My chest constricts in protest as I force myself to step away from him and put distance between us.
I liked how he came to my defense and threatened Bradley. No one has ever stood up for me like that before. The way Nico slid right in to protect me was hot as hell. Making Bradley jealous was icing on the cake.
When Nico told Bradley he was my boyfriend, a small part of me wished it were true.
Oh, no. This is bad.
“Gattina.” Nico calls me by his own personal nickname again, and my heart flutters. His gritty voice seductively brushes the innermost depths of my being.
A place no one else has ever reached.
Slowly, I turn around to face him, and I wish I didn’t. His smoky-gray eyes lock onto mine, and there’s no mistaking the flicker of desire in the silvery pools.
My heart races, and my lips prickle as he runs his thumb over his bottom lip.
The same energy that crackled between us as we kissed still hums in the air and below the surface of my skin, giving me goosebumps. It whirls around us like magic as we stare into each other’s eyes.
I wish I could go back in time so I could memorize the way his full lips tenderly cradled mine. He could have easily deepened the kiss, but he didn’t, even when every part of me wanted him to.
As if Nico can read my mind, a slow smile spreads across his wickedly handsome face. “Come on, let’s get you inside.”
He grabs the plastic bag of food I must have dropped on the floor and leads me away from the apartment building.
I pause in the middle of the sidewalk. “What are you doing? Our apartment is that way.”
Nico points to his car parked in the middle of the road. “But my car is over there, and if you think I’m going to leave you unaccompanied for even a second after that, then you are sadly mistaken.”
“Bradley is gone, and I know how to take care of myself.”
“Never said you couldn’t.”
“Good. Then we are on the same page.”
“Why are you being so difficult? Let me walk you upstairs.”
I gnaw on the inside of my cheek. Going with him is a bad idea.
“Do it for your new boyfriend.” He flashes me a sinful grin and places his free hand on the small of my back, nudging me forward. Heat pools where his hand lies on my body and travels south between my legs. “Please.”
The“please” does me in, and a bad idea gets upgraded to terrible, but I have a feeling that if I don’t give in, he’ll just hound me.
“Fine. But to be clear, you are not my boyfriend.”
Nico hums low in the back of his throat at my clarification of our relationship status. “Don’t tell that to Bradley.”
I cringe, hoping Nico doesn’t think that my lack of interest in him is because of the way he looks.
Nico is gorgeous, and all the ink on his body makes him ten times hotter. From the few pieces I’ve seen, I can tell they mean something to him and have been specifically chosen and placed on his body for a reason, which I find incredibly sexy.
Nico opens the car door, and I pause, staring into his beautiful eyes. “I hope you know that us not working out isn’t because I’m a doctor and you’re covered in tattoos.”
“Good to know.” His top lip twitches, and for a second, I’m afraid he’s going to ask why we won’t work out, but the question never comes. I can’t tell if I’m relieved or annoyed.
I quickly slip into his car, and he closes the door. The black leather interior is buttery soft, and the inside smells like Nico—leathery with a touch of salt and something a little dark and floral, sinful. I breathe his unique scent into my lungs, tasting the luscious notes on my tongue.
Whatever cologne he wears makes my mouth water and my clit pulse with desire.
I shift in my seat, easing the ache with a touch of friction. Why does my body have to have this biochemical reaction to him of all people?
