I didn’t think I would ever get used to it, even if I were to spend time here, and with my plan already set in motion inside my head, hopefully it would be often.
I realized the second time he kissed me that I didn’t want to get over Elio.
Far from it.
I wanted him.
And he would need to want me.
Enough to marry me.
Enough to take me as far away from my father’s home as possible, and enough to protect me from all the monsters in the world.
I moved in closer to him, taking in his strong, muscular back as we climbed up the stairs. I lifted my hand, but it hovered in the space between us. He was close enough for me to reach out and touch him, yet…
I pulled back when we got to the second floor, and he led me right back to the bedroom he had set me up in last time.
My eyes moved from this bedroom door to the general direction of where his bedroom was located. He shot me a look as if to say,Don’t even think about it.
I smiled at him.
He shook his head and took a small step back, adding to my amusement. Was he scared of me?
“Go get ready for bed.”
“What if I’m not sleepy?” I asked.
“Tough.” With that, he turned and walked away from me before I could say ordoanything.
“Don’t I even get a good night?”
He paused in his step, but he didn’t turn around to look at me. “Good night.”
“Good night, Elio.”
I couldn’t be sure, but it sounded like he had taken a deep breath. I stayed where I was until I saw him disappear into his room, leaving me standing there.
I wondered where I had gotten the confidence to do that with him.
I shook my head and walked back inside the room. Everything I had used the last time was still here. I quickly brushed my teeth and got in the shower, turning the water on as hot as I could stand.
My mind drifted to that kiss in the car with Elio. Then to that first kiss we shared in the alleyway.
I had a feeling I would be thinking about that for the rest of the night.
It was going to be a long night.
By the time I got out of the shower, my skin was flushed pink. I quickly dried myself with a towel and wrapped it around my body. I had forgotten to ask Elio for a change of clothes, which I quickly realized I didn’t need to worry about. On the bed was a small stack of his clothes—a black T-shirt and a pair of boxer briefs.
I pulled them on, taking in his familiar scent coming off the clothes and wishing there was a way I could just keep it with me forever. My eyes strayed over to the door as I pulled the blanket back and got under the covers. I reached out and turned off the lamp on the bedside table, encasing the entire room in darkness.
I didn’t sleep.
I couldn’t sleep.
I was feeling too wired. It felt like my mind was running a million miles an hour, and there wasn’t one particular thought that I could focus on. Plus, there was a part of me that didn’t want to be in this room. This was the second time he kissed me. He could deny it all he wanted. He could even say it was amistake, but those kisses? They didn’t feel like mistakes. They felt like the tightly held control of a man who was slipping.
And I wasn’t above using that to my advantage.
