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I reared back, really taking her in. I didn’t like what she was accusing me of when I’d explicitly told her more than once I wasn’t fucking around. More than that, it gnawed at me that she thought that was exactly what I was doing but hadn’t called me out on it.
“You truly believe I’m out all night fucking, yet you let me inside you without a condom? Make that make sense, Saoirse.”
The back of her hand hit her forehead. “I don’t think either of us were thinking clearly when that happened. Obviously, we shouldn’t do that again—”
“Oh, we’re doing it again.” I shot to my feet, holding my hand out to her. She didn’t take it. “Come here.”
“I’d rather not.”
“If you don’t, I’ll pick your stubborn little ass up.” I shook my hand. “Come here.”
With a sigh, she slipped her hand into mine, and I yanked her upright. Taking her by the hips, I brought her closer to me.
“You need to understand me. I don’t keep secrets, and I don’t lie. If you ask me anything, I will tell you the truth. So ask me.”
Her lashes were dark, except for the tips, which were so blonde, they were almost clear. She usually wore makeup, so I hadn’t noticed until now, looking at her up close.
“Do you take a shower so you don’t come home smelling like sex?”
“No.”
Her exhale was light, drifting between us. “Where do you go, Luca?”
“Do you want me to show you?”
Her mouth pressed into a hard line, and for a second, I thought she’d deny me, but finally, she nodded once.
So, I took her hand and walked to the entry. I grabbed her flip-flops and my unlaced boots, then we left the apartment, riding the elevator one floor down.
I unlocked the door to my other apartment and pushed it open. Saoirse hesitated beside me.
“Come on. Nothing’s going to hurt you.” I gave her hand a tug, and after another beat of hesitation, she let me pull her in, and I flicked on the lights.
“This is where I spend my time. My studio.”
With her mouth shaped like a pretty littleo, Saoirse did a slow spin, taking it all in.
When I bought the penthouse a couple years ago, I also bought the one-bedroom below it and gutted it to the studs. Now, it was completely soundproof, with a small, utilitarian kitchen used for cleaning my supplies more than making meals. The bedroom had been made smaller and lined with shelving, where I stored tools, materials, and canvases.
“The sculptures in your living room,” she whispered.
I nodded. “They’re mine. I made them.”
I let her weave around my studio, bending to check everything out, stopping to study completed pieces. She took her time, and I watched.
None of this was a secret from the people who were part of my inner circle. My friends had my pieces in their homes. My parents and sister too. I’d been creating art since I could stand and had been selling a piece here and there under a pseudonym since adulthood.
But no one else had ever entered this space. Saoirse was the first. She was seeing a part of me no one else had. The uncomfortable squirming in my chest took me by surprise. I’d thought I’d show her, lay her curiosity to rest, and that would be that. But as I waited for her to react, I understood why she’d wanted to lash out when I’d asked about her mother.
Without thinking, I’d made her one of my inner circle. She now held a part of me only a few did.
That made me vulnerable to her.
A fact I found I did not like.
Saoirse spun on her toes, facing me. “I can’t believe this.”
“What can’t you believe?”
