Page 74 of Italy Can Bite Me

Katie stands frozen in the doorway, clutching a mini shampoo bottle. Her wet hair falls in dark blonde waves around her shoulders, and that tissue-thin hotel robe clings to every curve I had my hands on earlier. Water droplets slide down her neck, disappearing between her breasts, and my tongue pulses with the need to trace their path.

“Oh!” Those green eyes go wide as they trail down my chest, lingering toward the bulge in my pants. Her tongue darts out to wet her lips, and my cock makes sure I notice.

I’m aching to grab her, pin her against these shelves, and continue what we started on that beach. I want to drive into her and hear if she cries my name out in the same way she did when I first tasted her sweet pussy. Every inch of me is roaring to claim her.

Instead, I force my voice into curt professionalism. “What do you need?”

“I just… Shampoo was empty,” she manages, holding up the bottle like an explanation.

I arch an eyebrow, letting my irritation mask the raw need pulsing through my veins. “Are you sure you’re not here to seduce me with more strategically hidden condoms?”

Her eyes flash with that familiar fire. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me, principessa. Is this another planned seduction? Another item on your checklist?”

“We need to talk about what happened—”

“No, we don’t.” I snatch a bottle of shampoo from the nearest shelf, dislodging the mini soaps hidden behind it and sending them scattering(so that’s where they were). “Here. You can go back to plotting my downfall now.”

But Katie plants her feet, that determined, confident look settling over her features(here we go). Her chin lifts and that wet mouth of hers makes me want to kiss it, or at least nibble on it, and then direct those lips to my eager cock. I wish. Instead, I brace myself for impact.

“I’m sorry.”

Che cazzo?She’s apologizing?

“I was wrong to push you to break your rule.”

She takes a shaky breath that makes her robe gap slightly, revealing a teasing glimpse of cleavage. My mouth waters.

Katie pivots to leave but pauses midstep. “But I still don’t understand. Why wouldn’t you have sex with someone you like?”

The truth rips out of me like a confession. “Because I never have.”

Her brows shoot up. “Never had sex with a woman you cared about?”

“Feelings lead to other things, things like getting attached, things I’m not interested in.”

“Oh my God,” she groans, shoving the shampoo into her robe pocket. “I’m not asking you to marry me! I’m asking you for sex. You know, that thing you’re supposedly very,verygood at.”

“Katie—

“Besides,” she barrels on, her tone rising with frustration, “we live in different countries. Different continents. What do you think is going to happen? Nothing about this is permanent. Nothing can happen between us beyond this trip.”

She doesn’t get it. She doesn’t get how dangerous this is for me. How dangeroussheis.

“Why can’t we just admit we like each other, have severalmind-blowingorgasms,and go back to our regularly scheduled lives?” she demands, her hands on her hips now.

Of course she has a plan. Even for this.

Wait—did she say she likes me?

Her voice softens. “You make me feel free, Matteo. For once in my life, I’m not obsessing over every little detail. I’m not making lists. I’m just feeling. And I want to explore that… with you.”

Her admission slices through me. Every instinct shouts, “Run!” urging me to put some serious emotional distance between us. It’s been like this since the day I stood at my parents’ graves. Avoid feelings. Casual sex is easy. Meaningless encounters don’t leave scars. But Katie…

I want her—not merely her body butallof her. Her wit, her stubbornness, and her relentless drive. I want to consume her, piece by piece, until she’s as much a part of me as I am a part of her.

Katie shifts, her confidence faltering. “Right,” she mumbles, turning back to the door. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

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