Page 42 of The Hunted
“Look at you like what?” Was that her voice? She sounded breathless and needy.
He leaned forward letting his lips hover over hers. She thought he was going in for another kiss, but he held himself out of reach. “Like you wouldn’t mind if I strip you out of these clothes and fuck you right here on this very sidewalk.” Her pulse jumped. “I felt that,” Santino murmured, “I wonder what else you’ll let me feel.”
This time she couldn’t hold back her whimper. She was on fire for him, and it made no sense because she really didn’t know anything about him, anything substantial.
“I don’t know what it is about you, princess,” he whispered, but before he could continue another car horn blared, and this time he dropped his hold on her completely.
She shivered missing his warmth.
“Can I drive you home?” He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned back on his heels. “I’ll keep my hands to myself and this way we can talk.”
There was that tentativeness too him, almost as if he were shy and unsure of himself, which was hard for her to understand because looking at him she could feel his confidence. It had been there every time they had run into each other and talked, but when it came to touching her and even something as simple as asking to drive her home, he seemed so unsure of himself.
“Are you that worried you’ll overstep with me?” The question fell from her lips before she figured out a better way to phrase it.
Santino’s lips twitched in a smirk. “Yes. You’re hard to read sometimes. It’s like you want to let me in but you also don’t.” She opened her mouth and he shook his head, holding out his hand for hers. “It’s not like I’m asking you to bleed for me or anything like that, and I understand when people first meet they’re a little standoffish, but it’s different for you. I can’t figure out why. Let’s walk and talk?” He pointed his chin behind her. “My truck is across the street.”
Silva nodded, taking his hand. Her body warmed the second their palms touched. She ignored her body’s response to him and focused on what he was saying. She had a bad habit, or a good one, depending on who you asked, of keeping people at arm’s length. She only allowed them to see what she wanted and it was different for everyone. Not everyone got the same access to her.
“It’s not a bad thing, princess. At least I can empathize with a need to keep people out. Not everyone deserves access to you, and not everyone is going to be able to handle who you really are—not just you, but people in general.” He shrugged, walking her toward the corner.
They waited for the light before they crossed the street and continued away from the bar. He switched sides with her, putting him closer to the curb while she walked closer toward the residential buildings.
“Such a gentleman,” she smirked, realizing what he’d done. He mumbled something under his breath that she didn’t fully catch but didn’t push for him to repeat either.
They walked the rest of the way in a comfortable silence. She wasn’t eager to break the quiet, even if she had a burning need to know more of him and to hear him talk. She liked the deep rumble of his voice, liked the way it felt against her skin but his silence had the same effect on her.
“This is me,” they slowed, coming up on a black pick-up truck. He hit the key fob and opened the door for her.
She peeked inside, the interior was all black and there was an iced tea bottle and a pack of what looked like sunflower seeds in the center console. She hid her smirk; that had been one of her favorite combos when she was a teen, until she realized the shells had a habit of making a mess.
“I can call you a cab if you’re uncomfortable.” He was behind her; his breath tickled her neck.
She angled her head up to face him. “Trying to get rid of me already? I can handle myself, Santino.”
She released his hand and used the ‘oh shit’ bar to hoist herself into the truck. She was tall, but the truck was massive and still needed a boost to get in. She felt his hands on her hips, helping guide her into the passenger seat, and she couldn’t suppress her shiver. The image that flashed in her mind made her skin flush, and she was hot all over again.
Maybe being enclosed in a small space with him is a bad idea.
“You know what I find interesting, princess?” He was leaning against the door frame. His hands were on the roof, making the veins in his forearms seem more pronounced. The bottom of his shirt had lifted, giving her a peek at the tan skin underneath, and her mouth watered.
“What’s that?” She shifted in her seat. She watched a smile tease his lips as he moved one of his hands to his back pocket.
“For someone who swears they have excellent skills as a thief,” his words were laced with humor as he pulled the purple sleeve in which she kept her ID and some cash from behind his back, “you sure didn’t feel me taking this out of your back pocket.” Hetskedunder his breath and crowded her space. “That’s how you pickpocket someone. I’ll be sure to give you a few pointers, if you ask nicely, of course.” He dropped it into her lap and shut the door before she could utter a response.
“This fu…damn it,” she grumbled, immediately reaching behind her to see if he had in fact pickpocketed her. She had moved what she needed out of her wallet and into the sleeve so she had less to carry. When they checked IDs at the first spot they went to, she never put it back in her clutch, and now she was wondering when he had time to take it off of her.
And why the hell didn’t I feel anything?
She went over their interactions from the moment she walked up to him at Luther’s, and she flushed at how distracted she’d been by his presence and kiss. Maybe he had lifted it off of her then, or maybe he lifted it off of her when he helped her into the truck? Did it matter? The point was he’d been able to do it with ease while she’d been caught every time she tried with him and that just made her growly.
Santino’s deep chuckle filled the space around her when he got into the truck. “Don’t pout, princess.” He started the truck. “Some things I’m just better at.”
She scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. She was being a brat, but it rankled her that she hadn’t been able to do something she had perfected as a kid and hated how easily he’d been able to do it.
He tugged on her arms and she reluctantly unwound them. He brought her wrist up to his lips and kissed her pulse, something she was beginning to suspect he enjoyed.
And by the way my pulse just jumped, I enjoy it too.
