Page 47 of Wild Embers
“Oh yeah?” Santiago replies, genuinely surprised.
“Yeah. I was in the shower and…” I hold my fork halfway between my mouth and my plate, realizing that this topic probably isn’t any better.
“Did someone walk in on you? Who?” His question has a sharp edge to it that makes me think I’m about to condemn someone to death.
I roll my lips in, hiding the truth.
Santiago’s finger hooks under my chin and turns my head to face him. The intensity in his body almost has him vibrating, but his grip on my face is delicate. “Mi Cielo, no one else gets to look at you. I’d lock you in this room where I can come home to your perfect body every day.”
Apparently, I’m collecting red flags like it’s my job because I’m weak in the knees. If we were standing, I’d collapse right here.
I whisper my confession. “Levi and Walk.”
“Oh. Okay.” The storm around Santiago dissipates in less than half a second.
“That’s all you have to say?” I frown, perplexed.
“I don’t see the big deal.” He shrugs. “It’s just Walk and Levi.”
Santiago’s whiplash has me reeling.
He doesn’t want anyone else to look at me, but he doesn’t care if it’s Walker or Levi. Maybe he only got possessive to get me to give up the names.
Yeah, that makes the most sense.
Which means last night was just one night, as I expected.
Swallowing hard against the knot stuck in my throat, I set my place aside and turn to face Santiago. “I had fun last night, and I’m not naïve. No rose-colored glasses on these eyes here. I know what we did last night doesn’t mean…” My speech trails off as Santiago’s jaw visibly squares.
“Doesn’t mean what? Say it,” Santiago utters bitterly.
I’m a big girl, and now I need to act like it.
Straightening my spine, I look Santiago right in the eye as I continue. “It doesn’t mean we’re in a committed relationship oranything. You don’t owe me anything. It was just a bit of fun. I know how this kind of thing works.”
Santiago grits his teeth. “What kind of thing?”
I continue as if he hadn’t said anything at all. “And don’t worry, I was a full participant and fully consenting.”
“I know you were. I was there too,” he reassures me, exasperated.
Taking a stabilizing breath, I get to the end. “What I’m trying to say is that I’m content with this being just one night.”
Silence stretches between us, widening from a crack to a chasm. Santiago’s nostrils flare, and his cheeks flame.
“What if I’m not okay with that?” It’s a question, but he says it more like a statement.
I can’t help but let out a full-belly laugh. “Yeah, right,” I finally get out as I playfully shove his shoulder. “I know your track record, Santi. I remember you always having a different woman with you. Never the same woman twice, and in a town this size, I won’t lie, that’s impressive.”
“Blake…” Santiago says my name like it’s a word of caution.
I hold my hands up defensively. “I’m not shaming you. Do what makes you happy.”
“You make me happy.”
Squinting, I try to decipher his statement like it’s a cryptic message. He can’t mean that. There’s no way. I haven’t seen him in over a decade, and he just found out that I’m here. “You barely know me.”
“That’s not true,” Santiago refutes as he grabs my hand. The simple contact jumbles my brain, but I can’t let him walk in here, flash a smile, and make me fall at his feet.
