Page 69 of John + Siena: The Complete Duet

John barely hid back his smile as he inched closer to her. “Oh?”

“A little.”

“So do that, donna.”

She peeked up at him through dark lashes. “Something tells me you’re kind of a risk, though.”

“That instinct is correct.”

“Maybe, but are you a risk worth taking, John?” she asked.

Well, that he didn’t have the answer to.

“I’m sorry I took off,” he murmured.

They stood toe-to-toe, now. He moved his pinky outward, and stroked the side of her hand with it, that’s how close they were. If he leaned down just a bit, his kiss could graze her forehead.

John wouldn’t do any of that unless Siena wanted him to. However, that didn’t mean that he didn’t want to do it. Because he did. A whole lot.

There was something about this woman that had kept her on his mind for months. Sometimes, she wasn’t always the focus because he dealt with one thing at a time when it came to his brain. She was always there, though, buzzing and poking. Occasionally, thoughts of her would come back to the forefront to tease him.

She was right.

He was a risk.

But so was she.

A woman like her with a family like she had—not to mention the shit he dealt with being bipolar and how it fucked with his relationships—was a huge risk for John.

A mess he didn’t need.

A problem he might not be able to fix.

Something bad.

Siena tipped her head back, and stared up at him. “Say it again.”

“Hmm, what?”

“How sorry you are.”

“Will it make it better?” he asked.

Siena grinned. “Probably not entirely, but it’ll get us there.”

“I am interested in more than sex, Siena.”

“And if I asked you to take me home tonight …”

John smirked. “I would not say no.”

He might be sorry, but he was also very much a fucking man. She was all woman. Every single part of him knew it, too.

“So maybe we could do that?” she asked quietly.

John cupped her jaw and neck with his palm, and felt the way her heart raced under his touch. Or maybe it was her nerves from approaching him like this after everything. That risk she had mentioned.

“How about this,” he murmured, “I will take you to my place, and if something comes up, you are more than welcome to stay until I get back. Because really, shit always comes up for me first thing in the morning. So hey, it’ll be up to you if you want to take off on me as payback for what I did to you.”