Delgano: A Dark Contemporary Interracial Romance

“Are you in any danger?”

“I don’t know, honestly, but I do seem to have landed on someone’s radar. I’ve had a few visits.”

“From?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t know where they came from or what they want, but they seem to be from a gang of some sort. There are a few around the area, and I’m thinking someone believes I might have encroached on their operation.”

He nodded. “Okay, then.”

“Just like that?” she asked. “No more questions?”

“Well, I do have one more. Why’d you tell me any of this? It seems like you’ve been telling me information you’re not supposed to share. Why is that?”

She searched his eyes. “I don’t know. Maybe I trust you. Does that make me an idiot?”

He grinned. “Yes.”

“Then it’s a good thing you like idiots.”

A guard appeared in the hallway.

They returned to their meal.

Once they were done, he helped her clean up and walked her down the long exit hallway as far as he could before guns were shoved in his face. After she was out of sight, he went to his favorite place—at least, it had become his favorite again now that he’d gotten some outside time—and it seemed his cooperation today had granted him the small privilege of new books.

With a copy of Iracema by José de Alencar in hand, he settled in an armchair. They’d known he was coming yet had waited this long to stock Brazilian novels.

“You should try The Alchemist next.”

He looked up.

Hannah stood in the doorway, her hair in a cottony, frizzy bun on top of her head. A nightgown that looked softer than cashmere brushed her thighs, and she was still wearing the chameleon colored contacts. It wasn’t exactly who he wanted to see standing in his doorway, but he no longer hated the person who was.

“I’ve already read The Alchemist,” he said, setting the book aside and reclining further in the chair. “Now, are you going to keep standing in the doorway, or will you come to me?”

She hurried over, straddled his lap, and laid her head on his shoulder while he looped his arms around her.

Loneliness had etched a deep, deep crater. No words could accurately describe how it felt to stroke her smooth skin, bury his nose in her hair, and listen to the quiet sounds of her breathing.

From the heat radiating between her thighs, he knew what she wanted, but his body didn’t offer a response. It simply enjoyed the closeness, the touch, the comfort. The way she smelled. Her warmth against his. His lips inadvertently brushing her temple. The realness of her pulse, her heartbeat.

Anything more eluded him, and she quickly realized it. So, she kissed his neck, settled on his lap, and fell asleep in his arms.

CHAPTER

FOUR

Today, apparently, she was popular.

Right before this man showed up, four had left. To get those four to leave, she had to promise to show up when they called with her “wealthy boss,” or else Qasim and Ahmed’s lives would be at risk.

Those men, she could handle.

This one terrified her.

He sat across from her with his platinum blond hair, pale gray eyes, and his white designer suit covered in what she hoped was red wine. There was something painfully alluring about him, the same way a beautiful plant could also be poisonous. However, when she looked into those eyes, as innocent and happy as they appeared, she saw no evidence of a soul behind them.

He motioned as if wiping his face with an invisible rag. “Have you ever seen me before?” he asked.