Oh. He wanted sex. Her breasts swelled at the idea and she studied his rose-colored mouth. The strength of his jaw. "You promised to wait until Iasked."
"I did." Henodded.
With an intake of breath, she looked up and clutched his hand to her chest and decided to speak from her heart. "Well, I'm asking you to sleep beside me. To me that's a bigger step because it means I trust you." She knew that she would never be in a safer place than next tohim.
"You don't understand." He stared at her so intently that she didn't daremove.
"Tell me." Her lips tingled, desiring anotherkiss.
"I..." His hands brushed her hair behind her ears and she trembled. "You win. Give me a few minutes. I'll join you in thebed."
"Okay, good." She couldn’t move, praying, hoping that he’d kiss her but she realized that he wouldn’t after all and disentangled her grip on his wrist. She walked toward the balcony door, feeling a sway in her hips. With feminine instinct, she knew he watched her every step until she cameinside.
She made her way back to the lonely bedroom. She flipped on the lights and knew he'd be here any moment, so she brushed out the dampness of her hair as best shecould.
A few minutes later, she heard the shower on in the bathroom, and guessed Lucio went there first. She left the vanity where she'd sat and made her way to the bed. She tugged the blankets down and stared at the pillows. Side byside.
What would it be like to be held by Lucio? She knew her refusal to make love somehow triggered all of this hesitation between them, this awkwardness. She desired him, but the voice in the back of her head kept replaying how he’d kissed her sister, Evie, at the table next to hers in the library. Reminding her of how her heart broke into tiny shards of glass. Until she trusted that would never happen again, she needed to wait. So she climbed into her side of the bed and then turned off the lights at the same time the showerended.
She tucked the blanket up to her chest and Lucio came into the room. She stayed absolutely still until he climbed onto the bed. His shoulders were wider than she realized and he took up more space, but he didn't touch her. His body heat near her affected her though and she felt moreneedy.
The air crackled with her own energy. She couldn't stand the silence anymore, and she broke the spell. "You had a goodshower?"
"A cold one." His deep tone suggested a chuckle but he didn'tmove.
She hugged her pillow and smiled. Lucio sounded like the same guy she’d always known. She closed her eyes. "I'm glad you'rehere."
"Go to sleep." A moment later, she swore hehummed.
The tune struck a chord inside her. She opened her eyes and stared across the bed. He was close, and she wanted to scoot toward him but she didn't dare. "What were you humming? It soundsfamiliar."
"Nothing." He answered fast thenquieted.
The song was now stuck in her head but she couldn't place it. She tried to remember, but couldn't. "No, I know thattune."
He shifted on his pillow, facing her. "You used to love Britney Spears, singing out loud in the library. I was rememberingyou."
Her headphones had been her way to tune out the world. A smile grew on her face. "I haven't thought about that in years. How did you remember thatsong?"
He shrugged, and despite the darkness, she swore his cheeks were slightly redder when he said, "The singer gave a concert a few months ago in Avce. I formally greeted her before her performance as my other brothers weren't available. Are you ready to sleepnow?"
Oh, how she wanted to curl into him, but she hugged her pillow instead and closed her eyes. "The only time in my life I was ever jealous of Evie was when she hadyou."
Michael, being her parents’ favorite and all of Evie’s life goals honestly never bothered her like the stabbing pain of not having Lucio as a teengirl.
"I was clearly blind. You're worth a thousand times more,Amy."
The words reverberated through her and left her unable to move for a moment. Her gaze opened, but he turned away from her. She sighed and said, "That's sweet,Lucio."
He laid flat on his back, but he turned his head toward her. "Now sleep. We have a busy daytomorrow."
"Okay." The truth was, she wanted him—but she had no idea how to change things, so she closed hereyes.
A few minutes later, sheslept.
* * *
The mattress was cold.Her gaze flew open and she saw the bed was empty beside her. She reached out and realized the slightest light was coming from the window. It wasn't yet dawn. She also heard Lucio's strained voice as he talked and paced near the door. She jumped out of bed and rushed toward him. What waswrong?
