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Allesio’s POV
“Allesio!”
I halted on my tracks, turning around to look at her. She was hurrying after me, one hand fiddling with the low neckline of her dress. Her hair looked even worse that it was a few minutes back when I had left her. It looked like she had ran her hands through it and tugged at it a million times after I had left her there.
“Rosa,” I murmured, giving her a tight smile. She stood in front of me, her mouth opening and closing like she didn’t know exactly what to say.
“I’m sorry,” she said at last in a weak voice I didn’t like at all. I took a step closer to her.
“For what?” I asked her with a raised eyebrow. She gulped visibly.
“You were just trying to be nice and polite to me and I…I blew you off,” she murmured, avoiding my gaze.
“I wasn’t just trying to be nice or polite to you, Rosa,” I murmured back, rubbing my face. “I like you. I really like you and you’re making it feel like it’s a bad thing to like like you. I don’t understand why.”
“You shouldn’t,” she murmured with a shake of her head. “You shouldn’t. It’s too…”
“Too what?” I asked her with a raised eyebrow, taking another step closer to her. She gulped again. “You can’t tell me that you don’t feel the same way.”
“I don’t-”
I took another step towards her and slammed my lips on hers before she could even react. I kissed her deep and hard, biting the bottom of her lip and running my to gue through it. I forced myself to pull back, staring deep I to her eyes. “You don’t feel that?” I challenged?
She stared back at me wide-eyed, and when it felt like I wasn’t going to get a reply from her, I nodded in defeat, turning away from her only for her to grab my hand, making me face her before her lips met mine.
I reached for the glass of water on the nightstand, taking a slow sip as I let my gaze drift over her. She caught me looking, a small smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.
“Admiring your handiwork?” she teased, her voice low and raspy.
“Just appreciating the view,” I replied smoothly, leaning back against the headboard.
Her laugh was soft, almost disbelieving, but she didn’t move away. If anything, she shifted closer, her fingers idly tracing patterns on my chest. If this continued then it’d be too easy to forget what Alaric wanted me to do. Why I had gotten close to her in the first place.
I reached out, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “You are quiet tonight.”
“Is that your way of saying I talk too much?”
“Not at all.” I chuckled. “I’m just used to you throwing a jab or two my way.”
She rolled her eyes but didn’t deny it. That was the thing about Rosa-her sharp edges weren’t just for show. They were her armor, the first and last line of defense against anyone trying to get too close.
But right now, with her guard down and her defenses lowered, I saw glimpses of things I didn’t want to see.
I ran my fingers lazily along her arm, feigning casual curiosity as I asked, “Do you ever get tired of it?”
Her brow furrowed slightly. “Tired of what?”
“Always being on,” I said, my tone light but probing. “You’re sharp, Rosa, but that’s gotta be exhausting sometimes. Don’t you ever wish you could just… let go?”
She paused, her fingers stilling on my chest as she considered my question. “Maybe,” she admitted softly. “But when you grow up the way I did, you learn pretty quickly that letting go isn’t an option.”
I nodded as if I understood, even though the specifics of her childhood were still a mystery to me. “Your father’s expectations?”
A flicker of something crossed her face-wary, guarded-but she didn’t shut me out entirely. “Among other things.”
I let the silence hang between us for a moment before I asked, “Do you ever feel like it’s worth it? All the sacrifices, the pressure?”
She studied me, her eyes narrowing slightly as if trying to figure out where this line of questioning was going. “That’s an awfully deep question for someone who keeps his cards so close to his chest.”
I laughed softly, raising my hands in mock surrender. “Fair point. Guess I’m just curious.”
Her lips curved into a wry smile. “Curiosity killed the cat, you know.”
“Good thing I’m not a cat.”
Her laughter was quiet, but it reached her eyes, and for a moment, I felt a pang of guilt. This was the game, wasn’t it? Charm her, earn her trust, and get what I needed. But sitting here with her, the lines between strategy and sincerity were starting to blur. I didn’t know if I was here because of Ric, or I was here because I really wanted to know her, to be in her life.
“You know,” she said, breaking the silence, “you’re not as much of an ass as I thought you were.”
“High praise,” I teased, though her words settled strangely in my chest.
“I mean it,” she said, propping herself up on one elbow to look at me more closely. “You act like this cocky, untouchable guy, but you’re… different when it’s just us.”
“Different how?”
She shrugged, her expression thoughtful. “I don’t know. Less calculated. Like maybe you’re not just trying to win all the time.”
I felt her words like a knife, sharp and too close to the truth. “Maybe I just like being around you.”
Her cheeks flushed, and she looked away, her usual confidence faltering for just a second.
“I don’t believe you,” she said finally, though her tone lacked its usual bite.
“You should.”
She shook her head, laughing softly as she leaned back against the pillows. “You’re dangerous, Allesio.”
“You’re not wrong,” I admitted, my voice dipping lower. “But so are you.”
Her eyes met mine, and for a moment. But before I could say anything more, she shifted the conversation.
“Do you ever think about walking away?” she asked suddenly.
“From what?”
“This life,” she said, gesturing vaguely. “The syndicates, the power plays, all of it. Don’t you ever think about what it would be like to just… disappear?”
The question caught me off guard. “I don’t think it’s that simple.”
“It’s not,” she agreed. “But that doesn’t mean it’s not tempting.”
I watched her closely, trying to gauge how much of this was hypothetical and how much was personal. “Have you ever thought about it?”
Her gaze flickered to the ceiling, her expression unreadable. “More than I care to admit.”
“What stops you?”
She sighed, a soft, weary sound. “Family. Loyalty. Obligation. Take your pick.”
I nodded, understanding more than I cared to admit. “It’s a heavy weight to carry.”
“It is,” she said, her voice softer now. “But I guess we don’t get to choose, do we?”
“No,” I said quietly. “We don’t.”
The silence that followed was thick with unspoken truths, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. If anything, it felt… honest.
I reached for her hand, brushing my thumb across her knuckles. “For what it’s worth, I think you carry it well.”
She looked at me, her expression softer than I’d ever seen it. “Thanks.”
In that moment, I almost told her the truth-about Alaric, about why I was really here. But the words caught in my throat, and I swallowed them down. It was too soon. Too risky.
Instead, I leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. “Get some sleep, Rosa.”
She nodded, her eyes closing as she settled against the pillows. I laid there beside her, staring at the ceiling, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was crossing a line I couldn’t uncross.
And the worst part? I wasn’t sure I wanted to.