Page 5 of Taboo Flames

“You talk a big game for someone hiding behind a mask.”

He chuckles softly. “If you wanted to see my face, all you had to do was just ask.”

Did I want to see his face? I have to admit I was enjoying the feeling of anonymity between us at this moment. He could be anybody, and so could I.

I can enjoy this moment for the easy, no-pressure moment it is. It feels like we are cut off from the rest of the world, existing in our very own bubble.

“I think it’d be unfair of me to make demands, especially since I will not be able to reciprocate,” I confess.

“Maybe I can make a different type of demand then,” he suggests, his voice taking on a more serious tone. “I want to kiss you.”

I’m startled at the unexpected change in the topic even as I feel my body light up at his words. “What would you give to kiss me right now?” I whisper, my voice barely audible.

His eyes go dark. “As soon as you say yes.”

“You don’t mean that,” I challenge, my heart pounding in my chest.

He slowly walks forward, his steps matching every enunciation of his words. “If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I never say things I don’t mean.”

I hadn’t realized how close we’d become until his last words were breathed an inch from my mouth. I lick my lips, and his eyes trail the movement.

“Okay.”

I don’t have any time to reconsider my hasty decision because a second later, his mouth is on mine. I freeze at the first contact, my mind screaming at me to abort the mission.

Am I really about to let a stranger kiss me? But then he presses his mouth harder against mine, and I let him kiss me.

I’ve been kissed a few times in the course of my life, but at the moment, none of those kisses matter. It was at this moment that I realized I’d been kissing boys, and there was a huge difference between kissing them and being kissed by a man.

When he pulls away, I’m left in a daze. The masked man has just blown all of my past experiences out of the water.

“Holy schmolly,” I blurt out.

He suddenly steps backward like he’s been burned. “Aurora?” he gasps.

I freeze at the sound of my name rolling off his tongue.

He rips off his mask, and a face I am very familiar with stares back at me, looking both horrified and furious. It’s a face that has starred in my fantasies for years now. Suddenly, the instantaneous attraction I felt for a stranger made perfect sense.The masked stranger is none other than Giovanni Lombardi, my longest-standing crush and my brother's best friend.

Talk about how fast things can go from bad to messed up.

CHAPTER 2

Giovanni

That catchphrase is one I’ll recognize anywhere. Several times, I’ve made fun of the person who said it. The little girl I’ve observed growing up from a distance without even paying her much serious attention.

I will have to pay the price in hell if Leonardo can see me now and know the disgusting and depraved thinking I had about his baby sister.

For what reason did I kiss her? And why do I have this overwhelming urge to do it again, for heaven's sake?

My type has always been very clear: seasoned and experienced women who know exactly what I want from them and also want the same, and women who are open about their sexuality and are eager to explore their bodily desires with me.

I don’t care to begin fumbling with women who don’t know what they’re doing in bed or, worse, those who need convincing to be in my bed.

But the problem isn’t the kiss. The issue here is that I want to do it again. And again. And again. Even though I know who sheis, I want to wash my mouth of the taste of her, although I know it won’t help.

She’s a kid, and I’ve just taken advantage of her. Why the hell did I decide to flirt with a stranger at a masked party anyway? I feel like the worst kind of bastard on earth for what I’ve just done.

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