Page 6 of One Filthy Kiss

He studies my face closely, his eyelids flickering, hisexpression suddenly serious. “Why don’t you tell me? Whatever it is, I’ll sort it out. I promise.”

“Ha!” The sound escapes my lips before I can stop it. “Is everything just a game to you? You hurt someone and then you promise to make it better?”

“Did I hurt you?”

Is that a glimmer of fear I see in his eyes? Is he worried I’ll slap a sexual assault charge against him? It’s no less than he deserves, but I don’t have time to think about it.

“You’ve already done enough. Please just leave me alone.”

I turn around and make my way back to Amber. Perhaps he heard the warning in my tone, although I’d bet that men like him don’t pay much attention to warnings if it prevents them from getting what they want. But he doesn’t follow me.

“Who is that man?” Amber asks when I take her hand and lead her towards the exit.

“He’s an actor.” I’m guessing. He didn’t exactly introduce himself before he stuck his tongue down my throat. “Don’t worry, we won’t be seeing him again.”

Outside, the brilliant sunshine makes me squint after the artificial lighting inside the studio.

We hand over our passes to the security guy on our way out and take a taxi back to our motel. I don’t want to cut our holiday short, but unless we can find somewhere else to stay at short notice, I don’t know what else we can do.

2

GIOVANNI

I watchher walk away and I don’t do a damn thing to stop her.

I fucked up.

She didn’t have to call me a fucking idiot—I saw it in her eyes.

But I know she felt what I felt when we kissed. I saw that too. I saw it in the way she looked at me when she was in my arms. I’d wager every cent I possess that she was dripping wet for me at that moment even if she was fighting it all the way.

She was angry at me for kissing her in front of a studio filled with people. I get that. But seeing it replayed on the screen above our heads tipped her over the edge. It was more than anger though.

What I saw in her eyes then was fear.

She practically collected her kid and ran.

I catch the studio assistant’s eye as she passes me by. “Who was the woman with the kid?”

She instinctively glances at the exit as if they might come strolling back in with a tub of gelato in one hand and popcorn in the other. “She was a guest, sir.”

“Name?”

I don’t have time for silly games. The woman was scared because of me, and I intend to find out why and put it right. Besides, one kiss wasn’t enough. I need to know more about her to satisfy my own curiosity.

“Sorry, Mr. Sabatelli, I didn’t ask her name.” She scurries away like a mouse avoiding the prowling cat.

I linger in the same spot where she and the child were standing when I first noticed her. It was the smile that caught my attention. She was oblivious to her surroundings, totally invested in what was happening on the set with the kind of rapture that everyone involved in the movie industry strives for in an audience. It’s the reason I bought the studio. I want to make people feel more than the flash of satisfaction they get from counting their chips on the roulette tables in my casinos.

That, and the fact that boredom was starting to set in.

I’ve been running the casino for so long now that I could manage it in my sleep.

I need more or I’ll stagnate. Stagnation leads to recklessness. And there is no room for recklessness in my line of business.

I stare at the screen and try to put myself in her shoes. What was she thinking when she was watching the movie scene being acted out? On whose invitation was she here to watch?

The actors kiss again, and I smile to myself. Better.Nowit’s the kind of kiss that will set pulses racing.