Page 20 of A Winter Wedding Adventure (Adventure Weddings #2)

‘And why wouldn’t they?’ he responded belligerently. ‘Did Christian make you think you aren’t beautiful?’

‘A mirror tells me every morning! Don’t try to convince me I’m pretty, Mattia. We both know that would be a load of shit and I’d rather respect you.’

He sucked in a breath through his nose, his sharp jaw working.

His gaze dropped to her mouth and he swallowed, giving his head a little shake.

‘It’s a difficult choice.’ His voice was so deep and smooth, he could speak to her on another level – a deeply physical one, that distracted her from the task of puzzling out his convoluted meaning. ‘I do want your respect – quite a lot.’

His pained tone dug right under her skin.

The way he pinned her to the spot with just a hot gaze.

He should have been a stranger – a client.

But even as she’d tried to clear her thoughts on the wall, she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about his hand clasping hers – and what it would be like to kiss him.

She could lean in just a little and her mouth would be on his.

He’d kiss her back, those long fingers curling into her hair, holding her still as he slowed it down.

But Kira had momentum and she could tackle him to the mats.

She could touch him, work out whether he was made of flesh and blood or something non-corporeal, like his music.

Except, it wasn’t only her professional obligations that got in the way. Mattia was looking for his fairy soulmate and didn’t do casual. She wished he’d stop looking at her with such raw intensity if there was nowhere for the attraction to go.

‘Thanks for running up here naked to save me, but I’ll be fine. It was a long time ago. I’m not a starry-eyed teenager any more. I’ve learned not to let people get to me.’ She hoped that was true.

‘I suppose that is a real skill – another one I’ve certainly never mastered,’ he said, glancing away. ‘I always wondered if it’s about learning not to feel anything or simply learning not to show it.’

Kira scrambled to her feet, her rubber climbing shoes tripping her up in her hurry to get to the door and put some space between her and those confronting words.

He fed off emotion, swam confidently through it, enjoying getting wet.

Kira couldn’t swim and didn’t want to dip in more than her toe.

Another reason getting closer to him would be a bad idea.

‘Hey,’ he began as he caught up to her in the hallway, ‘I didn’t mean to upset you.’

‘I—’ Denying it would only prove his point. ‘We just bounce off each other strangely.’

Walking next to her down the narrow steps, his shoulder nudged hers over and over again. ‘I noticed that too. I like it.’

He would .

‘If people find me intimidating, why aren’t you frightened of me?’ she asked, slowing to let him consider his answer and bump his arm against hers a few more times.

They came to a stop outside the door of her room before he’d formed a response. ‘I think it’s because—’ Dramatic pause. He dipped his head and dropped his voice. ‘I’ve discovered your weakness.’

There was a smile in his voice, but his words still sent a bolt of unease through her.

Her alarm must have shown on her face, because he shook his head and lifted a hand, stretching his fingers under her ear, his thumb on her cheek, and she froze.

This was certainly one weakness he’d discovered.

She liked to be touched. Perhaps she needed it.

Perhaps that was why she’d been feeling restless.

‘Shh,’ he said softly. ‘Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.’

She wrenched her eyes open to scowl at him. ‘What are you talking about? What weakness?’

Swiping a strand of hair off her forehead, he drew back to smile at her in all his dark, elven glory. ‘You, Kira Watling, are one of the kindest people I’ve ever met.’

It could have been a platitude. From anyone else, it definitely would have been, but spoken in Mattia’s deep, other-worldly voice, punctuated by a brush of his thumb over the scar on her cheek, she couldn’t dismiss it.

‘I don’t… “Kind” isn’t an obvious choice to describe me. You said “vigorous” first.’ She extricated herself from the touch, immediately feeling the loss of it.

‘That too, but it’s not a weakness.’ His smile was amused now, as though he knew something she didn’t. ‘You are also one of the grumpiest people I’ve ever met, but despite everything, you are always kind, even taking fault on yourself when you shouldn’t.’

The lump in her throat was too big to swallow. ‘You should go and take a shower. You’ll get cold and I can see the salt on your skin from here.’

His cheeks were pink again when she looked into his face. He gave her an awkward smile. ‘See you at dinner.’

Just before she managed to escape, he leaned close, hesitating for a breath before pressing his lips to her cheek.

It was nothing – a throwaway gesture. He’d kissed Carla’s cheek in greeting despite everything unpleasant between them.

But he was too close, with all his warm skin and soft words.

He liked her, which was strange, but stranger still was how much she liked him, drama and all.

Kira couldn’t breathe – she couldn’t think. She could only react.