The young woman turned and bustled off, leaving River to peruse the menu. It was small, with limited offerings… and it was all in Italian. It was going to take every bit of the language that River had managed to learn to figure it out. After wandering around all day, she was starving. And the aromas that filled the café made her stomach rumble loudly. She was glad there was plenty of conversation in the place to mask the embarrassing sound of it. River's hunger though fueled her determination to interpret the menu.
After giving the waitress her order and getting a glass of wine, River couldn’t help but notice the people casting sidelong glances at her. They quickly turned away and spoke to each other in whispers, making her feel like an exhibit at the zoo. Tourists were obviously a rarity in the café. Nico had warned her that they would probably do that since it was a locals-only kind of place and they preferred to keep it that way. The locals didn’t want tourists overrunning their eateries and River couldn’t say she blamed them. She knew tourists could be the absolute worst.
At the same time though, she was one person and just wanted something authentically and deliciously Venetian. With the list of things Nico gave her to check out, she’d seen Venice in a whole new way. She was seeing the things tourists didn’t normally see and felt more like a local than she had in all the time she’d been there. It had been an amazing day. It made her wonder what else was out there she hadn’t seen or experienced yet. It made River think about extending her stay again… something her father probably wouldn’t be thrilled with.
As she sipped her wine, her thoughts turned back to Nico. Their lunch date yesterday had turned into something else, and they’d spent most of the afternoon together. But he had been a perfect gentleman. At the end of the day, he’d walked her back to her apartment and even though she could see the desire in his eyes, he didn’t ask to come inside. He kissed her hand and said goodnight. Which was probably a good thing because River didn’t know that she would have said no, had he asked. He wasn’t the only one feeling desire.
Just the memory of the way he’d looked at her sent a warm, tingling sensation through her body and goosebumps marching across her skin. She’d never had a man look at her the way he had. He’d looked at her like she was a living piece of art. Like she was a goddess. He’d looked at her like she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. And River knew it wasn’t pretense. It wasn’t a means of trying to get into her panties. If it had been nothing more than a ploy to sleep with her, he would have tried to finagle his way into her apartment. But he hadn’t. He’d treated her with nothing but kindness and respect.
The waitress brought her meal out to her along with a fresh glass of wine. River thanked her and then tucked into the most delicious dish she'd ever had in her life. She had to remind herself to stay quiet for fear that the noises of pleasure and delight she'd make would sound positively pornographic. And she had enough people staring at her as it was. She made a mental note to thank Nico for sending her to this little hidden gem.
She had no sooner thought of him when an image of his face popped into her mind. She’d had an amazing time with him yesterday. He was witty and clever. You’d never know it by his rugged good looks and gruff, serious demeanor, but he was hilarious. He had a casual and dry sense of humor that had her in stitches. He was also kind. He listened to her and asked a million questions, wanting to know everything about her.
And of course, he was gorgeous. He was sexy. River’s face flushed when she thought about the plethora of almost indecent things she wanted to do with him. And if she’d let herself slip even a little bit yesterday, she would have spent all night doing every last one of those things with him. Her skin felt warm, and she was burning hot between her thighs as she pictured his tightly corded body pressed against hers. As she thought about what it would be like to kiss him, her mouth grew dry and her palms became so damp, her fork almost slipped out of her hand.
River wasn’t a promiscuous girl. She was a virgin, after all, and the most she’d ever done with a guy was in her senior year of high school when she let Ryan Kennington finger her. She’d given him a handjob and had been tempted to sleep with him for a minute. But only a minute. He’d gotten a little too aggressive and pushed for things she didn’t want to do so she’d ended up kicking him out of her house. He, of course, called her a frigid bitch and a cocktease… and then proceeded to tell everybody at school that he’d fucked her and provided a host of salacious and totally made-up details to all who'd listen.
The joke was on him though. Nobody believed him because everybody knew she wasn’t that kind of girl, so he ended up being a laughingstock and ostracized from the school's popular cliques. He spent the latter part of his senior year as a social pariah.
“Served him right,” she muttered and took a sip of her wine.
River pushed her plate away, her stomach filled to nearly bursting. It was so good though, she was tempted to try and cram a little more in. But good sense prevailed. As she looked around the café though, her gaze met that of a man on the other side of the room. He was looking at her intently. Staring at her really, and the intensity in his eyes made her uncomfortable. A small grin quirked the corner of his mouth up and he raised his wine glass to her.
River gave him a small smile then quickly turned away, not wanting to encourage him. In her peripheral vision though, she saw him get to his feet and start over to her table. A chill ran down her back and she shuddered. River waved to get the attention of her waitress and gestured for the check. The woman smiled and gave her a nod. The man though, dropped down into the chair across from River, setting his glass down on the table. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and she shuddered as the feeling of ice-tipped fingers slid down her body.
“They say you’re American,” he said.
“They’re observant,” she said curtly.
He grinned. “How do you know about this café? It’s mostly known to locals only.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude but I’m leaving, so…”
The man chuckled. “I’m Emiliano,” he said, undeterred. “Emiliano Vittore.”
“That’s nice.”
She was being cold but trying to avoid being outright rude, but he didn’t seem to be taking the hint. Emiliano looked to be around the same age as Nico and had nearly the same physical body type. He was big, burly, and looked like he worked out. His sandy blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail that brushed the tops of his shoulders, and his eyes were dark. He was a handsome man, though not nearly as good looking as Nico. There was something about him though, that set River’s teeth on edge. Nico had a hard edge to him, but as she got to know him yesterday, she thought he had a good heart.
Emiliano’s eyes though, were vacant. Whereas Nico had that hard edge set deep in his eyes, buried behind that life and vivaciousness she found so attractive, Emiliano’s were just… empty. She could tell that Nico was dangerous, but Emiliano was something else. There was a hardness in his eyes and a cruelty in his demeanor that made her scared of him. There was something about him she found entirely off-putting. It was like the darkness she saw in Emiliano corrupted the very air between them.
“What’s your name?” he pressed.
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m leaving,” she repeated.
The waitress dropped off her check and the man reached for it. “I’ll take care of that.”
River quickly yanked the check away. “I appreciate the offer but I’m fine. Thank you.”
“Really, it’s no problem—”
“No, but thank you.”
River dug some cash out of her purse and threw it all down on the table then shot to her feet. With trembling hands, she slung her bag over her shoulder and walked out of the restaurant. She felt him behind her almost immediately. It was like she could feel the darkness that surrounded him crawling across her skin, leaving a greasy trail in its wake. River turned, a scowl on her face when she found Emiliano standing behind her, a smarmy smile on his face.
She’d tried being nice… or at least, not rude. She’d tried to signal to him that she wasn’t interested in the politest way she could. Although a cold chill of fear swept through her, a white-hot surge of anger flowed through her veins. River’s stomach churned and she felt her legs tremble slightly, but she mastered her fear and gritted her teeth as she balled her hands into fists at her sides. Seeing her flustered and angry only seemed to amuse him more though.
“What is your name?” he asked again.