A Flower Between the Thorns: A Mafia Romance [REWRITING]

Chapter 10: Evening Steps

Fleur's POV:

This surface is hard—not as hard as the basement floor, but still hard. I feel something wrapped around my waist, big and firm yet gentle. This is weird. The last thing I remember was being held out of the basement, and then... nothing. I do not recall the rest.

I finally start opening my eyes; the curtains are still closed, and my face is still laying on that hard surface. The only light in the room comes from the lamp on the bedside table. I take a closer look at the alarm sitting there, and it reads 1 p.m. I have never slept this late since I started working here. After finally taking in the rest of my surroundings, I realised it wasn't something I was resting on but rather someone, and that someone was shocking.

"What the hell?" I yelled, jolting off of him. Fillip. In all my years in this awful world, the last thing I thought I would do was wake up hugging the Italian Don of New York. In all fairness, though, he was comfortable. I do regret getting off this quickly because my hand and leg hurt.

Having one arm behind his head, he was still sleeping, but when he heard me yell, he squinted his eyes. Opening one of them, he looks at me. Oh, good, you're awake." He says then, with all the audacity in the world, closes his eye again and puts his other hand, the one that was around my waist, behind his head. For some reason, I miss the feeling around me. It made me feel...good.

Then I remembered being thrown in his basement for three days with no food or light when I looked at his supposedly sleeping face again. "Wake up. Get off my bed." I tell him.

"Technically, Fleur, this is my bed; if someone has a problem and should get up, it's you." He answers me, his eyes still closed. I hate him.

"Tell me how the hell you ended up in my bed—your bed—in the first place."

"Watch your language with me. I'm still your boss," he says, and I roll my eyes at him, but his eyes are so busy pretending to be asleep that he doesn't see it. "You don't remember?" He continues.

"Bosses don't end up in their employees' beds, and if I did, I wouldn't ask you."

"Well, then I guess we are going to keep it that way," Fillip said, and when he heard my unsatisfied breath, a smirk formed on his face. What would happen if I slapped it off his face right now?

"Get out then." He ignores me this time, releasing a deep breath as if he's going to continue sleeping. "Fine, I'm getting up," I say, and that gets his attention. Ha, I knew it would. Opening both his eyes this time, he takes one look at me trying to get out of bed with a wrapped arm and leg, and he gets off the bed. Now, that I didn't expect. "Don't get up." He orders me, his hands on his waist, staring at me hard.

"Why am I going to listen to you?" I ask. Turning around, I continue trying to get off the bed from the other side.

"Because one you're hurt. Two, I'm your boss. Third, I said so."

"Maybe just maybe you should have thought about that when your men shot me and you threw me in the basement, yeah, boss?"

"I...Fleur I said, Don't get up." I ignore him anyway, this time as I actually get off the bed and shakily stand up.

"God, you stubborn woman, can't you listen to a word?" He remarked angrily, making his way to the other side of the bed, standing in front of me.

"Sit down." His eyes are glaring at me hard; he's intimidating like that. Broad chest, piercing grey eyes lined with actual anger. "Fleur, I'm not going to repeat myself one more time. Sit. Back. Down." He punctuates every word while his eyes continue to stare deep into my soul. But I just won't do it, not after he threw me like his criminals in the basement.