I'm not sure what that says about me, but I don’t have the energy to worry about it right now. I can feel my eyes growing heavier, and if I don’t move soon, I’m going to fall asleep.
“How are we getting out of here?” I ask. “My guard will probably come looking for me soon.”
“Trying to get rid of me?”
“No.” I swallow. “I don’t want to go back out there with him.”
“Good.” He tilts my head and presses his lips against my temple. “Because I don’t share, Gabi.”
A shiver coasts over my skin as those words settle deep inside the most broken part of me.
I should correct him, because…casual. It’s a safe word at this point. The reminder that I can’t get attached. But right now, I don’t want to correct him.
“You had to leave the building for safety reasons,” Eros says. “Your guard took Beppe back to the penthouse, and Riccardo has been informed of your absence.”
“How could you even know that?”
“Remember what I said about uncomfortable truths?”
When I don’t answer, he kisses me and squeezes my ass.
“Alright, little shark. Let’s get you home.”
I’m not sure how he plans to do that exactly, but he doesn’t seem concerned as he sets me on the sofa and moves around the room at a leisurely pace.
“You want to close your eyes?” he asks.
“Okay.”
I hear a lamp switch on, followed by a zipper, and the rustle of clothing. I think he’s putting his mask back on, but I’m not sure what he zipped up.
“I’ll need you to change.” He comes closer and sets something on the sofa beside me.
I assume it’s for the purpose of smuggling me out of here, and I realize he came prepared when I reach over and touch the clothes. The fabric is unmistakably familiar, and after a moment of feeling around it, I know it’s a pair of sweats I from my closet. There are also gloves, socks, and sneakers.
The thought of getting out of this dress and heels fills me with relief.
Eros shifts, bending down to lift one of my feet so he can unbuckle my heel. He takes his time, his fingers grazing my ankle with a featherlight touch. It isn’t necessary. It’s because he wants to. He lingers there for a long moment, like he’s memorizing the feeling of my bones in his oversized hands.
“So fragile.” His voice dips, lips skimming over my ankle before he kisses it. “Bite-sized Gabi.”
A rough breath falls from my lips when he scrapes his teeth across the delicate skin and nips me there.
“And though she be but little, she is fierce.”
“Are you quoting Shakespeare to me?”
His hum vibrates against my skin as he kisses his way up my calf, all the way to the tender skin on the inside of my knee.
I think I forget how to breathe as he moves to the opposite leg, kissing his way back down to my other ankle before he removes my other heel.
“I’m not really that fierce,” I confess, distracted by his touch and needing something to focus on before I fling myself at him again.
“You’re stronger than you know,” he says. “Even the smallest prey can bring a hunter to his knees.”
“Are you the hunter?”
“You tell me.” He kisses his way back up my leg to my inner thigh, pushing my dress up as he goes.
