Page 158 of The Encore’s Crown

“I’m counting on it.”

Her mouth finally softens. I kiss her once more, then make myself let go. Natalia returns to getting dressed while I drop backward across the bed in my boxers, one arm folded behind my head.

She catches me watching her in the mirror. Then she bends so slowly to retrieve her other shoe that I’d swear it was a slow-motion video if I weren’t living through the experience. My gaze follows exactly as she planned. When she straightens, her eyes drop lower along my body and widen slightly at my immediate reaction to her performance.

“That was incredibly easy.”

“You’re the one bending over in front of me.”

“I was putting on a shoe.”

“You were doing it provocatively. On purpose.”

She looks again at the effect watching her has on me, and a devious grin crosses her face.

“This 'problem' has only gotten worse,” I say with a smirk.

“We spent the entire day trying to fix it.”

“By giving me mental recordings of everything I’m going to miss while you’re back in Seattle?” I shake my head. “I’d call that much, much worse. Definitely not fixed.”

Natalia laughs despite herself and reaches for her makeup bag. The room settles into something almost domestic after that. She stands at the mirror working concealer over the marks along her neck while I watch from the bed. She tilts her head one way, then the other.

“You actually mauled me. If I’m a crocodile, you’re a fucking bear.”

She points to a mark just below her jaw.

“I’d call that enthusiasm.”

“This is going to take industrial-grade coverage.”

“I didn’t mean to leave hickeys. I just got carried away.”

She looks at me through the mirror.

“I haven’t done that since high school,” I add. “Guess I'll just have to get better at it.”

“At making hickeys?”

“At wanting everyone to know you're mine without making a mess of you.”

The words leave me before I can reconsider them. Natalia goes still. So do I. Her eyes meet mine in the mirror.

“That sounded possessive,” I say. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

Then she turns back to the mirror and applies another layer of concealer. I stare at the ceiling because looking at her has become a temptation, one I’m completely incapable of resisting. A knock sounds through the suite.

“Nat?” Kasia calls. “It’s me.”

The reality of her leaving hits all at once. Natalia caps the concealer as I stand. Then she crosses the room and throws her arms around me. I hold her tightly while she presses her face into my chest. I feel the breath she takes to keep herself together. Something burns behind my own eyes. Neither of us acknowledges what we’re feeling, that'd make this too real. She pulls back first and looks up at me.

Another knock.

“Natalia?”

“She’s going to break the door down,” I whisper.