Page 115 of Love or Tequila in Unexpected Places

Right. He had said something. She cleared her throat, trying to shake off the lust clouding her mind. “What about earlier?”

Please don’t mention my family. Please don’t mention my family. Please don’t mention—

“Your family.”

She sighed, cursing him internally for ruining the moment.

Damn you, Angelo.

“What about them?” she muttered, shrugging his hands off and turning the water on. She busied herself adjusting the temperature, the spray falling from the overhead shower in a luxurious cascade.

Damn you, lavish shower.

She rinsed the shampoo from her hair, trying to ignore the heat of his gaze stare burning into her back.

Damn you, fancy shampoo.

“Well, I’m not sure you understood what I meant when I said I don’t care about them.”

She scoffed. “Oh, it’s great that you’resoeager to remind me.”

Angelo chuckled, and just like that, she almost forgot what it was like not to think with her vagina. She was practically pulsing.

“That’s exactly why we need to talk,” he continued, his tone soft but firm. “I know how it came across, and I want to clear things up.”

Despite her frustration, Allison’s heart warmed. He genuinely cared about her feelings, something that shouldn’t surprise her anymore, but it still did. And as much as her heart warmed, so did her core, the ache intensifying.

She shook her head, trying to banish the inappropriate thoughts of climbing him like a tree. “Fine. Talk.”

He stepped closer, his breath hot against her ear. “Can you at least look at me? I’m pretty sure your hair is shampoo-free by now,” he teased, his playful tone sending a shiver down her spine.

Her cheeks flushed, but she stubbornly kept her gaze fixed on the floor. Her body was betraying her, and he knew it.

With a sigh, she gave in. She dropped her hands from her hair, proving him right as they came back clean. Reluctantly, she turned to face him, her heart pounding as she met his gaze.

This was dangerous territory. Angelo, standing there naked and wet in front of her, looking very much carved from stone, was enough to make her knees weak. She reached for the wall for support and gave him a nod to continue.

“Your family is…” he began, carefully searching for the right words. “They’re…tough. Your father will have a huge problem with this, no matter what.”

He paused, the water still cascading around them. “But you should know something: nothing is going to keep me from you. Not your father, not your brothers, and definitely not the doubts in your own head.”

Her chest tightened, emotions flooding her. It wasn’t as if her anxiety was a secret, but having someone understand it, to not blame her for it—especially after only six months—was rare. And it feltgood.

“The only way I’m backing off,” Angelo continued, his voice steady, “is if you don’t want this. And I mean you—not because someone else told you, but because you genuinely don’t.”

He reached for her arms, holding her firmly, anchoring her in the moment.

“But, I have a feeling you do.” He paused, waiting for her response. She nodded, heart pounding.

He stepped even closer, their bodies flush, her baby bump pressing comfortably against his chiseled abs.

“Then nothing and nobody is getting in my way,” he whispered, leaning in. “You, Allison Pink Lockwood, will be mine.”

He kissed her.

It wasn’t like their previous kiss—urgent, hot and more about releasing tension. This was something entirely different. It was explosive, yet somehow relieving. Like months of pent-up energy, emotions, and desire all building up until they burst,spilling out in a tangle of hands in his hair, on her waist, in moans and breaths and—

It was everything she had craved.

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