Annoying.
With nothing else to check, I venture into his walk-in closet and start rifling through his drawers and cupboards. When I see his black briefs, and I pause to stare at them, I question my sanity.
His clothes are all more of the same—black jeans, pants, T-shirts, dress shirts, trousers, and a few suits. There are also a few pairs of boots, and I lean down to inspect them, comparing them to the ones Eros wears. I can’t say for certain, but I don’t think these are a match.
As I walk back into the bedroom, I glance at the bed, briefly wondering if he’s ever brought a woman in here. The thoughtmakes me nauseous, and I try to delete it from my brain, because this is absolutely neurotic.
“Looking for anything in particular?”
The low, lazy drawl startles me, and I yelp as I turn around to find Romeo watching me.
He leans against the doorframe, all ink and muscle in a plain black T-shirt that should be illegal. My eyes burn a path over his body, staring at him for far too long before I snap myself out of it.
I have no idea how long he’s been there, but knowing he caught me staring at his bed makes my face burn with embarrassment.
“Beppe ran off,” I say, my voice pitching higher. “I had to come find him.”
I’m a terrible liar, and it’s obvious when Romeo scrapes a hand over his jaw, hiding his amusement. “Mmm hmm. I’m sure you did.”
Thankfully, he doesn’t mention that the door to his wing was closed. That argument would fire a shotgun-sized hole through my defense.
When Beppe casually strolls out of the bathroom, I scoop him up as if that will prove my point.
“Found him.”
Romeo smirks as I walk toward him, but he doesn’t move. I stop a foot away, eyeing the gap between him and the doorframe. It’s not big enough to squeeze through, but I’m still tempted to try.
“You know there’s a fine for trespassing,” he says.
“I’m not kissing you again,” I blurt. “You have a girlfriend, so you never should have kissed me to begin with.”
“First of all, you kissed me?—”
“No, I didn’t,” I protest.
He ignores that and continues. “And second of all, my girlfriend doesn’t care that you kissed me.”
I don’t know why, but hearing the wordsmy girlfriendcome out of his mouth grates at me. I’m sure she’s a lovely person, whoever she is, but it just feels…wrong. So I choose to focus on the more annoying thing he said, knowing full well he’s trying to provoke a reaction from me.
“I didn’t kiss you.”
“You definitely did. In fact, you were pretty into it, if I remember correctly.”
The blush on my face deepens. “If that’s what you have to tell yourself, sure.”
His gaze drops to my lips, and warmth blooms in my belly. I try to ignore it.
“Can you let me pass?”
“Sure. Once you pay the fine.”
“What is the fine?”
“Tell me what you were really doing in here.”
“I told you, I was looking for Beppe,” I huff.
“You’re a terrible liar, Gabriela. It’s not in your nature.”
