Page 56 of The Hunted
Men never left well enough alone until another man showed up, and even then sometimes that didn’t work. It pissed her off and made her want to throw her hot coffee on him and watch it leave a mark the way he probably left marks on the women he encountered.
“And it looks like she told you she wasn’t interested.” Santino took a step toward Mark. “You should learn to listen when a woman speaks. You should leave, now.”
Santino never raised his voice, but the threat was there. It sent a chill in the air, causing her to shiver. The way Mark’s face paled let her know he heard it too. “Enjoy the rest of your day. Sorry to bother….” His words died off in an audible swallow. His gaze flicked toward her but was quickly adverted when Santino took another step toward him.
The chill in the air made her wrap her arms around herself. Santino all but put himself in front of her, blocking her from view, until she assumed Mark was gone. He sat down on the park bench next to her, his jean-covered thigh brushing up against her leggings, and she shivered from the heat coursing through her body now.
“Is this okay? Do you want me to move? Are you cold? Here.” He pulled his sweatshirt up over his head, causing the shirt he wore underneath to lift. It exposed the tan skin of his stomach and the happy trail that disappeared beneath the waistband of his jeans.
“That’s nice,” she murmured, her mouth watering.
“What’s nice?” She heard the amusement in his tone.
Abruptly, she snapped her gaze up to meet his. There was a twitch of his lips as he held out his sweatshirt to her.
He caught her staring.
Of course he did. He was always watching her.
“The coffee,” she grumbled, her face feeling flushed again. “You remembered how I liked it. You did good. Thank you.” She was rambling, great.
Santino’s deep chuckle made her shift on the park bench. Her stomach dipped, causing her to clench her thighs together as goosebumps danced across her skin.
“Princess,” he murmured, leaning closer. She closed her eyes, inhaling his pine and lemon scent. It made her pulse race.
“Can I kiss you hello?” she felt his whispered question across her lips, and they parted in silent invitation, even as she shook her head no.
“And why is that?” She could hear the teasing tone in his voice. How his words felt like an intimate touch, making her melt at his feet.
“Because if you kiss me hello, I don’t think I’ll want you to stop.” She let the truth spill out of her. She couldn’t wrap her mind around her body’s reaction to him. This deep need to have him and let him do what he wanted to her.
It scared her.
A low rumble wrapped around her. She felt Santino’s knee against her own, and she opened her eyes to see her own need reflected in his. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I don’t think I’m going to want to stop either. How is it that I saw you last night and I’m here now, but I still miss you?”
The confession jarred her but gave her a small slice of peace, knowing they were both in this weird space of not understanding their need for one another.
He grabbed the white paper bag and the coffee, pushing his sweatshirt into her hands. She took it and quickly threw it over her head, letting out a contented sigh, feeling wrapped in his warmth.
The sweatshirt was big on her, just the way she liked to wear them. She reframed from bringing the collar up to her nose to take in more of his scent.
I’ll save that for later when I’m alone.
“Thank you,” she turned, reaching for her coffee.
He waved her off. “Are you okay? I didn’t catch much of the conversation, but when I came in you looked ready to deck him.”
“I was,” she grumbled, taking her first sip of coffee. The smart thing would have been to ask him to bring her water to hydrate, but this was much better. “He came over here talking about his….” Her gaze scanned the park, not seeing where Mark went, but the two little girls were still on the swing set.
“He’s gone. He scurried out of here.” He placed his hand on her knee, squeezing gently. “I can drive you home if you’re worried about him following you.”
And I’m melting further into a puddle.
“I’m going to take you up on that considering he pointed out that he was here with his niece, supposedly one of the two little girls still on the swing set.”
ChapterTwenty-Four
Santino’s entire body froze when he heard what Silva said. He’d seen Mark leave the park and get into the only black sedan that had been parked near the playground. He thought Mark was some douche trying to chat up Silva when he first got here, until he took in her body language. Her shoulders had been in her neck, and she sat with her body leaning as far away as she could get without falling off the bench. Her hand was balled into a tight fist like she was ready to swing if he got any closer.
