Page 91 of Not Mine to Keep

He was gracious and polite to my friends, which I’d expected from a man of his stature, I supposed. But the second his eyes cut back to me, the dark look returned.

“I need a word with my husband.” I reached for his forearm.

“Sure; we’ll wait for you two in the rehearsal room.” Imani gave me a knowing smile, as if assuming I wanted a make-out session with Alessandro as a thank-you-for-the-friends surprise.

Hardly.“Oh, and Nala, would you mind hopping on the keyboard to practice with me? I’ve been working on a new arrangement for a Stapleton cover song I want to test out.”

“Tell me it’s not ‘Tennessee Whiskey,’” Alessandro remarked in a low voice, and if looks could kill ...

I about rolled my eyes, but then remembered his reaction back in his office, and we weren’t alone, so maybe that’d be a bad idea for my friends and guards to see my husband go off the deep end.

“Not a Stapleton fan?” Nala smirked but didn’t wait for him to answer, and instead gestured to Imani to give us privacy.

“Go with them. We’re fine out here,” Alessandro said, eyes on Frankie and Javier.

“Why do you need so much security, anyway?” Imani asked, not moving when Nala had motioned for her to. “Because you really are a mafia princess?”

“Real funny,” I responded a bit too quickly, letting go of Alessandro’s arm once it was only us out there. We were on the meeting-room floor of the hotel, and there weren’t any other events going on, so I could speak freely without being overheard. “How’d you pull this off?” I spun my finger in the air. “Not the hotel or ballroom part. The whole coming here and not even sharing a room with me without Frankie running his mouth to Armani?” I swallowed, waiting for some of that ice in his look to melt. “Also, you went through my phone again.”

He let go of a gruff breath. That was his frustrated one. He had a few different types of breathy breaths, and I was learning how to decode them. “I gave Armani the heads-up personally this morning about the trip and the plan to surprise you with a visit with your friends. I told him you’d been mopey and stressed, which is bad for trying to get pregnant.”

“And he went for that?”

He nodded. “I can be convincing when I want to be.” Gray eyes flew to my mouth, and was he remembering our elevator kiss?

No, just me?

“And the second suite? The going through my phone?” I folded my arms, and the man had the nerve to lean in and set his hand to the wall, trapping me there.

“You wish I hadn’t?” Why’d that question come across so hot? So ... seductive?

My body was already coiled tight with tension, and being in this position wasn’t doing wonders to change that. “I’d much rather spend the evening with them than you,” I lied. “Just shocked you’re okay with not sharing a room with me. You can be overprotective. And side note,youjust rolled your eyes at me.”

He scoffed. “I did not.”

“You did, too.” Maybe I did need my suite decorated and prepped as if I were thirteen going on thirty.What is wrong with me?At him doing it again, I stabbed his chest. “That makes twice.”

“Liar,” he said, but his tone was borderline playful instead of rough. “My suite is next to yours. Guards will be in the hall. Javier has access to the hotel security cameras. You’ll be good. Plus, you should sleep better without me in the room, and I know my back could use a real bed.”

“How’d you sleep last night?”

“Like a baby.” His grays narrowed. “Can’t wait until I have my bed back to myself.”

“Or to share it with someone else.” Shit, there went my mouth.

He angled his head, and with his free hand, he ran his knuckles over my cheek. The gentle touch was such a contrast to the fire raging between us. “What happened last night, and in the elevator today, can’t happen again.” Was he trying to convince himself of that, or me?

“Who’s to say I want it to?” I wet my lips, hating how good they’d felt against his. “And I don’t, just so we’re clear.”

He lowered his hand to his side and pushed away from the wall, freeing me from the cage. “Liar,” he said again, this time much raspier than lighthearted. “Javier will call me when Braden arrives. I’ll be in the coffee shop downstairs working until then.”

“You really don’t want to share a room with me as much as possible, huh? But you’ll make an exception for Braden’s arrival,” I murmured, hoping he didn’t hear the pathetic break in my tone.

“The man wants to fuck my wife. So yeah, I’ll make an exception.”

I set my hand to my chest at the ache blooming there. “Am I yours, though?”

His grays thinned as he tipped his head, as if unsure how to answer that.

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