A fleet of goose bumps set course, traveling over every inch of my skin as I stood there naked with only my phone in my hand.
“Cold?” His hand smoothed along his hard jawline.
“Yes.”
“Wet?” His gaze fell between my legs, and I was still pink and swollen.
“Very,” I murmured, then caught a whiff of his cologne. He always smelled so damn good. I had no clue how to identify scents, though. Sandalwood? Cedar? Juniper berry? I mean, what in the hell did juniper even smell like? The best I could do was maybe identify lavender and vanilla.
My shoulders slumped. Vanilla had been my life up until Enzo, too. And I didn’t want that. I wanted something dark and spicy. Bold and seductive.
Enzo.
I just wanted Enzo.
“I lost you.” Enzo cupped my chin, reminding me I was still naked and cold. And a bit speechless even though my brain was nonstop all the time.
“I was saying you, uh, smell good, right?”
He smiled. “Maybe you were thinking it.”
“Oh.” My embarrassment came out as a grin, and I probably looked ridiculous. “And what is the cologne you’re wearing?”
He closed one eye as if not sure. “I forgot the name. But it smells like black orchids and notes of truffle, and maybe—”
“Of course, a chef would describe his cologne like it’s food, making me both hungry and . . .” Wanting sex.
I jolted at the sudden rumble of thunder. Had the clouds rolled in while we’d been inside? And why did an impending storm and ominous gray sky feel fitting for today?
He released me. “I should let you get ready.”
“Mm. Yes, please leave me alone while I’m wet and naked.” The taunt tumbled from my lips at the same time the sky groaned, threatening to unleash hell.
And the way Enzo peered at me right now, it was as if he wanted to unleash something as well. But that tight lock of his jaw meant he was going to restrain himself. One of us needed to behave, I supposed. “Maria.”
My hand lifted between us as I said, “I know, I know. Fire. And you need a phone because you probably have a ton of important calls you can’t miss, and I’m a distracting pain in the ass.”
He snatched my hips, his hands cut around to my backside, and he squeezed my flesh to that torture-pleasure point he seemed to know so well. “You are distracting. And a pain in my ass. But I . . .”
You what?
His eyes closed, and there was that battle. The war. Didn’t he ever get tired of fighting it? I was exhausted for him, and I was only on the outside looking in, catching a glimmer here and there.
He freed me from his strong hands and turned. But he stopped just outside the doorway, and his hands went to the frame. They turned to fists as he bowed his head. “Wear the red dress. No panties,” he ordered, and with that, he left.
Frustrated by the fact he was leaving but also turned on by his order, I hurriedly grabbed what I needed and went into the bathroom.
Maybe he was right to walk away, though. We were in New York to find his sister’s killer, not to check off my sexual fantasy list. Enzo going down on me had been on the list, but I’d never pictured it happening in that hotter-than-sin way.
I unceremoniously dropped my things onto the vanity and combed my wild hair. I was a mess. On the inside and out, so it would seem.
Once I managed to tame my wet hair, I wrangled it into a side braid so I wouldn’t have to dry it and slipped on the bra and modest but slightly sexy red wrap dress.
I finally unlocked the phone, and all of Natalia’s messages were still unread, which meant Enzo had only seen the notifications and hadn’t invaded my privacy.
Natalia: I’ve called five times. No answer. I’m worried.
Natalia: Okay, Enzo’s not answering his phone either. Do I need to call Constantine?
Great, if she called Constantine and then he tried to get ahold of his brother, why’d I get the feeling he’d send the cavalry?
Me: Sorry. I was distracted.
Natalia: Oh, thank God. I was two seconds away from phoning every Costa I know.
Me: We had to stop at Enzo’s, and I left my phone in the car, and his wound up getting wet.
Natalia: How’d that happen?
Me: His pool.
Surely my sister had been to his place before when she lived in New York, but she’d never told me how crazy-over-the-top his home was.
Natalia: ???
Me: We fell in.
Natalia: ???
Me: It’s a long story.
Natalia: So, give me the bullet points.
Me: Well, Enzo kissed me six years ago at that bar. And then he got me off with his hand twice this past week. I saw him naked last night. And then we kissed for the first time in six years this morning. Somehow, we fell into his pool today. And well, you know, stuff happened after that. See, long story.