Page 132 of Lovely Venom

“I have to…shower.”

Reading my panic, he lets me scramble away and hide in the bathroom.

I turn on the shower and step inside, hoping it will wash away my shame.

Cristian gives me about five minutes before he joins me, approaching with the kind of caution people reserve for skittish animals. But when his palm spans my abdomen, and he pulls me back against him, there’s not a single part of me that wants to resist.

“Why did you run away?” he murmurs against my cheek.

“I don’t know how that happened,” I blurt. “I must have attacked you in my sleep.”

Amusement rumbles in his chest, and I shake my head.

“It’s not funny. I really didn’t mean to⁠—”

“Chantel.” He turns me in his arms and lifts my chin to meet his gaze. “Why are you apologizing?”

“I don’t know.” I hesitate. “It feels…invasive.”

“You slept on me before,” he reminds me.

“Yes, but this time you had no option to escape.”

A smile teases his lips. “I wasn’t complaining.”

“Well, maybe you should be. I can direct you to the nearest police station if you’d like to file a report.”

“Or we could try it again tonight, minus the part where you freak out in the morning,” he suggests.

“You can’t possibly have enjoyed that,” I answer skeptically.

“Consider this your open invitation. Feel free to sit, ride, or lie on me whenever the mood strikes.”

“So what you’re telling me is you’re a versatile piece of furniture.”

Warmth melts into his eyes as his thumb grazes my cheek. “For you, yes.”

“I don’t know how to do any of this,” I confess.

“We’ll figure it out together,” he assures me.

“Have you ever done that before?”

I mean for it to sound casual, but a spark of jealousy flares as I imagine him with someone else.

“I’ve never slept beside another woman before you.”

Relief swells in my chest, but it’s more than that.

I like being the first.

“So why aren’t you freaking out?” I ask.

“È esattamente dove ti voglio.”

“I don’t speak Italian,” I remind him for the thousandth time.

“I know.”