Page 36 of When She Tempts (The Fallen)
My gaze jolts up to his. The burst of adrenaline inside my veins from that tiny, barely-there movement can’t be healthy. Why did he do that?
What does it mean?
Whatever answers I hope to find in his expression never appear. A shadow shifts over his face before he glances away. “Go ahead.”
Down, then up.
The second I escape, he steps away.
We practice for another hour before Giorgio decides to call it a day. When we finish, he walks over to the wooden box, picks up his keys, and slides them into his pocket. “Same time tomorrow.”
Brusque tone. Firm shoulders.
“Okay.”
When he walks by me, all I get is a passing glance, and I’m left wondering if I imagined that light caress.
CHAPTER10
MARTINA
As I stepout of my bedroom dressed in my workout clothes, I’m met with the sound of heavy footsteps. My gaze lands on a pair of brown work boots thudding down the hardwood floor.
“Where were you yesterday?” Polo asks as he stops in front of me, his white shirt half-tucked inside a pair of well-worn jeans. “Bored of the work already?”
I give him a smile. “I was busy with something.”
“Doubt it.” His gaze skims over my shoulder before sliding back to me. To my surprise, he lifts his fingers up to my face and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “There really isn’t much to be busy with around here.”
“She was with me.”
Giorgio’s voice is like a distant roll of thunder, low and ominous. I whip my head around in time to see him step out of his room. He stops by my side, his biceps brushing against my shoulder.
Polo tips his chin up to look at Giorgio, his gaze sharpening and his lips curving into a smirk. “Ah. My apologies. I see you’ve taken responsibility for our guest’s entertainment on yourself.”
“He’s not entertaining me,” I clarify. “He’s teaching me.”
“Is he?”
“Yes. Self-defense.”
Sarcasm soaks his voice as he says, “Oh, right. A critical skill to know while you’re vacationing in a remote castello.” He shifts his weight between his feet, linking his palms behind him. “I hope he’s thoroughlyhands-onwith you, Martina. An engaged instructor is the best way to learn.”
Embarrassment creeps up my chest. Is he insinuating there’s something inappropriate about our lessons?
During the night, I managed to thoroughly convince myself that brush of his thumb along my wrist was a figment of my overactive imagination. At most, it might have been an absentminded twitch. If we’re going to keep doing these lessons, I have to stop reading into things like that.
Giorgio takes a step forward, annoyance rolling off him in waves. “Indeed. The program I’m putting Martina through is intense, so she’s unlikely to have the energy to help you in the garden. I know you’re more than capable of handling it on your own.”
Polo’s jaw hardens. “Of course.”
“Good.”
They stare at each other for a long moment. Then, a palm wraps around my elbow and applies light pressure. “Come on, Mari. I have a hard stop at twelve.”
Mari.
I somehow manage to mutter a goodbye to Polo despite all of my mental faculties zooming in on that one word.
