His Caged Dove -Mafia Romance (BOOK ONE)

Twenty-Three: Dove

Twenty-Three:

Dove

The scent of cedar wood and vanilla was even stronger than it was last night.

I sighed contently, nuzzling deeper into a rather hard and warm scent before I blinked slowly, realizing an arm was thrown over my body. It was wrapped around me rather protectively as if I was going to sneak away. I widened my eyes when I peeked up and was greeted by Gedeon's sleeping face.

Asleep, he looked much younger. The lines on his forehead were smoothed out. He looked more relaxed and carefree with the massive number of things he probably had to do as the Boss. Without realizing, I gently ran my hands down his face, hypnotized. His stubble was growing out to be thick and I wondered if he even had time to shave, let along breath.

"What are you thinking about?" he questioned sleepily, startling me. His voice was sexy, deep, and rough around the edges. I quickly pulled away from him but before I could, he grasped my wrist without even trying. I watched as he exhaled loudly, his eyes opening to meet mine. His eyes were so clear and beautiful and sometimes, I forget just who he truly was. The edge of his lips curved upwards in the slightest. Amusement danced in his eyes. "Well?"

"Um...why are you in my bed?" I replied sheepishly. I still felt rather shy whenever I think of what happened yesterday along with being sick after being left like the way I was.

Pathetic, useless, dirty slut that can't do anything but please men.

"I'm your husband, it's to be expected," he mumbled, tightening his hold on me against him. It was enough to cause me to snap out of my thoughts as I squirmed in his hold. "You had a bad dream and you fell asleep in the library with the windows open. Then you begged me to stay."

"I did?" I squeaked, feeling the tip of my ears along the rest of my face heating up.

"Yeah," he closed his eyes, breaking away from our stare. I wanted to ask why he was still holding onto me, why he didn't try to leave. Though, for a bizarre reasoning, I didn't fight it either. A part of me felt content, happy, and safe around him. "So why weren't you back in the room? You could have gotten a cold sleeping with the window open in just a throw blanket over you."

"I got caught up reading," I confessed honestly, finding his buttons on his shirt to be of my interest. I could feel my heart beating wildly and I prayed he couldn't feel it.

"What happened to you quoting Jo and saying you're not afraid of the storm since you're learning how to sail your own ship?"

"It's a figure of speech, not literal. I meant learning from challenges," I huffed in annoyance and also embarrassment of what happened yesterday.

"Hm," he said, his voice still laced with tiredness. "You quoted it when we both were looking at the dark clouds over the sky, so I assumed you took it literally."

His memories continue to surprise me with how much he can remember, even when it came to something miniscule like my quotes from a book.

Sitting up, Scrabble scurries over like he expected to be picked up. Gingerly bending over, I scooped him up to check on his bandaged leg. I looked over at Gedeon who was watching me with an unreadable expression. His hair was a mess, yet he still looked gorgeous. I could only imagine how uncomfortable he was sleeping in his white button down and slacks. "Is it okay if I can get the veterinarian to come check on Scrabble's leg next week?"

"Sure," he nodded before looking over at the grandfather lock in the corner and cursing. "Shit, I overslept."

The shock and disbelief in his voice made me wonder if he had never done that before just like me. It was almost like a built-in clock to get up around six in the morning, but usually due to my nightmares. I would wait till the sun rises, enjoying the small things in life. Enjoying the quietness before it's ripped away from me.