“I love the way you look at me,” I said, bringing the pear to my lips. “I can’t begin to tell you how much I missed that.”
The words caused him to pause. I had just taken another bite of pear, about to reach for the wine, when he leaned forward, taking me off guard. My mouth parted. Just enough to give him access. His tongue swept in, and on a backward stroke, stole the piece for his own.
“Mmm.” He licked his lips after he had devoured the soft flesh. “Your eyes are the same color as a pear today. Lighter than usual.”
“Mush,” I said, not sure the word was coherent. The feel of him in my mouth lingered, all consuming. “I’m mush, the same texture as a pear. That’s what you turn me into, Brando Fausti.”
He came in closer, pushing back the hair on my shoulder. He placed a finger over the pulse in my neck. I tilted my head, giving him better access. My eyes closed without consent when his warm laugh vibrated against the throbbing beat. His lips closed in, a delicious shiver running over me, while blood raced to my cheeks, before he started to kiss me there.
An involuntary moan escaped and his lips stilled over the pulse once again.
“Amo come mi vuoi,” he whispered against my skin.I love how you want me.“Secret or promise.”
“Both,” I breathed out. “I pick both.”
“I moved your ring.” He seemed to speak to the life chasing the high beneath skin. “Promise.”
* * *
We stepped into the lift that would lead us to the summit of one of the world’s most recognizable lattice towers.
Violet had broken our moment earlier, ready for more adventure. Her plans included more than lounging and making out, even if ours didn’t, she had reminded us, and she considered sunset prime time to gaze at Paris from the highest point of the Eiffel Tower.
As the tight box following the line of cable lifted us higher, we jangled to and fro like a bunch of coins in a pocket. Brando had taken a place behind me, and he pulled me in, securing me closer to him each time we were jostled.
The lift was packed, but the amount of people exploring were slim. During the warmer months I would have felt claustrophobic. It wasn’t small spaces that caused me to feel helpless. It was sometimes too many people. Space had come to matter to me. There was no one besides Brando that I wanted to share it with.
Deciding to give the cold its due, the sun that had found us earlier was on its way to retiring. The world had turned the loveliest shades of gold and blue, a rich violet swirling in the distance, preparing for the day’s full retreat. Without consistent heat, the wrought iron surrounding us reflected the chill of the oncoming twilight—the metal felt almost hot against the skin, it was so cold.
I took a place before a wide-open area, looking out over the Seine and the expanse beyond. Violet and Mick used the telescope right beside me, taking turns looking through it.
Brando slipped his arms around my waist and I rested my head against his heart, leaning against him, melting into the warmth his body provided.
Yes, part of me melted into the comfort of his familiar embrace. The other sacred part was lost to the beginning of something new between us.
Familiar. New. Wherever we were, it still didn’t explain the promise he had given me below the tower, right before Violet and Mick arrived, costing me his words, leaving me shortchanged by his silence.
Promise.What did that even mean?
Stop rushing it, Scarlett. It’ll come to pass. Let it be.
In missing him, I had found that I had wished the moments of my life away. I wished they would go by faster. Sometimes disappear altogether. I prayed for time to take me on a speeding ride. But when his presence took up the empty spaces, I wished time to cease, to lose our scent and the sound of our beating hearts.
“Brando?”
“Yeah, baby.” His voice sounded as distracted as my thoughts.
At the simple term of endearment, I leaned into him more firmly, entangling our hands. He kissed the top of my head.
“Were you always so patient?”
“Depends.”
A few moments went by and he was going to leave it at that. Curiosity jabbed me in the ribs, urging me to encourage him.
“On?” I prompted.
“One thing.”
