Page 59 of Broken Crown

His darkened eyes swept over me, lingering on the rapid rise and fall of my chest.

My gaze narrowed as I planted my feet and placed my hands on my hips. "Fine. Then I'll move out."

My challenge was unmistakable.

He closed the distance between us in two swift strides. He reached out and stroked my hair, tucking a piece behind my ear. His fingers brushed against my skin.

"My answer to that hasn't changed."

"Technically you can't keep me here. I can leave and find a place of my own." I tried to keep my pulse steady, even though his proximity made it hard to do.

He nodded sagely as if he were actually taking what I was saying seriously. "You could try."

"Rome is a big city. You can't know all the landlords." I lifted my chin, defiant despite the way my body betrayed me, leaning imperceptibly toward his heat.

He smiled and stepped closer, edging me against the bureau.

The wood bit into my lower back as he placed his palms on the surface on either side of my hips, caging me between his arms. “I don't have to know all the landlords. They just need to know me.”

He whispered the words against my temple, his lips brushing my skin.

I hated that he was right.

Hated that he looked so effortlessly handsome in an ivory military crew sweater that clung to the hard planes of his chest and tailored linen trousers that hugged his powerful thighs. He'd pushed up his sleeves, exposing his tanned and tightly muscled forearms, veins prominent beneath the skin, and the heavy platinum Chopard Alpine Eagle watch on his wrist.

And as always, the Diamanti signet ring on his finger—a symbol of his power that made my stomach clench with desire despite myself.

I scoffed, desperate to hide the effect he had on me. "Does it ever get exhausting being an overbearing, arrogant know-it-all?"

He leaned down, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from his body. His lips found the sensitive spot just under my jaw, teeth grazing my skin, his mouth pressing against my thundering pulse.

"Not even a little bit."

I shifted back, my thighs trembling with the effort. I needed to deflect, and quickly, before he noticed the way my body responded to him.

"Are we going to talk about what happened last night?"

He ran his fingers along my collarbone, leaving a trail of fire in their wake, and unbuttoned the first button on my shirt.

His knuckles brushed against the swell of my breast, making my breath hitch. "Absolutely. Why did you leave my bed this morning?"

Because waking up next to you melted my brain.

Spending the night in his arms had been too…right.

I'd awakened with my cheek pressed against his naked chest, his skin hot against mine. The steady beat of his heart and the sound of his even breathing a dangerous lullaby. The weight of his arm across my waist possessive, even in sleep.

It made me think that it was possible to have a life with him.

It was one thing to think I might be in love with him.

It was another to think there was a possibility it could actually work out between us.

A toxic man burned his way into your soul, leaving a mark you would never fully heal from.

Placing a hand against his chest, feeling the solid wall of muscle beneath his sweater, I pushed gently. His heart raced beneath my palm, betraying that I affected him as much as he affected me.

"Do you have friends in New York?"