Page 32 of The Hunted
She ignored the thought and put her phone face down in her lap. It wasn’t a big deal that Santino hadn’t texted back. He said he was busy with the cases he was working on. So what if she practically threw herself at him not once but twice? Between the kiss she’d been pleasantly surprised about and their extra wager, she wasn’t sure if she should just paint a sign on her stomach with an arrow pointing down, saying it’s all yours Santino.
She inwardly cringed. She had no idea how or why she seemed enthralled by him, but it was like he flipped some switch inside of her that made her forget she took forever to open up to someone and laid herself bare at his feet. She didn’t know whether to be annoyed by it or see where it got her.
“Come on,” Janelle nudged her shoulder. “You’ve got this pensive look on your face. Either you came out, finally I might add,” she picked up her drink, a gin and tonic, “to get over someone or make someone jealous enough that it pushes them to do something about it, like show up here.” She waggled her eyebrows, making Silva roll her own eyes. “So,” she took a sip of her drink, “who’s the guy? Or girl?”
A tall man with dark eyes and full lips she could still feel against her own. A man who said he was an agent, but there was an air of danger around him that seemed to entice her. A man who had the ability to know when she was trying to pickpocket him.
Silva’s hand went to the clutch she was carrying and squeezed it lightly. She could feel the wallet she lifted off of some man before coming in. She hadn’t wanted to do it, but the fact that Santino caught her both times hadn’t sat well with her. Her skills were still in great condition; he just might have been that good.
Would he be that good when it came to their sparring?
A shiver danced down her spine at the thought of losing to him. It would kill her ego, but her body heated at the prospect of being on her hands and knees for him.
“There is no one,” Silva shouted. “Besides, I haven’t seen you in a long time. Is it a crime to want to catch up?” Her voice was going to be sore tomorrow if she kept this up. Only Janelle would want to hold a conversation over the glaring music.
“It’s not a crime to catch up. But if you wanted to do that, you could have come to the brunch I invited you to a million other times. Coming to Desires is more like a need to get shit-faced and dance the night away.” She nudged her shoulder again, and Silva was seconds away from throttling her.
“What?” She leaned in, faking like she hadn’t heard a word she said. “If you wanted to talk, I don’t think it was a good idea to pick this spot.” The second the words left her mouth, the music lowered enough she heard her own thoughts now and the couch was vibrating less.
She watched the crowd shift, and the dance floor thinned out.
“We can talk now.” Janelle chuckled. “As I was saying, if you wanted to catch up, you could have come to brunch. This place is more to get shit-faced and either drink or dance your worries away. You want to try that catch-up line again?”
“If you don’t want me here, say that. It would take less words than what you’re saying now.” Silva kept her tone level. She could feel her annoyance growing and was seconds away from leaving, even though the energy in Desires seemed to chill out from what she originally walked into.
Janelle threw her arms around Silva, hugging her tight. “Of course I want you here, but you rarely come out. Forgive me for worrying and thinking something was wrong.” She squeezed her tight before pulling away. “I’m glad you’re here, even if you’re staring at your phone the entire time and ignoring all the hot guys checking you out.”
Janelle nudged Silva with her knee, making her look toward the section next to theirs. There were three guys lounging around two bottles. They looked over at her section every so often. Silva waited to feel anything toward them, any attraction at least, and nothing happened, just like she knew it wouldn’t, which inevitably made her think about Santino.
What made him different?
She felt her phone vibrate in her lap and quickly flipped it over, ignoring the way her stomach tightened seeing his name on her screen.
Santino: I have no problem making you get on your knees, princess. After I make you tap I’ll show you how much fun it is to submit to me.
Silva’s pulse spiked and she shifted in her seat, feeling hot all of a sudden. The image he put in her head made her clothes feel too tight against her oversensitive skin.
Her hands shook as she typed out her reply.
Silva: You know I won’t make it easy.
His reply was instant.
Santino: I’m counting on it. What are you up to tonight? Hopefully it has nothing to do with you being grabby hands and stealing people’s wallets? You’re terrible at it and I would hate to have to visit you in lock up.
Silva’s jaw dropped and she glanced up, half-expecting him to be somewhere nearby. There was no way he knew she had allowed herself a five-finger discount just to see she wasn’t losing her touch. There was a commotion next to her. Janelle was speaking to someone, but she ignored it and focused on her reply.
Silva: I’m not even going to dignify the last half of your message
Silva: with a response.
Silva: that would be incriminating.
Silva: Anyway
Silva: im out with a friend I haven’t seen in a while.
Silva: what are you up to?
