No Strings Attached

CHAPTER 31

It's been almost 4 hours since Anastasia and I'd conversation. 4 hours of cursing myself and wondering why the fuck I would say anything I did.

Why the hell do I care if she's off flirting with other men? I don't.

And yet I've never felt so fucking jealous than when she said she'd be handling things her way. I know damn well what 'her way' is, hell, I've even fallen victim to it.

But I meant what I said. Anastasia is mine in every way. I've never been a man to care too much about a girl, but Anastasia excites me.

I hadn't noticed it until the meeting today, when the thought of her speaking to Simon entered my mind. And I hated it. It was disgusting. A situation I'll be damned to let happen.

I did my research on Simon after our first meeting, and what I found made my stomach churn.

He's been to court more times than anyone should, all cases for rape, assault, stalking, assault and battery. Every case ending the same; Leonardo's underworld connections getting Simon off the hook.

There is no way in hell I let Lea and Issy near him, Anastasia can protect herself, but I know the girls will follow her. I'm not putting my family in danger again.

I hear the door to our room open and I look up as soft footsteps approach. My eyes meet the tired ones of Anastasia, her smile falling to a frown as she sees me.

"I hope you've finally come to your senses fiore," I say smoothly, looking at her calmly as her jaw locks.

"I'm not a piece of property for you to own Vincenzo," she says coldly, "If I need to talk to another man for a mission then suck it up,"

I let out a low chuckle as I stand up off the bed and walk over to her, smirking as she backs up until her back hits the wall.

"Did I not make myself clear sweetheart?" I ask, placing my hands on either side of her head, trapping her against the wall.

"You are mine to protect, and I take that duty seriously," I say, each word slow and firm.

"Why Vincenzo?" she asks simply, seemingly pulling herself together as she crosses her arms across her chest.

"You came to my house for help, don't you think that says enough fiore? I'm simply carrying through on the commitment I made," I say, my voice low as her eyes widen.

"Well now I'm in charge, so I don't need you to protect me as if I'm some defenceless little girl," Anastasia says, sounding irritated. "So put your jealousy aside and deal with it," she suddenly puts both hands out and roughly pushes me back.

"I'm sleeping in the girls room tonight," she says curtly, turning and walking out without a second look.

I bite my tongue to stop myself from saying something I'll regret as I watch her walk away.

She had a panic attack in my arms this morning, she was so innocent, and now I feel towards her something I've never felt towards a girl before. I want to protect her, from whatever she was scared of this morning.

But why do I care? Why this sudden change of heart? I'm being fucking ridiculous.

She can go get herself killed for all I care, I don't care.

I. Don't. Care.

I shake my head when I realise how much I'm thinking about Anastasia, it's fucking stupid. I run an exasperated hand down my face and go to the wardrobe of the hotel room.

I quickly change into a pair of sweats and a hoodie before going back to the bed. I pull out my phone and stare at my screen, unsure of what to do.

For some reason, my body doesn't like the idea of not falling asleep with her beside me. We shared a bed once, last night, but already my body seems accustomed to it.

I almost want to walk over to the girls room and drag her back here just to sleep with me. Almost.

I sigh and look at the time, only 11pm. I put my phone on the nightstand and reach up to turn the lights off, attempting to fall asleep.

I should get a good amount of sleep tonight, after all, the raid is tomorrow.

I roll over to try and get comfortable, my body feeling a sudden surge of energy whenever I try to close my eyes.

It's going to be a long night.

—————

I'm awoken by the sound of the door to my room opening, my eyes snapping open. I reach for my gun in the drawer beside the bed, only to stop when I hear soft footsteps. Footsteps which seem familiar.

Anastasia?

I sit up and turn the light on, unable to help the smirk on my face as the door to the bedroom opens, a disheveled Anastasia walking in.

My smirk soon falls to a frown as I see her red eyes and nose.

She had another panic attack.

"Never mention this again," she says in a hoarse voice, clearing her throat before she walks to the other side of the bed and gets in.

"What's wrong?" I ask quietly, patting the bed beside me as she climbs in. She shakes her head and I frown, watching as she buries her face in her hands.

"Sweetheart what's wrong?" I ask again, furrowing my eyebrows as she sucks in a sharp breath and lifts her head.

"Nothing, Azalea snores, that's all," she says, lying down on her back and resting her arms behind her head.

I lean against the headboard and look down at her, unsure of what to think.

"I'm sorry for this morning," she suddenly says, looking up at me.

"Don't apologise," I murmur, "Its not your fault,"

She hums in response, as if unsure of what to do now.

"Don't tell anyone, I don't want the guys worrying again," she says, her voice barely a whisper.

"Wouldn't dream of it," I murmur, sensing there isn't much else to say and turning the light off before lying back down. I'm surprised when I feel Anastasia move her body closer to mine, making me smile as she's barely touching me.

I sigh and reach my arm out, wrapping it around her and drawing her to my chest, keeping my arms tight around her.

"One time," she says, her body relaxing against mine.

"We seem to have a few one time things," I chuckle, burying my face in the crook of her neck.

"It's a bad habit," she murmurs, her hands tangling in my hair.

"We should probably stop," I reply, trying to ignore how good this feels. How good she feels.

"We'll stop after one time," she teases, making me laugh softly.

"Goodnight fiore," I say quietly,

"Goodnight Vincenzo," she whispers.

I feather my lips against her neck, listening as her breathing slows. I lift my head and rest my chin against her forehead, a small smile spreading across my lips as her head gently falls to my shoulder.

I tighten my arms around her as I close my eyes, letting my body relax. I know this is a bad idea, but fuck it feels so good.

//

sorry for the short chapter, i have assessments every day this week but i felt so bad bc i haven't updated in almost a month 😭😭

i don't know when i'll update this next, i'll probably publish the first chapter of Not For You, so go check that out,

also thank you all so much for 1M reads for The Moon And The Stars. we also reached 100k reads for His Fia, and 10k for No Strings Attached, so thank you all so much and i love each and every one of you,

don't forget to vote, and until next time,

Abi <3