Nope. No can do. I’m fucked. Royally fucked.
And just when I think Valentina can’t surprise me anymore, she lifts the spatula in her hand and uses it as a pretend-microphone. Losing herself in the song, she sings about trying to hold back a feeling for so long. She asks if you feel like she does. Throwing her heart into the chorus, she misses the notes of the come ons and oohs, but no one watching her would give a damn. They’d be goners like me. She sings endearingly out of tune, and I go from wanting to fuck her brains out to wanting to kiss her silly until her lips only know mine.
She twirls once for the grand finale and shrieks when she finds me there. “Oh my God.” A hand to the chest, shock and embarrassment register in her lovely features. “I thought you were still sleeping. How long have you been standing there?”
I push myself away from the doorframe, strolling toward her, enjoying the blush spreading through her cheeks. The inner savage, hunter, caveman in me shouts, Mine. Mine. Mine. All mine. “Not long enough.”
Valentina places the spatula on a white plate next to the stove in a very ladylike manner and turns off the burner. Gone is the careless girl from a moment ago, and I want her back. “I hope you enjoyed the show.”
Five steps separate us.
“You’ve got no idea.”
Four steps …
Flustered, she straightens her cardigan, crosses her arms over her chest, and leans her back against the counter.
Three steps …
“What song was that anyway?”
Two …
She strokes the back of her neck, trying not to fidget under my appreciative gaze. “You know … ‘Let’s Get It On’?”
I’m now standing so close to her, we might as well be touching. Towering over her, I grin wickedly as I place my hands on the counter, enclosing her within my arms. “Yes. Let’s,” I whisper softly.
She blinks repeatedly as though disoriented. “I-I meant the song by Marvin Gaye.”
“That was Marvin Gaye?”
“I was a little off.”
I raise an eyebrow, the corners of my mouth twitch. “Is that so?”
“Okay, maybe a lot off.” She laughs openly, her eyes a swirl of chocolate and caramel behind the glasses.
Ah. There she is again.
“Are you hungry? I made breakfast.”
“Depends. Are you as good of a cook as you are a singer?” I tease her, enjoying myself more than I should, more than it’s safe. “Because if you are …” I pretend to grimace.
She smacks my chest playfully. “Jerk.”
We laugh, and it feels as good as a smoke after an energetic fuck. Silence falls when laughter disappears and all that is left are lingering smiles on our lips. I could get used to this—her presence filling the empty rooms in my home—laughing. The unbidden thought takes me by surprise. But once planted, it grows like a seed, its roots taking hold of me.
I stare, my eyes devouring her as I try to memorize the exact location of the tiny beauty mark close to her lips. Top left, right by her dimple—my own Bermuda Triangle. “Thank you for last night,” I say huskily.
“Don’t worry about it. I did what anyone in my position would’ve done.” She looks nervously around, avoiding my gaze. “Besides, you have a lovely guest room with a very comfortable bed. You know … I-I think it’s time for me to go. Enjoy breakfast.” She tries to escape like a hunted animal, nudging my arm to move.
But I don’t let her. I tighten my grip on the edges of the counter. “Why did you stay?”
“Because you asked me to.”
“You could’ve left after I fell asleep.” My heart kicks into overdrive. Time seems to freeze as she considers her next words carefully.
“Because I wanted to stay,” she whispers. “And it felt nice …”
I lean closer to her. My lips brush her earlobe. “What did?”
“Being needed.” She raises her gaze, meeting mine.
And what I see is like a punch to the gut. I want to fly to New York and kill that motherfucker husband of hers, beat him down to a pulp with my own hands for having dared to put that pain in her eyes.
“Wanted. I-I had forgotten what it felt like and … and—”
“You’ve got no idea, do you?” I brush the hair away from her shoulder with the back of my fingers. She trembles under me. Trace the elegant line of her neck and shoulder with hands that desire to conquer and dominate—that long to own her.
She releases a shaky breath. “What’s that?”
“J’ai envie de toi.” I take her wrist in my hand and kiss the inside, feeling the pulse as it beats life back into mine. “J’ai besoin de toi. Tu me rends fou.” Wish my lips could embed the words on her skin, show and make her believe them. I let go of the wrist to cup her face, my thumb stroking the inebriating blush on her cheek. “If I were a weaker man—”
Valentina licks her lips, her chest rising and falling brokenly. “Yes?”
The incessant ring of the doorbell breaks the moment as though cold water has been poured down on us. I let her go, cursing under my breath. Valentina staggers back as I realize how close I came to losing control of the situation. Jesus Christ. One more minute and I would have ravaged her on the kitchen counter.
“You should really lock your door, you know, Sébastien,” a familiar voice says teasingly from somewhere behind us. “We were in the neighborhood and thought we should surprise you—Oh. Looks like—uh—hello!”
This can’t be happening. But Valentina’s mortified expression tells me it is. Trying to cover herself, she pulls the cardigan closer about her.
“Uncle Sebs! Uncle Sebs!” A little urchin with black curls comes running toward me, wrapping his little arms around my legs. “Lowk!” He tilts his head back, giving me a shit-eating grin. “I lost a tooth!”
“Awesome, buddy. Why don’t you tell me all about it later?” I ruffle little Jack’s curls while looking at my cousin Sophie, her husband, and niece.
Ever since Jack, Sophie’s husband, became the new Ambassador of the United States to France, and they moved here all the way from D.C., they’ve tried to adopt me as the fifth member of their family. They are gawking at Valentina and me with eyes as wide as saucers, bags in their arms filled with food worthy of feeding an army. I would laugh if it weren’t for Valentina and how this affects her.
An innate desire to protect Valentina from embarrassment prompts me to stand next to her. “Well, this is definitely a surprise. I wasn’t expecting you guys.” I throw a quick glance at Valentina, the kind that says I’m sorry and understand if I’m in the doghouse, before introducing her to my family.