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“What would you like to drink?” he asks when a pretty server materializes at our table.
‘Water’ is my first thought, but then I pause. This guy is paying and a little voice in my head is urging me to be reckless for once. I’m only 23, yet I feel like an ancient grandma at times.
“Tequila,” I say.
“Bring me a bourbon, Lila.” The young woman nods and trots off, reappearing a few minutes later with our drinks.
“I’m Romano Faugno,” my companion says, waiting for me to fill in the gap. He doesn’t scare me, but I don’t feel the need to let him have my real name, so I lie.
“Roxy.” It’s close enough. I have no plans to return here anytime soon, so why not create a fake persona? The devil on my shoulder rubs his hands together with glee.You go, girl.
“Well, Roxy, once again, I can only apologize. I hope you won’t let this bad experience put you off coming back to Venom?”
The tequila slides down my throat like liquid fire, warming me up from the inside. Suddenly, all the many - valid - reasons I have for calling an Uber and retiring home disappear in a puff of smoke. This guy is hot, he’s buying me drinks, and he’s not giving me any red flags. Why shouldn’t I live a little?
“I don’t go out much,” I admit, momentarily forgetting about my fake persona. “But I’m sure we’ll be back at some point.”
Romano looks surprised. “A beautiful woman like you should be out all the time.”
Wow, he’s smooth. A faint laugh escapes and I bite my lip to avoid making it worse. “Do lines like that ever work?”
“You’d be surprised,” he replies with a smirk.
Given how good-looking and sexy this man is, I bet he’s hit on constantly. He probably has women throwing themselves at him every evening. The smile slips from my lips.
“I don’t go out much because I would rather read a book than drink.”
“What books do you read?” Filthy smut, mostly, but I’m not telling him that.
“Thrillers. The classics. Poetry sometimes.” I shrug and take another large gulp of tequila, praying he’s not a connoisseur of classical fiction or I’m fucked. I can probably blag my way through a critical discussion ofTo Kill a Mockingbird, but that’s as far as it goes.
“Ah, interesting. Not a reader myself,” he admits.Thank fuck. “I prefer movies.”
“Let me guess, anything with tons of violence and bloodshed?”
He barks out a laugh. “I like Sci-Fi. Interstellar, Ex Machina, Dune.”
That surprises me. I figured he’d be a John Wick fan for sure.
Maybe Romano has hidden depths. I’m not sure whether I should be pleased about that, but one thing is certain: he’s way too attractive and I’m in serious danger of casting my good intentions off a cliff.
Chapter 4
Romano
It’s rare that I sit and talk to a woman without an ulterior motive. Mostly it’s a means to an end. Some meaningless conversation with a vapid but beautiful woman that ends in sex. Or a way to extract useful information. Sometimes, I just skip the conversation altogether, especially if it’s a woman I’ve picked up from the club. Tonight, though, I’m genuinely surprised at how much I enjoy Roxy’s company.
I expected her to make her excuses after one drink. She wasn’t under any obligation to stay, after all. Yes, I sort of rescued her, but my offer of a drink wasn’t designed to be manipulative, and in the beginning, I sensed she was only going along with it out of politeness.
As was I to a certain extent. All I wanted to do was make sure she was OK, although I am attracted to her. From the moment I sawher. That red hair, those brilliant green eyes, and her stunning figure are the full package, and for the first time in ages, I’m looking at a woman and seeing more than a hot, wet pussy.
Music and conversation hum around us. There are a couple of parties in from a large law firm and I recognize most of the men. They must be celebrating something as the drinks are flowing. One of the partners, Hank Lawson, glances over in my direction and sees Roxy. I note the interest. He raises a glass as if to say he likes my taste in women, and I glare at him when Roxy turns away to grab her drink. She’s too busy telling me about the shows her mom enjoys to notice another man staring at her. Hank doesn’t miss my threatening glower though. He immediately returns his attention to the party he’s with.
Good.
Roxy is with me and I’m not planning on letting her go anytime soon.
Lila brings us both a fresh drink. Roxy murmured something about needing to get home half an hour ago but then we started talking about reality TV shows, of all things, and neither of us has moved a muscle. It feels almost like a date. A surprisingly good one. Not that I do dates.
