Page 222 of The Encore’s Crown

“You can just be here,” I say

She looks past me, around the sanctuary, at the fancy bed, the awe-inspiring walls, the water glowing in the pool, the mountains beyond. Then back at me.

“With you?” she asks

My heart kicks inside my chest.

“I mean, if you want.” I try to make a joke of what I’m offering her.

Me. Us. An always I never thought I could give anyone. With her, it feels easy. Her eyes search mine. That’s the terrifying part, and somehow the only part that matters. All of this pales beside those big brown eyes, the way she looks at me and always sees too much.

Then she steps into me, both hands closing around my neck, her nails digging in as she drags me down to her. I lock my arms around her waist and pull her hard against me while her palms slide up to cradle my face. She kisses me like I’ve pissed her off, like she wants to punish me for making her feel too much and thank me at the same time. I lift her until her feet leave the floor, and she wraps her legs around me without breaking my mouth from hers. When she finally pulls back, her eyes are wet.

“You still owe me so much groveling for all the shit you pulled.”

“I know.”

“Don’t think this means you get to relax.”

“I wouldn’t dare.”

She looks around the sanctuary again, then back at me.

“It’s an extremely good start.”

I huff a laugh. “I was hoping so.”

Then she kisses me again, and this time there’s no hallway, no band, no family, no locked door waiting to open. No one here to stop us at just a kiss.

Nothing left to hold us back.

Natalia comes out in a black bikini held together by a few thin strings and what I assume is spite just to torture me. I stare at the knots at her hips and imagine undoing them with my teeth. She catches me looking so I step into the pool before I act on my deviant thoughts. The water is warm against my skin, the edge disappearing into the ocean and sky. She lowers herself onto the first step. I hook my thumbs into the waistband of my trunks and her eyes widen.

“What do you think you're doing?”

“It’s a private pool. Might as well take advantage of it.”

I slide them off beneath the water and toss them onto the stone. I laugh at the shock that passes across her face and sink deeper into the pool. Then I remember the gift I brought her.

“Oh shit, I almost forgot.”

I climb out with painstaking control, making sure every muscle tightens as I straighten. Natalia turns to watch exactly like I knew she would, one elbow propped on the edge of the pool. Her gaze travels over every inch of me as I cross the sanctuary naked, and she doesn’t bother pretending otherwise. I find the folded plastic in my bag and hold it up.

“What's that?” she asks.

“Something important. A member of your family.”

Confusion pulls her brows together. I hop back into the pool, spraying water across her face. She shrieks and splashes me while I unfold the surprise.

“You’re such a dick.”

“You'll love this.”

I start blowing it up. She watches the green plastic expand, first with suspicion, then recognition. By the time the crocodile’s face takes shape, her mouth falls open.

“No fucking way.”

I keep blowing. I seal the valve and hold it up between us.