Meet Me in the Penalty Box (Orchid City, #1)(20)
I glowered at him. “How do you know my last name?”
“I have my ways,” he responded with a sly grin. “Now answer my question.”
“I’m not jealous,” I told him, although my voice sounded far from convincing.
He cocked his head to the side as he positioned his arm across the back of the bench seat. “Then ask me who I came here with.”
My heart pounded in my chest and my nostrils flared as he challenged me with his gaze. I didn’t want to ask him, but he already had me cornered. A part of me wanted to know. I never once considered the fact that maybe he was seeing someone. I should have turned him down in the parking lot. I shouldn’t be here with him.
“Ask me.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, feeling the jealousy already seeping into my veins. “Who did you come here with?”
Nico smiled as Alaina returned with our drinks. “My sister, Giana.” She disappeared without another word, clearly reading the room, and I was thankful for that.
My face instantly heated and embarrassment swept over me. I looked away from him, but Nico slid his hand under my chin and pulled my face back to look at him. His eyes danced under the lights and he leaned closer, his lips brushing against my ear.
“Don’t be embarrassed,” he whispered. “I like you jealous.”
He slowly pulled away and grabbed his drink. I watched how his lips kissed the rim of the glass and the way his throat bobbed as he swallowed the liquor. I followed suit, taking a sip of mine as I needed the liquid courage. His thigh was now pressed against mine and I wanted him closer.
“Tell me about you, Harper. What makes you smile. What pisses you off.”
Alaina returned, thankfully saving me from having to provide Nico with an answer. She took both of our orders, and I had barely even looked over my menu and ordered a pasta dish on the spot as she stood by our booth, patiently waiting. As she walked away, Nico turned his attention back to me.
“Why do you want to know?”
“Because I want to know.” His eyes were bright as his smile reached them. “I want to know how to keep that beautiful smile on your lips. I want to know what to avoid so I don’t ever piss you off… unless I’m intentionally trying to.”
I stared at him for a moment. “I don’t know why you’ve taken such an interest in me. We had one night together—barely, if we’re being honest. You could have anyone you want, yet you’re chasing after the one you can’t have.”
“See, that’s the thing, love,” Nico said slowly, his voice barely audible. “You say I can’t have you, but that’s where you’re wrong. I can have you anywhere I want.” His hand was on my thigh. I could feel the warmth of his palm through my leggings. My heart was skipping beats. “I promise no one will ever know. I would never jeopardize your job or anything in your life.”
“How can you be so sure?” I breathed as my heart pounded erratically in my chest. “You can’t promise that.”
He scowled. “You’re right, I can’t. But I will do everything in my fucking power to make sure no one ever finds out.” He paused and I counted three heartbeats before his lips parted again. “Tell me you don’t want me, Harper, and I promise I’ll leave you alone.”
I stared back at him as he trailed his hand farther up my thigh. A heat spread through my veins like wildfire and I swallowed roughly. “I don’t want you,” I whispered, my voice sticking like there was peanut butter in my throat.
His lips twitched. “If you’re going to lie to me, love, at least make it believable.” His tongue slid out as he wet his lips. He slid his hands between my thighs, his fingers brushed against my pussy. I inhaled sharply as the friction sent a bolt of lightning through my body. “I’ll give you one more try to convince me that you don’t want me.”
A shiver slid down my spine and he slowly circled his thumb around my clit. Even through two layers of clothing, he had no problem finding it. I shifted under his touch, wanting to get away from him because I didn’t want him to have that satisfaction, yet I wanted to get even closer. “I don’t want you, Nico,” I choked out.
He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and my eyes dropped down to his mouth. I watched as he left crescent-shaped marks in his flesh. He continued to work his thumb against me and I didn’t try to stop him. I didn’t want him to stop. My body was on fire, simultaneously tingling and there was something building deep inside me.
“You’re a terrible liar, Harper,” Nico growled as he released his lip and pulled his hand away from me. I instantly felt his absence and my clit was throbbing, still needing him and the release he was pushing me closer to.
My eyebrows scrunched together and my eyes sliced back to his. “Why did you stop?” I breathed.
He smirked as he used the same hand he just had between my thighs to lift his drink to his lips. I watched the way his throat elongated as he took a long swallow of the liquor. Nico set the glass back on the table in front of him.
“I don’t reward liars.”
My breath caught in my throat as I tore my gaze from his and stared at the table in front of me. Something about his tone, the way the words spilled from his lips—I couldn’t help myself but feel a deep-seated need inside.
Maybe it was because he left me hanging. There was unfinished business between us and he suddenly tipped the tables on me. He left things even more intense than they were before. There was a part of me that wanted to believe him. He said that no one would find out. He gave me no reason to not trust him.