Page 36 of Deception

I’m terrified, yet my entire body is on fire. Torn between fear and longing, the need to flee, and the need for comfort.

I can barely breathe as he dips his head, catching his breath. His lips are right there, so close that our breath mingles. With a subtle shift he drags his bottom lip along mine, not quite a kiss. I almost lose myself, give in to the moment and kiss him.

But he stops short as he feels the prick below his chin, the knife I instinctively grabbed, pressed right into his throat.

And then he has the audacity to smile, just slightly, before stepping back.

The opening has me staggering, glancing one last time at his smoldering eyes before taking my chance and dashing from the room. I don’t stop until I’m across the foyer, down the hall and into my room, slamming the door and locking it.

8

ALESSANDRO

An entire day slips by without seeing Isabella.

After our encounter at dinner, she's been avoiding me. I’ll admit I’ve been avoiding her, too.

We passed each other in the hall a few times, both of us unsure how to approach the other. She eats in her room.

Carla is giving me questioning glances after breakfast when once again, Isabella was a no show.

I’m heading back upstairs, debating how to broach talking to Isabella, when I bump right into her, catching her arms to keep her from falling.

“Apologies, didn’t hear you coming,” she mutters.

She looks away, tucking a strand of her silky black mane behind her ear. The motion is smooth, drawing my eyes down her neck.

It was that neck, leading down to her full, perky tits that had me gripping my cock in bed the last two nights just to release some tension. I can’t let this go on or I’ll fucking lose it.

She’s already gotten under my skin.

“Isabella…” I have no clue what I want to say, but I want to saysomething. The thought of spending the rest of our stay here like this doesn’t sit well with me.

She’s seconds from running and I’ll lose my chance.

Say anything!

“Would you like to see the library?”

“I would like that.”

I turn quickly, heading up the stairs. The top level of the lodge only has two doors, the other leading to a small rooftop veranda that we definitely don’t want to open. “In the summer, we used to eat out there when Adriano and I were kids. The view is breathtaking.”

“I don’t think we’d see a lot right now,” she snickers, following me to the end of the hall.

I turn to look back at her as I open the door, catching the sunlight of her smile. Standing so close, I’m taken back to the other night. I shouldn’t want what happened to happen again so badly.

For her safety.

No one should get close to me. And yet, she’s right there across the hall every night…

“Alessandro…” I click back to the moment and she’s passing me, walking into the library with wide eyes. “This is beautiful. And incredible.”

All I can do is smile at her wonder. I felt the same way as a child visiting our vacation home. The library was and still is my favorite room.

A huge, exotic rug dominates the center of the room, encircled by old, but comfortable couches in a deep green. It matches the overall look of the room, the dark wood, the paintings of famous literary scenes highlighting the spaces between the floor to ceiling shelves.

And the whole room is brightly lit, even in the midst of the blizzard, by skylights and windows strategically placed to let in as much natural light as possible.

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