Page 43 of Cassio (Belles & Mobsters 3)

Instead, I watched him raise forkful to his mouth. I never thought watching a man chew would be so sexy. Yet, as I watched his Adam’s apple move as he swallowed, wetness pooled between my thighs. This man's neck was beyond attractive. Even without the ink. Add all those tattoos and he was irresistible. I fought the urge to taste him, but it hung heavy and thick in the air.

His gaze was firm and unwavering. All I had to do was drown in his dark eyes and everything faded, but him. I wanted him. For me. It might have been selfish of me but at this moment, I didn’t care. He was offering a glimpse of normalcy, and I’d give him my soul to taste it. The passion, his touch, his hot lips.

Maybe I shouldn’t be flirting with him, considering what had happened earlier with Chad. Pineapples and insinuation aside, I had never felt any of this with Chad. Besides, Chad had his fun, and I was sure he had plenty of women to console him.

The only one that seemed to work for me was this guy. So I was all in. I put another forkful into my mouth.

With each heartbeat, I grew more turned on and he wasn’t even touching me.Maybe pineapples were good for women’s hormones, I scoffed in my head.

“How long do you think it takes?” I asked him boldly. Yes, I was a virgin, but it didn’t mean I was innocent.

“Should I google it?” he suggested, his lips curved into that attractive smile.

I shook my head.

“Agencies track searches,” I told him, teasing him. “Can you imagine how embarrassing it would be if it got out?”

His smile spread across his face, his white teeth flashing briefly. After feeling crippled by advances and flirting for years, suddenly it felt freeing, thrilling, and exhilarating to flirt with Hunter. It felt empowering.

My eyes traveled over the room to check for my cousin, but she was still nowhere to be seen. Feeling strangely bold, I returned my gaze to Hunter.

“Are you here alone?”

He nodded, while my heart raced at my boldness.

Unlike other men, Hunter seemed to let me dictate the next steps. Not that I was overly experienced, but I was certain from everything I’ve seen that men tended to push women into their beds. And I didn’t mistake Hunter for a weakling. Everything about him screamed power, ruthless, and a leader. The way he sat, spoke, towered above most of the men in the room.

“I am.”

Hopefully, I wasn’t reading him wrong. I was ready to just go to his room or mine. It didn’t matter to me, as long as he touched me.

“You want more pineapples?” I questioned.Come on, make this just a little bit easier on me!

“I’m done with the pineapples. I’m ready for dessert.” His voice was low and deep, the insinuation ofdessertmaking me combust into flames. God, I liked his voice. It was low, gruff, and so sexy, washing over me like waves of the sea.

“Me too,” I said, my eyes lowering to his hands. They were big and strong, the ink of the rose ironically reminding me of my side gig with The Rose Rescue. I barely knew him, but I craved those hands already. They felt safe.

John, my right hand man, helped me during the takeover of Dad’s organization, eliminating the old company and re-starting a new one. Basically, the same organization with the new name. He said the old name was too known. When he asked me to come up with the name… The Rose Rescue came up effortlessly.

The rose on the hand that kept reaching out to me in my dreams.

“Áine,” Hunter said, and I raised my eyes to him. “Pineapples… we can just leave it at sharing pineapples.”

Did he think I was nervous? Backpedaling?

“Your room or mine?” I asked, without hesitation. Hunter’s eyes never moved from my face, like he was studying me, learning every single thing about me just from my expressions. It could be unnerving… except that it wasn’t. And the reasons behind it intrigued me. I felt they were important, buried deep somewhere in my brain yet so far out of my grasp.

He stared at me for an intense five seconds or minutes, I didn’t know. It felt like the longest stretch of time.

I held my breath in anticipation of his answer. I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t want this. This connection with him was real, raw, and I wanted to grab it. Explore it. Go all the way. For me, this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I certainly didn’t intend to waste it.

He nodded, as if he was satisfied with whatever he read on my face. “Mine.”

Thank God, I sighed mentally.

His hand came around my waist, and I realized we remained standing the entire time, eating pineapples. Usually I was aware of my surroundings, the necessity of my extracurricular activities. But around Hunter, I tended to just drown in his presence, in the best way possible.

“Let’s go,” he said softly, his eyes burning with something feral. But I wasn’t scared. Far from it.

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