More Than Once by Dominique Wolf
CHAPTER 9:
“Y
ou seriously said he was a marketing accountant.” Giovanni laughed.
I hung my head in my hands, “I told you I didn't want to talk about that.”
Giovanni reached over and removed my hands from my face, still keeping them in his. We were sitting on a bench on the beach away from the music from all the parties going on. The sun was beginning to set and I loved the way it reflected against the water.
“Why'd you lie about having a date?”
I really didn't want to get into that with him. I'd have to admit my unexpected jealousy of seeing him with someone else and I didn't want him to have any more power over me than he already did. I should have left the situation alone when I had a chance. I remained silent and looked up at him, an amused look spread across his face.
“Do you want to know what I think?” he asked casually.
“Not in the slightest.”
He ignored my sarcastic comment and continued, “I think you like me.”
I scoffed, “Oh please.”
“Don't deny it,” he teased and leaned closer to me. “You can admit you have a thing for me, Isabella.”
“I don't have a thing for you, Giovanni.”
That was a big fat lie but I didn't want him to know that. I needed to convince him that I didn't care what, or who, he did.
“Keep telling yourself that.” he mused and lifted his drink to his lips. He was enjoying this so much. I could see the amusement on his face and as much as it frustrated me that he had all this control, I couldn't help the burning attraction I still had towards him. We ate our way through a couple of the tapas I bought and I was thankful for the food in my system. It was balancing itself out against the alcohol now.
“Why do you care if I have a thing for you?” I asked. “Which for the record, I don't. By the looks of things, you've been pretty occupied. Doesn't seem like you're in short supply when it comes to women.”
“And how would you know that?”
Besides the tongue in his ear earlier, the articles, and everyone's mention of it, it really rounded his “player” image out.
“You know what, I actually don't want to talk about this anymore,” I snapped. “Why did you want to have a drink with me, Giovanni?”
He was playing games here. All of that to have one drink with me and now he wouldn't stop with the questions. It was starting to frustrate me. I hated being out of control and whenever I was around him, that was exactly what happened. I needed to stop this before it went any further.
“Is it so hard for you to believe that I want to get to know you better?”
I flicked my eyes to his and the interest in them was as clear as day. He was looking at me the same way he looked at me that first night at Mala Mía. My nerves started to flicker inside - he was making me so nervous. There was a part of me that was ready to throw myself at him and another part wanted to sit here and get to know him. He intrigued me. His ability to command my body and now my mind was unexpected but it happened and now I couldn't get rid of the lingering feeling he had left me with.
“For the record, yes it is,” I said quickly but carried on with my thought. “But fine. Since you say you want to know me, ask me something. Nothing deep and personal, we are keeping this as platonic as possible.”
“Platonic?” he laughed.
I nodded and he leaned over to me to whisper in my ear, “There's nothing platonic about wanting you in my bed again screaming my name.”
Fuck.The throbbing between my legs returned and I wanted him again.
Bad idea, Isabella.
“That's not going to happen again.” I said, while also trying to convince myself of that statement.
“We'll see.” he smirked.
“You really think you can always get what you want hey?”
He shrugged, “If I want something, I go for it.”
That could apply to anything in life but right now in this context, he wanted me and he didn't care about hiding it. He was confident and had no filter when it came to the things he said. He could casually throw around something like that without realizing what that meant for me. Giovanni had piqued my interest and I was obviously drawn to him. I wanted him so badly. While I wanted him to take me back to his apartment so I could moan his name to the night, there was something more than that. There was also a part of me that was interested in him - he was intriguing and spontaneous and it excited me in ways I had never experienced before.
No strings attached
That's what he said to me and given the countless mentions of his one-night stand tendencies, it was bad news to have any sort of feelings involved here.
“You're quite arrogant.” I commented.
“Confident,” he corrected. “There's nothing wrong with confidence.”
“There is when you become arrogant about it.”
He smirked, “So is it arrogant to say that I know you want to kiss me right now?”
He was insufferable. He didn't hide his arrogance and as much as it was annoying me, it was turning me on at the same time. I didn't know how it was possible but it was happening. I wanted him to touch me. I wanted him to take me. I wanted him to kiss me.
But of course I didn't want him to know that. That was the stubbornness inside of me. There was a lingering amount of alcohol in my system and I reminded myself that two could play this game.
“I don't want to kiss you,” I said as casually as I could manage. “But this is now the second or third time you've mentioned something like that so by the sounds of it Giovanni, it would appear that you're the one who wants to kiss me.”
I shifted closer to him on the bench, wanting to remove as much distance between us as possible. If he wanted to play this game then I'd be happy to join in. This wasn't a one-sided situation. I leaned closer to him, my lips hovering close to his. He couldn't keep his eyes off them and if I wasn't so stubborn I would have brought my lips up to his.
But I didn't.
Instead, I brought my drink up to my lips and took a slow sip. Never losing eye contact, he watched me repeat that action.
“You're playing games now, Isabella.” he breathed.
“I'm sure you're used to being the one doing that.” I murmured.
He rested his hand on my bare thigh, waiting for a reaction from me but I remained unchanged. He wasn't going to have me that easily. I reached out and slowly ran my nails through his hair, stopping at the back to tug on it a little bit.
“You're not as innocent as you look are you?”
“Not in the slightest...” I took the last sip of my drink.
He cocked an eyebrow.
“I bet you're thinking about me running my hands up and down your body.”
I didn't know where it was coming from but I suddenly wanted to get a reaction out of him. He couldn't be the only one that had power in this situation and I had to know he wanted me as much as I wanted him.
“And what it would be like to hear me moan your name again.”
“I love hearing you moan my name, Isabella,” he breathed. “You know what I can do to your body.”
I was so turned on. We were sitting in a place filled with people all around us but once again, he was all I saw. I just wanted him. He leaned closer to my ear and graced it with the tip of his tongue. I couldn't control the moan that escaped my lips.
“See, I already know you love it when I do that to you because I pay attention,” he murmured. “I pay attention to your body and what it wants.”
He leaned closer to my ear again but this time I was reminded of the image of the fresh-faced brunette from earlier doing the exact same thing to him. I suddenly pulled away from him. An hour ago he was here with someone else and that just confirmed I needed to continue to stay away from him. He was bad news.
“I promised you one drink.” I stood up.
“Where are you going?” he asked, surprised by my sudden change in demeanour.
“Home.” I announced.
If I headed home now, I would leave him wanting more and selfishly, that's what I wanted. I wanted him to think of me when I wasn't around. I wanted him to want me. I wanted him to be the one to lose control.
“You're leaving?”
“You asked me to get one drink with you and now I have, so I'm going to head home.”
His eyes shone with amusement and sexual frustration. I could tell a part of him was enjoying me taking control of the situation - he wasn't used to it.
“You're trouble aren't you, Isabella?” he mused.
I leaned down and kissed his cheek. I wanted to do so much more but I couldn't ignore the constant red flags. If I didn't leave now, I was without a doubt going to end up in his bed again.
“I'll see you around, Giovanni.”
“I hope so.”
