She sat back and shrugged. “I was raised in an Italian household.”
“You’re Italian?”
“No. When my parents died, Noah and I were raised by a man I called my godfather, Alex. He’s from a big Italian family. Food and wine were a big deal in our household.” She smiled softly. “Alex’s nonna spent hours teaching me how to make pasta and biscotti.”
I noticed how her face softened when she spoke about the nonna, and, Christ, she was beautiful when she smiled.
“I’m sorry about your parents.”
“I never knew either of them.” She tried to appear unaffected by it, but changed the subject quickly. “Tell me, why do they call you Bull?”
I smiled at the memory.
Garrett Calley had given me the nickname a long time ago.
It was just after he’d became president of the Kings of Mayhem. At the time I was a prospect. Young, dumb, and full of cum. During his inauguration party, he’d walked in on me getting a blowjob from the pretty, blonde Harley Davidson sales rep from Humphrey. He’d taken one look at my junk, and his eyes had bugged. Then the sonofabitch went and told the entire club I was hung like a horse. But since Horse and Moose were already club members in other chapters, he decided I deserved the title of Bull.
But Taylor wasn’t getting that version.
Yeah, I was hung. But I didn’t fucking need to brag about it.
If I had my way, she would find out for herself.
“It’s been so long, I can’t even remember,” I lied.
Judging by the look on her face, and the small tilt of her head as she studied me, she knew I was lying. But she smiled anyway. A smile that I felt all the way along my dick.
“So what do I call you? Michael or Bull?”
“Darlin’, you can call me whatever you want.”
She thought for a moment, then smiled. “I like Bull.”
She picked up a breadstick from the basket on the table and put it between her lips. Immediately, my dick throbbed. She was sexy without even trying. And my body was reacting to everything she did with acute enthusiasm. I’d already noticed the hair and the beautiful face. Not to mention, the shiny pink lips, and her flawless slender throat. And don’t get me started on her curves, or the way her beautiful breasts gleamed under the muted restaurant lights.
When the waiter came over with the bottle of wine, I tasted it and nodded for him to pour two glasses.
“Salute,” I said, clinking my glass to hers.
“Cin cin.” She took a sip of her wine, and I was momentarily spellbound by the look of rapture on her face. “That’s incredible.”
“I’m pleased you like it.”
She took another sip, and I couldn’t tear my eyes from the way her plush lips slid over the rim of the glass and drew the wine into her mouth. When she sat back, she licked the sheen of wine from her lips.
Christ, I wanted to do the exact thing to her. I wanted to taste the sweetness of her mouth and lick the wine from her lips.
Thankfully, the waiter returned with our meals, distracting me before I did something stupid, like clear the table and devour her in the goddamn restaurant.
“So what brought you to Destiny?” I asked.
She thought for a moment and I noticed how the gleam in her big brown eyes darkened slightly. Like she was recalling something she’d rather forget. But then she smiled. “After Noah’s illness, we needed a change. A different pace. Somewhere we could live simply and quietly.” She looked around the room and chuckled. “Although, I’m not sure having dinner with the president of the Kings of Mayhem is conducive to a quiet life.”
“I’m harmless, really.”
“Harmless? I don’t think so.” She slid her tongue across her lips as she looked around the room. “Why do I feel like me having dinner with you is going to be burning up the small-town grapevine by the time the check arrives?”
I drank a mouthful of wine. “I don’t think anyone really cares.”
“Oh, they care alright.” She leaned forward on her arms as if she was going to share a secret with me. “See that table of four women over there? They’ve been glancing over at us since we sat down. And the one with the blonde ponytail, she’s reapplied her lip gloss three times in the hope that you’ll notice.” She grinned and I had an overwhelming urge to kiss her. “And the lady over there in the red dress? She’s passed by us no less than four times on her way to the bathroom trying to get your attention.”
I had noticed the lady in red. But only because Taylor was right. She had passed by our table several times, and each time she had made eye contact, offering me an unmistakable invitation.