Page 30 of Taboo Flames

I sigh frustratedly. “There’s no use talking to you in this state. I’m putting you to bed.”

If this is her ploy to finally get her sleepover, it is working perfectly well, and I have to applaud her.

“I think I’m going to puke,” she groans. Indeed, her face has gone a little bit green.

Shaking my head, I lift her in a bridal carry and take her straight to the ensuite bathroom of my bedroom. As soon as I deposit her in front of the toilet bowl, she hurls and empties the contents of her stomach into it. I hold her hair up and out of the way as she retches and dry heaves.

Then I give her mouthwash after she’s done and help her into one of my shirts.

The casual domesticity of the acts isn’t lost on me. These are things I’ve never done for any other woman on Earth. I’m far past angry and regretting every life decision that has led me tothis moment as I remove her heels, tuck her into bed, and fill a glass of water for her on the nightstand.

I wonder if it’s too late to walk away from Aurora.

As I watch her in my bed, I’m furious at myself for feeling not all that bothered by her presence there.

How can one far too young and far too naive woman successfully turn my world upside down in such a short amount of time?

I storm out of my bedroom and head straight to my home gym with a curse of self-disgust.

Too much energy is coursing through my veins, and I need to burn it all off before I end up going back to my room and burning it off in a far different way that may not be welcome.

I don’t know how much time I spend in the home gym, moving from the pull-up bar to the elliptical machine to the weightlifting seat until someone’s presence at the door alerts me.

I glance up to see Aurora standing at the doorway in my T-shirt, her hair falling in messy curls around her face.

“What are you doing?” she asks softly.

“What does it look like?” I drop the bar and turn to look at her. She looks soft and fragile standing there with my shirt stopping at mid-thigh, the neck slipping off one shoulder. She’s barefoot, too, and something about that sets my pulse racing.

“It’s almost midnight,” she murmurs.

I do a brief calculation in my head. I’ve been in the gym for over two hours now.

“You should go back to bed,” I say to her.

“Why?” she asks softly.

“Because you’re not supposed to be here. I’m not in the right frame of mind to be around you, princess.”

“What’s the right frame of mind to be around me?” she probes stubbornly, putting a hand on her hip.

“I’m trying my best to keep my hands off you right now, and you’re not making it easy,” I growl at her. “Trust me, baby girl, you don’t want me to touch you right now. Not like this. Because I won’t be able to hold back.”

Her gaze takes me in carefully, and then she licks her lips, desire flaring in her eyes. “I don’t want you to hold back.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying,” I warn her.

“Then show me,” she insists. “Show me what it means to be truly taken by Giovanni Lombardi.”

“Go back to bed, Aurora,” I growl.

She raises her jaw defiantly, and then she takes a step forward, crossing fully past the doorpost. The look she gives me is full of dare and challenge.

“I’ll count to three, and that’s the only warning you’ll get. One.”

“Two, three,” she says breathlessly with a grin.

The words are barely out of her mouth before I cross the room with long strides and drag her into a hard kiss.

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