After I Fall (Immortal Billionaires #1) - Melissa Sercia Page 0,47

too late.

For the next two nights, Ozi and I were inseparable. It was like a dream. One that I didn’t want to wake up from. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t hurt. I didn’t think about Alex or my family back home. I was just able to be present in the moment and feel things I never thought I’d feel again.

Ozi touched me in ways that I knew my body would always crave. As if all my cells were waking up from a long dreamless sleep. He was both rough and gentle at the same time. He brought out a side of me, a carnal side, that surprised me more than him. It was the weekend of endless orgasms and decadent indulgences. When he wasn’t making me come, he was filling me up with five star delicacies and expensive champagne.

The most surprising revelation was how easy he was to talk to. That we actually had things in common. We both loved the same books and art. We could talk for hours about history and I loved that he knew a little bit about everything. Our conversations flowed easily. It was refreshing to be with a man who wasn’t glued to the TV.

But there was something between us that wasn’t right. It wasn’t like the normal way people fall in love. We were consumed by each other. Consumed by lust. It was becoming an obsession. The more we touched, the more we wanted. My body was in a constant state of tremors and tingles. Just the slightest stroke of his fingertips across my belly sent me into a frenzy. This thing between us…it was like a drug. It was intoxicating.

He could make me fall. He could crush my heart into dust. And as much as that tiny voice in my head was screaming at me to run, I couldn’t turn away. I wasn’t the same since I’d first laid eyes on him. And now, even more, I knew that I couldn’t go back to how I was before.

It was almost time to head back into the city and a deep aching dread tugged at my mind. My stomach was in knots. How was this going to work? What exactly were we to each other? He’d claimed my body but made no attempt to offer me his heart. Were two broken people even capable of love? Would this attraction and lust wear off, and if so, what then? Who would I be after?

Ozi hugged me tight to his chest under the covers. He caressed my shoulder with just the tips of his fingers, sending tiny shivers down my spine. “I’ve arranged a car to take you back home. I have some business to attend to for the next couple of days but then…I’d like to see you again.”

Reality was crashing back in. I’d have to go back home to my empty apartment. Back to my job at his restaurant where most of the staff couldn’t stand me. After this weekend, I could only imagine the gossip that would be floating around. Everyone knew I’d stayed behind to be with Ozi.

I traced circles on his chest with my fingers, enjoying the smoothness of it. “Ozi…I don’t want things to be awkward between us at the restaurant. If you don’t want me to work for you anymore, I’d understand. Sleeping with the boss was not my intention. I don’t want anyone making you feeling uncomfortable about it.”

He turned his head and placed a light kiss on my cheek. “You’ll do nothing of the sort. You can work at Dolce Sale for as long as you like. Don’t listen to them, Raven. You are not just some one night stand if that’s what you’re wondering. There are promises I’m not ready to make just yet. Secrets I’m not ready to share. But please be patient with me. I meant what I said…I’m never letting you go.”

It was a strange thing to say considering we had no idea what we really meant to each other. How long could we hold onto this if we weren’t willing to give ourselves over completely?

“Whatever you say, boss,” I teased. I didn’t know what else to say. As close as I felt to him right now, lying in his arms, I also felt this enormous distance and space. And there was always the part of me that believed that all men were like Alex. That one day, Ozi would grow tired of me, and leave me