Page 20 of The Hunted
The gleam in his eyes turned molten and she leaned back, letting him look at her. She was grateful she put a little extra effort into her appearance today. Her mass of loose curls was up in a messy bun with tendrils escaping to frame her face. She didn’t bother with any eye makeup except for mascara since it was almost impossible to find a color that made both her eyes pop. She did add a little color to her lips to make them appear fuller, and she wore a fitted shirt and push-up bra for her average chest.
“I, on the other hand, have no problems complementing you. You look good, Silva Hunt.” Her jaw dropped until she realized how readily available information could be found on the internet. He did have her phone number, after all.
“I see you’re still stalking me. I may have to report you to your supervisor, Santino Alvarez.” She focused on her laptop screen pretending to type around her notes.
She felt his calloused hand under chin. He hesitated, probably given her the opportunity to object to his forwardness. When she didn’t, he slowly tilted her face up to him. Those eyes of his seemed to burn through her as he looked down at her. The position was one of dominance, but with the slight tremble in his hand, she wasn’t sure who was actually in control here.
“I think maybe there’s mutual stalking happening between us. What are you doing at my café looking so tempting it makes me wonder how beautiful you’d look coming undone by my touch?” His voice felt like warm chocolate on her tongue—her favorite guilty pleasure.
She hummed low in her throat, getting lost in his presence. The café evaporated and the world around them disappeared. It was only the two of them left standing there.
It frazzled her brain how easily and quickly she wanted to submerse herself in him. She didn’t know anything about him. It usually took her too long to be okay around people to let her guard down.
But with him?
Something called to her on a level she hadn’t understood yet—a song his body sang to let her know she was safe with him.
And everything in her wanted to answer that call but she held herself back.
“Hi,” she whispered, for once not having a snappy comeback.
Santino smiled. “Hi, princess.” There was a sudden fondness in his tone that made her lean into his touch.
“It’s strange,” his hand moved to cup the side of her neck. “I think I missed you.” The way his eyes widened told her the admission was as much of a shock to her as it was to him. “I don’t understand any of this.”
The words were whispered so low she had to lean in to catch them, wondering if he meant to say all of that out loud. It made her feel marginally better to know she wasn’t swimming in the deep end of whatever this was alone. He was there with her, treading along and not sure where the surface was.
“Excuse me, sir, your drinks.” The barista interrupted them and she started to pull away, but his grip on her neck tightened, pulling her back toward him. “Leave them on the table, thank you.” He hadn’t taken his eyes off of her as he spoke.
The temperature in the café turned into an inferno when his grip on her neck shifted so his thumb pressed into her erratic pulse. She could easily break his hold on her, but she found herself wanting to be at his mercy, curious to see what he would do, see how far she’d let this go on.
Neither one spoke, but she could feel some conversation was happening between them. A battle of wills to see who would break first. It felt like he was testing her in some way.
And why do I suddenly want to pass whatever inspection he’s putting me through?
“Interesting,” he murmured, breaking his hold. His attention shifted around the café before he sat in the empty chair opposite her.
He nudged a coffee cup her way. “You look like you could use a refill. I made sure to get your actual order and not the one you pretended was yours when you ordered the other day.”
She smiled. “Told you before, Santino, you don’t know everything, especially when it comes to me.” She reached for the cup, trying to stuff down the warm and fuzzy feelings coursing through her. It was just a cup of coffee. It shouldn’t have been a big deal, but when you’ve gone your entire life without someone doing something nice for you just because, it was hard not to be appreciative of the little things.
“I know some things,” he murmured, given her a once-over. She scoffed and rolled her eyes, hoping to stop the rush of warmth running to her face.
“I know you’re horrible at pickpocketing. I know your coffee order. I’m going to go out on a limb and say your favorite color is purple. You’re active and take your safety seriously, going by the sparring lessons. Though I think your footwork could use some work.”
She sputtered, trying to deny all of his claims, but he waved a hand cutting her off. “And while I haven’t seen you consume any food, you come here enough that I can assume you’re a chocolate croissant type of person, warmed up, of course.” He winked at her from behind the sip of coffee he took.
“How’d I do?” She opened her mouth and he laughed. “Don’t lie, princess.”
“I don’t lie.” She crossed her arms over her chest. But she did lie, everyone did.
She looked around the table. Her laptop protector was purple as was the keyboard protector. She had a purple notebook and her bookbag, while mostly black, had purple infused into it. The crumbs on the plate were an easy guess, and he all but stalked her at the gym, so he had front-row knowledge of a tiny session he witnessed. She had been having an off day.
So he was good at being observant. She would hope so, since that was in his job requirement.
“I take your silence as a victory.” He leaned forward. “But I want to know more, a lot more.”
He sounded sincere, and she had to bite her lip to keep from asking why. She wanted to know about him too. Maybe it would help her understand her want for him.
