Page 26 of Wicked & Wildflower

“I didn’t know you could speak Italian.”

What a stupid fucking thing to say.I nearly wince at myself.

His laugh rakes along my skin. “Bella, ti parlerò in qualunque lingua tu mi dica se questo ti farà continuare a guardarmi in quel modo.”

12

Wicked

Longing Looks And Daydreams

I don’t think sheeven notices the way she licks her lips as she looks at me, but the sight of it damn near brings me to my knees as all the blood in my body rushes straight to my cock.

As the words I know she doesn’t understand settle inside her, she finally gathers her composure and shakes her head, taking off toward the boardwalk.

Fuck, if I don’t love having that effect on her.

“You look at me like that all the time,” she mutters from a step ahead of me.

“Yeah, well…” I draw out as I catch up. “I can’t stop thinking about it. About you. That night. You sure as fuck don’t make it easy to forget when you look at me like you wish we could do it all over again.”

Her breath catches at that.

“I’m on my way home. To your brother’s house.” She lets out an exasperated sigh. “Where I am living. Because he’s marryingmy sister.” She spins to face me. “Yourmotheris my only friend. My life is a mess. My estranged father is stalking me. I’m basically homeless.” She throws her hands up. “Not to mention, my daughterreallylikes you. I don’t let men meet her. Ever. Because if there is one thing I know with certainty, it’s that my flings never work out. I won’t do that to her. Or Darby. Or Leo. Or Monica. It’s too much.” She breaks her gaze from mine, as if rethinking everything she’d just said. “Oh, right.” She scoffs. “And we work together. Are all those reasons enough for you to realize that this,” she waves a finger between us, “would be an astronomically bad idea?”

“No.”

“Everett,” she groans, throwing her head back.

I love it when she says my name.

I step into her the same time she steps into me—not so close that I’ll scare her away, but close enough that she can see my eyes, so she can feel my intention as I close the space between us. “I understand your fears. I respect your boundaries.” Her face softens at that. “But just…if you forgot about all the other bullshit for just a second. You’re just you. I’m just me…” I slowly reach out and brush her hair from her shoulder.

Her eyes flutter closed at the contact, mouth parting slightly, as if she savors my touch. “I wish I could,” she whispers. “But I don’t have that luxury. That night was all I had. I don’t have the option to just forget who I am and lean into feeling.”

“I know.” I nod. I brush my thumb across the pulse in her neck. “Just know that it’s killing me. If nothing else, if it can’t be acted on, know that I wish it could…” I pause, trying to find the right words. “If you change your mind, I want you to know that I’m not afraid of complicated, and I won’t hurt Lou. Ever.”

She inhales sharply, and I let my hand linger on her collarbone just a second longer before I pull away. I nearly feel theelectricity between us in the tips of my fingers, as if the feel of her skin has branded itself onto my own.

I’m swept into the sea of her eyes as she opens them and soaks me in. We let each other see the desire written in our stares for just a moment, knowing this is all it’ll ever be between us. She’s decided we’ll never be more than this: longing looks and daydreams.

I don’t think it’s just because she’s afraid of her daughter being hurt. I think it’s because she’s afraid of hurting herself. Of being abandoned. Of not being enough for someone, not worthy of the love she so badly wants to receive but refuses to let herself have.

And fuck, if that doesn’t make me want to tear down her walls and show her she’s worthy of everything. It makes me want to cut through her armor and pull out the wildflower buried beneath it, waiting to bloom.

She takes a deep breath, and I wonder if my intentions are written all over my face.

“I won’t change my mind,” she whispers. It's a cool challenge I see on her face now.

I scoff. “Then you better stop looking at me like you’ve been wandering the desert for forty days and forty nights, and I’m the mirage of an oasis. Like you’re dying of thirst and I’m the body of water you want to drown yourself in.” I give her a slow smile. “Because I want to drown myself in you too, Wildflower.”

Her nostrils flare, but I don’t miss the way her eyes widen as I make myself abundantly clear. I’ve thought that night through enough to understand exactly why she ran out so quickly, and I need her to know she doesn’t have to be embarrassed about the way she loses herself. Not with me.

“That was–” She lets out a huff of air. “We’re not going there right now.” She rolls her eyes. “You think you’re a real heartbreaker, don’t you, Ramos?”

Her attempt at changing the subject is cute. As if I’m going to forget the way she squirted all over my cock any time soon. As if I’m going to stop thinking about how badly I want it to see her come like that again, open and spread out on my bed. But I entertain it because she’s pretty when she looks at me with that heated, playful gaze, and I don’t want this moment to end just yet.

“You appear to break your fair share of hearts too.”

---