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“Congratulations, I guess,” Dan stammered. He looked closely at Renato, probably trying to place where he knew him from. The head of the De Sanctis family was notorious, but Princeton boys like Dan – pampered and coddled and brought up far away from the real world – might have missed the memo. Maybe he recognized him from the gala.
Dan’s gaze fell to my hand, scanning for a ring. Renato laced his fingers through mine and lifted it to his lips, kissing the back. The ring was obvious.
Dan’s mouth fell open. “I-I didn’t know,” he started.
“And now you do. From now on, you don’t ask my wife to stay late to be alone with you. You don’t attempt to flirt with her, or even speak to her about anything unrelated to the subject you’re teaching, and above all…” Renato’s tone dropped, holding a deadly hint that sent fear skittering down my spine. “You never, ever talk down to her. No one disrespects my wife. No one.”
The tension was high as hell, and I looked at my husband. He was mad. Renato didn’t get mad like other people did. He didn’t rant and rave. He didn’t even shout. I’d never heard him shout. The quieter and more controlled he was, the more deadly.
“Let’s go. There’s a cute coffee place on campus. Buy me a hot chocolate,” I said to Renato.
He stared at Doctor Dan in a way that was making the other man sweat. He turned pale under that withering stare.
“Ren, come on.” I tugged at my husband’s hand, and to my surprise, it worked.
He broke his death stare and looked down at me.
“I want a hot chocolate, and someone I know likes to buy me everything I want, so here’s your chance,” I told him and attempted a smile.
A beat passed, and then Renato’s lips lifted into a grin, Doctor Dan forgotten.
“If my wife wants a hot chocolate, then that’s what she gets.” He tucked my hand into the crook of his arm and turned us, without another glance at Dan. “You know, Carmella can make a far better hot chocolate for you. None of that instant powdered crap they use in coffee shops.”
“I like the powdered crap,” I protested, relieved the storm had passed.
We left the room, and Sonny detached himself from the wall. Renato tossed a glance at him as we passed.
“You’re not going to do anything to Doctor Dan, are you? He’s just an idiot.”
Renato patted my hand. “That’s indisputable. Now, where is this coffee place?”
I twisted before we turned the corner and looked back at the door to the lecture hall. The door was closed, and Sonny was nowhere to be seen.
* * *
Renato watchedme over his espresso cup as I excitedly went over the lecture. He didn’t interrupt and he didn’t seem bored, either. When I was done, I sagged back against the seat.
“Okay, your turn to talk,” I said and picked up my hot chocolate, taking a sip and grimacing at the temperature. I’d talked for so long it had gone cold.
Renato caught someone’s eye, and before I knew it, he’d ordered a new drink for me.
“Do you always get what you want? You are aware that they don’t do table service here?” I asked as he settled back and smirked at me.
“Sometimes they do, I suppose.”
Rolling my eyes, I stood and stepped past him to head to the bathroom. “You’re just that guy who gets everything he wants, every single time, aren’t you?”
He caught my wrist as I passed and stopped me. “Not everything. I’d like you to straddle me while you tell me about your classes and let me fuck you right here in this chair, but I can’t.”
Heat flushed through me. His words made me feel wanted and wicked. I wanted him just as much. It was a frightening realization.
“Well, there’s always the car home,” I pointed out.
Renato smiled, and it was so breathtakingly hot I fought the urge to fan myself. He pressed a kiss to the inside of my wrist and then released my hand.
“You have five minutes, in that case.”
I spun on my heel and headed for the restroom. I had no doubt that he meant it. He was going to fuck me in his fancy SUV while Sonny drove us home. Thank God there was a privacy partition.
