Page 132 of Titus

But was I shocked at myself for wanting him? Hell no.

Who the hell was I? It wasn’t just the yacht and the romance. It was the slow dance. It was seeing the look on his face, showing me he was craving more yet holding back.

The Titus Hawk everyone had read and heard about knew that if he wanted a woman, the last thing he would do was restrain himself. He took her. Like he took this goddamn yacht. It’s who the man was and how he operated.

Somehow, he was the complete opposite when it came to me, and I still couldn’t figure out what the hell I’d done to unravel the man like this.

And before he took off for condoms, never returned, and left me sitting out here processing shit… I was about to kill a five-year-long celibacy streak.

I laughed softly beneath my breath before hearing the terrace doors slide open behind me.

“Catalina?”

My pulse stumbled instantly. I turned in the water and used the edge of the pool to conceal my body.

I played it cool, reached for the glass of wine I’d poured after he left, and studied this beautiful man’s appearance. His shirt was still unbuttoned. His dark hair was slightly disheveled, and the look in his eyes⁠—

His gaze moved over me slowly while he exhaled a rough curse beneath his breath in Spanish.

“You got in the pool?”

I tried to maintain composure. “I didn’t think you were coming back.”

A faint smile touched his lips as he lifted a small black box between two fingers. “I handled the problem.”

Heat rushed into my cheeks. And judging by the way Titus looked at me standing in that water, whatever composure he had left clearly hadn’t survived the trip.

“Took you long enough,” I smirked.

He mirrored my grin. “Well, my staff probably feels entirely terrorized because I was shouting for these damn things.”

I covered my smile. “You don’t even know where you put…”

For the first time in my life, a situation actually rendered me speechless.

Before I could finish, the man started unbuttoning his pants, dropped them, along with the shirt and everything else, except his briefs.

Jesus. He was the very definition of a man. Dark chest hair scattered across his chest, a small trail leading down and disappearing into the hem of his briefs. His muscles were tense and more pronounced than I’d seen them at the beach.

This man was about to ruin me in the best possible way.

I was waiting for the big reveal, but he was in the water with me before I could blink. Then I was in his arms, his lips devouring mine with more force than before. I could hardly return the kiss. I was breathless, lightheaded, and completely at his mercy.

I wrapped my legs around his waist and locked them around him, bringing our bodies closer together. My arms went around his neck while my head fell back. His full lips possessively claimed the delicate curve beneath my ear.

His deep moan as his hand covered my bare ass reignited the fire that had been doused when he had to leave the room. God, every sound from him went straight between my legs.

“We’re not doing this in a goddamn pool,” he said after his lips left my breast. His golden eyes met mine. “Not to start, anyway.”

I sucked in a breath at the intensity of his gaze. That’s when the nerves kicked in. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. It had to be because I knew we were about to cross a line into something dangerous.

His expression changed in that instant. “Are you okay?”

I inhaled again, excited and scared all at once. “Yeah,” I whispered.

He studied my eyes, “Don’t lie to me, cariño.”

“I’ll sink this damn yacht if you hurt me,” I said.