Chapter Two
CHAPTER TWO
All Jasmine had really known when she had got dressed and left her apartment was that she was determined to have a good time.
At no point had she thought that ‘good time’ would include joining the most attractive man she had ever encountered for drinks but, now that she was faced with Emilio, she couldn’t say no.
Something inside her wouldn’t let her. She always let her head make decisions.
Logic was her guiding principle; it was how she managed to achieve her goals.
But tonight a gut feeling told her that being in Emilio’s company was imperative.
That she couldn’t pass up this opportunity.
She picked up her martini, catching the bar tender’s smirk, and turned to face Emilio.
‘Well, lead the way.’
He reached past her to grab his own drink. His arm lightly brushed against Jasmine’s as he did so, igniting a flurry of sparks in her belly that decimated all thought in her head.
She followed Emilio to his table, surprised that it was still empty.
She was almost positive she’d seen someone beside him earlier, but with so many people in the club she couldn’t be sure.
Really, that fact made it more surprising.
In a club this busy, a vacated table would usually be occupied again immediately.
Unless it belonged to a VIP… Who exactly was Emilio?
Jasmine was tempted to look him up discreetly on her phone, but she ignored the idea. She was meant to be taking a break from ‘uptight’ Jasmine. She was going to go with the flow and see where the night took her. A little bit of mystery would only make things more fun.
Emilio pulled out her chair. Her first instinct was to tell him she could do it herself, but she managed not to.
Chivalry was rare in her day-to-day life.
Running a successful online boutique meant Jasmine usually had to be the power in the room.
When she wasn’t, it was because she was meeting with other high-powered executives and investors, and she would never allow any action that could possibly have them perceive her as weak, or anything less than an equal.
It was nice to let herself enjoy a chivalrous gesture for once.
She watched Emilio move round the table and pour himself into the scalloped couch.
A passing strobe momentarily illuminated his dark-brown eyes, making her think of rich coffee.
He leaned across and snagged the cocktail stick out of her drink.
Perfect white teeth gripped onto the first of the three olives and slid it off before he deposited the stick back into her glass.
His Adam’s apple bobbed appealingly as he swallowed the stolen garnish.
She bit her lip. He was presumptuous. Why was this so erotic?
‘So, Jasmine,’ he said. ‘Alone at the club?’ His words pulled her attention to his lips, pink and full. Images of biting into them filled her mind, and she had to force herself to stop short of physically shaking her head to clear it enough to answer.
‘What about it?’ She had no intention of talking about her failed wedding with this handsome stranger. This close, she could see his hair was ever so slightly curly and her fingers itched to run through the silky strands.
‘I think there’s a story there,’ Emilio said, leaning forward to place his elbows on the table.
‘And what makes you think that I’m going to tell you what that is?’ she replied, mirroring his movements. His unmistakeable Italian accent was like music to her.
‘You might find it helpful to unburden yourself to an interesting stranger.’
Jasmine could see his eyes dance with mischief, and she was certain in that moment that a man like this would never be short of company. He probably never experienced rejection.
‘I think you’re curious,’ she said, running her finger round the brim of her glass.
‘And you know what they say about curiosity.’ She sipped her drink and watched his eyes darken.
Everything below her waist clenched at the sight.
How curious she should experience attraction like this today of all days, when she hadn’t felt anything close to this in months.
Jasmine shut down that line of thinking. She wasn’t going to entertain another thought about Richard, or her former best friend, except to acknowledge the lesson they’d taught her. Of course she shouldn’t confide in this stranger. She could trust no one. She needed no one.
What she did need was a distraction.
‘I think I have enough lives,’ Emilio said.
She smiled. ‘Hmm, tom cat.’
Emilio simply shrugged, no denial on his lips.
For some reason, that appealed to her. Maybe it was because he was honest about what he was.
There were two kinds of men: those who pretended to be a white knight, who inevitably disappointed, and those who didn’t care about being a knight at all.
They were cads and wore the badge proudly.
Tonight, Jasmine preferred the latter. They provided honest fun with no strings attached and had no reason to feel threatened by her intelligence and control.
‘You know, I’m not the only one alone here tonight,’ she ventured.
‘What makes you think I intended the night to end that way?’
‘On the prowl, are we?’
‘Not any more,’ Emilio said, smirking.
‘Very smooth,’ Jasmine said. She crossed her legs under the table, her stiletto-clad foot brushing against his leg as she did so. It was an accident, but an exhilarating rush flooded through her.
‘Likewise.’
‘Not every touch equates to flirting, Emilio.’
‘No, not every touch, but yours certainly do.’
‘And how do you figure that?’
‘I can see it in the way your breath sped up. I can see it in the flush of your skin. I can see it in the way you look at me.’
‘And just how, exactly, have I been looking at you?’
‘Like you’re undressing me with your eyes.’
‘It’s dark in here; there’s no way you could see all that,’ Jasmine said in a half-hearted denial.
‘Oh, I definitely can. But, most of all, it’s in the way your body keeps trying to move closer to mine.’
It was only then that Jasmine realised just how far forward she was leaning. His face was inches from hers. ‘So does yours.’
‘I never denied it,’ he retorted. His low voice sent goose bumps skittering across her skin.
Jasmine could barely think. Breathing his air was intoxicating.
If she wanted to forget everything for a night, then meeting Emilio was the answer to her prayer.
In that moment she could scarcely remember why she was even at the club.
But she could remember how to be bold. ‘So, what do you want to do about it?’
‘I want to kiss you,’ Emilio said, cupping her cheek.
He ran his thumb lightly over her lips, smearing her lipstick on his skin.
‘I want to kiss you until you forget where you are and what you’re called.
I want to kiss you until you’re completely consumed by me and, then I want to kiss you some more, until you’re writhing and panting and wanting. ’
And that was when Jasmine threw caution to the wind. She wanted exactly what he was offering. She wasn’t considering tomorrow. She wanted to forget today. ‘So then, what are you waiting for?’
‘The word.’
‘Kiss me.’
‘Those are two words. And not what I’m looking for.’
‘Please . ’
‘There you go.’
She expected him to crush his lips to hers in violent passion, because that was exactly what stirred within her.
Instead, he took her mouth in a slow, deliberate dance, allowing her to feel every brush and glide of his own.
And it made her hunger for more. She wanted to be taunted and taken on a ride.
Somehow seeming to know that, he ran his tongue over her bottom lip and, when she parted them on a sigh, she expected, wanted , his tongue on hers, but he wouldn’t give that to her.
Not yet. He playfully bit at her lip, taking his time, making her want to push through the table so she could settle over him and feel this all over her body.
Except the edge of the table dug uncomfortably at her middle.
Jasmine didn’t care. All that existed was this frustrating, intoxicating kiss, so she reached out and grabbed onto the lapels of his jacket, bringing him closer.
Give me more! she wanted to scream. Every bit of her had turned molten. She needed a release. She needed to press up against him.
‘What’s your name?’ He breathed against her lips.
But, just as he had taunted, she couldn’t respond. In utter want, she breathed his instead. ‘Emilio, please .’
She felt his self-satisfied chuckle first, then his hand hook around her nape.
That was when he finally caressed her tongue with his.
She felt it everywhere, like fire cutting paths through her body and moisture collecting in her core.
She squeezed her thighs together, desperate for some relief from this consuming, clawing need, and kissed him back, returning the inferno to him.
The kiss morphed, becoming desperate. Urgent.
Emilio pulled away and Jasmine was about to protest. She was drunk on this kiss. It couldn’t end here. But then she opened her eyes and met his darkened gaze.
‘Come with me,’ he said. His accent was somehow thicker in this state. ‘Please.’
Still incapable of words, Jasmine just nodded and placed her hand in his.