Page 48 of Brazilian Revenge

He nodded.

She cocked her head in the direction of the famous landmark. “Let’s go.”

“I was thinking we could get to the peak, first. It’s the highest peak in Rio,” he said. And that would keep them moving, and not talking or exchanging glances that stretched beyond reason.

Her smile made him uncomfortable. “You always have a plan, right? Sometimes it’s best to detour.”

“This is the detour. My plan was to watch you like a hawk at home,” he said. That was why he hadn’t been at his firm and asked for some of his associates to step in and pick up the slack. Until this situation was solved, he couldn’t focus on any cases. It wouldn’t be fair to the clients, and it wouldn’t bring Clemonte to justice. “Now, thanks to you, and also my sister-in-law being a pain in the ass, I have to do it here.”

She made a face. “Have you always been such a stickler?”

A part of the tension dispersed, and for a second the burden on his shoulders lessened. Another power she had over him—to put him at ease when he was too stressed. Shrugging, he decided to join in on the fun. Why not? Ever since she came into his life, a tsunami had flooded him with long-waited passions and conflicting emotions. Deaths, but also another life. Lyanna. “Rumor has it I was a wild child when I was a toddler.”

She chuckled. “Didn’t your former girlfriends ever complain about your lack of spontaneity?”

Leonardo snorted. She was painting him like a wooden statue, dusting in the back of some run-down museum. Was he that bad? “Women find it endearing,” he said, hating himself for wanting to impress her.

“Yes. I’m sure the size of your bank account, and, er, other things, never came into consideration when you acted all diehard perfectionist.”

Other things. He rubbed the back of his neck. Was she talking about his cock so casually? His pulse raced, the first sign of the desire clenching his gut. Before something else hardened, he shook his head and gestured for her to follow him. At this point, avoidance was the only strategy he had. Either that or…giving in.

They made their way to one of the dozens of waterfalls. A few visitors took pictures, standing on the stone steps. A couple kids started to cry, probably tired from the sun and the hiking. All the sounds faded to the background when his eyes drifted to her. She was downright entranced by the water streaming down. “Can I borrow your cell phone?”

Cell phone? He slid it out of his pocket and gave it to her.

Satyanna snapped some pictures from the waterfall to the yellow birds on a taller tree. “So beautiful.”

“Do you miss taking pictures?” he asked. He remembered she took her professional camera with her during that weekend one year ago, and she had also mentioned she studied photography in New York.

“Yes. I could get back to it, after this whole mess is over,” she said, and glanced at him.

He sighed. “You could.”

The kids ran out of sight, and the poor parents excused themselves as they marched through them. What kind of co-parenting would he and Satyanna do? He’d drawn the contract, yes, but how would they get along on a daily, weekly basis? For the rest of their lives?

“Here, look at me,” she said, yanking him from his thoughts.

She was taking pictures of him.

“That’s enough,” he said, waving her off. “Let’s keep going.”

“No. Let’s pretend I have this badass camera and not an iPhone. Here, move in front of the waterfall,” she said, and before he could answer, pushed him so the waterfall streamed behind him. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, restless on the ground. “Look at me,” she said. “No. Not like that. Relax. I can tell you’re tense.”

How complicated was this? Just take the damn picture. Although he thought if he talked like that that would be a moot point. She would find a way to annoy him even more. “Fine.”

“Smile.”

To tease her, he opened his mouth as wide as he could, determined to make this a cartoon-worthy grin.

“Not like that. Look at the phone like it’s a camera…and you’re trying to seduce it. Quirk your lips to the side, lift one eyebrow. You wanna be relaxed, but with your posture in place,” she said, slipping into professional mode.

Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly. When he’d agreed on escaping the madness so they’d both not go insane, he’d imagined the outdoors would help relax them and maybe clear their heads. Instead, his cock kept twitching and a thrill surged through him whenever she looked at him like she was still hungry for him. “Good job. Very nice. Take off your shirt.”

“What?”

“Just do it. It’ll look more natural with the backdrop. Plus, there’s a patch of sweat on your abs.”

“Who’s the diehard perfectionist now?” He bit back a smile. She was enjoying this—not just being out of the house, but taking pictures even if it was with a phone camera. Why not indulge her for a bit? Hadn’t she given him what he wanted by agreeing to stay? He pulled the shirt over his head, and tossed it on the cemented ground.

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