Page 10 of Isle of Beauty

“I’m sorry, I know I’m not being very polite right now,” I say in between bites. “You were right, this is definitely the best pizza London has to offer.”

“Watching you eat is… highly compelling, Lana.”

My name rolls off his tongue like sweet wine and I have to clench my thighs to fend off my arousal. The heat of the room and the buzz of the wine melt my tired bones until all I can focus on is his voice.

He lifts his own slice to his mouth, his tongue darting out to collect the melting cheese.

I stare back.

By the devilish grin he shoots me, the bastard knows exactly what he’s doing but two can play this game.

“You grew up here, in London? Only a real Londoner would know a place like this.”

I smile up at him and wait for him to reveal any sliver of details on what makes him, him.

“I did. My mother is a born and raised Londoner but she married young and came back after her divorce. I have few memories of my childhood but I remember she used to love walking around the parks of the city and walking into establishments she knew nothing about. That’s how we met Tino.”

I detect a hint of tenderness in his story. He loved doing this with his mother. And now, he seems inclined to do it with me. Butterflies take flight in my gut but they’re harshly taken down with the gun of reality.

I’m not staying.

I shouldn’t even entertain a deeper conversation. Maybe teasing is the safest option after all. Before I can change the topic, he asks with self-deprecating humour, “What about you? Where did you grow up? I doubt it’s a place as bleak as here.”

I deflect his question and stir him in the direction I want. “I didn’t grow up here, no. But I love London. The culture, the museums, the nightlife. And my studies were taught by renowned specialists in their field which was a true gift.”

He takes notice, a light frown on his brows, but doesn’t push. He’s a gentleman after all.

“What did you study?”

His entire attention is on me, his gaze intense and emboldening me to get swept in my story. I tell him about the classes in political science that were my favourite and how the business cases gave me perspective for my family’s expansion.

As if I’d ever use the knowledge I’ve accumulated for anything else than securing my father’s legacy, but he doesn’t need to know that.

Throughout my rambling, he listens and chimes in with his own experience and perspective. He built his business in cyber security from the ground up.

I store the knowledge away to ask Giulia’s team to be mindful of his firm’s activity. We know governments and international police agencies use companies like his to get people like me behind bars.

He’s talking to a criminal he’d probably rather see rotting in jail but remains oblivious, and I like it that way. I’m too selfish to let him go now.

I’m doing one last thing for myself before my future changes radically. That one last thing is getting to know a curious and ambitious man who’s dining and wining me, making me laugh, who listens and asks questions like he’s really interested to see where this could go. Those memories are for my heart only.

Pierce doesn’t show signs of stopping. It’s like he wants to know everything about me. His soul must know I’m only here for a short time.

After the pizza, he orders the tiramisu for us to share.

My favourite dessert.

It’s gigantic but I never say no to tiramisu. Two spoons are placed on each side of the dish and I’m eager to dive in.

I moan when the first spoonful reaches my tongue, full of the chocolate powder lining the top layer. Its bitterness is soon replaced with sweet and creamy mascarpone and ending again with a slightly bitter coffee-flavoured ladyfinger.

My eyes close while I savour the delicious dessert. When I open them, Pierce’s stare is fixed on my lips again.

His eyes have darkened with lust, the caramel colour of his irises almost gone. “Keep making those noises and we won’t make it further than the bathroom of this restaurant.”

My heart races and my underwear gets wetter the longer he stares at me like he wants to consume me. His eyes only leave mine to go to my mouth.

I bite my lip. “Would that be such a bad idea?”

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