Page 53 of Deception

“Are you still friends?”

A stillness settles over him, and for a bit I think he’s not going to answer.

“No. And yes. Domenico will always be one of the most important people in my life.”

An edge to his words sends a shiver down my back.

“I take it you aren’t exactly friends anymore.”

“He made a choice that there’s no coming back from.”

Every word Alessandro says is so carefully chosen, and there’s hidden meaning in every sentence, a history that I find myself wanting to understand. Everything Alessandro does, he does with the same level of intensity and wholehearted drive.

“You don't do anything in halves, do you?” I tease, trying to draw him back away from those dark thoughts.

“I’ve always felt that if you're going to do anything, that you might as well do it entirely. Give everything to it.”

“I agree.” If only he knew. I quit my job to track him down. “Your career, the company. Is it what you always wanted to do?”

“Not quite. I've always had an investigative mind. I've always asked hard questions, demanded answers. Oddly enough, I never really did the same with myself.”

“It’s easier to ask others questions than figure out what we really want sometimes.”

“Exactly. And there’s never a shortage of demands on my time—distractions, obligations. So there was never much time to think about what I wanted.”

“You have time now,” I murmur.

Alessandro locks eyes with me, the friction between us filling the air. Despite the freezing chill encroaching from all sides, the room feels so warm, the heat from his body filling me.

I shouldn't want him to be closer to me.

I shouldn’t want to ask him deeper questions about himself. To unlock the puzzle that has me all too intrigued. In the deep darkness surrounding us, I want to draw him into the light. I want him to open up to me.

I want to hate him. I want to stop falling for him.

And yet, I want to let go.

Looking up, I realize he’s been staring intently at me, watching me. I swallow hard, looking from his eyes to his lips.

“I’ll make us a couple of makeshift beds.”

He rises, leaving me hanging, lost in my thoughts.

“Good idea.” Another thrill zips through me at the idea of curling up next to him in the dark.

Lying on the floor, just a few feet away from him, the roar of the fire matching the heat I feel building inside me.

I’m already bundled in my pile of blankets when he settles into his, grunting out a sigh behind me. “Goodnight Isabella.”

“Goodnight Alessandro.”

I stare at the wall, practically holding my breath for several minutes, listening for any sound of him behind me. After a while, I must doze off, just for a bit. When I open my eyes, the embers in the fire are dying down, getting darker.

The wind howls distantly out in the storm.

My entire body is aching, longing to roll over and find him, to be near him. A buzzing, sensuous feeling tingles through me, imagining his hands sliding over my skin in the dark.

I nearly jump when I hear him say, “Are you still awake?”

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