Page 76 of Shiver

This is bad.Really fucking bad.

***

After our excursion, we have a quick lunch and head back to the room.

I make it out onto the deck to lie by the pool and read, and Luca decides to go to the gym. I guess a body like his doesn’t make itself.

My book is good, fantastic even, but it’s hard to focus when I’m still wound up from earlier.

And this book has so much sexual tension in it that it’s almost painful to read right now. I’ve never been someone who was overly sexual. I enjoy it, usually, and really enjoy reading it, but I haven’t been with someone who left me feeling simultaneously fulfilled and perpetually unsatiated.

Until Luca, that is, and we haven’t even had sex.

Nor will we ever.

That was the last time I let myself get carried away.

The last time, Samara.Even just telling myself this, it feels like a lie.

My entire life, I’ve never struggled to make a decision. Hell, I’musuallythe most decisive person in any room, but that changed when Luca De Laurentiis entered my life.

I shake my head, and once inside, I drop the book and climb into bed. I turn off the lamp, allowing the light seeping in from the sheer curtains to illuminate the space to be comfortable.

Grabbing for the remote, I turn the TV on, flipping through channel after channel and not finding anything that catches my attention.

“Okay, maybe a nap then,” I say to myself, turning off the TV and rolling over onto my side.

I close my eyes, but my mind wanders all over. I can’t stop Luca from popping into those thoughts over and over. His pretty eyes, that damn dimpled cheek, and his pretty, pierced dick all swarm my mind.

My core floods, clenching as images of Luca’s fingers delving inside me race through my brain.

My hand snakes down between my thighs, and my eyes snap open. “Shit,” I groan out.

Awareness of what I was about to do hits me like a horse’s hoof to the face, and I’m catapulting out of the bed. “I need to get out of this room.”

I grab a pair of leggings, sliding them up my hips and grabbing the room key before making my way down the endless halls of the resort. I know I’m risking running into my family, but at least with them around, I wouldn’t be thinking about Luca.

It’s our second day here, and I haven’t had a chance to explore, so I wander aimlessly, passing conference rooms, the spa I so badly wish I were at right now, and an infinite number of rooms.

When I pass the gym, I stop in my tracks.

Luca is facing his phone, which is propped up on a piece of equipment. I watch through the wall of windows, staring as his impressive muscles glide with ease through the air, his fist repeatedly making contact with a punching bag. He turns to face the camera again, saying something I can’t make out, but he’s smiling.

I hedge closer, and my hand wraps around the door handle. I look around, ensuring no one is here to see me standing outside the door like a total creep.

When I’ve confirmed the coast is clear, I crack the door open, just enough that a rush of cool air shocks me for a second until I hear Luca speaking.

“Alright, ladies, you try next. I probably won’t be able to fix your form too much since I’m having to do this on my phone and can’t see you all very well, but just have some fun with it. We’ll make corrections next week when I’m back,” he assures his viewers.

What the hell is going on?

“Hell yeah, just like that, Charice!” he cheers. “You’ve got this, girlfriend!”

He’s clapping excitedly, nearly bouncing on the balls of his feet as he cheers for the “ladies” on the other end of his phone.

I continue to watch, maintaining the death grip I have on the door handle, afraid to let it slip and risk making my presence known.

I’m utterly stunned as he continues teaching what appears to be a self-defense class. What bothers me is the familiarity I notice. There’s something that’s not sitting with me, and I can’t figure it out.

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