Indebted to the Mafia King

*Heidi*

My face heats up with his offer, and I can't find it in me to reject it. I was trying to be bold and surprise him by coming here, and I would be lying if I said I didn't have any plans on returning to my own apartment tonight.

But I was also telling the truth when I said I liked to spend time with him, no sex involved. Cal makes my days much better, especially now that I'm living by myself and barely see my grandparents. New York is a big city, but it can feel so small when you're alone.

Whenever I'm with Cal, it's like time freezes, and I can simply enjoy being around him. He makes me feel wanted, heard, cared for. Nothing about what we have feels fake or forced.

I don't know what we are-and I would never dare to say we're together-but I can't lie to myself anymore. I believe I'm falling for him. Or better yet, I think I have already fallen. Deep. Beyond redemption.

"So, what do you say?" His hoarse, sexy voice whispers in my ear, and I remember I didn't give him an answer.

"You want to go to your apartment?" I narrow my eyes at him. "To get me into your bed?"

Cal feigns being offended, his hand darting to his chest in a dramatic way. "I'm not that type of guy, sweetheart. I'll get you something to eat first."

I laugh, pushing him away again. "Okay, fine. You got me with the promise of food. Are you sure you don't need to get back to work though? I feel like I took you away from something important."

He dismissed me with a shake of his head, clearly unbothered. "I'm glad you came here to distract me. I was drowning in paperwork, and I can honestly use the break. I've worked nonstop today," he replies, getting to his feet. "I think I deserve to be pampered."

"Yeah, right..." I stand, following him outside and toward his car. He waves at some of his employees and talks to someone on our way out, although I can't hear what he's saying.

Cal opens the door of the car for me, and I slip into the leather seat. His musky cologne hits my nostrils immediately.

The drive to his penthouse is calm, the two of us deciding what we want to have for dinner. I end up offering to prepare us some pasta that Grandma taught me how to make a while ago. I feel like doing something in return for everything he's done for me, but since I don't have money, I can only shower him with affection and food.

Once we're inside his kitchen, Cal shows me where everything is, and I start preparing the ingredients for the sauce. He opens a bottle of wine and pours a glass for each of us. He hands me my glass, but before I can take a sip, he presses me against the counter, his mouth claiming mine, his tongue invading me with a heated kiss.

He finds the hem of my dress, and before I know it, he pulls it off me and lifts me from the floor and sets me down on the marble. I feel the coldness of the marble against my ass, but Cal's hands roam freely up and down my thighs, making it hard for me to focus on anything else other than the heat of his skin on mine.

"Cal," I say against his mouth, pressing against his hard chest and pushing him away, thoughts of making him dinner still on my mind. But he devours me more hungrily, not giving me the chance to say anything.

He grips my ass, squeezing my flesh like he wants to take a piece of it for himself, and pulls me forward, positioning himself between my legs. He spreads them further apart so he can fit between them, and I feel need pooling at my core. I should be preparing our food, and now it feels like I'm about to become the meal instead.

His lips move from my mouth to my jaw and down to my neck, while his hands slide up my stomach, finding my breasts and cupping them through my bra.

The fabric is thin enough for me to feel his fingers against my nipples, making me choke on a moan. I'm glad I chose this bra this afternoon.

Before Cal gets any further with this, I force myself to put an end to it so I can have our dinner ready. If we continue, we won't be eating any food tonight, and I'm sure Cal probably hasn't eaten anything during the day.

I want him to be in his best shape for whatever we have planned for later, and I also need him to be healthy.

With that in mind, I push him harder this time, his dark eyes finding mine with coated desperation.

"I need to prepare dinner," I tell him, as if he doesn't already know this.

"We can do that later," he murmurs, planting his face back on my neck, biting down on my flesh and making me momentarily forget about what I was saying.

But then, with renewed determination, I push him away again and jump back on the floor, putting a safe distance between us.

"We can eat first, and then we can do whatever you want later," I inform him, grabbing my dress and putting it back on before he can stop me. Then, I pick up the the knife and start to cut the onions for the sauce. Cal grumbles but ends up accepting it. "Do you need my help?" he offers.

I shake my head, not removing my eyes from my task. "I can do it by myself while you take a shower and get changed. You've been out the entire day. You're probably dying to get cleaned up and put on something more comfortable before we eat," I point out.

"You're right," he agrees. "Okay, I'll be right back then."

An hour later, we're both seated on the stools around the kitchen counter, facing each other and diving into the pasta I prepared-which I must admit tastes delicious.

Cal spends the first five minutes complimenting my food but eventually stops talking and finishes his meal in silence.

We continue to drink the wine he opened, and half the bottle is already gone without us even realizing it. Cal puts on some background music while I fill our glasses again, and then we move to the living room, the inviting, soft couch calling for me.noveldrama

I get comfy, pulling my legs up, my glass of wine in hand as I watch Cal take his place by my side.

"So, I've been wanting to ask you, and I don't mean to overstep, but..." Cal starts, drinking from his wine before continuing, "how did you end up living with your grandparents? What happened to your parents?"

A twinge of pain hits my heart at the mention of my parents. Remembering them still has that effect on me. It's been long enough since I lost them, but I still miss them like crazy.

I swallow before sharing the worst pain of my life with him. For some reason, I feel like telling him everything. I know Cal will hear me out and share my pain with me, taking the burden off my shoulders for a moment.

"They died in a car accident," I explain. "We were driving back from Connecticut, where we went to spend Christmas with my mom's family. I was in the back seat, and I honestly don't remember much of what or how it happened. All I know is that I got this stupid scar." I point to my cheek. "While they lost their lives." My voice cracks while I say this out loud for the first time since the accident.

"So, that's where you got the scar from..." Cal murmurs, more to himself than to me, while he gently traces the scar on my cheek. His soft touch sends shivers down my spine, but more than that, it makes my heart lurch in my chest at how kind he is as he studies my face carefully. "I was always curious about it," he confesses, his voice so low I barely hear him.

"You were curious about my scar?" I frown, narrowing my eyes slightly at him. "Why? Because it's so ugly?" For a long time, I was ashamed of it. I would try to hide it as much as I could, but having it was always visible, no matter what I did, so eventually, I simply started ignoring it. When I was younger, I blamed it for not having any friends. I thought everyone would be disgusted by it, but as I grew up, I realized I was being stupid and illogical.

I didn't have any friends because I pushed myself away from people. I hid from them most of the time, preferring to stay by myself than in the presence of anyone else. It felt overwhelming most of the time to be surrounded by people. "There's not a single part of you that's ugly, Heidi. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life," Cal says, his voice firm and serious.

His gaze is heavy on my face, and I can't force myself to look away. There's so much honesty in his eyes that I convince myself he can't be lying or saying these things without meaning them.

"I've been interested in you ever since I laid eyes on you from across the street years ago. And I always wondered what caused you to have that scar. I wanted so badly to get to know you, even if we could only be friends."

His admission hits me so hard that I forget how to pronounce proper words for a second. I wasn't expecting Cal to be so honest and raw. I never realized he was interested in me until I met him at his bar that day I barged in. I never really paid attention to him or his place before that. If anything, I despised it, thinking whoever owned that place was a troublemaker who made it hard for me to draw more clients into the bookstore.

Obviously, I was wrong.

Cal has to be the most caring person I've ever met-except for maybe my grandparents. And for that reason, and the fact that I can't express my gratitude and my overwhelming feelings through words right now, I put my glass down on the table and climb on his lap, straddling him and trapping him on the couch.