Chapter 13 #2
‘I see it. It’s very dramatic, especially the streaked eye liner. Very drowned-rat voguish and tragic at the same time. I can see you in one of our music videos.’
‘Don’t insult me while I’m squishing in my sneakers.’
‘Too late. The music is already swelling in my head.’
He chuckled, setting me off as we locked eyes and the banter evaporated, leaving a thick silence.
My breath hitched as the laughter died in my throat.
His damp tee clung to the ridges of his chest, emphasizing every hard line of his torso in the grey storm light.
He was so freakin’ sexy.
Angel stepped closer, his fierce eyes locking onto mine with a deep intensity.
I caught the wild flare in his expression.
Even as his jaw clenched, his broad shoulders tensed as if he was fighting his own impulses.
I resisted too, curling my hands into fists.
His eyes tracked the water droplets sliding down my neck, his chest heaving with shallow breaths.
Hesitation tore through us both, a silent war of self-restraint lasting for several agonizing seconds.
Angel exhaled a ragged breath, lifting a sinewed hand to cup my wet cheek, his thumb tracing my jawline with excruciating slowness.
My eyes drifted closed at the warmth of his touch on my freezing face.
He bent his head down, pausing mere millimeters from my lips as if giving me one last chance to run.
Then he gave in, leaning down to press a tender, lingering kiss on both corners of my mouth.
‘What’s that for?’ I breathed, my voice just a whisper, whipped away by the storm.
‘For being an utter treasure and a sweetheart when I treated you like shit,’ Angel murmured, his thumb still resting on my jawline.
His grip tightened.
‘Doesn’t mean I’ll be nice as pie from now on. I’m still battling my demons. Just means I’m aware I might be putting you under pressure, and I’ll ease off because you too are a victim in all of this.’
‘A casualty?’ I retorted, the word sparking a fire in my gut. ‘Hell no, I’m a fighter.’
He shifted back a fraction, his brow arched in surprise.
On impulse, I rose on my tiptoes to press a firm kiss against his stubbled cheek, bracing my hands on his broad, solid shoulders.
‘We’re in this together, Angel,’ I whispered, holding his gaze. ‘Never forget that.’
Much later, after a hot shower and a dinner of crusty bread and a fresh seafood salad, I spent the rest of the evening reading on the sofa.
In time, Angel joined me, slumping onto an armchair, also with a book.
Mrs Campanelli appeared with glasses of aperitif and a small plate of truffles for each of us.
We thanked her, and she walked away with a smirk as we indulged.
Angel groaned as the chocolate melted in our mouths.
‘So good,’ I whispered, and we shared a smile as the unexpected treats brought us temporary joy.
The view from the living room was awe-inspiring as the sun sank into the distance.
That’s when I sensed the heated gaze on me and turned my head to find Angel’s eyes on me, his head tilted.
He was studying me with such intensity that I blushed.
We locked eyes for a beat until he sliced his eyes away, leaving me flushed and hot as a wave of desire flooded me.
Damn.
I eyed Angel with surreptitious glances as he sat across from me, his eyes on the view, mine on him, yearning.
His rugged jawline and broad shoulders rendered him devastatingly attractive.
Why did he have to be built like a literal Greek god?
I escaped to my room minutes later with the excuse of getting sleepy.
When in truth, I was escaping the magnetic pull of his gravitas.
Terrified that if I stayed under his gaze for one more second, he’d see right through me and realize just how much I wanted him.
Angel was relaxing into the holiday now.
At breakfast the next morning, he seemed calmer as he outlined the plan for a full day of exploration with Carlo.
‘Can’t waste the days we have left, Roxy,’ he stated with a lazy grin. ‘I told Carlo to prep the speedboat. Grab your swimsuit; we’re going to explore the fuck out of this paradise.’
I hurried to my suite, my thoughts spinning in a dizzying loop of excitement and mild terror at my surging emotion for him.
I strapped into my emerald bikini and threw a white linen button-down shirt over it.
All the while, I wondered if I had the emotional stamina to survive a day of Angel’s sudden, devastating charm.
Because if he turned it on as he’d done in the past, it’d make me weak as putty.
Mrs. Campanelli had a picnic hamper ready for us when I came downstairs.
‘Everything you need for a perfect day on the water,’ she declared, patting the woven lid. ‘I packed marinated artichokes, prosciutto di Parma, fresh burrata, bread rolls, sun-ripened tomatoes, and a crisp white wine. Plus plenty of snacks. Don’t let him eat it all, Roxy.’
Angel reached to lift the basket with one hand, his arm muscles flexing.
‘No promises, Mrs. C. Grazie.’
After kissing her on the cheek, I followed Angel as we walked to the marina where we met Carlo.
We set sail from the docks, the twin outboard motors roaring as the fiberglass hull sliced across the turquoise waves toward our first destination, the Bagni della Regina Giovanna.
Carlo steered the vessel with precision, while proving himself a goldmine of local trivia.
‘Look along the cliffs, signora,’ Carlo shouted over the spray of the surf, pointing a sun-browned finger at the limestone ridges. ‘Those ancient stone watchtowers defended our shores from brutal attacks by the Turks and the Greeks.’
‘Did people live up on those sheer drops?’ I asked, gripping the polished chrome handrail.