AVA
I’d sleptfor almost twelve hours, and if Naz’s chest wouldn’t have been pressed against my cheek, I could have probably slept for twelve more.
There wasn’t anything wrong with his chest.
On the contrary.
Everything was right with it.
I’d slept like the dead, but even my ghost was attracted to him. I kept getting whiffs of his cologne, or natural body scent, and it made me stir.
It also made me want to kiss his neck, taste his skin, and stick my hand under the covers, past his pajama bottoms, and run my hand along his massive erection.
He was not only long, but thick.
Our lips would touch and…
I sat up, needing air and space.
He grabbed me by the back of my thin camisole right before my feet touched the wooden floor. He said something in gruff Italian. I had no clue what, but I took a guess.
“I’m going to the bathroom.” My voice was as rough as his. “Then I need to eat. I was serious about the hangry thing. I need to feed me, or the world will not be a happy place.”
He gave me a sleepy smile and the world stop turning for a second.
How the hell was he so gorgeous? It didn’t seem fair. Nature needed charges pressed against her for allowing such a thing. He was a heartbreaker—or heart stealer—on legs.
“Ineed to feed you,uccellino selvatico. What do you like to eat, ah? Fruits and nuts? Seeds? Taralli?”
“None of the above. Well, maybe fruits and nuts, but I need more substantial goods too. A bagel and coffee sound perfect.”
His eyes fully opened, and the soft Roman light poured over him like honey. His eyes went from a dark olive green to an exotic moss. He blinked at me, then ran a hand over his hair and down his face.
He sat up and looked away from me. “Breakfast should be here already. I have someone who takes care of the place while we’re away. When we’re home, she delivers food. Help yourself.” He stood and stretched, the massive lion on his back rippling with his muscles.
Even his back was gorgeous, along with the tattoo he had for the Fausti family—a lion with a rosary around his neck and a sacred heart in his mane. His was a bit different from the ones I usually saw, though. Naz’s lion had angel wings on each side, representing who he was.
He shut the door to the bathroom, and I blinked, like he had shut it in my face.
What the…? His mood had gone from playful to…dark. I noticed that about him. He could be mercurial. I wondered if it was a Faust thing. These were men who were used to getting what they wanted. And when they didn’t…ROAR!
The question was, though…what had Naz wanted that he hadn’t gotten? It was like he was still half-asleep when he’d grabbed me by the shirt, and after his mind caught up to his body, he remembered he had something to be pissed about.
I stared at the closed door for a second before I went back to the room he’d assigned me. It was quintessentially Roman, from the fresco ceilings to the wooden floor. It was so tastefully decorated, too, with golds and creams throughout. Even though it was rich, it didn’t make me feel like I wanted to tuck my hands in so I wouldn’t accidentally break something irreplicable.
The smell of coffee wafted in the air, and I hurried to do my business, wash up, and change into a soft, mauve colored lounge set. I found the kitchen by following the delicious aromas. Beni was taking his saucer with a small cup of cappuccino to the table. He had a croissant in his other hand.
He stopped in his tracks, the slosh of the cappuccino and the set of his face the only proof I’d scared him.
“Sorry,” I said. “I should have made more noise.”
“Sneaky,” he said, giving me a narrow eye.
I had to really control myself around him. He made faces that were…funny, especially when he was trying to be serious. I didn’t know him all that well, though, and I could tell he didn’t trust me. I didn’t want to insult him by laughing at him when he wasn’t trying to be funny.
I pointed to the tray of baked goods. “Mind if I have a croissant?”
“It is acornetto.” He took a sip of his cappuccino and it left foam on his upper lip. “Half are filled with hazelnut spread and the other half are filled with marmalade.”
