“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.
I let out the breath I was holding as I directed my gaze back to his.
“What do I have to do for you to reward me?”
His lips curled upward. “Tell me the truth or convince me otherwise.”
My stomach fluttered and I traced the indents in his lip before looking back into his eyes.
“I want you, Nico.”
Aliana suddenly appeared as she stepped over to our table with our plates of food.
Nico whipped his head in her direction. “We’ll actually be taking these to go and I will take the check.”
“Very well,” she nodded before taking our food away to box it up without another word.
Nico directed his gaze back to me. “I’m taking you home with me so I can reward you properly without any fucking distractions.” He paused for a beat, his eyes searching mine. “If you don’t want me to do that, now would be the time to say something.”
I swallowed hard and my heart beat against my rib cage.
I should have told him no, but I didn’t.
“That’s exactly what I want you to do.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
NICO
Harper insisted on driving her car to my apartment, even though I had tried to convince her to ride with me. She didn’t want to leave it far away, which I could understand. That didn’t dismiss the intense need to have her right beside me right now.
I whipped my car into the parking garage underneath my building and Harper followed behind me. I lost sight of her momentarily as she turned and went over to where the guest parking was. My spot wasn’t too far so I slid the car into it and put it in park, before killing the engine. Grabbing the food from my passenger seat, I climbed out and headed in the direction of where Harper was.
As I pressed the lock button on my key fob, the beeping sound echoed throughout the garage. When I rounded a row of cars, I spotted Harper walking through the garage looking for me. My footsteps were light and quiet as I moved closer to her. She must have spotted me from the corner of her eye, as she whipped her head to the side and her face relaxed when she saw me.
“Hey,” she said as I stopped in front of her. Her cheeks were tinted pink and her eyes were bright. She nervously shifted her weight on her feet, but there was no indication that she didn’t want to be here right now.
“Come with me,” I told her, holding my hand out for her as I held on to our bag of food with the other hand. “Let’s get inside and eat before the food gets too cold.”
Harper slid her palm against mine without hesitation and her fingers laced with mine. I looked at her once more and she smiled back at me. “Good, because I’m starving.”
So am I… but not for food.
I led her into the building and we stepped onto the elevator. After punching in my code, it took us straight to my floor. As the doors slid open, Harper looked at me with an eyebrow raised. “This is your place?”