Total pages in book: 161
Estimated words: 151410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
“Never again,” Nevio snarled, then his eyes slanted to me, standing frozen in the corridor. He released the girl immediately and stepped back. With a harsh smile, he backed up to the wall and leaned against it. His fly was open and his boxers below askew. He wasn’t even wearing a shirt, only his leather jacket.
The girl shoved away from the wall and rushed past me. As she did, she hissed at me. “You can have him. Have fun sucking his dick.”
I watched her leave with parted lips. I wasn’t sure what had happened. From the corner of my eye, I saw Nevio right his boxers and pull up his fly. He obviously didn’t expect me to do what the girl had suggested, though he must have heard her. He pulled a cigarette from his pants pocket and lit it up, then took a deep pull.
For a while, we just stood like that, not saying anything.
He was leaning against the wall, his head bowed down, his hair falling into his face, and he was hiding his expression from me. The half-empty vodka bottle stood beside him on the ground. I couldn’t believe he’d already drunk half of it. The cigarette dangled from his mouth, the tip glowing ominously. My eyes traced his muscled arms, pronounced six-pack, and the narrow swing of his hips, hating the idea that the girl had felt this part of him, that she’d run her hands over him how I wanted to do. I’d known Nevio all my life, had seen him shirtless countless times, but in the past few years, the sight had had a different impact on me. I wanted to touch him, to feel his body against mine, to lean my nose into his neck and smell him—sandalwood and musk, sometimes the hint of copper, which I never allowed my mind to dwell on.
My skin became hot, then hotter when I followed the hint of dark hairs into his black jeans. His leather belt was already half unbuckled. My chest ached thinking of what I’d almost overheard. It didn’t make me want him any less. Every part of me desired Nevio.
It wasn’t healthy or advisable, but it was fact, how Massimo loved to say, and in consequence, Carlotta too. I should be with her now, not up here, especially not up here with Nevio. But Carlotta was safe. Much safer than me in every sense of the word.
I had a feeling this was my chance. Maybe my only one. Nevio’s guard was down. I could…what could I really do? Talking to him was out of the question in the state he was in. I’d seen how much he’d drunk, not to mention the marijuana he’d smoked, which I could smell even from a distance. Maybe I could… kiss him. Show him that I wasn’t one of the guys. He hadn’t glanced my way in the way I’d hoped tonight despite my outfit, not in a way that other guys looked at me, even if it was so unlike anything I usually wore. I was air to him. I wasn’t sure what else to do to catch his attention.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he gritted out with the cigarette between his teeth, still not looking up.
“I needed a break from the party and thought it would be quiet up here.”
“You shouldn’t be at this party,” he clarified and raised his face, his dark eyes hitting me.
So that was what he thought.
I flushed, first from his hard words, then because of his angry expression. Something in his eyes, however, lit up my insides in a way that had nothing to do with embarrassment over his words. My gaze slid lower. The left side of his jaw and lower cheek were red.
I moved toward him and touched the spot. “It’s swelling.”
His hand soared up, clamping his fingers around my wrist. I froze and swallowed hard because his eyes were like embers, and my body became aflame. His grip around my wrist hurt a lot. “Nevio,” I whispered, and he loosened his hold, dropping my wrist as if it burned him.
He straightened, bringing us closer. I tilted my head back to look at him. The way he still looked down at me made me want to run. I could tell this might end in a very bad way. How could it not? He smelled of weed, cigarettes, and alcohol, not smells I liked, but beneath it was Nevio’s very own musky, herby scent caught me in its trap. I licked my lips. Nevio took a step closer and gripped my chin but not in a gentle way. “Did you dress up like that for someone special?”
His voice made me want to run from him and get closer to him at the same time. Something was entirely wrong with me. “Don’t you know?” I whispered. He must know.