A Touch of Sin |18+|

24

VALERIO

I wondered if Alani caught on to how strange I was being.

Usually, I could hide how I felt but when it came to her—it was hard to pretend. It was hard to sit there and pretend that I was in the area and decided to wait for her, when the truth was that I needed her to be in my sight. I needed her to be safe because who knew what the fuck my brother was capable of.

'She's very beautiful, isn't she' What game was he playing? I checked my phone while walking behind Alani, seeing a text from Santino saying they tracked his location to a local college about three hours away.

What was his motive? Rile me up from far away because he knows I'll kill him with my bare fucking hands if I found him? At least he wasn't close.

My chest heaved as I took a deep breath in, trying to calm myself down. When I looked up, Alani was no longer walking. Instead, she was facing me—staring at me and I, instantly, knew that she could see right through me.

"What's wrong?" she asked, scowling.

I didn't know if I should tell her or not. What was there to tell? I didn't want to scare her away—as fucking selfish as that sounded—I couldn't risk her ending whatever we had. I'd just have to protect her from afar while figuring out what Alonzo wanted.

"Just work," I said, shoving my phone back into my pants pocket. "It's always something."

I couldn't stand lying to her.

"Okay," she said, shrugging as she turned around and unlocked her front door. She seemed exhausted, her movements languid and slow. Alani also looked really weak. It tugged at my heart, and I found myself wanting to give her everything she wanted just to make sure she was okay.

I stepped inside, closing the door behind me. Her home was already familiar and smelled like her. It was comfortable and I relaxed the second the lock clicked into place behind me.

"Can you make yourself at home? I'm going to shower. I won't be long," she said, her hands slipping underneath her hoodie to pull it over her head.

She was left in just a black bra—the plain kind and I almost drooled at the sight. She made everything look good, but I chose not to say anything. I knew she was menstruating and I didn't want to irritate her further.

"Yeah," I said. "I'll wait for you."

Alani grinned, reaching behind her to unclasp her bra. "Thanks."

When it was off, she let out a dramatic sigh and I smiled at her beautiful face. "Feels good?" I asked, watching her turn around—her bare back in my vision as she walked down the hall. I couldn't stop myself from looking down at her ass.

"You have no idea," she replied, her voice breathy and laced with fatigue. "I'll be out soon."

"Do you want coffee? Tea?" I called out to her.

I heard her chuckle. "I'm good."

She probably didn't have much of an appetite.

I sat down on her couch, waiting for the water to start running before taking my phone and dialling my father's number. Knowing him, he'd conclude it all down to me being paranoid and irrational. As it rung, I had no doubt that the conversation would head into the direction I expected it to.

"Valerio. If this is about Alonzo—"

"It is."

My father sighed. "I'm starting to see why you're suspicious of him."