“Look at the roses?” Rafael’s eyes twinkled, and it suddenly occurred to me that he wasn’t mad—he was playing with me.
Well, two could play that game.
“Actually, I like watchingyousmell the roses.”
He bit down on his lower lip and glanced back at the camera. “How long?”
“Huh?”
“How long have you been watching me?”
My heart thundered against my ribs as the air in the space crackled between us. He wanted the truth? I would give it to him. “Feels like forever.”
“Do you always like watching from a distance?”
My words left me as Rafael reached up to his throat, hooked a finger behind the white collar, and pulled it free. “I, um— What are you doing?”
He tossed the white material onto the desk and started in my direction, and my dick took immediate notice.
Not wanting to read too much into it, though, I joked, “You know, if anyone else threw something on my desk, I’d threaten them with bodily harm.”
Rafael stopped in front of me, and the expression in his eyes was anything but platonic, anything but priestly, as he asked a question that all but brought me to my knees.
“How about you just destroy my body instead?”
27
RAFAEL
ALESSIO’S EYES HEATED, full lips parting at my invitation.
I hadn’t expected to have to give one. I thought by coming down here he would know he didn’t need my permission to touch me, but his self-restraint was admirable.
Unwanted at the moment, but admirable.
“Destroy your body, huh?” He pulled me flush against him before his hands traveled down over my ass, plumping and squeezing me. “The way you did mine last night?”
“That better not be a complaint.”
“Oh, it’s absolutely not.” He gripped me tighter, rubbing me up against him and giving me a good feel of his erection through his jeans. “Just making sure you know I thoroughly”—he kissed my jaw—“thoroughly”—a kiss to the other side—“enjoyed it. So much so I was hard all day just thinking about it.”
It was impossible to hide my smile, and the relief I felt at knowing it wasn’t just me. I’d never been more preoccupied in my life than I had today, running through every little detail of last night in my mind over and over again. Any doubt I might’ve had about whether I should come down here had been squashedby the overwhelming need to be near Alessio again. To hold him. Look at him. Breathe him in. Be inside him…
I perused his face, watching him the way he’d apparently watched me for years. I should’ve felt his gaze on me all that time, should’ve seen it before now. Maybe I would’ve done things differently.
Would’ve, could’ve, should’ve.
“You’re staring,” he murmured.
“I’ve earned it.” I ran my fingers through his hair, something I couldn’t seem to get enough of, and Alessio leaned into my touch, a soft smile on his face. I kissed him, unhurried, exploring his warmth again and coming home.
Because that was what this felt like, a deep sense of belonging that only solidified when we connected like this. Everything in my brain turned off, all the warnings and reasons why I shouldn’t be down here, why we shouldn’t be doing this. It hadn’t even been a decision I’d warred over all day, because I knew this was where I’d end up. Where I wanted to be.
I licked inside his mouth, rubbing my tongue along Alessio’s, and his soft moan had my dick reacting. I’d never expected to feel this way again. The moment I walked away from him, I’d put aside any physical desires, because what I’d needed at the time was something more. Something I thought only God and sacrifice could give me.
And for a long time, it had.
“I like this,” I said, brushing my fingers over the dark hair that lined his upper lip, chin, and jaw. My lips followed, tracing the path my fingers made, and he tipped his head back to give me better access.
