Page 99 of Burning Caine
His face nuzzled against my neck, more of his weight settling on me. “Samantha, you will have me?”
I threaded my fingers into his damp hair, flexing the hand he hadn’t let go of. The moment was right. Surprisingly right. “Oh my god, Antonio. Yes.”
He pushed up, smiling down at me with tender eyes, their gold flecks dancing. “You said you brought—”
“What the hell?” came a stranger’s voice, surprisingly close.
“Get a room,” came another’s.
We immediately separated—Antonio tossing a side of the blanket to cover me up—and I rolled to see a group of five young men with fishing poles coming down the end of the path. No, no, no, no, no. They were far enough away they likely didn’t see my half-nakedness, but they definitely saw enough. The heat flushing through my body traveled into my cheeks.
This was the first time I’d ever run into anyone else at this beach. Worst. Timing. Ever.
“Eyes, gentlemen.” Antonio stood, exhaling in frustration, not hiding his blatant erection as it slowly faded. “I’ll give you two hundred dollars to head back to where you came from.”
The guys kept their eyes on him, as he stood with folded arms between them and me. “We walked two hours to go fishing. We’re not going anywhere for forty bucks each!”
Antonio looked back to me and shook his head, barely phased by being caught with his pants down. “That’s all the cash I have. Do you have any with you?”
I clutched the blanket around me, mortified.“No!”
We dressed quickly and headed back along the trail. Once we were far enough away we couldn’t hear the intruders anymore, he took my hand. “I would still very much like to make love to you.”
“Yeah, well, we’ll have to find somewhere a bit more private.”
“It’s alright. I’ve waited for you this long.”
The air ran out of my lungs in a rush. “‘This long?’ You’re kidding me?” I pulled my hand out of his and stopped. It had all been a game, after all. “We’ve known each other two and a half weeks!”
His eyes went wide, and he threw his hands up between us. “Samantha, that was—”
“Victoria was right! You’re the kind of guy who—”
“I’m not! Per favore, give me a moment.”
The pained look on his face made me pause, but I folded my arms to prevent myself from punching him. “You’ve got five minutes.”
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, taking most of those minutes in silence. Planning an excuse. “My feelings for you started much longer than two and a half weeks ago. We went to college together.”
“No, we didn’t.”
“We did. You took Roman Art and Archaeology?”
“Yes.”
“The last week, you did a presentation on the section of Trajan’s column with the female torturers.” He took a step toward me, but I backed away.
I shook my head, remembering the presentation, but unable to recall him. Was Nathan right about him being a stalker?
“You were brilliant, beautiful, and possessed a clear passion for things that mattered to me. I have carried that memory with me…” He closed the distance between us and took one of my hands, holding it to his heart. “Here. I’ve been looking for a woman with those traits ever since.”
“You didn’t even know me.” My hand trembled, but I didn’t pull it away.
“Imagine my surprise—” He lifted the hand to his lips and kissed it. “—when you came back into my life and I had the opportunity to get to know the real you.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I worried it would scare you off.”