Page 38 of Betraying the Mafia Boss

I hold my chest, pretending I’m in pain. “Too bad, here I was thinking you like me just as much as I like you.”

“Dream on.” She takes a sip of her drink and knits her perfectly arched brows. “You having a drink or what? It’s boring drinking by myself.”

I chuckle at her response, raising my hand to hail the bartender. “My usual.” While he gets my drink ready, I turn to Isabella. “Where have you been? You weren’t answering any of my calls.

“Can we not talk about me tonight? I just want to have fun.”

I sense something’s wrong, but I respect her wish to not talk about it. I can find out some other time. “How well can you hold your alcohol?”

“I’m a better drinker than André the Giant,” she brags, grinning.

“So, you’re up for a challenge?”

She raises an eyebrow, sipping her drink. “Challenge, huh? You sure you're up for it, Romano?”

I match her gaze, the air between us charged with a magnetic energy. “Oh, I don't just like challenges. I thrive on them. Especially when it involves someone as intriguing as you.”

Isabella smirks, a glint of amusement in her eyes. “I find you intriguing too, Vincent. But don't let that go to your head."

I tap my chest dramatically, feigning offense. “Why, Isabella, are you implying I have a big ego?”

She laughs, the sound like music in the midst of the club's pulsating beat. “Maybe just a tad.”

“Well, lucky for you, I've been told I'm very humble.” I wink. I like the easy flow of our conversation and how it’s charged with energy. It’s the first time I’m seeing the cheerful, carefree side of her.

She tilts her head, playing along. “Humble and handsome, what a combination.”

I lean even closer, our faces inches apart. “You forgot charming. It's the Romano trifecta.”

Isabella smirks, her eyes twinkling. “I see. Flirting is your specialty, isn't it, Vincent?”

I nod, taking a sip of my whiskey. “Among other things."

The corner of her lip quirks up. “Care to elaborate the other things you’re good at? Besides making a woman’s heart beat this fast.”

I lean back, adopting a thoughtful expression. “Well, for one, I'm exceptionally good at putting a smile on your pretty face. And, of course, I’m good at loving the way you smile.”

She arches an eyebrow, her cheeks pink with a blush. “You love the way I smile?

I shrug nonchalantly. “I love everything about you, Ms. Sullivan. Everything.” I swallow when she brings the rim of her glass to her lips. “Maybe you’ll believe me if I kiss you?”

Isabella bursts into laughter, the sound infectious. “Smooth, Romano. Smooth. That’s a crazy way of getting a girl to kiss you.”

“Is it?” I bring my face closer to hers. “Because I really want to kiss you right now.”

The air tenses around us, the music fades, the crowd disappears, as if we’ve been sucked into a world where only the two of us exist and nothing else matters.

Isabella’s breath hitches and she licks her lips. “Is it bad that I want to kiss you, too?”

“How about we go outside?”

“I have no objection.”

In a matter of minutes, we’re in the parking lot. She leans her back against my white Lamborghini and I press my body against her, my erection grinding against her.

She gasps when I pin her hands to her sides and inch closer, her eyes searching mine, her body tensing and pleading. “Kiss me, Vincent. God, kiss me.”

I trail her ear with the tip of my fingers and she moans, then I lean forward and lick her ear. “Not so fast. Not until you beg.”

---