Maria's Christmas Angel: A DARK ANGEL Romance (Alpha Male, Erotic Mafia Romance)
Page 4
I saw Craig sitting at one of the high-top tables towards the back and made my way through the small crowd of people until I'd reached him. Craig was a nice man – a great guy, really. Any girl would be lucky to have him. He was good looking, with stylish blond hair and bright blue eyes the color of a summer day. He was smart, funny, charming... essentially, he was every woman's dream.
Just not mine, I mused to myself.
Craig was an attorney with a large firm that I'd met through a mutual friend. We'd hit it off when I had attended a birthday party last month. I'd liked his take-charge attitude and dynamic personality, but over the course of the time that I'd known him, that assertiveness had seemed to wane. I didn’t know the cause of this change in him, but I didn’t like it. It almost felt as though I’d sucked the life out of him.
This had happened before; actually, it happened way too often. One of my ex's had once called me a “tornado” – an unstoppable force that had stormed into his life one day, leaving devastation in my wake. I didn't mean to do it, I really didn’t. But somehow, my controlling nature tended to bring out the submissive side in normally powerful men. In bed, that was great – I loved taking charge – but in day-to-day life, it left me discontented. Maybe it was because I needed the excitement, the thrill of the chase. But once I got what I wanted, it wasn't what I expected.
Craig got up from his seat as soon as he saw me, and he smiled in greeting. I turned my head at the last minute and his lips brushed my cheek instead of against mine. I could see the puzzlement in his blue eyes as we sat down. A waitress came to the table and I ordered a glass of prosecco and ordered a beer for Craig. That had started to annoy me, how he waited to see what I wanted him to order. As if he no longer had a mind of his own.
We looked at each other for a minute or two without speaking. Conversation between us sometimes felt like a chess game. "This place is crazy," Craig said finally. "Maybe we should just skip the dinner and go some more...private."
I opened my mouth to speak, but waited as the waitress came back with our drinks. I took a large sip of the sparkling wine to gain courage for what I was about to do. I didn't like hurting anyone, but it had to be done. As Craig asked the waitress about the menu, I looked around the room, taking in the various patrons in the bar.
And that was when I saw him.
Sitting in the back corner booth was a man so strikingly handsome that I forgot to breathe for a moment as our eyes locked. Even from several feet away, the connection between us was potent enough to hold me fixed in place. I couldn’t break his eye contact, even though I was getting an uncomfortable flush from it. He was dressed in a gray suit, with a black dress shirt opened at the collar. With his black hair, dark eyes and strong chiseled features, he had the face of a fallen angel – dangerous and brooding, but with a certain handsome grace. The blue light in the bar highlighted his golden skin, making him look even more imposing somehow, as if he really were some mythical god come to life.
A dark angel, I mused. I couldn’t take my eyes off him… But why was he watching me this way?
Just then, his lips perked up in a slight grin at my wide-eyed stupor, and that cocky look finally snapped me out of my daze. Instantly, I turned away from him, focusing back on Craig, who hadn’t noticed my distraction started talking about the latest case he was working on. I knew without looking that the man in the corner was still staring at me. His gaze was almost visceral, and I could feel his eyes trailing over my body as if he were touching me – my legs, my thighs, my breasts…
I shook my head, clearing the naughty thoughts from my head. I had come here tonight for a reason, and Craig deserved the respect of my attention. There was no easy way to do this, so I figured I might as well get to it.
I put my hand on Craig's, halting him mid-speech. I held back a wince as he smiled and put his other hand over mine.
Shit.
I hated this part.
"Craig, we need to talk."
"Okay,” he said, oblivious. “Actually, me too. I've been meaning to talk to you about maybe going away somewhere this weekend and—"
I pulled my hand out from under his and stared at him with serious eyes. Lowering my voice to one of command I simply said, "Craig." He fell silent instantly. I took a deep breath and continued. "There’s something we have to talk about, and you aren't going to like it. I...I don’t think this is working out between us. I think we might be better off as just friends."
There. I'd said it. And looking at him I knew I'd just given him the verbal equivalent to a kick in the nuts. And... sweet Jesus, was he going to cry?
I looked away from him, giving him a moment to collect himself and met the stare of my mystery man again. He was ignoring the three men at his table and giving me an inquiring look. It was crazy that I thought I could tell what he was thinking when I didn't even know him. I turned back to Craig and sighed at the lost look on his face.
"Did I do something wrong, Karen? Please, just tell me and—"
"No, sweetie," I said softly, letting my expression soften a little. "It's nothing you did. I've enjoyed the time we've spent together, but I just feel like we are better suited as friends now."
"Don't do this, Karen. I think I'm—"
I held up my hand. "Please, don't say it. I'll understand if you can't be friends with me, but I hope you know I still care for you and wish you the best. I'm just not the woman for you. You’ll see that in time. I’m sorry, Craig. I'm going to go use the restroom now. I'll understand if you're not here when I get back."
I made my escape from the table, forcing myself not to look at my mystery man as I passed his table. I headed down a narrow corridor to the restrooms and walked inside. Taking a few minutes to check my lip gloss and my hair I waited a few minutes, hoping that Craig wouldn't be there when I got back to the table.
As I opened the door heading back into the hallway I came to an abrupt halt. There was my mystery man, leaning one shoulder against the wall in a casual pose as he waited for me. His obsidian eyes locked on mine and once again I was caught. He straightened up and walked towards me. No, not walked – stalked. He was stalking me, like I was his prey.
He was taller than I expected. I pegged him at around 6’3", and he towered over my petite frame by a good eight inches. I could see his muscles ripple under his perfectly cut suit as he moved closer to me. Crazily, I had a sudden desire to rip his shirt off so that I could see the beautiful body underneath. I chased the thought away as he started speaking.
"Your boyfriend left," he said.
God, that voice. His deep voice reverberated through me and set my pulse racing. Like a tuning fork, I was drawn to him. A twinge of guilt hit me as I heard the news that Craig had left – but even still, I could feel a weight lifting off my shoulders. I forced down the urge to grin, instead raising a brow at my dark angel. "He's not my boyfriend...just a friend."
"Bullshit,” he said. “You broke his heart so he left. I could see that from across the room."
I narrowed my eyes at him. There was no way he could have heard my conversation at the table. So, how the hell did he know that? "Mocking someone's pain isn't very attractive, you know,” I said, floundering for some witty comeback but coming up empty.
His slight smile had a small dimple appearing on his cheek. Damn it, that wasn't fair. He knew he was hot, and he was teasing me with it even as he spoke.
"I'm not mocking his pain. Simply enjoying my good luck that he's now gone. My name is Angelo DeSilvo."There was a pause as if he expected me to know his name, then he said, "This is my restaurant."
I rolled my eyes. So that’s the card he was going to play. Well, if he was waiting for me to swoon at the news, he was sorely mistaken. “I see. Well, nice restaurant, Angelo. I’m Karen Blackwell.”
"Well, Karen. Seeing as how your friend left, you might as well join me for dinner instead."
I had to laugh. "Really? Sorry, I think I'll pass. I have to go pay my bill, and then I think I'll be going."
I turned on my heels and started down the hallway to the main room, only to come to a stop when his hand landed on my arm.
It was a firm hold, yet his grip remained gentle. Still, he had some unexplainable power that kept me frozen in place instead of lashing out. His touch reverberated through my body like 10,000 volts. What the hell was going on? I could feel my skin on fire, from the back of my neck all down my body – and, yes, a faint wetness growing between my legs. No man had that power over me; not usually. Though his hand was merely resting on my arm, it was like he was touching the core of my body.
I looked down at his strong hand then back up to his dark eyes. He was frowning at me, and for some reason his frown made me want to smile.
"Your bill has been taken care of."
"Well, thank you,” I said coolly. “That was very generous of you."
His brow creased. "So, why the attitude then?"
I cocked my head to the side and studied him. He really had no clue. "You want to know the truth?” I said. “You seem like a man that doesn't have to work for it. And I’m sorry, but that’s not the kind of man I have time for."
"Work for it? " he bit out. “For what, exactly?” He seemed genuinely confused. How to put this delicately?
"A woman's… attention,” I replied. “I'm sure almost any woman in here would love to have dinner with you."
"I'm not asking them. I'm asking you." I could practically feel the frustration coming off him in waves. There was definitely a connection of some sort between us, that was true. And so, I felt I could be completely honest with him.
"Wow, Angelo. I'm here in your restaurant, so we might as well have dinner? Seriously? I'm so flattered I could faint." I softened the blow with a smile even though my sarcasm was hard to miss.
His eyes searched mine. "You don't seem to have a very high opinion of me."
"That's the thing, I don't know you."
"Then get to know me." His lips curved in the first true smile I’d seen since I met him. His whole face lit up when it hit him, and all the rough edges on his features softened just a bit. God, you’re sexy, I thought, against my will.
“Look,” he said, still holding me fixed in place with his eyes. "That wasn't very well done of me, I get that. Let me try again.” He took my hands in his own, and I felt absolutely powerless against the words that came next. “Karen, would you like to have dinner with me?"
I sighed. What the hell was I getting myself into this time? He had a certain playboy attitude about him, and I hated that. But all the alarm bells going off in my head were no match for the captivating allure I was feeling towards him. Dangerous or not, I couldn’t turn away from that – not yet.
“…I’d love to,” I said with a smile.
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