Page 19 of Manny for the Alien
“The door?” he asked, his frown deepening. “Ah. Yes, I do leave a welcoming powder there.”
Shit, that actually made sense, but…
“But—I felt so—so good?—”
I clapped a hand over my mouth, realizing what was happening.
He hadn’t done anything to me. He’d justtouchedme. And it had made me so freaking happy and distracted that I was accusing him of drugging me.
Suddenly, his chair scraped across the tiles as he stood and a moment later, he knelt next to my chair, suddenly taking my hands in his own.
“Marco, I give you my word I did not do anything to you today. I want you to be comfortable here in this house, and with me. Please, believe me.”
Shit.
He looked so damn earnest that I completely believed him. He was the most gentlemanly guy I’d ever met. He was like a freaking dream. Hell, he even had the glittering wings to make the whole situation more surreal. There was no way he would do anything like that to me. He was far too loving and kind.
Crouching in front of me like this, holding my hands in his, our faces so close and those gorgeous pale blue eyes searching mine, I was overtaken by that samegoodfeeling. Without thinking, I leaned forward, closing the distance between us and capturing his lips against mine.
For a moment, time stopped.
His lips were as warm as his hands and they were so soft, so full, that I moaned.
The sound of my voice in the quiet room sent reality shooting straight back into me like a bullet.
I pulled back with a gasp.
“Shit. I’m so sorry.”
Hyacinth looked shocked. He opened his mouth but I cut him off, panic rising.
“I know I’m just here for the kids. I’m sorry. I just—I don’t know what I was thinking.”
I was on my feet, stumbling back toward the door as quickly as I could.
“Marco—”
“It won’t happen again,” I promised and practically ran.
It wasn’t until I got to my room and shut the door behind me that I could breathe again.
Fuck, I was such an idiot. Aside from being nice to me, Hyacinth had never shown any indication of being interested in me.
He hadn’t even kissed me back.
I was crushed.
Chapter Six
HYACINTH
I sat there, stunned for a full minute before I was suddenly on my feet.
How had Marco gotten it so wrong? I wondered. He hadn’t even given me a moment to return the sweet kiss.The quick brush of his lips was still tingling against mine.
It was my fault, I realized. I had asked him to work here and I had never made it clear that something more could possibly be on the cards. For some reason, I had thought it would happen naturally if there was anything there. Now I knew that would never happen. Not with Marco holding back, all the while assuming that I didn’t want him the way that I so very much did.
I walked up the stairs, my heart racing. It wasn’t often that I had to put myself beyond my comfort zone. At work, yes, but not when it came to personal matters. To a certain degree, I controlled every aspect of my life.
