I turn and I see him standing over by the wall of the other bar. There aren’t many people there. Sure enough, though, he’s watching me.
Pulling in a breath I make my way over to him, breaking another rule. One more rule to break tonight. When I’m out I break them all. I’m not supposed to talk to men, so I do. No one is supposed to touch me, so I touch.
I’m not a slut. I don’t sleep around, but with the life I live I can’t exactly have a boyfriend, so I’ve had a few one-night stands. And when I say a few. I literally mean three. With the life that awaits me there’s no way I’d be able to see a man like this and speak to him. So, I’ll take the chance tonight.
Heat streaks through me when I get closer to him, the mysterious Italian Stallion who dazzles me even more now than he did the other day.
He looks taller now because I’m wearing my pumps. I place him at about six foot six, so to my mere five foot four he towers over me, even leaning against the wall.
Those eyes stare into me with desire I won’t resist and in the dim lights he looks just as striking as in the daylight.
“You following me, Bellezza?” he asks with a smile that’s just as devastatingly gorgeous as he is.
“Maybe.”
“Oh… I see. Buonasera signorina.” I like how he talks, swapping between Italian and English at intervals like it’s the norm.
I speak five languages, so I understand him perfectly.
“Buonasera signore, in Russia we say dobryy vecher.”
“Is that where you’re from beautiful?” he asks and my mouth goes dry.
He’s charming, effortlessly charming. He doesn’t have to try either. I can tell charm comes naturally to him. This man could talk me out of my panties with just his smile. It’s a dangerous thought for me.
“Yeah. I am. I haven’t been there in a very long time though.”
“I’m from Sicily. Haven’t been there in a while either.” He looks me over and I don’t miss the way his eyes rake boldly over my body, and neither does my body miss the pull of the stimulus. “Are you here by yourself?”
“Yeah. I sometimes come here to hang out. Are you … here by yourself too?” I ask tentatively. The last thing I’d want is for his girlfriend to come and ask me what I’m doing talking to her man.
“I am by myself. It’s a nice place to hang, and I guess to reunite with a beautiful woman you ran into in the park.”
I smile, liking him more than I should allow myself.
“You’re too kind, but I wanted to thank you again for coming over to help me in the park. I’m not usually like that. I don’t usually cry in public.”
“What are you like?”
His question throws me a little and I have to think of the answer. The answer to which is I’m a sheltered Bratva princess who lives under her father’s thumb. Never mind the fact that I’m supposed to be marrying a monster in less than six months.
So, what am I usually like?
“Happier…” I answer and I think he knows it for a lie. I guess it’s a half truth. I’m happier in my mind when I’m not thinking about my father and when I’m working.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“You look happy now,” he notes, and I resist the urge to laugh. Happiness is not what sent me out here in the night to seek a taste of freedom. “Is it okay now? I mean what made you cry the other day?”
I hate lies and I want to tell the truth, but I can’t. Half-truths are what I’ve lived on all my life.
“Not so much, but I feel better,” I answer and his gaze clings to mine. He looks at me like he can see what’s inside. I notice something in him too, something I recognize as the mask I wear to guard what I really feel. The pain I feel. He’s smiling though so I must be wrong. I’m not in the habit of asking a man out or anything like that, but I like talking to him and I don’t want to say goodbye yet.
“I wondered if it might be okay to buy you a drink,” I offer. “Just to say thanks.”
“A drink?”
“Yeah.” My cheeks flush when he intensifies his stare.
“Can I get the name of my damsel in distress before she buys me a drink?”