Diavolo

xlii

SILVIO

I knew I wouldn't get a wink of sleep that night. My body was still reeling from the aftereffects of having my body close to Presley's. I found her knocked out in some guest room, curled up in a ball and naked with the bedsheets covering her naked form.

I dressed her up in my dress shirt, carried her into my arms and headed towards her bedroom. The first thing I did was attempt to tie her scarf and bonnet around her head.

I knew she didn't ever go to sleep without her scarf and bonnet on. The minute her head hit the pillow, her hands shot out looking for something...anything or perhaps it was me.

A moment of hesitation passed; I stood by the bedside watching her silently deciding what the hell I was going do. I didn't know if I could—should sleep next to her. And one word was all it took. The sound of my name exhaled from that pretty little mouth of hers and I couldn't help myself.

A rough exhale of breath rumbled from my throat. Damn it. I slipped beneath her sheets, my hand instantly reaching forward to curl around her waist and pull her to my chest.

She snuggled between the cracks of my broken heart, burrowing a hole there and staining pieces of herself into my soul. Soft brown skin, thick eyelashes, and black beauty mark. My perfect angel. Everything I never knew I wanted and yet walked right into my life.

I could feel my vision getting blurry, my body entering a state of relaxation and as soon as I started losing pieces of my memory, I knew I couldn't lay here and steal the warmth of her body as if it was mine to indulge in.

Fuck.

Slipping out of bed, I wandered through the hallway coming a stop when I found my destination. I stole a black T-shirt and sweatpants from Beast's closet, the fabric tighter than I would have liked but it would do regardless.

When I landed in New York a few hours ago, my first destination was Presley; I didn't have a back-up plan or living arrangements because I hadn't planned to stop by New York but once again, it was because of her.

It was her birthday, and I couldn't help myself from indulging just a little bit even though I knew I didn't deserve her smiles, or her touches or her. But I was going to be better for her... I was going to be a better man to deserve her.

I didn't exactly plan to stay in New York, I also didn't plan on leaving her or letting her have a normal life with some fucked-up man and a white picket fence. Fuck all that, I was going to give that shit to her. And fuck whoever stood in my way.

I trudged my way back to the living room, collapsing against the leather chair and played one of Presley's favorite Hallmark movies in the background while reviewing some security tapes of her front door from the past few days.

Typically, I would receive a daily surveillance video from my men I was away, but I never watched it. Not one bit. I hated myself for invading on her privacy and driving her away from me that I promised myself never to do it again unless it was for her safety.

I always instructed my men to watch her closely from a distance, Tommaso was in charge of her security detail and as far as I knew, she was doing good in life. Or was. She had a fancy new position as Desmond's COO; had friends she
went out with often and went home at night.

And now as I sat here, viewing the security videos inside the apartment from months prior to today, I couldn't help but exhale a heavy sigh. I watched as she kept to the same routine; She would walk into her apartment, lock her doors, finish some work on the couch with her favorite movies playing as background on the television and then out of nowhere, she would tear up.