your left foot to the tips of the toes on your right foot with those hands stretched outward,” Santino commands from his seat on the sofa.
My face falls as I try to compute that insanely specific command. “Are you sure I did this when I was pissed?”
“Oh yes,” he deadpans. “Every time.”
I struggle to balance as I stand in the middle of his living room in front of the telly doing a ridiculous sobriety test even though I’ve not had a sip of alcohol all night. Neither has Santino, for that matter.
Dinner was lovely. We discussed light, silly things like the fact that Santino hates cats. Apparently, he has a literal fear of them because when he was young, he had a sleepover at a mate’s house, and their black cat somehow got inside his sleeping bag. When Santino slipped inside, the wee bugger attacked the shit out of him, leaving his shins and calves covered in wounds.
I, of course, laughed my arse off at that.
Then I told him of my failed attempts to win over Hercules with small bits of deli meat. The arsehole will take my offering and scamper off to eat it in privacy, never to be heard from again. Why can’t he be more like Jasper?
“Now you need to touch your nose with your left index finger while bending over to grip your right ankle with your right hand.”
“These can’t be scientific,” I state, struggling to get into position. “I mean, what kind of research did you do for these types of—”
Suddenly, I begin to fall, and when my hand flies out to catch myself, I manage to whack it on the television console that causes a sharp stab of pain to radiate up my wrist. I land in a harumph onto Santino’s furry rug, groaning loudly as I clutch my wrist tightly to combat the ache.
“Shit,” Santino says, flying off the couch to crouch down beside me. He places a gentle hand on my hip. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I groan and roll onto my back with a laugh, shaking out my hand. “Just uncoordinated.”
“Did you break anything?” Santino’s eyes drift over my hand as he inspects me.
“Just my pride,” I mumble, feeling all kinds of stupid.
He smirks and kisses the inside of my wrist. “Did you know I could see your knickers when you bent over?” His eyes are now dark pools of wickedness.
“I thought it felt a wee bit breezy down there.” I bite my lip as my libido awakens. Not that she was ever truly sleeping this evening.
“Do you need help standing?” he asks, the corners of his mouth turning down as he fights back a smile.
“I’d say no, but I think that might take some of the fun out of it.” I giggle like a schoolgirl.
“Nothing but trouble,” he murmurs, wrapping an arm behind my back and the other under my knees. He rises with ease, and I wrap my hands around his neck for stability, trying to ignore the butterflies going bananas in my belly. As a taller female, something’s just really sexy about being with a man who can easily handle the size of me.
He brings me over to the sofa and plunks me down onto his lap, pressing my back against the armrest. “Do you feel dizzy?” He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.
I close my eyes and bask in the attention. “Definitely.”
“Are you drunk?” he questions with a laugh.
“Completely pissed.” I open my eyes and hit him with a Cheshire cat grin.
His face grows serious as a muscle jumps in his jaw. “Then I suppose I won’t be able to touch you tonight.” He hums a noise of disapproval.
My brows furrow. “Where were you planning to touch me?”
His brows arch knowingly. “Oh, a couple of different places that didn’t include your wrist.”
I lick my lips, then drag a finger along his hard chest, resisting the urge to lean in and inhale his spicy, masculine cologne. “You know, scientifically, it would be really hard for me to be pissed without having had a drop of alcohol.”
“That is a very valid point.” He tsks, our breaths mingling, eyes hooded.
My voice is a whisper when I add, “So perhaps you can make an exception to your rule, just this once.”
With a sexy half-smile, he leans forward and touches his lips to mine, kissing me sweetly for a moment with no tongue. It’s gentle and innocent, and when his hand interlocks with mine, I feel a rush of intimacy