“I’m going to shower.”
He leaves me standing in the middle of his room, unsure of what to do with myself. I already know the door is locked, but I still try to open it. As I suspected, it doesn’t open. The water turns on in the bathroom. An image of Luca in there, under the spray crosses my mind. What in the heck is wrong with me? He’s the enemy! I shouldn’t be sitting here thinking about how sexy he would look with water running over his chiseled body. I should look for a weapon or try any and everything to get out of here. I shouldn’t cross the room and peer into the bathroom.
Luca stands next to the shower, rubbing his temples. He’s nude, but what has me gasping are the bruises on his body.
“What happened?”
He turns, and I try like hell to ignore that he’s hard.
“What are you doing in here, Dove?”
“You’re bleeding!”
There’s a cut on his side that looks bad.
He laughs. “It’s nothing.”
“Let me be the judge of that.”
I expect him to tell me to leave. What I don’t expect is for him to lean against the glass wall of the shower so I can examine his wound. The blood has mostly clotted, but the gash runs several inches.
“I don’t think it’s going to need stitches. How did it happen?”
He exhales through his nose as I run my finger over the length of the wound.
“Let’s just say it happened on the not-so-legal side of the business.”
“Did you win?”
“I always win.”
Without thinking, I lean forward and press my lips against the wound. “Good.”
“You’re playing with fire, little bird. I hope you know that.”
“Maybe I want to play with fire.” I straighten, looking him in the eyes. “Maybe I want to get burned.”
“And maybe we’ll both burn together.”
This is a bad idea, and yet I can’t seem to stop. Without breaking eye contact, I untie the robe I’m wearing and let it drop to the ground. He eyes me as I stand before him, as naked as he is. Moving around him, I step into the shower under the spray of water. He watches as I get my hair wet and then reach for the shampoo. I’m doubting my plan. Maybe he doesn’t feel the same for me? Tears fill my eyes and I turn under the spray of water to hide them.
“Are you hiding from me, little bird?”
He’s close. I don’t have to open my eyes to know that. Heat rolls off his body in waves, making me shiver.
“I wasn’t sure if you were going to join me,” I admit.
“I shouldn’t.”
It’s all he says, but his fingers dig into my scalp as he lathers the shampoo. Closing my eyes, I tilt my head so he can wash my hair. We’re both silent as we shower, likely lost in our own heads. I keep wishing that he’d kiss me. Touch me. Anything. He only touches me to wash me. And there certainly aren’t any kisses, though I think I feel his lips brush against my shoulder as he turns off the water.
Feeling dejected, I move past him when he grabs my arm.
“I shouldn’t do a lot of things where you are concerned, and yet here we are.”
I search his gaze. “What other things do you want to do to me?”
“Terrible things.” He laughs darkly. “Things that would send you running.”