Page 195 of John + Siena: The Complete Duet

“A lot.”

“Like what?”

Siena glanced over her shoulder, and back down the path. They had gone far enough that neither of them could see Andino or Haven any longer. John doubted his cousin would leave him alone for very long, especially not if the visit wasn’t meant to last.

“Andino doesn’t want me—”

“Fuck what he wants,” John said. “It’s me asking right now.”

Siena looked down at the path. “There’s a lot of stuff that’s happened over the past little while since you came here. At first, the families tried to avoid a feud between them with more peaceful means. When all that went to shit, the violence really got started.”

“You said war before.”

“That’s the impression I got from my brothers.”

“But was it?” he asked.

Siena shook her head. “Not like it is now. It’s bad now.”

Fuck.

“No one’s mentioned this to me when they visit,” he said.

Siena cleared her throat. “You have to focus on you.”

“I’m aware, but—”

Quick as a blink, Siena had turned on her heel, and stopped John from walking any further on the pathway. Her hands came up to press against his chest, and her fingernails dug in just enough to make him suck in a sharp breath.

She tipped her head up, and pressed a fast kiss to his lips. Just like that, everything he was worrying about was gone in an instant.

The girl had many talents.

Distracting him was just one.

“I promised Andino I wouldn’t tell you,” Siena whispered against his lips. “Please just focus on you for the time you have left here, John.”

“I am,” he assured her.

His hands cupped her face, and he kept her close enough that she was forced to keep her eyes on only him. Nothing else but him.

He needed to see her, too.

“They mean well,” she said. “You have to trust them.”

He heard her.

He understood.

It still was hard.