Bitter Pills

but the name isn’t one I recognized. My gut is telling me that it’s a fake identity. Nix is in Sydney. If we leave now, we can probably—”
Gavriel must have cut him off. All of this was news to me. Maybe Alessandro didn’t want to get my hopes up. Sydney? Nix was in Sydney? Why the hell were we waiting here?
“Of course. Yes, sir,” Alessandro gritted before hanging up the phone.
“I’m guessing my brother doesn’t want us going to Sydney?” I asked.
“He doesn’t want you going. I’ve been instructed to take you to the jet and put you on a flight home immediately.”
“That fucking prick,” I spat before pacing the hardwood floors. I didn’t want to go home. I wanted to see this to the end.
“We’re not going to listen to him, are we?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.
“You can’t go, Grace. We don’t know what we’re up against. There’s no guarantee he’s even there. This could be a wild goose chase.”
I stopped my pacing and walked over to Alessandro. He eyed me warily as I grabbed his hand. “I can’t,” he said.
“You can,” I insisted.
“I’m going to finish up here, and then we’re leaving. I don’t like staying here for any longer than necessary. Finding even this scrap of information took every ounce of my abilities. I was never the hacker Nix was, but this is next level. More than the vigilante group we worked for.”
I ground my teeth and squeezed his hand. “I’m going with you.”
“You’re not,” Alessandro promised. “Get ready, we’re leaving within the hour.” I couldn’t make sense of the way he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at me. How could he just push me away without a care?
“Maybe Nix doesn’t want to be found,” I offered, not really believing it.
“We both know that note was bullshit. I’m going to find him and figure this out. You are going to take a shower so we can leave.”
I started stomping toward the bathroom like a petulant child. I hated how much everyone controlled my life. I turned on the shower and stripped out of my clothes. “Fucking assholes. All of them.” I got under the steaming hot water and nearly screamed in frustration. I found some soap and started lathering up my skin, the woodsy scent assaulting me. Nix.
I breathed him in. He must have left it when he fled. The suds coated my sensitive skin, and my nipples pebbled. “Where are you, Nix?” I asked while closing my eyes. I ran my hands over my neck, across my collarbone and down my chest. I imagined Nix’s rich brown skin, his dark eyes. His broad shoulders, his defined jaw, his rippling abs and those infuriatingly sexy glasses he wore. I pictured his smirk as he touched me, that commanding presence he had. I ran my fingers lower and lower.
The bathroom door opened, and the shower curtain was shoved to the side. Alessandro glared at my body, and I let out a huff of annoyance. "You're taking too long."
"I've been in here like five minutes—tops."
Alessandro looked me up and down with an easy dip of his hard coal gaze. "Stop rubbing yourself with Nix's bodywash.”
Shame made my flushed cheeks burn with awareness. My dripping, naked body was bared before him. Alessandro knew my dirty thoughts and had no problem throwing them in my face. I chewed on the inside of my cheek while cocking my head to the side, daring him to say something. "Smells nice, huh?" I said before grabbing my sudsy hands and running them along his dress shirt.
"What are you doing?" he asked while clenching his jaw.
"Figured you'd wanna enjoy it too," I offered with a shrug. The hot water ran down my back, and my nipples were fucking pointing at Alessandro. He wasn't fazed. I grabbed the bodywash and squirted it at him, drenching his shirt.
"What the fuck, Grace?" he yelled before stripping out of his now soapy shirt. I smiled and squirted him again.
"That is for taking me back to my asshole brother."
I sprayed him again with a manic laugh. "That is for being an insufferable asshole."
He reached out and grabbed my wrists before jumping into the shower after me. "Have you lost your damn mind? I mean that seriously."
"Maybe?" I replied while hogging the hot water. Alessandro still wore his pants, the expensive tailored fabric clinging to his muscular legs. His stomach was coiled tight with tension. He ran a hand over his jaw before shaking his head. This didn't feel sexual in the slightest. Don't get me wrong, Alessandro was hot as fuck. But this wasn't the first time he'd seen my naked body. This wasn't the first time we danced around a strange sense of intimacy that meant more than physical attraction.
"You're a fucking pain in my ass. He stripped out of his clothes and very quickly rinsed off before getting out of the shower and drying off.
"You smell like him now," I mused before following suit. "We both do."
Alessandro wrapped the towel around his waist. "I don't want to fucking smell like him. I'm starting to think I want nothing to do with Nix or you or this ridiculous game we're playing."
My heart stalled. Maybe I pushed him too far. Maybe I challenged him too much.
"Get dressed," he said before picking up his mess of clothes and tossing them in the sink.
"Okay," I whispered.
We were completely silent for the ride to the airport. Alessandro messed with his iPad for the entire drive, not bothering to look at me. I pouted, crossing my arms over my chest and huffing at every red light. I hated this. I wasn't ready to leave. In fact, I wanted to grab a cab and find the nearest beach resort, maybe lick my wounds with some male model while sipping a fruity drink.
"We're here," the driver said in a clipped accent while pulling into the private airport. I didn't wait for someone to open my door. I