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My right brow arches. “Oh really? Is that because of what I would find?”

“It’s because it shows you are not someone with an agenda. For a man like me, it’s something I have to be cognizant of,” he explains. “Everything about you is real, Portia. Your beauty is natural. Your intelligence and grace are effortless. Your curiosity feels sincere. I enjoy being around you.”

“I… I like being around you too.”

“Hmmm.”

He settles his gaze on my face and inches closer as if he’s about to grab hold of me like at the club. I inhale a sharp breath, standing still enough to let him if he chooses. I’m acutely aware of how my body reacts to even his subtlest moves.

My heart beats faster at the prospect of his touch. Nerves flip in my belly at the thought of his kiss. A warm flush crawls onto my brown skin the closer he looms.

“Hmmm?” I choke out, feeling breathless. “Hmmm what?”

“Hmmm… you’re so tempting,dolcezza,” he says bluntly. “I’m wondering if you’ll let me do what I want to do.”

“Which… which is?”

An amused grin flits in and out of his handsome face before he clips my chin between his fingers and then plants a simple kiss on my lips.

Short but sweet.

Quick but teasing.

Over so soon, I’m left leaning toward him for more.

He runs his tongue along his bottom lip as if he can taste me, even from such a small little kiss. “Deliziosa.”

It’s the last word he utters before we come together a second time.

Before both of us lean toward the other seeking more. His mouth lands on mine in a warm kiss that’s patient and explorative, like he wants to learn every detail of me.

The kiss feels like a dream.

It makes me question if I’ve entered an alternative reality where nothing else matters.

The past I’ve let rule me, the bad experiences I’ve had, and the heartbreak over Lincoln and the divorce slip out of my mind.

The only thing that exists in this reality is Rafael Calderone’s warm, passionate kiss and the hands he caresses me with.

It’s within seconds that he has me panting. That his hands slide up my back and produce a shudder out of me. His tongue teases my lips, knowing exactly how to unravel me. Exactly how to get me going.

Rafael kisses like he’s playing a game. As if there will only be one victor and he seeks to win.

I can’t possibly put up a fight. I’m not sure I’d want to even if I could.

I surrender to him with a soft moan.

He frames my cheek in his hand and nuzzles my face with his. “You are like a drug,dolcezza,” he confesses, his breathing ragged. “I’m worried I won’t be able to let go if I get to have you.”

I nip at his lips hoping for another kiss. “What if… we don’t have to think about that right now? What if… we just enjoy ourselves?”

I’m not sure what makes me say it.

Maybe some combination of the wine and boldness that’s taken root inside me.

Because it’s unlike Portia James to let go like this.

I’m not Jayla—I don’t typically do spontaneity. I don’t do vacation flings or spur-of-the-moment hook ups.