Page 40 of Promise Never

“Hot?” He follows that with a smirk. “Best to cooldown then.”

My heartbeat increases the more I hold his intensegaze. It feels like an invisible force is stretching between us.

Out of nowhere, a betraying whimper leaves mylips, and I want to dissolve into the floor.

Alessandro cocks his brow. “Do you need something,Tiana?” He lifts his hand to touch my face.

My senses return, and I shuffle back, grab mytowel, and speed-walk from the gym.

Not him, I repeat over and over in myhead until reaching the guesthouse.You can’t fall for him.

16

Something was about to happen. I felt it.

I caught the spark in Tiana’s brown gaze, the wayshe trembled, and the urgency to escape me before losing control.

What’s going on in that head of yours, Tiana?

The need to find out has me hurrying from the gym.

Runicatchesme in the hallway just before I go out the front door. It’s a good thingbecause my senses return, and I want to smack myself for what I was about todo.

He sticks his phone in his pocket. “We’re headingto Punta Grande now?”

“Punta Grande?” I repeat, damn near confused. Mydestination was the guesthouse.

He creases his forehead while shifting in thespot. “You have a trade in two hours. You spoke to the dealer last month. It’sall arranged.”

“Fuck,” I hiss and rake my fingers through myhair. “Hodimenticato.”

Concern peppers his dark gaze, and I don’t blamehim. I can’t afford to mess up deals when our survival depends on them.

Runiutters alow harrumph and motions to the door for us to head out.

I need to get my mind straight and stop cravingfor Tiana. I cannot become fixated. It’ll ruin me.

Perhaps I should just fuck someone else and wipeher out of my system. But even the idea of touchinganotherplaces a bitter taste in my mouth.

Cazzo. I havea problem.

I’ve concluded that the best thing to do is keepmy distance and work on finding Zeno. As much as it triggers an ache, I have tosend Tiana back to the states. There’s no point in lusting for a woman I cannotbe with and further prolong her misery of staying underFattore’sroof.

I leave earlier in the morning to avoid mymother’s coercion to join them for breakfast, and I work late to miss dinner.

Before I know it, three days have passed withoutseeing Tiana, and my yearning has only increased. It led me to have severalglasses of whiskey, more than I usually would.

Perhaps drinking will help me fall asleep withoutthose piercing brown eyes and incredibly sexy body tormenting my mind. But thehunger only intensifies, and I find myself wandering over to the guesthouseeven though it’s late at night.

I sneak inside and stall in the dark living room.

All the lights are off. Tiana’s probably fastasleep.

What am I doing?

I sputter a short laugh at my ridiculous behavior.

I’ll just have one glance at Tiana and head backto the main house. But as I peek into the bedroom, my pulse quickens at therealization that she isn’t lying down.

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