Every Mafia's Favorite Girl novel Chapter 29

Chapter 29: "Eighteen"

Caio’s entire body went rigid.

For one long, agonizing moment, he could do nothing but stare at the small, delicate face resting on the edge of his pillow, his mind refusing to accept what his eyes were showing him.

Alcohol still poisoned his bloodstream.

The drugs still dragged at the edges of his thoughts, turning reality sluggish and warped around him.

Then, fragments of the last several minutes floated through his head in disconnected flashes.

He remembered hearing Aren’s voice somewhere far away. Remembered the pounding at the door. Remembered drowning in the nightmare while something warm touched his chest.

But none of it made sense.

Because he knew for a fact he had locked the damn door before collapsing into bed.

And yet somehow, Aren was here.

In his bed.

Beneath his sheets.

Curled against his side as naturally as though she belonged there.

Aren tilted her head beneath his stunned stare, her hair spread carelessly across his pillow. Her expression remained entirely open, entirely sincere.

"Don Caio," she whispered softly, "it seemed you were having a nightmare."

Caio swallowed hard.

His throat felt scraped raw.

When he finally managed to speak, the words emerged as little more than a hoarse rasp.

"Wha... what the hell are you doing here?"

"I heard sounds of distress through your door when I returned to my room," she explained simply. "So I came to check on you."

His pulse, which moments ago had been racing from fear, now began hammering for an entirely different reason.

"H-how the hell did you get in?" he demanded hoarsely. "I locked the door."

Aren calmly pointed a finger toward the balcony doors.

"Not all doors. Your balcony was still open."

His gaze followed the direction of her finger automatically.

The curtains stirred faintly in the night breeze.

Then, his attention dropped lower.

Straight to the arm still draped across his chest.

To the hand that continued patting him in a slow, absent rhythm, soft and reassuring, as though she saw nothing unusual about the situation at all.

His breathing became uneven again, but the remnants of the nightmare had vanished completely.

Something hotter had replaced them.

Something far more dangerous.

"Why..." His voice came out strained. "Why are you in my bed?"

Aren blinked.

"Oh."

She considered the question for one long moment.

At last, she spoke, entirely calm and sincere.

"I decided I would sleep with you tonight."

Silence crashed down between them.

Caio stared at her.

At her face.

At the wide silver eyes looking back at him without a single trace of manipulation.

At the slight curious tilt of her head.

At the hand still absentmindedly patting his chest as though she were soothing a wounded animal.

Something deep inside his chest violently snapped.

Without warning, he surged over her in one swift motion, rolling his weight across her body and pinning her flat beneath him.

The mattress dipped sharply under his weight.

Aren let out a small sound of surprise as his body caged hers completely, his arms braced on either side of her head.

His face hovered inches above hers now.

Moonlight carved harsh shadows across his features, illuminating the sharp line of his jaw and the dangerous darkness overtaking his eyes.

Aren stared up at him, startled yet not frightened.

"Don Caio...?"

He looked wrecked.

His eyes traveled over her face with frightening focus, as though he were trying to memorize every detail at once.

He noticed the warmth blooming across her cheeks, the slight parting of her lips, and the calmness of her expression despite the fact that he had just pinned her beneath him.

His hand rose abruptly.

Strong fingers closed around her jaw.

His thumb dragged firmly across her lower lip, trembling with raw restraint.

"Do you even know what you’re saying?" he rasped.

His voice sounded thin.

Strained.

"Do you have any idea what you’re doing to me right now?"

Aren’s confusion only deepened.

"I... I was just trying to help—"

He kissed her before she could finish.

There was nothing gentle about it.

His mouth crashed against hers with all the force of a man whose restraint had finally shattered completely.

The kiss hit hard enough to steal the breath from her lungs. His hand tightened against her face as he kissed her with desperate, reckless hunger, like he had been starving for far too long.

He bit softly at her lower lip before pulling it into his mouth, groaning low in his throat as her lips parted instinctively beneath the pressure.

Then his tongue slid against hers.

Demanding.

Possessive.

Aren stiffened completely beneath him.

Shock exploded through her entire body at once.

Her eyes widened helplessly as sensation overwhelmed her mind. Her fingers curled into his shirt, and her heartbeat stumbled so hard she thought it might stop entirely.

’Wait a minute.’

’Is this...’

A memory surfaced.

’Don Caio is... kissing me.’

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