I’d been doing everything I could to stay the hell away from Melanie after what happened on my truck. One second longer,and I would’ve ripped her blouse open and fucked her senseless right there, consequences be damned. She was supposed to work tonight, but I gave her the night off — told myself it was for her sake, but deep down, I knew it was for mine. If I didn’t put distance between us, if I so much as caught a whiff of her perfume, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself.
That kiss was still burning on my lips, gnawing at my self-control like acid. It wasn’t like the kisses we’d stolen before, cautious, half-hearted.
No.
This one was feral — desperate.
It cracked something open inside me, something dark and dangerous that wouldn’t fucking close now.
It was like taking a hit of pure heroin — one taste of her toxic heart, and I was hooked.
The cruel joke of it all?
She’s the first girl I’m afraid to fuck.
And she’s almost ten years younger than me — exactly the kind of messy, emotional shit I didn’t need in my life right now.
Not that Melanie’s immature-no-, she’s sharp, resilient — but I’d seen it before. Give a girl your body, and suddenly she thinks she owns your soul. The night dragged on in slow, bleeding minutes.
It was a Monday — slow but steady — the kind of dead air that prickled at your skin and made your brain itch. We usually weren’t busy after eight, which was why I decided to close at nine now, but like clockwork, there was always some asshole who came in right before we locked up.
Right on cue, an order dinged on the screen.
“Seriously? I was just about to clean the damn stove,” Leroy groaned, tossing his rag onto the counter.
“What’s the order?” I asked, already feeling my pulse grind against my skull.
“Chicken Alfredo. Simple. But man, I was ready to get outta here.”
I scrubbed a hand over my jaw. “It’s fine. I got it. Mario can help close up. You’ve been here all day — go home to your family.”
Leroy gave me a grateful nod, peeling off his apron. “Thanks, boss.”
I needed the distraction anyway. Cooking was the only thing that kept my hands steady without reaching for the pills the VA handed me like candy. But when I pulled the ticket and saw the name, my gut twisted into a fist. Fifteen minutes later, I slid the steaming plate onto a table — and locked eyes with the devil himself.
“Must be a special night for the big man to serve me,” Diablo said, grinning like a snake.
I placed the plate down harder than necessary, jaw clenched so tight I could feel the veins in my neck pulsing.
“Let’s just hope you didn’t poison it,” he teased, voice dripping with mockery.
I stared down at him, my fingers itching to wrap around his greasy throat. “That would be bad for business,” I said flatly. “And I don’t serve bad food. No matter how tempting it might be.”
He clicked his tongue against his teeth, studying me with lazy malice as he unfolded his napkin, laying it across his lap like a spoiled kid.
“You know what’s really bad for business, Niccolo?” His fork gleamed under the fluorescent lights as he pointed it at me.“Not paying your debts.”
He twirled a mound of pasta around his fork and shoved it into his mouth, chewing like he owned the place, like he owned me.
“And you know how impatient I can be.”
“I can only give you two grand right now,” I said, voice like gravel.
“Next month, you’ll have the rest. Christmas is coming up — things are tight with the new… life changes.”
His eyes flicked to my hand, to the gold band wrapped around my finger like a noose.
“That’s right. Heard you got hitched in Vegas.” His mouthcurled into a vicious smile. “And to one of your little waitresses. How romantic.”
