“If it’s Gio, don’t let him in.” His voice was so quiet, it was barely a hiss. “Tell him you’re sick, whatever. But he can’t come in.” His expression was deadly serious. “We’re both fucked if he finds me here.”
The second knock on the exterior door was louder as he cinched the belt on my robe closed. I’d been much too focused on Ethan’s mouth for the first knock to register, but this one I heard. Which meant I was going to have to leave this room and go answer my front door.
My knees shook, not from fear, but as a reaction to being brought to a screeching halt. Inside, my mind continued to protest as I marched out into the main room.
“Phillip,” I said when I pulled the door open, announcing who it was.
“Sorry to bother you, but Mr. Abramo has to return to Rome immediately.”
“Yes, Nathan informed me already.” I did my best to keep my breathing steady. Hopefully, my face wasn’t too flushed. “Have you notified the rest of the crew?”
“I’ll go to their cabin next. The flight plan is ready for your registration. Mr. Abramo would like to leave within the hour.”
I glanced at the clock. “That shouldn’t be a problem, thank you.”
Once he was gone, I locked the door and shuffled back to the bathroom, filled with anxiety.
Ethan remained where I’d left him, although the alarmwas gone from his expression. Now his long, angular face was unreadable. Nerves made me vibrate.
“It was Phillip,” I eked out.
“I heard.”
The sex in the air had dissipated, and it was awkward now, given what we’d been doing a minute ago. Like last night, he stared as if waiting for me to do something, but my mind was completely blank.
“Can I ask you something?” he said. “Why did you kiss me that first night?”
He was such a puzzle. Did he think I was, too? “Because I thought you were hot, and I wanted to get in your pants.”
He blinked back his surprise, and then his gaze heated. “Come here.”
It was soft yet commanding, and my breathing went shallow. “We don’t have time.”
But I obeyed, going to him.
He reached for me, cradled my face with both hands, and kissed me, deeply. His mouth possessed mine and made my legs go boneless.
“Dangerous—” I mumbled as I kissed him back.
“I thought you liked danger.” It sounded like a challenge.
“I do.” It made me feel something, like I was alive.
The kiss ended with his hands sliding away, but his intense expression continued to burn as he looked at me. Behind the intensity, there was something in his eyes. Longing?
“Olivia.” It looked like he was searching for what to say.
“Ethan.”
Hearing his name must have been what he needed. “If I had my way, last night would happen again, only I’d get to take my time with you. But it’s about to get a lot more complicated for me.”
My curious brain wouldn’t shut up. “Complicated how?”
“Gio’s brother is dead.”
I knew that Constantine, Vitale’s younger son, had gonemissing, but everyone talked as if he was wild and selfish. Like this disappearance was normal behavior for him. But he was dead? “How? Did Renzo tell you that?”
Doubt flashed in his eyes. Whatever he wanted to say gave him tremendous pause. I brushed my fingertips down his defined jaw, and they bristled on the stubble there. The retreat back into the cold Nathan persona had already begun, and I wanted just a few more seconds with Ethan.
