Page 8 of Blood Lust
I glanced down to make sure I wasn’t about to lose one, and I crashed into something big and hard. I squeaked in surprise, and all but three of my books tumbled to the floor.
“Watch it!” he snapped.
“I’m so sorry,” I muttered in embarrassment. Then I glanced at the poor man I’d slammed into. My mouth went dry and my heart sped up. As I attempted to restack my books, my hands shook.
It was the guy in the Adidas track suit.
Fuck.
His expression softened. “That was rude of me,” he apologetically said. And if I thought the guy at Merin table had a sexy voice, it was like nails on a chalkboard compared to Adidas guy.
“Is there a problem?” the scary dude asked as he stopped by us.
“No, I just totally ran into your boyfriend… or husband… I mean….” My mortification went through the roof because I sounded like an idiot. The scary dude looked at me like I was nuts, confirming my fears.
The sexy one laughed. “Pietro is not my significant other, though he would be quite the catch.”
“Fuck off,” Pietro whispered to him, but I still heard it over the drone of voices around us.
“I-I-I’m sorry. I thought…. Ugh, never mind. That’ll teach me to make assumptions.” I was pretty sure my face was about to go up in flames. Keeping my gaze lowered, I resumed gathering up my books. I wanted to cry when I saw that the back cover of one had gotten bent.
The sexy guy crouched next to me and grabbed the ones out of my reach.
“You read mafia books?” He smirked as he held up an especially dark mafia book by Sapphire Knight. When he flipped it open, I cringed, afraid he’d crease it. Surprisingly, he was extremely gentle with my new acquisition. It was impossible not to notice how the hard muscles in his arms flexed and moved under his black jacket.
Cue drool.
“On the dance floor, huh? Bold.” He cocked a dark brow, and pressed his lips flat as he tried to hide his smile.
“Oh my God,” I muttered, then swiped the book from his roughly elegant hands. There were a few white scars on them that made my overactive imagination wonder if they were from fights. None of them detracted from his appeal.
He chuckled, and once all of my books were accounted for, he motioned to Pietro, who bent down to pick up the stack of my books. Of course, he made them seem like they weighed nothing.
“Are you a book model?” I blurted out.Oh floor, swallow me now.
“Do you want me to be?” he playfully asked.
“Uh, um, I….”
He laughed, and the sound literally made my panties wet.
“Can I get a picture with you?” I asked, amazed at my sudden boldness.
Something flickered in his eyes as he glanced at Pietro and back. He leaned closer to me, and I could smell the clean scent of his cologne. My head dropped in both embarrassment and disappointment.
“I’d rather not right now. But you should let me buy you a drink to make up for it and my initial rudeness,” he murmured—almost seductively.
Eyes wide, I lifted my gaze to stare into his rich brown eyes. The thick lashes that framed them only made me stare more. Transfixed, I found myself drowning in those earthy depths.
The scent of mint hit me, and I realized he was talking to me. Jesus, did everything about the man smell good?
“Huh?” I asked in my most intelligent manner—not.
“That drink?”
“I don’t even know your name,” I murmured.
“Gabe,” he offered as he held out a hand. I shook it, and my heart lurched as if it had been hit by a thousand volts.