Born in Blood Collection Volume 1 - Cora Reilly Page 0,362

The rest of breakfast I made sure to keep my eyes away from Romero regardless of him sitting opposite me, and instead talked to my sisters. Romero didn’t seem to have much trouble ignoring me, that was for sure. He and the other men were deep into an argument about the best way to handle a drug dealer who attracted too much attention from the police.

After breakfast, Aria and Gianna decided to head to the pool again. The weather was nice, barely a breeze and only a few white clouds adorning the blue sky. I went to my bedroom to change into a bikini, a cute pink thing with white dots with a halter top that accentuated my breasts. When I stepped out of my room, I bumped into a hard chest. Strong hands on my arms steadied but released me the moment I stopped swaying. I pressed a hand over my heart, not having expected someone to be in front of my door. “God, you startled me,” I said with a small laugh but it died when I raised my head to Romero’s face.

He didn’t say anything and his jaw was locked tight as his eyes roamed my body. His lack of reaction made me feel self-conscious. I had never been around Romero half naked like this, or any man really. Romero had seen many women naked and I wondered if he compared me to them.

I took a step back, my cheeks heating under his steadfast attention, and I self-consciously crossed my arms in front of my body.

He checked the corridor before he moved closer, and said in a low voice, “You look breathtaking.”

Dropping my arms, I couldn’t hold back a jibe. “You didn’t seem to notice at breakfast.” Despite my attempt to sound flippant, my voice revealed my hurt, and it annoyed me.

Romero met my gaze, expression softening. “I did notice, believe me. It’s impossible not to, Lily,” he said quietly. We were alone in the corridor and standing close enough that I could smell his aftershave. “I didn’t want to ignore you, but we don’t have a choice. This has to stay a secret.”

“This?” I asked. “What exactly is this?” We had hardly done anything yet. We’d kissed three times but that was it.

His shoulders tensed as if he didn’t want to put a label on us. “I don’t know. Maybe nothing. But I want you, Lily. I can’t get you out of my head. No matter what I do there’s always you.”

I exhaled. It felt as if a huge rock had dropped off my shoulders. So it wasn’t just me. “You want me?” I echoed, tilting my head up to peer at him through my lashes.

Romero’s eyes travelled the length of my body again and it made me tingle all over. How would it feel if he touched every spot his eyes had wandered? He let out a small, dark laugh. “Oh yes.”

“I want you too. So what are we going to do now?” I took a step closer until there was barely room between us and I dipped my head back to stare up into his face. He didn’t touch me, even though I wanted him to but his eyes lingered on my breasts, and now that he wasn’t masking his emotions I saw the hunger in his expression. “What I want to do is take you into your bedroom and rip off your bikini, then taste every inch of your skin. I know you’ll taste absolutely perfect.”

I hadn’t expected him to be so direct and my face exploded with heat. “Why don’t you find out?” My attempt at a seductive whisper came out breathless, almost shy.

Romero touched his fingertips to my heated cheeks. “So innocent.” He shook his head and I could tell he was about to pull back physically and emotionally. I leaned against him, my breasts flush against his strong chest. “I don’t want to stay innocent, Romero.”

“Damn,” Romero muttered. He cupped the back of my head and tilted it to the side, then he bent down and pressed an open-mouthed kiss over my pulse point before he traced my jugular with his tongue. I let out an embarrassing moan as my core tightened with arousal. I tipped my head further to the side, giving him better access, but he had moved on from my throat and kissed my lips. I pressed myself against him even harder. His shirt felt cool against my naked skin. A noise from somewhere in the house