shirt, closing the distance between us. “It’s not like you can’t see me on camera from your office.”
He laughed. “You know about that?”
“Camera angle number three is always set on my car,” I said, brushing the corner of his lips with mine. A kiss seemed like such a simple gesture of affection, but it representedso much more.
Trust.
The last time I kissed anyone by choice was when I was seventeen. Strangely enough, I wasn’t afraid to kiss Santino because of my past; I was nervous I’d forgotten how.
“Easy, baby,” he whispered, covering my shaky hand with his.
“Mr. Leone!”
Ash’s voice caused us to freeze. Even though I liked the guy, I wanted to strangle him for killing my moment.
Santino rested his forehead on mine and sighed. “What is it?”
“Some drunk assholes got into it with Rome. Ended up jumping the counter, broke a bunch of shit. Rome stabbed one of them in the neck with a bottle of Patron. Son of a bitch is bleeding out on the floor. Give me the word, boss, and I’ll toss his ass over the pier.”
Santino met my eyes. “Don’t leave. I’ll handle this and be right back.”
Ash threw me a curious look but said nothing, disappearing around the corner behind Santino.
I leaned against the door frame, feeling weightless and hopeful for the first time in a long time. And when my phone vibrated from my back pocket, not even the sudden jolt was enough to erase the grin on my face, no matter how hot my cheeks burned.
Cambri called and texted me for the third time that night ever since I told her I would pick up a private to cover some of her costs. She knew it wasn’t my norm, and wanted to check in. Loud music still thumped from the lounge, so I waited near my car. Santino would know where to find me.
Camera number three.
The parking lot was mostly empty except for a small group of friends stumbling toward a white pickup truck. They’d been part of a bachelor party—all too young for marriage, in my opinion—and had probably spent every dime they’d walked in with.
Another alert on my phone diverted my attention. But as I intended to answer the call, an unexpected voice caught me off guard.
“I believe you owe me a dance.”
Andretti.
“I don’t owe you shit.”