CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FOUR
E VERYTHING HAPPENS FOR a reason.
Willow wasn’t one for ascribing such meanings to her life, but as she kicked her feet in the crystal-clear blue waters of the Pacific, ready to board the e-Foil, she couldn’t help but wonder if Addie, the sweet, grandmotherly, Tarot-loving former Chatterton housekeeper they’d sadly had to let go due to lack of funds, had a point with that saying.
Because wasn’t it only three months ago that she’d taken a rare break from both work and violin practice to try out the e-Foil at her local beach and discovered she loved it so much she’d started using it for much-needed stress relief when she got the chance?
Jittery excitement licked through her veins as she watched Jario stride to the edge of the swim deck. Like her, he’d changed into swimming gear.
Unlike him, she didn’t feel so at home in the minuscule borrowed designer white bikini clinging to her skin, a world removed from her usual all-in-one or better yet, the wetsuit she favoured but had foolishly omitted to pack in her hurry to get on the road. She tried not to openly stare at the chiselled body on display, especially those powerful thighs that flexed and gleamed bronze in the sunlight.
She heard him drop into the water with barely a splash, swim over to take control of his own e-Foil. The board was black like hers, but with red, meaner-looking stripes. Admonishing herself for allowing a simple water sport toy to intimidate her, she sternly reminded herself why she was doing this.
He’d finally given her the smallest green light, to get the answers she wanted. Yes, she’d jumped through hoops to get here but so what?
‘Ready?’
Her head jerked up to the speaking glance that said he’d seen her ogling him. Face flaming, she shifted her gaze to his muscled shoulder and nodded briskly. ‘Bring it.’
A lip twitch compelled her eyes to his well-defined mouth, and her stomach clenched as lust unfurled low in her belly. God, what was wrong with her? How could she find him—yet another man bent on playing mind and literal games with her, and the one attempting to destroy what was left of her family—so compellingly attractive?
Everything happens for a reason?
Hell, no, Addie! Not this.
Gritting her teeth, Willow secured her helmet and adjusted the remote securely strapped to her wrist before launching herself onto the board. She ignored how smoothly Jario did the same, not even bothering to rest on his knees before he started his motor. As much as she wanted to prove she was just as adept, the last thing she wanted was to be rash and blow her chance.
‘We start and end there.’ He indicated the positions. ‘Two turns around those buoys. First one to the finish line wins.’
She started the propellor, her stomach dipping a little when the board shot forward at the second setting. The e-Foil’s max speed was a whopping fifty kilometres. If Jario went anywhere near that, she was toast.
The fastest she’d ever gone—on a particularly trying day, when her father’s mood swings and heavy drinking had driven her from the house—was thirty-three.
She pushed thoughts of failure from her mind as she approached the starting point, which just happened to be one of the junior crew, poised on a jet ski half a kilometre from the yacht.
After her charged exchange with Rebecca yesterday, Willow had expected the crew to treat her with hostility. She’d been quietly stunned when they’d remained entirely professional, albeit with a touch of inevitable frost. While she was sure the speculation was rife, short of blurting out the private and personal reasons she was on board the La Venganza , she had no choice but to keep her eyes on her ultimate goal.
She sucked in a steadying breath as she drew level with Jario.
Without glancing her way, he rose lithely on his board, the movement so effortless it was mesmeric to watch. Praying for a fraction of that agility she followed suit, her breath catching when she wobbled, earning herself a raised eyebrow from him.
Unfortunately for him, it had the effect of lighting a fire in her belly.
‘Still want to go?’ he drawled.
She responded by flicking up her speed to bring her alongside him, then dashing past him at the starting point.
He toyed with her for the first few minutes, matching her speed and accelerating when she did. Far too soon, she crested thirty kilometres. Heart climbing into her mouth, she pressed the remote to take her faster at the first buoy.
The wind whipped by, snatching at her breaths as the e-Foil rose higher in the water. Zings of excitement whistled through her, the sensation of the superior machine cutting through the water, almost addictive.
Only to be dashed when Jario easily zipped past her, fearless and supremely confident, his loose-limbed grace as he taunted her with weaving instead of straight lines making her teeth grit.
Willow increased her speed, her heart hammering when she closed the gap between them, reminding herself why she was doing this.
A make or break with the only parent whose indifference, lies and apathy might hurt but whom her heart insisted might be worth saving.
She willed the nerves away and concentrated on keeping herself stable as she went up another notch, secretly thrilled when the machine responded with barely a ripple. Confidence growing, she dared to add another kilometre, smiling wide when Jario glanced over his shoulder and scowled to find her so close.
Whether it was her smile or the open challenge within it that caused it, his momentary distraction turned out to be her ultimate advantage.
Willow spotted the incoming rogue wave before he did and flicked up her speed so the lip of her board rose higher in the water, easily cresting over the strong current when it hit a few seconds later.
Jario didn’t have time to adjust.
The wave slammed underneath his board. He wobbled. By the time he deftly adjusted his stance, Willow had shot past him. His tight, frustrated growl made her smile wider, and despite the force of his will pressing down on her as the buoys marking the finish line beckoned, she held her nerve.
She won by half the length of her board, the pump of adrenaline dragging a whoop of relief from her. The young crew member she recognised from the café smiled and winked as she passed him.
She lowered her speed to a more comfortable level and redirected the board towards the yacht, intensely aware of Jario’s gaze.
‘Pleased with yourself?’ he asked silkily, his voice so deceptively soft a shiver raced over her exposed skin.
With any other competitor, she’d have laughed outright and cracked a joke. But the man who raked his sodden hair back and speared her with a narrow-eyed mixture of irritation and disbelief wasn’t the kind to respond well to jokes, especially on a game he’d arrogantly assumed he’d win.
Still, she would not be cowed. ‘A win is a win. So yes, I’m pleased.’
With a rough grunt, he headed for the swim deck.
She followed at a slower pace, her skin tingling when, after grabbing a towel, Jario turned to her. And as much as she hated herself for it, Willow couldn’t stop her gaze flicking over his deliciously masculine form, to the wet trunks moulding his trim hips and strong thighs.
Cursing her body’s reaction, but knowing she couldn’t stay in the water forever, she climbed the steps to join him on the deck, quickly snatching up a towel to cover the tell-tale peaks of her nipples.
‘I hope you’re going to honour our agreement.’ She said it mostly to keep herself grounded, to remind herself why ogling him should be low on, or hell, shouldn’t feature on, her to-do list at all.
For an eternity, he didn’t answer, his movements brusque as he towelled his torso and fine-haired legs. Tossing the towel aside, he rasped, ‘Let’s go inside. I’m not doing this here.’
After towelling off, Willow followed him into one of the many private lounges. Plush camelhair sofas, cashmere throws, breathtaking rugs and three entertainment and liquor stations coaxed rest and relaxation. But neither of them felt any inclination to take advantage of the comforts.
Jario marched to the nearest drinks cabinet and poured himself a stiff drink. Just seeing the tension gripping him fuelled her own tension.
Okay, enough of this.
‘Are you annoyed with me because you lost or because you bet something you obviously value on a stupid game?’
He slammed the glass down and spun to face her. Willow sensed she’d shocked him with her blatant observation. That not many people dared speak this way to Jario Tagarro.
‘Watch it, querida. ’ He confirmed her theory.
Perhaps she should’ve heeded the warning, but flushed with scooping triumph from the jaws of defeat, she couldn’t curb her response. ‘Why should I when you obviously don’t?’
His nostrils flared wide, his eyebrows clamping into a thunderous frown. ‘If you think baiting me is a good way to get what you want, you’re ridiculously mistaken.’
‘So far, nothing indicates I’ll get what I want. You keep slithering away from telling me what I want to know. I did some research on you, you know. Everyone thinks you’re some honourable man.’ She laughed. ‘I guess you should be commended for pulling the wool over their eyes, right? Because so far, I’ve seen nothing but a man who likes to throw his weight around just as fast as he throws axes in the middle of the night. And when that doesn’t intimidate enough, he growls and plays games just for kicks. You’re no better than my—’ Her vocal cords seized when she realised she’d been about to compare him to her father. To David, even?
But that same instinct that shrieked at her when it came to the other two men who’d hurt and betrayed her wasn’t sounding now.
So she swallowed it down as he stepped up to her, his eyes ablaze. ‘You really enjoy playing with fire, don’t you?’
‘No, I don’t!’ She punctuated her words by poking a finger at his hard chest, then immediately regretted her action when electricity zapped down her palm and spread through her body. ‘You think I want to be here? I have a life waiting for me, you know. Responsibilities that don’t include scrubbing your decks or folding your stupid socks. Answering my calls or emails would’ve saved us both this...this circus. Instead, this is what you’ve driven me to, you bastard!’
‘Oh, yes? Like you’ve driven me to this?’ The incensed query arrived right before demanding fingers spiked into her damp hair, clamping down hard to drive her head up to meet his.
Jario’s lips seared hers in a kiss so fiery, Willow’s breath punched clean out of her lungs. The sizzling kinetic force made her surge up onto her toes, a long moan leaving her throat as sweet, decadent sensation pummelled her.
The yes, yes, yes trilling at the back of her mind laid bare the naked truth that she— they’d —been moving inexorably towards this. That the first night in the axe den had ignited the spark for this explosion. But never in her wildest dreams had she expected the spectacle of it would be this... seismic .
The lips moulding hers, the tongue coaxing entry, the hand clasping the back of her head, the other on her hip, holding her tight, all coalesced into a blinding, thrilling magic that inflamed every cell of her body.
Whether she took the step back or he stepped forward, Willow would never know. Yet, between one second and another, she was pressed against the wall, caught between one immovable object and a towering pillar of magnificent Latin male intent on delivering ferocious magic to her unsuspecting system. Magic she yearned for.
She shuddered as the skin on hot skin contact reminded her of their scantily clad bodies. How indecently delicious it felt to be pressed against him like this. She muted the cautionary voice and raised her arms, mirrored his movements by spearing fingers into his hair just as his tongue swept into her mouth.
The hand on her hip tightened, his thumb pressing into her bone, drawing another head-to-toe shiver. She hadn’t even thought it possible to awaken an erogenous zone this way. Too quickly, the caress changed course to her bottom, squeezing her firm flesh as he groaned thickly.
‘Santo infierno . ’
He cursed against her mouth and bit her bottom lip right before he plunged back in, boldly inviting her tongue to play with his, his body pressing her harder into the wall until she couldn’t mistake the untamed evidence of his arousal against her belly.
Dear God.
Had any previous kiss, including David’s, felt like this?
No. Absolutely not.
Willow was at once chagrined that she hadn’t known the true meaning of a good...hell, great kiss until now and exhilarated she was experiencing it. Even if it was delivered by the devil himself.
Even if...? Oh... Oh, God . What the hell was she doing?
With a strangled yelp she pushed against his shoulders.
He stepped back, his chest rising and falling in an elevated rhythm that was still maddeningly slow compared to her heaving one.
‘This isn’t... I’m not going to sleep with you if that’s what...’ She shook her head to clear her lust-addled thoughts.
One eyebrow cocked. ‘You don’t sound sure about that,’ he said.
‘I am. One hundred percent. Y-you’re not even my type.’
He laughed. Deep and just the right amount of rough to evoke dangerous, erotic thoughts that reignited flames barely banked.
A shadow flitted across his features. His eyes hardened, before trailing down her body.
She didn’t need to follow his gaze to know what he saw. Aching breasts with nipples standing to attention, making her wonder if she’d lost her mind by depriving them of the sweet torture they craved. A moan was furiously flattened in her throat as she prayed for the hard throbbing between her legs to cease.
‘Tell that to your body, mi precioso .’
She pried herself from the wall she would forever associate with the most wanton act of her life to date, and crossed her arms over her chest. ‘It’s just a chemical reaction, which I stopped because I came to my senses. Let’s not blow anything out of proportion. I’d rather crawl over hot lava than let you touch me again.’
He sucked in a slow breath and did the opposite of what she’d expected. He smiled. Genuine mirth, dissolving the fearsome expression and causing her heart to lurch, her jaw to gape, before she rapidly resisted the betraying action. Because evidently, a smiling Jario was transformative .
He didn’t quit being dark and formidable. But when brooding gave way to glinting eyes and heart-stopping, softer lips, he was lethally compelling... addictive to watch. With the very dangerous side effect of yearning to keep that experiencing it.
‘Fighting words. I look forward to watching you take them back with the dirtiest apology I can conjure up.’
She groaned inwardly and shook herself free of this need to keep throwing gauntlets at him. She couldn’t remain at this crossroads of her life forever, kissing, challenging and prevaricating with the very man who held the key to swinging it one way or the other. ‘My question.’ She blurted it out, the prompt far overdue.
His smile faded so swiftly that if her heart hadn’t still been racing wildly, she would’ve doubted it’d ever happened.
But she didn’t allow that to deflect her.
Not even when he visibly gritted his teeth and said, ‘Ask it.’
‘Why are you hell-bent on destroying my father?’ she demanded in a heartbeat, her voice low but firm enough for him to hear it.
A single step brought him back to her, his marble-hard frame filling her vision as he leaned close, intent on her not missing a syllable of his answer. ‘Because he was directly responsible for the death of mine.’
‘You can’t just walk away after that!’
Her father was deeply flawed, prone to exaggeration, outright lies and riddled with an overblown ego. But he wasn’t a murderer .
Horror and disbelief speckled her frantic words. Admittedly, his answer had frozen her solid for several seconds until the knowledge that he didn’t intend to elaborate—dear God, was he seriously not going to?—sent her after him. The buzzing in her head grew louder as Jario continued to ignore her.
She shot past him, then pivoted to stop directly in his path. ‘I’m talking to you!’
He attempted to freeze her out with his clinically detached stare but Willow saw beneath it to the faded pallor and the shadows leaping in his eyes. It struck her that she’d forced his hand by insisting he reopen this particular can. But...hadn’t he provoked this outcome by ignoring her initial attempts at contacting him?
‘Jario—’
She gasped as he seized her waist, picked her up and set her aside and carried on walking.
‘The agreement was one question. I’ve answered it.’
‘You’re kidding me, right?’
His ominous silence and rigid, unbroken stride said he was not. Whether by design or pure coincidence, one of his security guards strolled into the hall. A nod from Jario, and the burly guard was blocking her way.
Heart dropping, Willow forced herself to stop before she collided with the meat mountain. ‘What are you doing? Wait! Jar—Mr Tagarro!’
‘Miss, your break is over, I believe?’
The combination of the game, the kiss and the shocking revelation leached the fight from her. She sagged against the wall, battling frustrated tears.
She didn’t allow them to fall.
The last thing she’d do was give that insufferable man the satisfaction. Even if his accusation triggered memories of her father’s return from that business trip a changed man, with the rabid need to succeed and the demons that had chased him into the bottle.
Was he? Could...?
No!
The moment she finished her last task from Ripley—a surprisingly easy one of collating RSVPs for an upcoming dinner party on the yacht—she tracked Jario down to the topmost deck.
He was lounging on a sofa, a tablet balanced on one knee, the cognac he favoured in one hand.
‘What you did before was cruel,’ she shot out, the turbulent feelings she’d bottled up for hours spilling free.
She searched his face, desperate for a sign that it was all a terrible hoax. He stared back, his gaze flat and unresponsive.
‘I’m certain you don’t have the first clue what true cruelty looks like,’ he drawled, before returning to his tablet.
Her insides shook at the absolute conviction in his voice but she pressed on. She couldn’t afford not to. ‘It’s not true. It can’t be,’ she murmured.
‘You think I would lie about something like that?’ His accent had thickened, the soft, deadly reply almost melodic.
‘I don’t know! But I need more.’
A flash of bleakness was quickly replaced by implacable censure. ‘You’re under the misapprehension that I’m the one who owes you an explanation.’
‘But I’m stuck here—’
‘Through no one’s fault but your own.’
‘I’m aware. Trust me if I could get off this boat, I would.’
‘Are things not going your way, then, Willow? Tell me, what would you do if you were at home right now? Confront the father who hasn’t had the guts to own up to his actions in decades?’
Her belly flipped over. ‘Is that how long you’ve planned this?’ Her voice was a ravaged echo.
He stared back for an age, then his gaze swept away to the side. It was clear as day that he hadn’t meant to reveal that.
‘When?’ she asked shakily.
The eyes that snapped to hers were even bleaker, cold and unfeeling, the silent confirmation sending chills through her.
‘I’m not going to stop.’ She felt like it needed stressing again, both for herself and for him.
In the time between his shocking announcement and now, she’d contemplated retreat, salvaging her sanity and heart because if what he’d said was true, then she feared for her already fragile relationship with her father.
But more and more, those instincts insisted there was another, less soul-destroying explanation. That the father he’d lost—and from everything she’d observed about Jario, from the very name of his yacht to the man plagued with demons, she knew at least that was true—had perished in some other way than the stark one he’d stated.
Please...let that be so.
Moments turned into minutes, each one constricting her chest until she couldn’t breathe.
‘It happened when I was fifteen years old. And before you think to assign some reasonable doubt explanation to ease your mind, know that I was present. That I saw the whole thing unfold before my eyes. And that I’m entirely justified in blaming your father for what he did.’
Dread surged through her. She yearned to label him a liar, but the raw, undisguised anguish—and the fact that she was sadly well versed in reading liars—knocked any intention sideways.
Which meant...
Her thought stalled, the alternative too awful to bear. ‘There must be—’
Livid eyes dared her to speak her doubts aloud. She clamped her lips shut, letting the words shrivel and die.
Several heartbeats later, his gaze flicked past her. She turned to see the bodyguard mounting the steps, his eyes fixed on her. Her dismissal couldn’t have been clearer.
‘You seem to think you can have unfettered access to me whenever you please. You can leave of your own accord, or I can have you escorted to your quarters.’
‘That won’t be necessary.’ She may not have the full picture still, but what she’d learned required desperate, much-needed regroup mode.
‘Good,’ he murmured, as if she’d finished discussing the wine list.
Then he calmly went back to his tablet.
‘Can I get you anything else, sir?’ Ripley asked.
Jario carefully set down his fork. He had a mile-long list he could recite to his hovering assistant of the many things he desired in life.
Three days had passed since that incident in his salon, yet his insides continued to churn. He’d been forced to relive memories buried just beneath the surface, where he wouldn’t normally have to confront it every day. Only when he had to deal with destroying his enemy.
But a few hours with her and his hell had tripled. Even the scant sleep he’d resigned himself to was now a figment of his imagination.
Consciously relaxing his jaw, he shook his head. ‘No, that will be all.’
He wanted to ask where she was, what she was doing, but he already knew. Another unwanted thing she’d cursed him with, besides that kiss he couldn’t stop reliving, was a rabid need to know her whereabouts at all times. So he knew she’d retreated to her cabin half an hour ago after a solitary dinner in the crew kitchen.
He launched himself away from the table, his barely touched meal forgotten as he strode over to the liquor cabinet.
How long can you keep this up? Pretend you haven’t...missed her presence these last three days?
The mocking voice in his head riled him further until he felt as if his skin was turning inside out.
Enough .
Setting down his untouched drink, he headed for the pool. The temptation to go for a swim in the deep, dark ocean, let the obsidian waves wash his bitterness away, was strong, but the depths of the Pacific wasn’t the place to test the elements while exhaustion and insomnia sapped his reserves.
So his pool it was.
Shoving off his jogging bottoms, he activated the artificial wave that powered the pool’s current.
Turning up the setting for a more challenging workout, he walked to the edge of the fifty-foot pool, and dived in. Perhaps it was in the third minute or the thirtieth, but the image he’d been trying for three days to shut off rose in his mind again.
That dreaded flash of pity he’d seen on her face.
Shock and disbelief had followed but the pity was what tightened his chest. He didn’t need it. So why couldn’t he get it out of his damn mind? Why, additionally, did the softening in her features affect him so intensely ?
Jario swam harder. Faster. Determined to drive the unnerving sensations away once and for all. And when he rose out of the pool much later, his muscles soaked in weariness, he was at least glad that he was on the point of exhaustion.
On feet that didn’t feel quite steady, he entered his steam room.
Only for his every effort to shatter when the steam parted momentarily and he saw her perched in one corner, her knees drawn up to her chest.
Por el amor de Dios .
She didn’t respond to his muttered curse, but he felt her eyes on him, watching. He prowled closer, every sense daring her to give him that look one more time. But the one she sent him was devoid of pity, instead brimming with awareness and defiance.
‘Are you this insubordinate in your everyday job?’
Unbridled pride mingled with concern and regret flashed across her face, reluctantly reminding him of how distressed she’d been over losing Chatterton’s employees.
‘Actually, I excel at my job, and I plan to maintain my zero-complaints level for however long I have it,’ she stated with a curiously solemn tone that spiked unease through him. ‘Besides, I think one perk of this job allows me use of the gym and relaxation area, doesn’t it?’
He’d wasted enough unnerving emotions on this woman. ‘So this isn’t just a fun exercise in pushing my buttons?’
For a stretch, she didn’t answer. When she raked her fingers through her hair, he saw subdued weariness on her face. Did it make him feel better?
Infinitesimally.
‘No.’ Resignation tinged her tone. ‘Believe me, that’s the last thing I want.’
‘And yet, here you are, disturbing my peace again.’
‘Peace?’ She scoffed lightly. ‘Are you sure about that?
He gritted his teeth. ‘What are you doing here, Willow?’
‘You dropped a bombshell that’s given me the same sleepless nights I’m sure you’re experiencing. I thought you might be somewhere else, maybe throwing axes, so I came here.’ She lowered her legs from where she tucked them against her body and rose.
‘Where are you going?’
She raised an eyebrow. ‘Leaving. Isn’t that what you want?’ The hint of challenge sparked to life. And yes, he much preferred that to her subjugation.
Turning away from her after one hunger-stoking glimpse of the white-bikini-clad body, Jario sat down on the bench. ‘You’re already here. It’s a little too late to flounce off.’
She sighed, but sat back down, her long legs far too close for comfort. But he was damned if he’d show it. She’d upset his equilibrium enough. Ordering her out of his sight would only prove her power over him.
He sucked in a breath, his senses jolting at the pleasurable scent that teased his nostrils. ‘ Dios , what’s that smell?’
‘Oh, it’s lemongrass. It’s meant to have relaxing properties.’ A tiny green bottle appeared in front of his face. ‘Would you like some?’
‘No.’ The word was a forced countermand to the yes his brain instantly leapt at.
Her hand remained extended for several seconds before she withdrew it. ‘Look, I’ve got the message, okay? You don’t want me here, I get it. I told you I won’t do this forever. We arrive in Bali in a few days. Then I’m leaving. We don’t have to see each other again.’
Something hard and entirely disagreeable lodged in his churning gut. She was granting his wish—her off his yacht and out of his sight. Yet, the reality of it made him angrier?
‘Good,’ he replied anyway. ‘You’re saving me the effort of firing you.’
The soft gasp melted into the steam, then silence wrapped around them.
‘So you’ve decided to go and confront your father after all?’ he asked after tense minutes.
Dread and anguish chased over her face. ‘What does it matter to you?’
‘It doesn’t,’ he said, ignoring the muscle ticking in his jaw.
Silence reigned for longer in the hazy little box, and he found himself staring, itching for insight into her feelings. When he couldn’t, frustration bit through him.
‘Yes, I’ll ask my father when I get back.’
‘And if he doesn’t admit it?’ he demanded, his voice gruff to his own ears.
She tensed and tried to hide the next flash of distress. ‘My father isn’t perfect by a long stretch. But... I need to hear what you say he did from him. It’s too...dreadful for me to just...’ She paused, shook her head.
The disconcerting sensation intensified. She was returning to a father who didn’t deserve her devotion or na?ve belief that he was a good man. The man who deserved nothing but the worst punishment.
But as much as he wanted to despise her for it, he couldn’t quite bring himself to. She might be misguided in her loyalty but he couldn’t lump her into her father’s sins. Which left him where, exactly?
Let her off his boat in Bali and be done with it? Why did that idea dig spikes into his skin?
‘Jario.’ Her voice was soft, not pleading, but slightly questioning.
‘What?’ Had she moved closer?
‘Whatever happened, I’m sorry.’
‘No.’
‘What do you mean, no?’
‘I mean you don’t get to have the upper hand.’
She gave a soft exhale that absolutely made him feel worse about this whole situation. ‘I wasn’t apologising for myself, or even my father.’ The clench of anger when she mentioned her father curiously soothed him. ‘I was expressing sympathy that such a horrific thing happened to you at all.’
A roaring started in his ears, filling him with emotion he didn’t need or want.
Dear God. He needed to get some sleep desperately. Or barring that, some distance. Hell, if he could have, he would’ve left his home for the first time in six years.
But why did he have to?
Thoughts batting against his brain, he shoved his wrists into his gritty eyes, the beginnings of a growl working its way up from his throat. Lost in his head, he didn’t realise he’d moved until his shoulder bumped hers. His muscles clenched, but for the life of him he couldn’t move away.
After a tense moment, she started to rise again.
She reached for the door before a visceral reaction caused him to mutter, ‘Stay.’
She paused. ‘If I do, it’ll be on condition that I’m officially off punch-bag duties.’
He shook his head, unsure why her defiance made him feel less tormented. ‘You’re infuriating. And you’re also fired.’
Another soft scoff. ‘That just saves me quitting. Also saves me from burning your stupid socks.’
A fizz of amusement threatened to lighten his mood. ‘Then perhaps you should leave.’
‘I’ll be gone soon enough.’
The breath he took next was shaking, his muscles quivering under the weight bearing down on him. He rolled his shoulders, seeking elusive relief.
‘What’s wrong?’ she muttered.
He laughed under his breath. ‘Admitting flaws isn’t in my nature, querida .’
‘But saying that means you have them, so, you’re admitting them anyway.’
Her hand rose, hovered in the air for a moment, then dropped.
His belly hollowed. ‘You have something to offer?’
‘Not without an explicit request,’ she replied, that muted distress making another appearance. ‘If you want my help, ask for it.’
‘What makes you think I want—’
Her fingers dug into his muscles, prodding the hard knots beneath his skin. The growl died, then was reborn into a groan he bit back as his flesh loosened. But just as abruptly, she stopped and retreated.
‘Ask for it, Jario. Clarity is important to me.’
He clenched his jaw, his senses jumping faster than he could contain them. Eventually, the words tore free from his essence. ‘Por favor . ’ He wasn’t entirely sure why he said it in his father tongue. And no, he wasn’t going to examine it right now.
Still, she hesitated, perhaps even regretting the offer.
But finally, she shifted closer, and with both hands, went to work on his muscles, the scent of lemongrass much stronger than before. It washed over him, and Jario’s eyes drifted shut.
In silence, she worked her way down his back to his waist and then up again. When she stepped down and went to the door, he tensed, thoughts of her leaving sending disappointment and desolation ploughing through him. Before he could speak, she cleared her throat.
‘This will work better if you’re lying down.’
Again, her voice was soft, devoid of defiance or pity. He found himself glad for the absence of both. Found himself welcoming this small sliver of soothing versus strife.
Of soft hands versus the grind of demon’s teeth.
It was ill advised in the extreme.
Yet, he rose off the bench when she opened the door to the steam room.
And followed her.