When The Sun Goes Down - A Midnight Mafia Novel

Chapter Forty-Three

**Important authors note**

Friendly reminder that this is the LAST chapter I will upload before voting ends for which chapter I will rewrite in Alessio's POV. I'll announce which chapter won the vote on Monday's update and will start writing it ASAP. Comment with your votes or send me a private message.

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I opened my eyes, he was so close to me I practically went cross eyed. I blinked in confusion, my lips were still puckered, I was still on my toes. I dropped down onto the flats of my feet brimming with confusion and hurt. "No?"

"No." He repeated.

This was it. The final straw. I tried to move backwards but his arm around my waist prevented me from doing so.

"Let me go." I pleaded and tried to push off of him. I had showed Alessio my hand, I had opened up everything I had to him and I was shut down in the most humiliating of ways. That shower was calling my name again.

"Katherine." He said softly and tried to tilt my head up again.

"No!" I said fighting hard at tears. I couldn't keep waiting around forever just to get shot down in more creative and humiliating ways. I needed to leave.

"Look at me." He instructed with a silky smooth tone.

"No." I put my head down.

"I'm not going to kiss you right now." He said. "I don't want our first kiss," this time when he tried to tilt my head up he did so with more force and I allowed it. "And we will have a first kiss." He said in a sexy growl just before pressing his lips lightly to my cheek. Had he been just millimeters to the side and he would have caught the corner of my lips. I whimpered. "When we kiss for the first time it's not going to be because you told me to, to prove a point, out of anger or spite." He said and turned my head to the side to kiss my other cheek. "It will be the precise right time." I tilted my head further and he rested his cheek on mine to speak directly into my ear. "And it will knock you from your feet." He whispered directly into my ear and a wave of shivers passed through my body.

He pulled back far enough to be able to look at me again. "Okay?"

"Okay." I breathed. He brought his thumb across the skin just below my eyes wiping away a stray tear. I closed my eyes and turned my head into his touch. "So am I still supposed to leave then?"

"I wouldn't let you if you tried." He replied and let go completely. "Now please. I am spent. Can we just go to sleep?"

I chewed my lip and nodded.

"Good." He said and kissed my forehead. He took my hand and led me back to his bed.

***

"Alessio?" I called out to the empty room. I hated when he did this. The damn disappearing act. And boy was he good at it.

I chewed on my cheek and after a few moments climbed out of the bed. I didn't want to leave without talking to him first but I really couldn't stay. I had no clothes here and I had work to go to. I hadn't seen Stacey in days and she was probably ready to ring my neck.

I hesitated at the idea of getting out of Alessio's bed and back into the real world. But I had a contract, and I had waited my entire life to get to where I was in my career. Alessio hadn't yet given me a reason to leave all of that behind.

I crawled out of bed and shivered. Big houses like this were beautiful but there was so much space to them, it was almost impossible to get the whole house to a perfect temperature.