“No.” He steps back abruptly, and the loss of his heat, his touch, his presence is almost painful. “Not like this. Not in a gym where anyone could walk in. Not when I’m barely holding onto control.”
“I don’twantyou to hold onto control. I want you tolet go.”
“You say that now.” He rakes a hand through his hair, and he looks wrecked, lips swollen from kissing, eyes dark with want, breathing ragged. “But when you see what letting go actually looks like—”
“Then I’ll decide if I can handle it. Stop making decisions for me!” Frustration bleeds into the words. “Stop assuming you know what I can or can’t take. I’m a grown woman who knows her own mind.”
“You’re a woman who’s been shot at, threatened, and forced to hide in a penthouse because of me. Forgive me for wanting to protect you from one more dark thing.”
“You’re not protecting me, you’re protecting yourself!” The accusation rings out in the gym. “You’re scared if you show me who you really are, I’ll run. But Alessandro, I’ve seen you threaten people, carry guns, orchestrate violence. I know who you are. And I’m still here.”
“You know the surface. You don’t know what I’m like when all the restraints come off.”
“Then show me.” Closing the distance puts us face to face again. “Tonight. Your room. No holding back, no protecting me from yourself. Just you, me and the truth of what this is.”
His jaw works, internal battle playing out across his features. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“I’m asking for honesty. For you to stop treating our relationship like it’s another security problem to be managed.” My Hands frame his face, forcing eye contact. “I want all of you, Alessandro. The good, the bad, the dark. Stop making me beg for what should be freely given.”
“Elena—”
“Do you want me?” The question is simple, direct.
“More than breathing.”
“Do you trust me?”
“With everything.”
“Then take a leap of faith. Let me in. Really in.” Rising on tiptoes brings mouths close to touching. “I promise I’m stronger than you think.”
He’s silent for a long moment, dark eyes searching mine. “Tonight. But Elena, when this happens, when I finally stop holding back, there’s no going back. You’ll be mine in every way that matters. Body, heart, soul. All of it.”
“Good. Because you’re already mine.”
The possessive satisfaction that crosses his face should probably concern me. Instead, it sends anticipation curling through my stomach.
“Tonight,” he repeats. “But first, I have business to handle.”
“Business. Right. The mysterious, dangerous business you won’t tell me about.”
“It’s better if you don’t know the details.”
“Alessandro—”
“Please.” The word stops me cold because he never says please. Never asks instead of demands. “Please let me handle this my way. Let me keep some of the darkness away from you for a little while longer.”
The raw honesty in his voice, the vulnerability lurking beneath the command, it’s impossible to argue with.
“Fine. But you come back to me. Safe. In one piece. Or I’m coming after you myself.”
A smile tugs at his mouth, the first real smile in days. “Is that a threat?”
“It’s a promise.”
“I’ll hold you to it.” He kisses me, it’s soft, sweet, and nothing like the consuming heat from moments ago. “Tonight, tesoro. Be ready.”
“For what?”
