Chapter 498

If Ella were back in Long Harbor, she’d tell him to leave in a heartbeat. But now, she didn’t dare. After a moment, she told Stephanie, “We’ll talk about it when you get to Fiorenza.” She couldn’t stand another minute with Lorenzo, but she had no choice. It was maddening.

When Ella hung up, she went to open the door, but Lorenzo was already gone. She went downstairs and found it empty. She figured Lorenzo had gone to his room and the others had left. Ella glanced around to make sure no one was around, then hurried to find some water. Her throat was on fire, and she needed to cool it down. After a few gulps, she made her way to Lorenzo’s room.

She’d learned her lesson about barging in unannounced. After several soft knocks, she pressed her ear to the door, listening for any noise inside. Too many surprises had happened here, and Ella was on high alert. “Come in,” Lorenzo’s voice called from inside. Only then did Ella slowly push the door open.

She didn’t dare look at Lorenzo directly. Instead, she let her gaze drift over him slowly. When she saw he was shirtless, her heart skipped a beat. As she wondered why he wasn’t dressed, her eyes fell on his bare chest and the wolf tattoo that seemed to move on its own. The wolf’s fierce eyes looked like they could leap off his skin and tear her apart.

Ella finally saw the full tattoo and understood what it was. She’d caught glimpses of it on Lorenzo’s neck before, but those partial views had been misleading. Only now did she realize that the tattoo she’d seen on Lorenzo’s neck was actually the eyes of the wolf. Seeing the full image, she found it almost menacing, making her heart tremble.

“Why are you just standing there? Get over here,” Lorenzo said coldly, pulling Ella back to reality. Ella clutched the doorframe and stammered, “C—cover yourself.” She thought to herself, ‘He doesn’t seem to realize how great his body looks.’

Lorenzo raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“It’s not right for a man and a woman to be alone like this. Think about the impression you’re making,” Ella said, trying to sound firm.

Lorenzo’s lips twitched into a faint smile. “You’re talking about impressions?”

“Wh—what’s that supposed to mean?” Ella retorted. ‘Can’t I even make a small request on his turf?’ she thought.

Lorenzo chuckled softly. “You didn’t seem to care about making a good impression before.”

Ella’s eyes widened. ‘What was he getting at? What did I do before?’ she wondered. Before she could figure it out, Lorenzo kept going. “Do you remember what you did that time in Shallow Bay Area?”

Ella winced slightly as she remembered losing her balance and grabbing onto his sensitive part. Even though it happened days ago, her whole body tingled now that Lorenzo brought it up. As Lorenzo saw her embarrassed expression, his smile widened. “And when you took my bath towel—”

“Stop.” Ella stepped forward and quickly covered his mouth with her hand. She couldn’t let him go on. If he kept talking, they’d be too embarrassed to look at each other straight again.

At that moment, they were standing so close that their warm breaths mingled. Lorenzo wrapped his hand around Ella’s waist, pulling her close. She was small but soft and curvy. Without thinking, he gave her waist a gentle squeeze.