Page 37 of A Follow-Through in Faking
Santiago and I walk and talk the whole way, and I find myself smiling so much, my cheeks burn. His amber eyes land on me the entire time, and when I see the pure joy in his eyes, I can’t help but return it because this gift is so thoughtful.
“A clue hides in this section, so look even more closely,” he says, and I see him staring at one tree about a hundred meters from where we are right now.
“You’re horrible at this, Santi!” I scream before running to the tree, only to find nothing there.
“Am I?” he challenges once he’s taken his sweet time walking toward me. I place my fists on my hips, staring at him as if that would tell me where the clue is. The smug smirk on his face tells me he didn’t hide the clue anywhere here.
He must still have it on him, somewhere.
“Is it on you?” I ask, but he merely shrugs.
“Put your hands on me and find out,” he offers, lifting his arms as if to invite me to inspect him.
“Eres un cabrón,” I mumble with a suppressed smile as I stalk toward him, raising my hands to his chest. Santi continues to watch me with amusement, but lust creeps into his gaze too, making my heart race.
I slide my hands over his arms and back, but I find nothing. He waits patiently, but I hesitate when I reach his chest and stomach. My hands hover over him, my body almost shaking from what I’m doing.
What I’m about to do once he gives me the permission I’m seeking.
“Please touch me,cariño. I’m dying for you to,” he begs, and I shiver visibly, something that doesn’t go past Santi. He snakes two fingers around my wrist, pressing down on my pulse point.“Does this excite you as much as it does me?” he asks, using his free hand to lift his shirt and then guide my hand beneath it.
“No,” I lie, but when I finally make contact with his abs, when I feel the hardness of them underneath my fingertips, I shiver all over again. My other hand slips under his shirt too, and Santiago tenses, his muscles pulling even tighter.
I barely bite back a surprised gasp, but I don’t have time to celebrate keeping it inside when Santi shifts, making my fingers drop to the V-line that disappears into his pants. My stomach tumbles, and I feel a pulsing very… very low in my body.
I swallow hard.
“Santi, the clue isn’t on you, is it?” He takes another step toward me, his eyes glazed over with desire.
“You haven’t explored my mouth yet. Maybe it’s hiding in there,” he says, his voice hoarse. He leans down, his nose pressing against mine. “If I beg you to kiss me, will you?” God, would I? I do love it when men beg, preferably while they’re on their knees, but everything with Santi is so complicated.
I need to slow things down.
Before I make a mistake.
“For someone who didn’t want to kiss at the start of this, you sure have been taking every opportunity to try and get my mouth on yours,” I say, his breath ghosting my lips, but he doesn’t get closer. He never does. He always leaves it up to me if this is something we’re going to do or not.
“I’ve wanted to kiss you for years, Catalina. Put me out of my misery.” His words make the breath in my lungs turn to sand.
“I think you miss having sex, Santi. I don’t think you want this.”
“Two things can be true at the same time,” he replies with a shiver, making me notice my hands are still under his shirt, my fingers mindlessly tracing his abs. “Do you want this?” he asks as I inhale, taking in his enchanting scent.
I blame that on finding him so irresistible right now.
“I don’t know what I want.” It’s the honest answer, but if I’d known he’d pull away from me a little, I wouldn’t have said it.
Which means I do know what I want.
And that turns my whole world upside down.
“One day, when you know, I’ll ask again, and I hope you will kiss me then.” He presses his lips against my cheek, then pulls back entirely, causing my hands to drop from his stomach. “Alright, well, the clue isn’t on me,” he admits with a laugh, but my head is still spinning, and I’m having a hard time getting over the fact that I’m… disappointed.
“Then where is it?” I ask once I find the ground under my feet again.
“Keep looking. It’s in an obvious spot a little further ahead,” he promises and walks past me, still smiling. There’s a new tension to his body, but I have a feeling it isn’t from anger. Maybe our moment had the same effect on him as it had on me. “Vamos, Catalina,” he says when all I do is stare at his magnificent, round ass.
“Ya voy,” I call back, blushing again.
