5

“We do business together.” He didn’t elaborate further. Maybe he thought his job was boring and didn’t want to drone on about it.

That was unfortunate because I genuinely wanted to know. “One day, I’m going to take over for my father and run this hotel.”

“Ambitious…I like that.”

I tried to hide my smile, but the corner of my lip raised slightly.

“Nothing sexier than a woman knowing what she wants.” His voice was deep like dark chocolate. It rumbled in his throat before it emerged, sweet on the ears. This man looked beautiful, sounded beautiful…he just was beautiful.

“Do you know what you want?”

He turned his gaze toward me, his jawline hard as if it were chiseled from stone. “Yes. I take ambition a little too far.”

Bumps appeared on my arms even though it was still humid and warm. My nipples pressed against the cups of my bra, and I resisted the urge to fidget. This was the first man who had made me feel passion and lust, the kind they showed in books and movies. The other boys I’d been interested in were practically friends. This guy was…a man. “I never got your name.”

He slowly turned back to the balcony. “Hades.”

I couldn’t control the eyebrow that rose up my face. “That’s your name?”

“Yes. Not as beautiful as Sofia, but it will do.”

“Isn’t that the god of the underworld?”

“Yes, to those who believe in Greek mythology. Are you one of those people?”

“No. But it’s still an interesting name.”

He was standoffish and cold, staring at the view of the city that was practically laid at our feet. Even with his hands in his pockets, he stood perfectly straight, having a strong back and an ass that looked great in those slacks. He wore a shiny watch. “It’s a name you don’t forget easily.” He turned away and headed back to the doorway without saying goodbye.

I didn’t want him to go. He was the first interesting person I’d met at the party, and I wasn’t eager to lose my only friend…and whatever else I wanted him to be. “Going to steal more cigarettes?”

He stopped and slowly turned, a touch of amusement in his eyes. He came back toward me, taking his time because he knew I wasn’t going anywhere. “Taking cigarettes isn’t exactly a hobby.”

“Fooled me. So, will I see you around?”

His eyes shifted back and forth slightly as they looked into mine. “Do you want to see me around, Sofia?”

The way he said my name caused chills to run down my spine. Boys would make up a lie and walk away, but this was a man who got right to the point. He wasn’t afraid to confront me, to make me uncomfortable with that deep stare.

I wanted to respond with some smartass comment, but I didn’t want to play games. This man wasn’t playing games with me, so why should I play games with him? “Yes.”

A minor look of surprise came into his gaze at my honesty. His lips pressed together a bit as he continued to look at me, as if some internal argument made him clench his entire body. His eyes were open, and he hardly blinked as he stared at me. “You’re a beautiful girl, Sofia. One day, you’re going to be a gorgeous woman. Maybe then you’ll see me around.” He put me down gently, but it still hurt.

I didn’t expect anything from him, but knowing he would walk away and I would probably never see him again was a huge disappointment. The first man I’d actually felt some heat for was out of my league. “How old are you?”

He grinned, showing his natural charm. “Too old.”

I hadn’t lifted my body from the wall. So far, I’d managed to get him to stay with just my words. But eventually, he would walk away, and words wouldn’t be enough to keep him close. “And how old is too old?”

He came closer to me, his shoulder making contact with the wall. His voice lowered to a whisper. “Twenty-five.”

That meant he was seven years older than me. He had seven more years of experience, seven more years of women in his bed.

And I hadn’t taken anyone to bed.

He watched my reaction. “Like I said, too old.” He turned away, dismissing our conversation for good.

I would leave for university in Milan in a few months, so I suspected I would never see this man again. I was a new adult who was flooded with hormones, and I wanted a real kiss, a real experience that would make me feel like a woman. This man was the first one who turned me on, who made me want to take off my clothes and get rid of my virginity. But he wouldn’t be around for that.

So I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into me. Knowing this could never be more, that this could never be anything but a secret, I put myself on the line and dug my fingers into his hair as I kissed him.

Instead of pulling away, he kissed me back. He smiled slightly against my mouth as he pressed me farther into the wall, his hard body so strong against my softness. “Alright, baby. Just one.” His hand slid into the back of my hair, and he angled my head up so he could kiss me hard. His warm breath filled my mouth, and the hard outline of his dick pressed right into my stomach. He gave me his tongue, gave me his passion.

I took it all. My hands snaked up his back, and I held him close to me, wanting to feel something real instead of the stagnant fakeness my family exuded. I didn’t have the perfect family like everyone believed. My parents didn’t love each other. Sometimes I wasn’t sure if they even loved me.

But this was real.

It was wrong, so wrong, that Hades could be shot if he got caught pressed up against me, but he kissed me like he didn’t have a care in the world. With his back turned to everything else but us, he grabbed my thigh and wrapped it around his hips, thrusting his package into the perfect spot between my legs.

Oh yes…

He stopped our kiss so he could watch my reaction, see the way I responded to the friction.

I liked it…a lot. “Ooh…”

His hand remained fisted in my hair. “Has a man ever made you come, baby?”

I was so embarrassed that I wanted to lie, but when I looked into those brown eyes, I knew I had to say nothing but the truth. “No…”

His lips moved to mine again, and he kissed me slowly, grinding up against me in the nighttime air. I could feel the wetness in my panties, and he could probably feel them against his slacks at that point. Every kiss was dynamite. Every kiss was fire. I’d never been kissed so good, never had my toes curl so hard. Was this what it always felt like? Was this the kind of heat every couple felt?

He ground harder and harder, my dress sliding up farther as he rubbed into me. He sucked my bottom lip into his mouth then gave me another thrust.

A thrust that made me so white-hot, I thought someone had set me on fire. Whimpers escaped my lips, and I wanted to scream until my lungs gave out.

He kept his mouth over mine and muffled the noise, letting me finish my climax without fear.