The tip of my tongue darted across my lips, and a wicked smile curved onto my face.
“You want to play rough?” My voice dropped into something dark, something teasing. “I can play that way.”
Olivia studied me, looking at me with hesitation, with something unspoken.
Then—
Her lips parted, her eyes widening.
And before I could react, she threw herself into my arms, pressing frantic, fevered kisses along my face, jaw, and brow.
“Roman!” she gasped between kisses. “I’m so sorry! I—I was terrified, thinking I’d be thrown into a dungeon, tortured with poisons in some sadistic experiment.”
Her breath came fast and uneven, her fingers fisting into my doublet as if afraid I’d disappear.
“And then, when you kept teasing me, I became confused,” she admitted. “I thought I knew you. Even disguising your voice, you sounded familiar. And your touch…”
She swallowed hard.
“Good God, Roman. Your touch intoxicated me. I felt betrayed by myown body.”
My hands eased to her waist, then gently pushed her back just enough to meet her eyes.
I lifted my knuckles and stroked the soft curve of her cheek, my touch reverent.
“I’m sorry to have played with you, my love.” My voice was rough with many things—longing, guilt, relief. “But I knew it was you, even behind that mask.”
With the gentlest touch, I lifted the feathered ornament from her face, exposing her fully.
We stared at each other.
The world quieted.
The masquerade outside ceased to exist.
I drank her in.
I had dreamed of touching her beautiful face framed by those red curls again. Tiny lines traced the edges of her eyes, marks of a life lived in battle, loss, and survival.
But those lines did not diminish her beauty.
No—
They made her more breathtaking.
My heart clenched. Had I changed, too? Had our circumstances carved lines into my face, made me older, made me someone she barely recognized?
I cupped her jaw, my thumbs brushing over her cheekbones.
Her breath hitched.
“Olivia,” I breathed. “How long has it been?”
Her hands grasped my wrists, holding onto me as if anchoring herself.
“Far too long,” she whispered. “At times, I feared I would never see you again.”
“When we arrived in Italy, I felt you. I knew you were close but didn’t know where to find you.”
