Page 46 of One Secret

Again, his eyes tell me everything: "I know you're sneaking around Caruso's resort."

Like a kid threatening to "tell teacher".

'Nope.' I shrug, before holding up the sneakers. I'm casual enough that it puts the mercenary on the back foot.

'Your packing sub-par?' he asks.

'So my girl says.'

The asshole doesn't seem to know what to do with that information but I've certainly learned a lot from our interaction.

For one thing: no more wandering the hotel alone. Not only is my acting too limited to convincingly portray a holiday goer. But, if I run into the wrong person with as tenuous an excuse as footwear, I could be facing a bigger threat than this jerk-off.

'Speaking of...' I jerk a thumb over my shoulder. 'Need to be getting back to her.'

Ramirez's lower lip juts out like he approves.

'Sure thing man. You do you. I'm sure I'll see you around on the job.'

I give a noncommittal nod and extract myself from the situation as quickly as I can.

As soon as I'm more than six feet away from the man, my lungs unclench and I can breathe easy again.

Two days, I remind myself. All I have to do is dodge assholes like Ramirez for another two days and Darcy and I will be free and clear.

Tomorrow evening, we dine with Felix. With a little luck, I'll get a lead quickly. And we'll be gone the next morning.

Gone and back to Rome, I add, stabbing the elevator button with more force than necessary.

"I'm going to be making a change, Cyrus."

As soon as we return home, Darcy makes a clean break and erases me from her life entirely.

I clamp down on the urge to fidget as the elevator ascends to our floor. I check my watch.

Nearly five o'clock. Darcy has had hours to sleep off the journey. And Felix doesn't even arrive on the island until tomorrow afternoon.

By my calculation, that's just under twenty hours.

Twenty hours remaining of whatever Darcy and I have between us.

Not enough.

Less than a day isn't enough time to sate us both on the insane sexual chemistry we feel every time our bodies lock together.

It's not enough to find closure.

But one thing is damn certain.

Closure or no closure, I'm not wasting a single fucking second of it.

When the elevator doors give a soft note of arrival and part on the upstairs corridor, I'm practically running for our room.

Before we're back in Rome, I vow, Darcy and I are going to have a reckoning.

And if that reckoning requires us to both be naked and crying out in the throes of mind-blowing release then all the better…

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