“Are you sure I’m not interrupting anything?”
“Come on.” I waved for her to enter.
She looked around, no doubt looking for a female.
“I won’t stay long.” She fidgeted with her hands. “I, ah, just wanted you to know that I meant every word I said, but I don’t want bad blood between us.”
“Okay.”
“Okay,” she repeated and headed for the door.
“That’s it?”
“Yeah.” She reached for the handle, but I pressed my hand against it to keep it shut.
“You’re telling me,” I gently turned her around, pushed her back into the door, and held her chin with one hand, “that you came all the way down here just to tell me you don’t want bad blood between us?”
“Yes.”
“Why don’t I believe you?”
“Elio.”
I loved how my name sounded as it passed her lips. My entire body coiled, and my muscles became steel.
“Tell me you don’t feel something for me, Sienna, and I will step back and let you leave.”
“I…” she started but stopped herself. She looked panicked and trapped. “I just…” She closed her eyes as I bent down and ran my lips along her temple, breathing in her scent.
“Tell me.” I licked her earlobe and gave it a nibble. Moving my hand to her side, I slid it down the fabric of her dress and around to her bare thigh. “Tell me you hate me.”
“I do,” she whispered as I relished her scent.
“Tell me,” I pressed my lips to her slender neck and slowly inched down to her collarbone, “why you still wear my pendant.”
“Because.” Her hands flew to my sides as she lost her footing, and I took the opportunity to push my knee between her legs, holding her in place.
“Because?” I coached her, loving the fact that I had my lips on her sexy skin and the heat of her arousal warmed my thigh.
I leaned back when she wouldn’t speak and looked into her deep, dark eyes that flipped between a deep blue to a dark navy.
I gently dragged the pad of my thumb along her lower lip. Leaning down, hovering my lips above hers, waiting for her to initiate the rest. I saw a million things run through her expression, but she wasn’t making a move to leave.
“Why are you still wearing my pendant?” I repeated and made sure my lips touched her once so she could feel the spark.
She closed her eyes again as I broke down more barriers between us. “It’s the only thing I have that proves you were real.”
“Sienna,” I whispered so she’d look at me, “kiss me so you know I’m real.”
“I want to,” she confessed, and I moved in closer, only to have her stop me with a hand on my chest. Her fingers flexed over my bare skin as she caught her breath. “But I can’t.”
“Because of Mariano?” Were they dating?
“He did bring me here, but—”
“Mariano doesn’t do relationships, Sienna. I think last night can be testimony for that.”
“That’s not what I’m saying.” She leaned in and kissed my cheek, lingering there for a moment as her breath brushed underneath my ear. “He brought me here, and out of respect for him and until I can understand myself, I need you at arm’s length.”