Page 3 of Light Me Up

“Like hell. I love it all. I don’t want it toned down, and you know it.”

“Yeah? Then I’m in. Strip me bare. Don’t ever stop.”

She said nothing, just swept a heavy lock of curling hair off her face, though the curls tumbled promptly back again. She reached out, trailed her fingers in the flow from the nymph fountain and flicked a few drops at him. “Cool down,” she said softly.

“Can’t. Your fault.” That secret smile of hers just stirred him up from someplace so deep, he couldn’t even hope to control it. He couldn’t block it out or breathe it down.

Ironic. Control was his big thing. It meant the difference between survival and disaster. Always had. But Caro blew his control tohell and gone.

He fought to reclaim it. They were in a crowded restaurant and all he wanted was to kiss her madly. Any kind of kiss. From just feeling her cheek with his lips to sensual neck nibbles to ravenously taking her willing mouth and everything amazing that followed. He couldn’t get enough.

He was rock hard and aching now, and they still had the walk back through Trastevere and over the Sisto Bridge before them. He just had to grit his teeth and suffer.

“Do you want coffee before we go?” she asked, all innocence. “Or another taste of this creamy, tangy, amazing cheesecake before it disappears forever? Last call.”

“I’m all done with the food part of the evening,” he informed her.

He gestured for the check and they left soon after, strolling on the narrow, cobblestoned streets. Wending their way through the labyrinth of old Rome on a warm spring evening with Caro by his side was a prelude to what they both were silently craving. Waiting was its own sweet, agonizing pleasure. But not for much longer.

On they went. Caro’s light handclasp, the now-and-then pressure of her sinuous body against his as she leaned against himwas crazy sexy.

And still.

He scanned every door, every window. Registered every knowing glance, every guy who checked Caro out. Sized up each tourist or street musician as a potential hostile. Peered up through the fluttering laundry strung back and forth over the narrow streets, scanning rooftops and garden terraces, shuttered windows and ornate balconies for snipers.

Caro took it all in, slowing down to study a few of the small religious shrines that they passed, admiring the bold graffiti painted onto the metal sliding doors of closed businesses. Noah let go of her hand, crossing in back of her to claspher other hand.

“Keeping my dominant hand free,” he said, in answer to her questioning glance.

She frowned at him. “Why? For what? Are you wearing a weapon?”

He let out a harsh laugh under his breath. “Caro.Iama weapon.”

Literally true, if also an evasion. There was a knife strapped to his calf, after all.

She rolled her eyes and glanced pointedly down at his leg. “Oh please,” she said. “Getover yourself.”

OK, whatever. She was completely on to him. He’d just have to get used to that.

They reached Ponte Sisto, and Caro leaned over the stonework of the bridge to look down at the gleaming dark water of the river below. She had that worried look again.

He leaned closer to her. “Caro,” he said. “Give me a break. I have to be careful. We’re spending time in public places. Tourists are posting photos and videos all over social media that might include us. Facial recognition software could give us away. I have to be ready.”

She shook her head, her eyes rebellious. “I just wish you couldtake a break.”

“Do I look like I’m depriving myself? I’m dragging you back to the hotel where I intend to drag you into my vortex of savage lust. What more could a guy want?”

“I’m not talking about sex, Noah. But I wish there was someplace where your guard could come down. For real.”

“There is,” he said with alacrity. “With you.”

She slanted him a wary glance. “Aw,” she said.“That’s sweet.”

“Not really,” he said. “Just the truth. Only time it ever has. And believe me. I’m not complaining.”

He took her hand again, and they got moving, walking in silence after they crossed the river.

Caro squeezed his hand. “So how much longer do you want tostay in Rome?”

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