Page 26 of Casino King

“She’ll have the chicken parmigiana with angel hair, and I’ll have the penne vodka with chicken,” Alec orders after the wine is poured, and just the sound of his voice makes the guy flinch.

“I think he’s afraid of you,” I say with a nervous laugh when he walks away.

“I ordered you a menu favorite, I hope that’s okay.”

“It is. Thank you.” Truth be told, chicken parm is my favorite.

Alec hands me my wine glass and raises his to clink against mine. With a single sip, I sigh. Oh, that’s good. Smooth and full-bodied. Just like the whiskey I had in his penthouse, I’ve never had expensive wine, and I can taste the difference. It’s delicious.

“Why is everyone afraid to look you in the eye?”

“Because they know better.”

All the thoughts I’ve had of who he is spin around in my head, and as my eyes sweep the room, I see everyone purposefully avoiding our table. He owns The Aces, but he said his family has many businesses…which includes this restaurant.

Who are the Carfanos?

Taking a long sip of wine, I divert my eyes from him, suddenly wondering why I’m here. Why am I with a man who everyone is so clearly scared of?

“Don’t do that, Tessa.”

“Do what?” I adjust the silverware on the tablecloth.

“Avoiding looking at me like everyone else.” Meeting his gaze, my heart does a little stutter beat. “Are you afraid of me?”

“No,” I tell him honestly. When I look in his eyes, I don’t see someone I should be afraid of. I see a man who is looking for something to grasp onto before he realizes the entire world is on one side of the glass with just him on the other. “Should I be?”

“Probably. If you knew all the things I’ve done, then you would be.”

He’s challenging me. He’s seeing if I’ll buckle under the weight of whatever he’s done. But I want to know everything. I want to know and not be afraid. I want to be what no one else is to him.

Squaring my shoulders, I keep my eyes on him. “Try me.”

Alec flashes me a blinding grin that makes my core clench and my breath catch. It’s more predatory than a show of happiness, and holy sweet lord, this man is going to kill me with how unrealistically sexy he is.

“You’re brave, mia bella rosa. No one’s ever challenged me before.”

“There’s a first time for everything. And besides,” I say, tossing my hair over my shoulder and leaning forward to place my chin on my knuckles, “I think you need someone to challenge you.”

His eyes darken before me, turning to molten pools of dark promises that I want to swim in all night long. “Bella,” he practically purrs, the word rolling off his tongue like a dark angel’s promise. “I want you to challenge me. I want you to be the blooming rose I see on stage whenever you’re with me. I want you to give me that dark beauty that fights to be free from you but you keep locked away.”

My chest rises and falls with my short little breaths. He doesn’t know what he’s asking for. I don’t know if I can…

My fingers play with the cloth napkin in my lap, twisting and knotting it while my mind and heart are at war.

“You don’t know what you’re asking me for,” I whisper.

“I know full well what I’m asking for.” His voice drops to an octave that floats over me, blanketing me in a warmth that sends a chill through me. “I want you, Tessa. I want the you no one else gets.”

“Will I get the you no one else gets?” I counter, needing to know if this is even real. It all feels like a dream I’m going to wake from if someone snaps their fingers.

Since he first sat at that table to watch me dance, I’ve felt like I’ve been in a dream. Men like him don’t just show up and choose a woman like me to give their entire focus to.

Leaning towards me, Alec reaches under the table and takes my nervous hands in his larger one. “Yes, bella.” I let his words soak into me, and I want to know everything about him. I want to know his secrets. I want to know him. “Tell me about your family,” he says.

“I don’t have a family,” I confess, and he strokes my knuckles with his thumb. “My parents died when I was fifteen.”

“What happened?”

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