Page 26 of Sins and Secrets

I’m not going all the way there just to leave him a contract.

After dropping the contract on the kitchen island — our standard place for leaving notes — I sit outside on the porch swing. I look through my phone at the notes I took while at the hospital with Papa last night. His doctor thinks that there may be some hope of him waking up soon, but there is no way to know for sure.

I had been able to hold in my tears until I left the hospital last night. Beck was kind enough not to mention the tears streaming down my cheeks as we drove away. Instead, he turned up the music, playing one of my favorite songs, and drove me back to Alessio’s house.

The early morning sun is already warm against my skin. The day will be scorching.

I scroll on my phone for a little bit, replying to messages from a few of my friends, before the heat finally gets to me.

That pool has been calling my name since I got here.

I race up to the loft to get changed before heading outside. The water is blue and inviting, shining beneath the hot sun. I smile and drop my towel onto one of the loungers before approaching the edge of the pool.

After adjusting the black bikini strings on my hips, I jump in. The cold water rushes up, cooling me off. When I swim back to the surface, a sense of relief fills me for the first time in weeks.

As I float on my back, staring up at the clouds, I try to let go of everything bothering me. I need a little break, to not think about everything going on in my life.

I close my eyes as I float, dragging my hands through the water and propelling myself through the deep end.

“There you are.”

Opening my eyes, I see Alessio standing at the edge of the pool. He has his suit jacket slung over one arm and the sleeves of his gray dress shirt rolled up. My body tenses at the sight of him, imagining the way it would feel to rip that shirt open and trace his muscles with my tongue.

Down, girl. Nothing good is going to come out of lusting over Alessio.

His gaze drags along the length of my body, his jaw clenching. My entire body feels like it’s coiled tense and ready to strike. As I look at him, all I can picture is his fingers pulling the strings of my bikini until the fabric falls away.

Get your shit together.

When he looks away from me, I swim to the other side of the pool and climb out.

I can’t be around him when I feel like I’m going to get naked if he looks at me the right way. Before he can say anything else to me, I take off, needing a moment to myself to cool down. If he wants to talk about the contract, I need to have a clear head.

I hurry by him and into the house, heading straight for the kitchen. As I pour myself a glass of water, Alessio walks inside. He doesn’t look at me as he heads up the stairs to his bedroom.

When he comes back out a few minutes later, he’s wearing nothing but a pair of swimming trunks.

If I wanted to drag my tongue up his body before, I really want to do it now.

I take a bite of the apple in my hand, trying to keep my composure as he crosses his arms and stands in front of me. He raises an eyebrow as if waiting for me to say something but when I don’t, he nods.

“Alright, so this is how it’s going to be? I’m the big bad monster that you avoid for two days in a row? And then when I do see you, I get the silent treatment.”

“I’m sorry. I was just having a snack. Got a little hungry while swimming.”

He rolls his eyes as if he can see straight through the lie. “Join me in the pool. I want to talk to you.”

“Do you mind if I finish the apple first?”

Alessio presses his mouth into a thin line for a moment. “You’re going to be here for two months, Billie. While we are alone, I want you to speak to me freely. I don’t want any of this cold and distant crap.”

“Okay. Well then, I’m going to finish this and then I’ll meet you out there.”

Alessio nods and leaves the room, stepping out onto the back patio. I watch through the sliding glass door as he walks to the edge of the pool. I take in the way his back muscles flex as he raises his hands high above his head before diving it.

It feels like a pit has opened in the bottom of my stomach as I watch him glide through the water. My core clenches at the sight of him.

I never thought that I would be attracted to an older man, but there’s something about the way he carries himself that’s intoxicating. When Alessio steps into a room, he commands it. Everyone’s attention is on him.

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