I leaned against the fireplace and continued to study her, study her the way she studied my environment.
“It’s dark. Moody.”
“I’m a dark and moody man.” I’d always been that way since I was a boy. A therapist could blame it on my father’s abandonment, but I didn’t think that was the only culprit. Ever since I was born, I was a quiet child. During adolescence, I became even quieter, choosing my friends wisely and avoiding romance because it required too much talking. Bates and I were the same in that regard. That was probably why we got along so well.
“You don’t show this room to many people, right?” She turned back around to look at me, her green eyes complementing the wood of my desk and floor.
Bates had been in here a few times. Giovanni and the cleaners stopped by to keep it tidy. Other than that, I seemed to be the only visitor. “No.”
“Then perhaps this room doesn’t need anything. It already has so much character.” She returned to me by the door, holding my gaze steadily. She gripped her folder and mastered her confidence even though I was standing right in front of her. Like a real soldier, she didn’t cower easily. Actually, she didn’t cower at all.
“Your call.”
I stared at the pearls encircling her throat and yearned to grip them hard. I wanted to yank her necklace free and shatter it, making the pearls drop to the floor with quiet thuds on impact. Then I wanted to smother that slender neck with my lips, kissing and sucking the flawless skin until it was bruised with my marks everywhere.
She waited patiently for an answer.
As if I hadn’t just experienced a vivid fantasy, I answered her. “Leave it as it is.” I left the office and guided her to the last room in my home—my bedroom. It took up half of the third floor, having an Alaskan king bed, a private living room, a balcony that overlooked the backyard, and a bathroom that was big enough for a gym.
It was the only time she’d slightly cowered on the tour. She stepped inside my room and looked at the bed for a long moment before she appraised the barren walls around it. The bed was custom-made and shipped across the pond. It was nine feet by nine feet, perfect for more than two guests at a time.
It was the exact reason I had it.
Siena must have pieced that information together, but she didn’t comment on it. She moved through the rooms and examined the other spots. She scribbled notes then came back to me. “You have a beautiful home, Cato. Decorating it should be no problem, especially when it’ll look amazing no matter what hangs on the walls.”
“Thank you.” I stood near the foot of the bed, reflecting on the last kiss we’d shared. We’d stepped off the elevator, and then my lips were on hers. I smothered her with hot kisses as I guided her back to the bed. I’d kissed a lot of women, but she was exceptional.
She’d said she didn’t want to sleep with me just for the job, and I believed her. If that were the case, she would have gone through with it—including Christina. But she was sincerely offended at the thought of sharing, and that drove her away.
I could slip my hand into her hair and kiss her then and there. I could rumple the sheets with our sweaty bodies. I could make her come just the way I fantasized about. But being with one woman hadn’t been my taste in a long time. It became too boring to be exciting. Now I always had two women at once—and even that was becoming tedious.
Siena wouldn’t be any different.
She scribbled some notes then came back to me. “Since this room is primarily just for you, I thought we could go with dark and sultry images, of women and historic landscapes, unless there was something you specifically had in mind. I have a few clients who prefer to decorate entire rooms inspired by a single artist.”
I heard everything she said, but I didn’t really take it in. I watched her lips move and focused on the way her sexy mouth opened and closed. Glimpses of her tongue reminded me of the way it felt in my mouth. “Whatever you think is best.”
Bates joined me at the bar. Instead of going to the club right away, we met up for a drink in Florence. I left Tuscany