บททั้งหมดของ A MAFIA LOVE STORY : บทที่ 101 - บทที่ 110

They were leaving Thailand tonight, flying back to San Diego. Back to real life. Back to being boss and employee. Unless of course they were anywhere near where the media might be, then they were still an engaged couple. When they were really just a … not even a couple … just two people who had ended a recent, temporary, only physical fling.Kalia sighed and leaned back in her reclining chair, pretending to relax.That’s what they were doing, relaxing, out on the island where they had shared their first kiss. But she wasn’t relaxed. She was aching inside and she wished, more than anything, that she wasn’t. She wished she didn’t feel anything. Maybe she should feel something, wistfulness maybe, a slight sadness that her incredible nights of pleasure were nearly over, but not this heaviness that had settled in her chest and made her entire being feel as if it was filled with lead.Jake had been swimming, and she had been content to watch, studying his movements, his athleticism. Now, he

He felt a strange tightening in his chest. She hadn’t held back this time.She had been aggressive. She had given herself to him, not just her body, but something more. She had put serious insecurities to rest, and she had done it for him.Part of him had wanted that, had resented that she’d withheld from him.Now, with the unwanted tenderness swelling inside of him, all he could do was be thankful that this was their last time together. He couldn’t afford for things to go further. For her to get in too deep with him. Because how could he ask all that he had from her, when he had nothing to offer in return?It was impossible to sit next to Jake only hours after having him naked and beneath her and not have those images flash through her mind. He was back in his business suit, settled into his seat on the plane, his laptop open as he went over some of the specs for the hotel he was having built in England.Thoroughly in boss mode. And still she couldn’t do anything but relive those last

It was a dangerous feeling, but it was one she had to embrace, at least for the night. There was no other option. Tonight she was Jake’s fiancée. She would try not to focus on the fact that she was really Jake’s discarded leftovers.Who asked to be discarded.She took a deep breath and tried to rid herself of the tightness in her chest.The hotel was decorated beautifully, every table covered with a crimson table cloth, white orchids in white vases acting as centerpieces. And the table cloths matched her shoes, which was a very nice and convenient surprise.Maybe if she focused on that she would survive the evening with some semblance of sanity intact.Jake put his arm around her waist the moment they fully entered the reception area and she had to fight the urge to melt against him. It was so strange, how natural it was to want that. How easy it was to want to lean on him.She managed to stop herself. She wasn’t about to cling to him, even if his touch did feel better than she remembe

He pushed the button for the top floor and the elevator began to move again. When they reached the top floor he keyed in a code and the doors slid open, revealing an extremely masculine, modern apartment space.She stepped out of the lift on wobbly legs. She felt a slight smile tug at the corners of her mouth. The whole place was very Jake. Furniture with clean lines, neutrals accentuated by pops of color that reminded her of the beach. It was beautiful and opulent, and surprisingly functional.It felt more intimate now, being in his home. It was one thing to have an affair at a vacation spot, but another to actually come into where he lived.To sleep in his bed.Panic nibbled at her, her stomach about to explode in a flurry of nerves.But then Jake put his arm around her and dipped his head to give her a light kiss on the lips, and she couldn’t worry anymore. Relationships, feelings, commitment, all of it scared her, made her want to run. But Jake didn’t. Somehow, no matter what the f

“I thought you could use some.” Jake held a mug of coffee out to Kalia and shesat up straighter in the bed, letting the covers fall around her waist.“Thank you,” she said, taking it and inhaling the heavenly scent. She wassuch an addict, but at least he understood. Understood and shared in it.It was an interesting reversal of their morning routine. And an interestingsetting for it. She’d always thought there was an undercurrent of domesticity in their office routine, but this took it to a whole new level.He sat on the edge of the bed, his own mug in hand, dressed only in a pair of jeans, his chest still bare. There were certain aspects of this that were a definite improvement to their office mornings.“What are your plans for the day?” she asked, a little embarrassed once the question had escaped. Was it really any of her business what he was doing? It wasn’t a workday and they didn’t have a real relationship.“Nothing. A total rarity. Usually I try to visit Maddy on Sunday, but