CHAPTER 23: A NO? A MAYBE? FINE! IT'S A YES.

HAVEN'S POV

I was busy scrolling on my phone and adding things to my favorites when I felt someone stand behind me. I quickly put my phone down to hide what I was doing, but the person standing behind me was faster to snatch it away.

I wasn't even surprised to see that it was Allessio. He's a huge person but he moves like a cat—a big cat, which is fitting since he's every bit a lion.

He rounded the sofa to sit beside me. "You're shopping?"

I tried to take the phone back from him, but he simply held it out of my reach, making me sigh in frustration. "I'm just window shopping. I'm broke, remember?"

He just let out a "hmm" as he kept on tapping on the screen of my phone.

"Which reminded me that I should probably ask you about that."

"You need money? I already set up a card for you. It will arrive in a few days. You can use mine for now."

"You— what?" I shook my head as if it will help me clear it. "That's not what I meant. I'm not going to use your money."

"Why not?"

"Because it's your money?" I said, my words sounding like a question.

He handed me the phone and I gasped when I saw that he checked out everything I had put in my favorites. The online shop I was browsing in wasn't like those mass-market e-commerce platforms. The one I was in was a luxury online shop, so I really wasn't planning on doing anything except to look.

"What did you do?!" I hurriedly tapped on the screen to cancel what he checked out, but he just grabbed the phone from me again and threw it somewhere. "Allessio!"

"You like them, so I bought them for you."

My eyes narrowed into a slit. "You put me in all those lessons so that I could be a better person, one that knows how to spend money wisely, and you're spending that much just like that?"

"I'm spending it on you. That's spending wisely in my book." He taps my nose playfully. "And I didn't ask you to attend your lessons because I want you to be a better person, Haven. I want you to learn so that you could take care of yourself."

He has a point. I didn't know that there was much to learn and that it was a big deal, until I started learning. Now I can do the laundry without mixing up the colors, I no longer burn clothes, and I realized that organizing things is actually enjoyable. In fact, I'm tempted to organize everything in Allessio's home. I'm just stopping myself because this is not my house.

"But still, are you not worried that I'm going to take advantage of you? You know how addicted I am to shopping."

"I have a lot of money."

I sighed. "That's not the point."

He tugged my chin up with his finger, and then he brushed the tip of his nose with mine. "The fact that you're worried about it tells me that you're far from the Haven that will spend her parents' money without a second thought.

Again, he has a point. "I just... don't want people to think that you're my sugar daddy or something."

"I'm no sugar." He lean down, and a shiver ran through me when I felt his teeth graze my ear. "But I'm your Daddy."

When his kiss started traveling down my neck, I put a hand on his chest to stop him—and of course he did.

I thought that the past few weeks since something happened between us would help calm the fire between us, but with the way Allessio is with me, I think it's safe to say that it's for that to ever happen.

I am his biggest distraction. When I'm around, it's like he forgets where he is. His men have quickly gotten used to disappearing when Allessio is in the mood, which feels like always. The thing is, I'm like that too. I forget the world when I'm with him.

He's always touching or kissing me. It's like he couldn't help himself. I'm not complaining, though. Far from it since I'm the same way with him.

Which often makes it hard for us to focus on other things. "I need to ask you something. It's important."

He turned serious. "What is it, gattina?"

"I want to work. I remember hearing about your club. I think I won't be a nuisance anymore if ever you'll let me work there. I promise not to break anything," I said, trying to make my voice light. "I need to save some money so that I could study again. That will help me get a better job in the future. Also, if I work, maybe I could find a place for me."

There was an edge in his voice when he opened his mouth. "A place?"

"I can't stay here forever, Allessio," I said gently.

"You're going to do exactly that." He put my face between his huge hands. "What's going on, gattina? Is it because of what happened with the Venturini siblings? Are you mad at me because of Leandra? I made sure that she would no longer be a problem, baby. His father is smart enough to keep her on a leash, or the next time that she comes home, she'll be in a box. The same goes for her brother."

"That's not it."

His face grew hard. "Then is it because you saw how dangerous I could be... the extent of what I could do?"

I pulled my hand away from his hold, and I sighed when I saw what passed through his eyes before he quickly hid it.

Allessio is like a big bad lion who can destroy anyone in his path. But despite his strength, despite how dangerous he is, he could also be vulnerable.

He was right when he said that I was his weakness. I could see that there was no helping it when he also became mine. I could fall a hundred times and it would just hurt me. But losing him, that would destroy me.

Before his thoughts could go anywhere, I straddled him and took his hand and wrap it around me myself. Me being on his lap has become my favorite thing, just as it became one of his obsessions.

"Daddy. It's not because of you, okay? I just think it's the right thing to do. I'm a grown woman. I can't stay here and do nothing."

"You're not going anywhere," he said with finality.

"But—"

"I told you, didn't I? I wouldn't ever let you go."

"I'm not leaving you. I'm just going to move out."

"You're not doing that."

God! He could really be infuriating. "Why not?"

"Because it's a waste of time. Soon you're going to be a Cascella, and then the next you'll be carrying my child. Why would you need to move out? This is your home."

I stared at him, my lips parting in shock. Just like everything about him, what he just said is crazy. And yet I could already imagine it. I don't think I ever thought about having a baby, but for some reason, thinking about it now doesn't feel like a hardship.

"Allessio—"

"You want to study? Do it. You don't need to force yourself to go commit to a work that you don't even want."

"What... what if I like to be a waitress in your club? Or a dancer?"

With the way his jaws clench, he's already hating the idea. "If that's what you want, then do it. But you're going to have my men guarding you and I don't want you complaining."

I blinked. "You're really going to allow me to be a stripper?"

"Yes—" He massaged his temple. "No. Definitely not."

Despite the seriousness of our conversation, I couldn't stop myself from laughing. He seems really conflicted between giving me what I want and protecting me.

I tenderly ran my hand on his broad chest. "I want to contribute to... our home."

His eyes flashed, but this time it wasn't out of anger or worry. It's more about the word I used. "What do you want to study?"

"Well, it's more of training and certification. I don't think I want to finish my bachelor's, but I'm kind of interested in getting a specialized certification so I could be a professional organizer."

I could feel my cheeks heating up. I don't know why, but I feel shy about it. This is the first time that I found something that I really want to try, but it's not even a big dream. "I know it's not like being a doctor or something, but during my lessons, I found organizing really interesting. I don't think I want to be an interior designer. I can't even draw a stick figure correctly. But I like making things organized and staging them—"

"Do it." He kissed my forehead, followed by a soft brush on my nose and another one on my lips. "You don't need to be a doctor or anything you think equivalent to that for your dreams to have value. If you told me you wanted to be a fairy, I will still tell you to do it."

I couldn't help but chuckle at his words. "A fairy?"

His lips tip up from the corners. "I'm just saying." His hand made a path down my behind. "Is this why I keep finding my things neatly arranged?"

"Yup."

"And is this why I notice you looking at my office like it's giving you a migraine?" I didn't answer verbally this time, and he gave my backside a light smack knowing what my silence meant. "Do whatever you want, gattina."

"You don't have organizing supplies," I said, my lips pursing a bit."

"Order them online." He squeezed one of my buttcheeks. "Or better, we can go to the mall. We'll buy dresses that you can wear to my club."

"You already bought me a lot of dresses."

"You need a new one." When I narrowed my eyes at him, he grinned. "What? I like spoiling my baby."

I rolled my eyes, which earned me another smack to my behind. Only this time, he did it so hard that it made me gasp.

"You're obsessed with that," I told him.

"I am," he admitted unabashedly.

My hands shot up to his shoulders when I felt his hand slide inside my underwear, my nipples immediately hardening when he traced a finger on the seam of my sex. But the anticipation got laced with uncertainty when I felt him shift to another path. To an unfamiliar territory.

"Allessio..."

"Someday, you're going to be full of me here," he whispered on my ear as he caressed the puckered bud with his finger.

"W-What? No."

"No?"

I swallowed. My mind is whirling, and it's going places. Places that are not all unpleasant. In fact, I could feel a part of me starting to heat up every second that was passing. "No."

"You can't say no to Daddy."

The thrill that ran through my spine was exhilarating. "I'm... I'm saying it now."

"Liar. You're thinking about it too." He rained tiny kisses on the side of my face, and my hold on him tightened when he sucked the skin on my neck so hard that I'm sure that he'll leave a mark. "In fact, you're already intrigued by just the thought of it, aren't you?"

"Still a no—" The moan that escaped my lips halted what I was about to say when he pinched my hard nipple. "A maybe..."

Allessio is good at a lot of things, and that includes being a great negotiator. Minutes passed, and I was holding on to the back of the sofa, my knees on its soft cushion while Allessio was behind me with his face buried between my legs. When his tongue teased the part of me that feels so forbidden and raw, I knew that the answer had changed again.

Fine! It's a yes.