Chapter 82 Untitled Chapter

Chapter 82 Untitled Chapter
In the morning Kendrix stirred in her sleep and felt an arm caged around her. She opened her eyes to see Roberto sleeping beside her, his arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her close like he had been afraid she would drift away in the night. She stared at him in admiration. Morning light slipped through the curtains and gilded the sharp line of his jaw, caught on the faint scar at his temple, softened the harsh angle of his brows. All the hardness he wore like armor had melted in sleep. For once he looked younger. Peaceful. The terrifying man of the mansion, unguarded and warm beside her. His chest rose and fell steady against her back, solid and real, and the hand at her waist tightened just a fraction, like even in dreams he refused to let go. Her heart did that same aching squeeze from last night.
Then Roberto smirked, eyes still closed. “You should take a picture, you know. It lasts longer.”
Kendrix gasped and turned away in embarrassment, heat creeping into her face. “You’re awake.”
“Barely.” His voice was rough with sleep. He shifted, then without breaking the hold on her, he sat up and guided her with him until she was settled on his lap facing him. One arm stayed locked around her back, the other came up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. Slow, careful, like she might shatter.
Kendrix froze, her hands landing flat against his chest. His heartbeat thudded steady under her palms. She could feel the warmth of him everywhere, see the gold flecks in his eyes this close. The room went quiet. Just breathing. Just the two of them.
Roberto didn’t look away. His thumb brushed her cheek, slow and deliberate. “Stop staring at me like that.”
“Like what?” Her voice came out smaller than she meant.
“Like you’re memorizing me.” He exhaled, forehead dropping to rest against hers for a heartbeat. He placed a kiss on her forehead. “Go back to sleep, Kendrix. I’m not letting go.”
Kendrix blinked, then narrowed her eyes at him. “It’s morning, Roberto.”
“I noticed.” His arm around her back didn’t loosen an inch.
“That means the night shift is over.” She poked a finger into his chest, trying for a stern and failing miserably. “You’re supposed to let the princess go now. Company policy.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “We don’t have that policy.”
“We do now.” She crossed her arms over his chest, which only made her sink closer to him. “I’m awake. You’re awake. This is illegal bed occupancy.”
Roberto studied her like she was ridiculous. His hand slid up to cradle the back of her head, thumb resting at her nape. “Then arrest me.”
Kendrix opened her mouth, then closed it. Because his voice was low and warm and his eyes were still half-lidded from sleep, looking at her like she was the only thing in the room that mattered.
“Fine,” she muttered, face burning. “But just five more minutes.”
“Five more minutes,” he agreed, voice quiet. And he didn’t move. Neither did she.
Five more minutes. Then five more after that.
Roberto kept his expression blank, but inside he was undone. Her weight on his lap felt right. Too right. The way her fingers curled against his chest like she belonged there. The way she argued with him at 7am, sleepy and stubborn and his.
He had spent years building walls thick enough to stop bullets. One night beside her and they were all cracking. Not because she asked. Because he wanted to. Because letting go when the sun came up felt worse than any wound he had ever taken.
She thought he was guarding the bed.
Truth was, he was guarding this. This quiet. This female who he would burn the world for. This version of himself he only got to be when she looked at him like he wasn’t a weapon.
Roberto closed his eyes and breathed her in.
“Five more minutes,” he said again. And meant forever.
Kendrix didn’t hear the last part. But she saw something shift in his face… a crack in the armor, quick as lightning. Her breath caught. For a second she forgot about “morning” and “policy” and all the reasons this was dangerous.
So she did the only thing she could. She stopped arguing. She rested her forehead against his shoulder and let the five minutes turn to six.
The quiet stretched. Roberto didn’t speak. He just anchored her with the arm around her back, the other hand drawing slow circles at her nape. Not to tease. To memorize.
Kendrix closed her eyes. His shirt smelled like cedar and something uniquely him. Safe. Dangerous. Both. She told herself it was just for a moment longer.
“Roberto?” she whispered against his collar.
“Hmm?” His voice rumbled through his chest.
“Do you always wake up like this? All… soft?”
His arms tightened. “No.”
Kendrix pulled back an inch to see his face. His eyes were open now, dark and serious. No more smirk. No more teasing. Just him, looking at her like she had unmade him with one question.
Her breath caught. “Then I’m keeping this version.”
Something flickered across his face. His hand came up to cradle her jaw, thumb brushing her bottom lip. Slow, deliberate. Like he was asking permission without words.
Kendrix didn’t look away. She didn’t breathe.
Roberto leaned in. His forehead met hers first. One heartbeat passed. Then two. Then his mouth found hers.
It wasn’t gentle. Not exactly. It was strings of holding back finally snapping. Intense. Starving. His lips moved against hers like he had been thinking about this since last night, maybe longer. One hand slid into her hair, tilting her head just enough to deepen it. The other stayed locked around her waist, like he would never let her go.
Kendrix gasped into the kiss. Her hands fisted in his shirt because her knees weren’t doing anything right now. Heat flooded her face, her chest, everywhere he was touching her. It wasn’t sweet. It wasn’t soft. It was him… claiming and careful all at once, like he was terrified of breaking her and terrified of stopping.
When he finally pulled back, his breathing was ragged. His eyes stayed closed a second too long, forehead still pressed to hers.
“Five minutes,” he said, voice wrecked. “That’s all you asked for.”
Kendrix couldn’t speak. Her lips were parted, her heart hammering. She just nodded, because “forever” was already sitting in her chest.