Her crystal-blue eyes narrow further and I can see her concern, see her love for my sister and her desperate desire for this week to go well, all in that one look. I can also see her concern that I’m not the wedding’s greatest fan. I put that look there.
I press away from the table and close the distance between us. I don’t think about my intention until my finge
rs are beneath her chin, tilting her face up.
Her eyes widen onto mine, the move surprising her just as much as it does me.
‘Scusi, bella.’ It comes out so much softer than I intended, but this close I can’t draw a full breath. Everything seems to catch and ignite—the air around us, between us, inside me. ‘My family brings out the worst in me.’
Her lashes flutter as she inhales softly. ‘But it also brings out the best.’
Her reassurance is a whisper and I know she’s speaking of my grand gesture, my purchase of the venue itself. I fight the urge to run my thumb over her lower lip, to feel her appreciation in the warmth of a kiss, to caress her cheek, to comb my fingers back through her hair that flows so freely around her. And then I realise that she’s freed it from the ponytail it was in outside. Is it a sign? Is it a physical move for what she wants deep down? To let go and give this desire between us free rein...?
‘I think Dani’s hoping this week will go some way to healing your fractured family, Rafael.’
Rafael. I love my name on her English tongue. It’s enough to ease the burden of her words.
‘And if I can help to smooth the way a little, please use me, please tell me what I can do.’
I want her to do so much, but none of it revolves around making the wedding a success, healing my family or the greater good. None at all.
‘Our priorities are the same, Faye.’ I feel the connection pulse in the air between us, holding us captive, but I need the first move to be hers. She has to drive this. We’re in my room, my domain, because I asked her to come here. The rest has to be driven by her.
‘Are they?’ She doesn’t look as though she believes me, and it goads me, regardless of how close to the truth she is.
‘Si.’ I nod. She has to understand that I love my sister, regardless of my mother and the anger that exists. Regardless of how much I loathe marriage. I want Dani and Tyler to be happy. ‘We both want this week to be about Dani and Tyler; we want it to be perfect for them. How I feel towards my mother and weddings in general doesn’t come into it. I want them to be happy.’
She gives a relieved sigh—or is it more wistful, dream-like? ‘Yes, that’s exactly what I want too.’
‘No blunders, no disruption, no family fallouts.’
‘Yes.’
‘You clearly know my family well enough to realise it won’t be easy, that they’ll need constant watching over...taming, even.’
She gives a sympathetic smile, her shrug small. ‘Families are never easy; even the strongest ones have their moments.’
‘Be that as it may, it will take effort on our part. We can’t afford to be...distracted.’
She frowns. ‘Distracted?’
‘Si, by this...’ I gesture between us, my eyes resting a beat too long on the nervous pulse ticking in her throat that I want so much to kiss, to tease with my tongue, to nip with my teeth. ‘It is distracting, no?’
‘I’m not sure—’ She breaks off, all flustered, and I laugh softly.
She raises her hand to her throat and brushes her fingers over that pulse point as she avoids my eye.
‘You want me.’ I wait for her eyes to meet mine. One beat, two... ‘As I want you.’
Her lips softly part, the colour returning to her cheeks. I stay silent, daring her to deny it, and she rewards me with a look that roams all over my clothed state before she nods. The action is so contained and I wonder at her restraint. The power of it. I compare it to the Faye I met last night, the one who’s now caged inside her, and I want to release it. I want the seductress back.
‘You remember what you said to me beside the pool? That you were a damsel in distress, a lady in need?’
Another nod.
‘That you’ve not had fun in far too long?’
She nods again as her lashes flutter. Her cheeks heat further, but not with shame. No, I see the need flaring in her eyes, the thirst I want so desperately to quench.