“How did you know we were Americans?” Evie asked with a teasing tone in her voice.
A grin flickered across the man’s lips. “Your accents, of course.”
His English was perfect but was faintly colored by his Italian accent. River thought it was charming and kind of hot… and as soon as the thought passed through her mind, she felt her face flush and she looked away. She felt his eyes on her though and as if he had some sort of gravitational pull, River raised her eye and when their gazes met, she felt a physical jolt.
“So, why is that guy a pig?” Evie asked.
The man seemed to pull his gaze away from River reluctantly and turned to Evie. River felt her heart start to beat again and let out a small, quiet breath of relief. She licked her lips as she tried to gather her wits about her. But her mouth was dry, her skin prickled with a feeling like small electrical jolts, and her stomach turned somersaults inside of her.
“That man is married but has fathered children with three different women,” the stranger said. “He takes care of none of them.”
“How do you know that?” Evie asked.
A corner of the man’s mouth quirked upward. “He’s my cousin.”
Evie leaned forward on the table, making sure to showcase her ample cleavage, a sultry smile on her face. It was clear Evie had set her sights on taking him back to their place that night and River felt a stab of jealousy pierce her heart. She knew it was irrational and it wasn’t fair. She had no claim to this man and Evie had every right to make a move on him since River was too shy and reserved to stake her own claim.
“And what is your name?” Evie asked him.
“Nico,” he replied. “Nico Santonelli.”
“Nice to meet you, Nico. I’m Evie.”
He gave her a polite smile then turned to River and when she met his gaze, she felt her heart stutter again. River cleared her throat and slid her hands down to her lap, below the table, so he couldn’t see them trembling. The air between them crackled with electricity and a heavy sense of anticipation.
“And what is your name,bella?” he asked, his voice smooth and low.
“R—River,” she said.
“It’s nice to meet you, River.”
Nico had such a smoothness and sophistication to him that River found attractive. Sexy even. But also, somewhat disconcerting. She wasn’t used to having the sort of reaction to a man she was having right then and the heat burning between her thighs wasn’t helping any. Even worse, River noticed the soft lines at the corners of his eyes as well as the gray that flecked his hair and the stubble on his face. He was older than she was and that only fueled those flames burning inside of her. She’d always had a thing for older men.
“It’s… it’s nice to meet you too,” she stammered. “But we need to go.”
“What? No, we don’t,” Evie objected.
“Yeah, we do,” River replied. “We need to go. I have to be up early tomorrow.”
Nico chuckled, his voice deep and gruff as Evie stared at River with an expression of amusement blended with annoyance on her face. River’s emotions were churning wildly inside of her. She knew herself well enough to know that she didn’t think clearly or make the best decisions when she was in that state. And having made some bad decisions in her life because she didn’t heed the warnings, River learned to remove herself from a situation where she might potentially do something she’d come to regret.
River grabbed hold of Evie’s hand and pulled her off the stool she was sitting on, making her laugh. Evie gave Nico an apologetic shrug.
“You’ll have to forgive her,” she said. “She was raised by wolves and we’re still trying to socialize her.”
He flashed Evie a grin then chuckled again. “I understand.”
He turned to River and gave her a smile that made her heart flutter. River’s face grew warm as she shifted on her feet, her panties getting uncomfortably moist. Nico reached out and took her free hand then raised it to his lips. River had to stifle the moan that rose in her throat as she felt his soft, full lips on her skin.
“I will see you again though,” he said. “Soon.”
River’s face grew so hot, she thought it might burst into flames. She opened her mouth to reply but couldn’t get the words out so instead, she dragged Evie along behind her as she practically sprinted out of the club.
“You know that super hot guy was totally into you, right?” Evie said once they’d gotten a few blocks away.
“Shut up,” River said with a nervous chuckle. “We’re not going to talk about him.”
She shrugged. “I have a feeling you’re going to be seeing him again.”