Page 117 of Alessio

Ginevra swallowed the lump forming in her throat. “Gian isn’t here tonight, though.”

“No, he isn’t.”

“So, a quick dance, we get drinks, and then we go back to Corrado. Right?”

Alessio’s gaze drifted to somewhere behind her, searching the crowd. Probably for where Corrado had gone after they left him. He didn’t bother to mask the concern flashing in his gaze. Oh, sure, he acted like he wasn’t worried, but he was.

Because it was Corrado.

Otherwise, he didn’t give a shit.

That was his line.

“Sounds good,” Alessio murmured, his attention coming back to her with a sly smile. “Now, someone wants to dance, huh?”

Ginevra laughed. “Very much.”

“Two fingers of whiskey,” Ginevra told the bartender—for Corrado—before adding, “spiced rum on ice, and—”

“Try the house drink,” Alessio said in her ear, “it’s the same one across all the Guzzi clubs. Like a signature drink, it’s how you can tell when you’re in one of their spaces.”

He winked over her shoulder.

“Fine,” she said. He leaned in and kissed her lips, but backed away so she turned to the bartender and add, “and one of the Gold Dreams.”

“Coming up.”

“Thanks.”

“Turn around,” she heard Alessio murmur along the shell of her ear.

Ginevra grinned, but didn’t move. “Many people are watching, Les.”

“And?”

“And we’re supposed to get drinks, and find Corrado again, remember? You’re a bad influence, and a distraction.”

Not a single bit of that was a lie, either.

“We’re waiting for drinks. And I don’t see what the problem is.”

Of course, he didn’t.

Under the urging of his strong hands, Ginevra found herself turned around to face him. He had her pinned against the bar, his fingers tightening deliciously around the curve of her waist, so she was unable to move.

Not that she wanted to.

Not when he was looking at her like that.

Alessio tipped his head down, and caught her mouth with a slow, searing kiss. He was soft at first, his tongue teasing the seam of her lips until she parted them to allow him entrance. Then, at the taste of her, that kiss turned a hell of a lot hotter. All the while, he kept her steady against the edge of the bar, unbothered by the people around them or the noise.

His focus was on her.

That’s all that mattered.

All too soon for Ginevra’s liking, Alessio pulled away. Sure, he didn’t go far, only enough that his lips grazed hers as he spoke, but it was enough for her to sense his loss, and wish he was kissing her again.

“I have to tell you something,” he said.