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What gave me away? I tiptoed from my room here. Is my heart beating that loud? In his presence, everything I thought I knew about my body goes up in flames.
I enter his room and find him on the edge of the bed, legs spread, hands hanging between them. Those tantalizing eyes undress me. Conquer me.
“You said you finally want to man up.”
He leans back on his palm, laughter bubbling out of him. It’s half amusement, half self-deprecation. “Are you sure you want to unleash that side of me?”
Every line on his face tightens with seriousness. I sit on the upholstered green armchair in front of him and say, “I need to know. I need—”
“Let’s make a deal then.”
“Fine.” I agree quickly, eager for his answers.
A smile tips the corners of his lips and my belly gets warm and mushy. He drags a hand through his hair. “How did it feel exposing yourself?”
I could play dumb, but I know exactly what he asks, “Like the most difficult thing possible. Almost impossible to achieve because that’s how terrified you are to do it.”
He nods and reveals his palm, “To uncover your body is the same to me as uncovering myself.”
The truth of his words reverberates through me.
“The question remains. How much is my truth worth to you?”
His eyes hold me hostage. He’s so much. So much heat, power, and mystery leaves me starved for every crumb. I am afraid I will get my fill and then die because I couldn’t take forkfuls but mouthfuls of him.
“You mean, for every truth, I should take something off?”
“Yes.”
I slump in the armchair. This could go well or it could be catastrophic. Something tells me we’re moving too quickly with all the anxiety ruling us both.
“When all is said and done, I want you to come into my bed willingly and let me fuck you.”
Yet again, fucking. He’s using it to demean our connection. Maybe he feels the same, not knowing what to do either.
“You think I’m not made for this?”
“I so fucking hope you are. My sister, Chiara, and Alessandra, they had a grasp of things, but you... I want to wrap you in satin and silk, even though the life I offer you is stained with blood and a monster lurking in the shadows.”
Yet, I want him. All of him.
Violet lowers her head but I catch the small smile grazing her lips and a blush tainting her cheeks. I fist the duvet, forcing myself not to go over there, pull her into my arms, and kiss her. Does she have any idea what her lips do to me? She rattles my walls, ripping at them with her presence. I’m a mess whenever I am near her. I’m an even bigger mess when I am not near her.
She hugs her legs, chin resting on her knees, and it’s obvious she’s wary but wants me to open up to her.
“Five events of my life shaped me. Five things that I pushed so far to the back of my mind that I never wanted to dig them up. But I expect my prize once I’m done.”
“Me in your bed,” she says breathlessly.
“Yes. Think very hard about it.”
“Start with the first,” she says resolutely.
So brave, so mesmerizing, so unapologetically her—the woman who has the power to bring me to my knees. I’m so desperate for more of her, though I know my sexual proclivities would scare her. But fuck it all. Maybe one night with her will cure me of this madness.
“I need a drink. Do you want one?”
She shakes her head and I enter my walk-in closet, where a cabinet hides my bar in the corner. I pour myself a glass of whiskey and find her in the same spot, her eyes taking me in with apprehension and curiosity. Am I falling for the cover or am I falling for what’s underneath? It doesn’t even matter at this point. I am in far too deep.
