The hall light caught his watch, and I looked at the thick gold. A Rolex. Of course.
I shouldn’t have been checking him out, but I just couldn’t help myself, not as I noticed the black slacks he wore that didn’t hide the raw power of his body. I continued to let my gaze drop even lower until I felt my eyes widen in shock. Although it was clear he wasn’t aroused, there was a definite bulge in the crotch of his pants. Enzo was a large man overall, and so I shouldn’t have been shocked that meant everywhere.
I snapped my gaze to his eyes and felt my face heat, because the smile on his face told me he was very aware I’d been checking him out. And he enjoyed that truth. I could practically hear him say, Do you like what you see, Bianca?
“I’m sorry,” I suddenly blurted, my words partly an apology for nearly running into him when I opened the door, and the other half because I’d been blatantly appraising his body. He said nothing, but that smile grew, and I felt a flutter in my belly… and in other parts. “I was going to meet you downstairs so you didn’t have to come all the way up to my apartment.”
His smile faltered, and his brows pulled down over his sexy, dark eyes. He lowered his hand until his arm rested loosely against his side. “Outside?” He shook his head slowly as if answering his own question. “It’s dangerous at night in the city. It’s safer to wait inside for me.”
It was my turn to feel surprised and confused by his clear concern. But I didn’t mention how I’d always lived in the city and could handle myself well enough. The pepper spray in my purse and the self-defense classes I’d taken had given me the confidence and strength to defend myself.
Then again… as I looked at Enzo, I felt pretty damn safe, and that should have scared me even more, given the knowledge—supposedly anyway—of what I knew about him.
When I didn’t respond, he said, “I’d feel much better if next time you waited in your apartment for me to come get you.”
I felt my eyebrows lift practically all the way up to my hairline, not only at his presumption that there would be another date, but also because of the clear arrogance and demand in his words. He’d phrased it gently enough, but I knew for a fact that he wasn’t asking.
I should have been pissed and offended at his cockiness, but the truth was his worry and concern over my safety made something in me flutter. Aside from my parents, no one had ever given a shit about being protective toward me one way or another.
Before I could say anything—if I even could—he stepped back and gave me one of those blindingly attractive smiles. It was strange that I felt so comfortable around him so quickly, but I didn’t think about that too hard, because then I’d just get into this whirlwind of all the confusion and desire I felt. It was safer to keep a blank mind and see how the night progressed.
I stepped into the hall and shut the door behind me. He held out his arm a little more, and I flushed as I slipped my hand through the small opening he presented between his elbow and arm.
I could feel the strength in his body just from that small touch, and I felt this uncomfortable tightness settle in my core. He looked down at me, and there was a slight curve to his lips before he led us out of the apartment building.
Once we were outside, Enzo led me to his car, the same dark, flashy luxury one I’d seen him with days before. Although he acted like a complete gentleman, holding the doors open for me and keeping his touch respectful and polite, it was hard to picture him as anything but the capo of the Italian mafia.
Is it really that hard though? Just look at him. And I did just that. A shiver passed through my body at the sheer dominance and danger that poured from him. No, not that hard to imagine at all.
He shut the passenger side door with a soft click, and I watched as he made his way around the hood of the car and took his seat beside me on the driver side. Before he started the car, he gave me a lingering look, one that made me feel heated and bared from the inside out. The vehicle came to life with a soft purring noise. With an expertly smooth shift into drive, Enzo pulled onto the main road and into traffic.
Although the radio was on, the music was far too low for me to distinguish what played. But I was too focused on the city passing by and trying not to let the close proximity to Enzo overheat me. The lights blurred together, the life and excitement outside of the vehicle chaotic as only LA could produce.