Page 64 of The Ache That Stayed

I cannot.

I will not think of those things with Santino.

I barely noticed when he pulled the bike to a stop outside Ritu’s building and killed the engine. The sudden quiet felt strange after the roar of the ride. He removed his helmet first, scanning the street automatically. Always watching. Always calculating.

The rough stubble shadowing his jaw and those cold grey of his eyes shouldn’t have looked as good as they did under the yellow streetlight.

How did something so simple look so dangerously hot on him?

Brain behave.

I slid off the bike and pulled my helmet off, shaking out my hair.

“Why here?” I asked. “Why not the cottage?”

“They’re probably scoping the place,” he said flatly.

I crossed my arms. “Great.”

“I’ll go deal with them.”

“What?”

He stepped closer and rubbed a stray strand of hair between his fingers. Just like that the tension returned between us like a live wire. I stood straighter. An act so simple felt far too intimate.

“I’ll be back,” he said. “Until then, stay put.”

His knuckle brushed the edge of my jaw. A violent shudder ran through me. My knees weakened, stomach flipping, every instinct screaming at me to step back—but I couldn’t.

My body suddenly remembered the underpass. His scent. His warmth.

His eyes held mine for a second longer than necessary, as though he wanted to say something but was holding it all in. He gestured me toward the door, leaving only once I stepped in.

Ritu was more than happy to accommodate me for the night. Her only condition—gossip. She wouldn’t let me be till I told her everything. I groaned internally, collapsing onto the couch and telling her the details.

“He did what?” she asked.

I shook my head. Of course she would tune out the rest and focus only on one thing.

“He begged?” she exclaimed. “Like on his knees?”

“It wasn’t like that.”

“Fuck, Roxy! He’s got it bad for you.”

“No way. Just his way of saying sorry.”

“You say sorry by buying flowers, not crawling across the room unless you’re completely fucked for them.”

A shiver ran down my spine and images of him stalking on his fours flashed before my eyes.

“You’re reading into this,” I said flat. “He was just apologising.”

“Sure. If you say so.”

“Hey, what’s with the sarcastic tone?”

“Are you that blind, Rox?” she said with legs crossed.