Born in Blood Collection Volume 1 - Cora Reilly Page 0,359

an hour ago, a distraction I fucking needed, and afterward when they had joined their wives in bed, I’d sat on the terrace, and wondered why I couldn’t have the same.

A noise made me pause. My hand went to my gun as I followed the sound toward Lily’s door. She sounded like she was in distress, mumbling in her sleep and crying. I checked the corridor, but I was alone. Everyone was long asleep or at least busy behind closed bedroom doors. I pushed the door open and slipped in. It took my eyes a moment to get used to the darkness, which was worse than in the rest of the house. The curtains didn’t let any light in. I kept the door ajar and moved further into the room. I knew what I should do, and it definitely wasn’t being alone in Lily’s bedroom with her at night. On my list of things to avoid that was really at the top.

She was in obvious distress and I’d vowed to protect her but a nightmare wouldn’t harm her. There was no reason for me to be here. I could have called Aria or Gianna, or just let Lily sleep through her nightmare, but I was a stupid fucker.

When she’d come to my room two days ago, it had taken every fucking ounce of self-control to send her away. I’d wanted her in my bed, and not just for sleep. When I’d first heard her question if she could sleep with me, I’d almost gotten a hard-on. I knew she didn’t mean it that way, but I’d never wanted to misunderstand someone more than in that night.

This was messed up. I’d always put my job and the Famiglia first. All the women in my life so far had been a nice distraction, but they’d never even come close to interfering with my duty. Lily was different. I wasn’t sure how she’d done it, but I couldn’t get her out of my freaking head. I glanced between the open door and Lily’s bed, then I walked toward her. I left the door ajar, even though part of me wanted to close it and have total privacy, but if I wanted any chance at keeping my promise I needed the risk of someone walking by and looking into the room.

As I stood over Lily, I watched her for a moment. She lay on her back, her blond hair spread out on her pillow, and her brows drawn together. Even in the throes of a nightmare she was fucking beautiful. Damn it. What had I gotten myself into? I touched her shoulder. She was dressed in only a tank top and my fingers brushed the naked skin of her shoulders, and the touch sent a freaking shiver all the way to my cock. Her fucking shoulder, not her boob or her butt or her pussy. I almost got a fucking hard-on from touching a shoulder for God’s sake. This was pathetic on a whole new level. “Liliana?” Somehow it felt safer to use her normal name instead of her nickname.

Her eyes moved under her eyelids and she stirred under my hand but still didn’t wake. I gently touched the side of her neck, feeling her pulse flutter under my fingertips. “Lily,” I said a bit louder.

She jerked and her eyes flew open, staring straight at me. “Romero?” she whispered in a voice still heavy with sleep. I wanted to kiss her so badly.

Liliana

Someone touched my throat, tearing me from sleep. I opened my eyes but it took a few seconds before my brain registered what was before me: Romero.

“Romero?” Maybe I was still dreaming. It was definitely an improvement over my previous dream about my mother who had talked to me with lifeless eyes about happiness.

“It’s okay,” Romero said in his deep voice.

I looked around. “You are in my room.” I sounded like a moron. But I was stunned. After all, he’d as good as thrown me out of his room two days ago and now he stood in my own. A bit of a twist I hadn’t expected. Not that I minded.

Romero’s lips twitched as if he wanted to smile but then he became serious again. Sometimes I thought he tried to keep in his smiles because he worried that if he allowed that kind of emotion, all of them would come up. “You had a nightmare. I decided to wake you.”

I nodded. He stood beside my bed, half bent over me. If