Page 92 of When She Tempts (The Fallen)
My pulse accelerates as his suited form emerges out of the car. Maybe it’s the wine lowering my inhibitions, but I don’t think twice about hurrying out of my room and making my way downstairs to meet him.
The front door opens.
His azure eyes collide with mine, and I can see something shift inside of them.
He steps across the threshold, closes the door behind him, and lifts something out of his pocket.
It’s a thin box.
He hands it to me. “Happy birthday,” he says in a rough voice that drips into my bloodstream like a drug. My skin tingles under his gaze as I open the box and look at the object inside.
It’s a pendant on a delicate chain. There’s a big diamond in a setting that looks like a miniature gold wreath.
My breath catches. “It’s exquisite.” I drag my fingertip over the giant rock. “It’s too much.”
“Not for you.”
Warmth spreads through my chest as I meet his thoughtful gaze. “Thank you.” I extend the box to him. “Will you put it on?”
He’s silent as he takes the chain out of the box and motions for me to turn around.
The pendant is as cold as ice against my flushed skin. When Giorgio’s hands brush against the sides of my neck, a shiver rolls down my spine. He clips the chain and places his palms on my shoulders. “Look,” he says softly.
I raise my gaze to the antique mirror hanging above the credenza.
The light in the foyer is dim, but the diamond soaks it in and sparkles on my neck like a beacon.
“It’s beautiful,” I whisper, smoothing the edges of my robe with my palms. “But it’s not what I wanted for my birthday.”
His eyes lock on mine in the reflection of the mirror. “What did you want,piccolina?”
Heat travels in a slow wave across my skin. The next word out of my mouth will be irrevocable. The step that sends me over the sharp edge of a cliff. It scares me, but choosing bravery over fear is what’s gotten me to this point, and I’m not about to stop now.
Not when I’m so close to getting what I want.
“You.”
CHAPTER23
MARTINA
The air thickensaround us as pure desire takes control of my mind and body. I slide my hand over one of his and lean back against his chest.
His jaw ticks, and his mouth becomes a hard line. I can see the conflict play out in his eyes, and it fuels me. He told me I’m playing a game I can’t win, but he’s fighting a battle with himself, and it’s a losing one.
“You didn’t scare me yesterday, Gio. When you told me how you’d use me, it turned me on.”
He exhales a long, shaky breath and slams his eyes shut. “Jesus.”
I turn to face him. “I won’t tell Damiano, you already know that. No one will ever know.”
“It’s so much more complicated than that.”
“It’s not.”
Taking a step back, I grasp the ends of my satin belt.
His attention moves to my hands, and his eyes narrow. “Martina,” he says, a clear warning in his voice.
