14. Are you following alongswooning?
FOURTEEN
ARE YOU FOLLOWING ALONG OR SWOONING?
Lake
Even Alessio’s fine Egyptian-cotton handkerchief couldn’t absorb the flood of tears pouring down my face. Or the snot threatening to drip out of my nose if I don’t sniff it back up. The entire time Alessio stood at the door, I hoped for a miracle. And it came.
Once Alessio’s out of sight, Leo grabs my hands, and we jump up and down before he drags me toward the kitchen.
Leo and I join Alessio, and the boy pats the bar chair and then climbs onto it.
I don’t like that he’s sitting on the high chair, but it’s not my place to say anything when his uncle’s dominant energy owns the room.
Alessio’s on the phone, sounding agitated while holding a cup of coffee. The moment I sit, he hands it to me.
Thank you , I mouth.
He puts the phone on the kitchen island while the line is still open. “Ms. Wilder, this is my contact in law enforcement. Go ahead and brief him on my sister’s whereabouts. Cream? Sugar?”
“Um… Yes, both, please. But I don’t know where your sister is.”
“Hello, Lake,” a man on the other end says in a masculine rasp that sounds like someone’s running sandpaper over his vocal cords. Damn.
“Ms. Wilder,” Alessio corrects him as he grabs the sugar caddy. He flips it upside down, and a stream of sugar pours into the coffee cup.
“That’s enough. Thank you!”
Alessio shows me his teeth and puts the caddy away. “Welcome.”
“You sound passive-aggressive, Alessio,” the man on the phone says.
Alessio opens the fridge. Closes it. Opens and slams it back.
“I think this is more aggressive -aggressive,” I say.
“I’m not amused,” Alessio says, “I want to know where my sister is.”
“Val doesn’t want to be found,” the man says, and stupidly, I nod.
Alessio narrows his eyes. “You stalled in the bathroom so Val would have time to sneak out and take my plane.”
“He’ll know if you lie,” the man says while Alessio grabs whipped cream and moves to the bar. Leo throws his head back, and I stick my hand out to catch him in case he leans too far back and falls. Alessio inverts the can over Leo’s mouth. He fills it with whipped cream, then offers me some.
His proximity makes me nervous, but still, I nod. I’m sure I’m red-faced, and I wish I wasn’t so he won’t notice how attractive I find him even after he put me through the wringer.
Alessio stretches out his hand and puts cream into my cup. Without a word, he moves on the other side of the island, telling me in no words he is disappointed, and I’m being punished. For a people pleaser like I am, that stings. And he damn well knows it.
Alessio leans against the stove, and I watch his prominent Adam’s apple bob as he swallows the whipped cream he’s spraying down his throat.
“My turn, my turn,” the boy shouts.
Alessio tosses the bottle of whipped cream to Leo, who doesn’t even flinch at Alessio’s aggressive energy. The boy finishes the cream and hops off the chair.
“Can we eat burgers later?”
“Mmhm,” Alessio says.
“With greasy, disgusting fries?”
“Mmhm.”
“And a full cup of carbonated soda?”
“Every day, if you wish,” Alessio says.
“I wish,” Leo says, then salutes Alessio (oh, how appropriate!) before leaving. “I’m off to nap. See you guys later.”
Alessio hurls the whipped cream can into the trash and resumes brooding on the other end of the island.
“What’s he doing now?” the man on the phone asks me.
Alessio’s watching me, blue eyes narrowed. “I feel like an insect on a tray in a biology class.”
“Good,” the man says. “Relay the conversation you had with Val from start to finish.”
I tell the two men everything. Every single thing I recall from our conversation, and while I speak, Alessio is like a statue. He doesn’t nod or shake his head, and he might not even be blinking. I’m unsure if he’s breathing, actually.
Once I’m finished talking, he stares at the floor.
This gives me an opportunity to watch him, and I have to say, he looks mighty fine in this suit. Sharp. Like the edge of a blade. If one touches him, one will bleed. And it’s not a paper-cut kind of a bleed because Alessio can’t be bothered with tiny cuts. If he’s determined to cut you, you’ll bleed to death.
I wonder when I’ll bleed.
Tonight, maybe. Tomorrow, next day, next month. How long can I keep doing this? Will it be him or the sadist who’ll kill me?
The man speaks something in a foreign language, to which Alessio replies, and they hang up.
“Was that Russian?” I ask.
“No.”
I lean in, expecting him to follow up with which language they spoke, but Alessio slams his palms on the kitchen island and spreads his fingers. His long fingers he uses to do whatever he wants to do to my body.
“Val left you in charge of my nephew. This is highly unusual and unsettling, as I know nothing about you beyond the ordinary background checks she ran before hiring you.”
I’m staying! Holy shit, it’s confirmed. Inside, I’m bouncing, but I keep my excitement at bay because Alessio is unhappy about this. I don’t blame him. I mean, he was cornered not only by Val but by Leo too.
Also, to be fair, Val left Leo with his uncle, not just with me.
“I’m going to take good care of Leo. You can trust me on that.” It’s true. I will care for the boy.
Two fingers rhythmically tap the bar.
One-one two.
One-one two.
“When Val disappears like this, Leo is forced to exist with me,” Alessio says.
“Forced? It’s not a burden, Alessio. He loves you.”
“I can’t replace his mother.”
“Nobody can.”
“Val tries.”
“I’m sure she does, but that’s the thing about mothers. Good ones, at least. They’re irreplaceable.”
Alessio sighs. “It’s not just mothers. Anyone we allow into our hearts is irreplaceable.”
I smile. “I’m not sure we can control the matters of the heart.”
“Control.” Alessio says the word in the way most people say the name of their lover. With great fondness. “I agree with you. And because matters of the heart are often messy, we should control who we surround ourselves with and how we behave around them, with them, maybe inside them too.”
Alessio comes to stand near me, and I turn in my chair. He steps closer, and my legs part, inviting him to step between them. Around this man, my body is in some kind of basic bitch mode, and by the time my brain catches on, it’s too late. Before I can close my legs, Alessio steps between my thighs.
He doesn’t touch me, but being this close to him makes me flush with need. The bulge in his pants tells me he’s aroused and makes me heat up even more. Those beautiful blue eyes pin me.
“You left the hotel, so you tried to get away. And today, I’ve done my best to keep you away from me,” he says. “But it seems all our efforts have been thwarted. I’ve also noticed Leo’s progress and that he likes you. This makes me think you’re meant to educate him. Do you have any ideas on how we can turn off this thing between us? If you do, I’d like to hear them.”
Oh, honey, no. No, nothing is happening in my brain right now. All my mental activity is located in my vagina. She has lots of ideas, and none of them will keep Alessio away. In fact, it’s the opposite. I shake my head.
Alessio sighs. “Not very helpful, Ms. Wilder.”
“Sorry,” I manage.
“I’m not the kind of man who denies himself pleasure, and I have made it very clear that I like you. But Leo needs a governess.”
I nod. “We’re in agreement.”
“I need to clear something up. It’s never my intention to humiliate you or make you think you have to sleep with me to remain here or have a paycheck or a roof over your head. But I will flirt with you. As I said, I seek pleasure, and I know you can provide it.” He licks his lips, and mine part in response. “Are you following along or swooning?”
“Swooning,” I whisper. “Definitely swooning.”
He bites his bottom lip and lifts his upper lip, baring his teeth. My God, he’s going feral on me. Alessio takes a few steps back, and I exhale a breath I didn’t know I held.
“Your punishment for deceiving me and working with my enemy, my sister, in this case, will be that you must deny me access to your body. Even when you’re swooning. You must deny me. Undoubtedly, I will find ways to thwart you.”
“I’m not very good at saying no.”
“I’ve noticed. Something I hope you learn. I would hate to see you return to the US and end up with Landon.”
I wince. “I didn’t think you knew about my ex.”
“Our background check was thorough. Tell me, does he still call you?”
“I don’t have a phone anymore.”
“Does he call, Lake?”
“Sometimes.”
“I’ll get you another phone. If he calls, it’ll be the last conversation he has with you. Now go unpack, Ms. Wilder. We’re going out for lunch at two. Make sure you and Leo are ready.”