She shrugs as the words leave her lips, and the action sees the thin strap of her navy-blue sundress falling from her shoulder, displaying even more of her creamy smooth skin.
I gravitate closer despite myself, the pull toward this woman almost too much to withstand. “You’ll need to be more precise with your question, Elodie.”
“Yesterday…on the pier.” Her throat works when she swallows as genuine curiosity overtakes her features. “Whydid you approach me?Whydid you bring me for dinner and say all those things?Whynot let one of your men do your dirty work? Idon’t?—”
“That’s a lot more than three questions.” I arch an eyebrow almost playfully, and she tips her chin up in response.
“I need to knowwhyyou did it, because…”
She trails off, her eyebrows drawing together. “You made me feel safe with you. You made me feelseen. Despite myself, Itrustedyou?—”
She slams to a halt, sucking in a sharp breath when I ever so gently slide the strap back up her arm, goosebumps arising in the wake of my fingertips.
“You don’t remember, do you,Stellina.”
My voice is low, eyes trained solely on hers.
Her breath catches in her throat when I slide my hand from her shoulder, skimming over the delicate skin below her ear to cup her jaw. I brush the pad of my thumb across her cheekbone, and her eyelashes flutter as she leans slightly closer.
“Rememberwhat, Rafe?”
My eyes hungrily absorb her beautiful face, even as frustration eats at me, until my cell ringing renders the tension flowing between us.
I yank it out of my pocket, severing all contact when I step back several paces.
“Si?” I bark down the line, softening slightly when I hear my youngest brother, Sebastiano, on the other end.
“What’s up your ass,Fratello?”
One corner of my mouth twitches at his signature lack of a fuck to give. “Ti richiamero tra cinque minuti, va bene?”
I barely let him murmur his assent before I hang up, continuing to regard Elodie with the same intent she’s watching me. Suddenly, I’m overwhelmed by the urge to taunt her. To witness those claws, that fire, thatstrengththat I find so magnetic.
“A good house guest doesn’t eavesdrop on the homeowner’s calls, Miss Rivers.”
She huffs. “House guest, my goddamn ass. And for the record, I couldn’t understand a word you said anyway, asshole.”
Then her eyes narrow to slits before she stalks past me and inside my office. By the time I’ve caught up, her hand is on the door handle when she pivots to pin me with a dark stare.
“For what it’s worth,nothingI told you yesterday was a lie, Rafe.Nothing.” She juts her chin forward in open defiance, and fuck me if it doesn’t make my dick twitch. “I don’t know Italian. I wasn’tallowedto learn, you fucking jackass.”
She twists the handle, tugging open the door quickly, but I’m faster. Two long strides put me at her back, and I slam my hand against the door to stall her escape. My breath coasts over the shell of her ear when I lean down over her as rage colors my words.
“You weren’tallowed?”
I reach up with my free hand to tug her hair off her shoulder, pressing even closer. Her body trembles against me as I inhale her delicate fragrance.
“Tell me, who forbid you?”
The silence between us is broken only by the sound of our breathing, and I close my eyes for a moment. My hands gravitate to her hips of their own free will, and I pull her against me to run the tip of my nose along the skin of her neck.
Her scent is Elodie and Elodie alone. No perfumes. No lotions. Just her with a slight underscore of cinnamon. And the addict that I am feels like I’m soaring higher with each breath I take.
“Who forbid you,Stellina?”
I can’t help myself from brushing my lips over the back of her neck, and she gasps before I open my mouth over her soft flesh. When I bite down, her moan fills the air, and I press my front against her back, knowing she can feel the hard-on she’s caused.
“Tell me.”
