Of course she did.
Then, she smiled.
A shot of adrenaline surged through him. He arched an eyebrow, then walked right up to her. “I started something I have every intention of finishing.”
Her breath hitched and her lips parted. She did a quick glance at his mouth before pinning him with her bright green eyes. “What did you have in mind?”
“Have dinner with me.”
“Why would I do that?”
“We both know the answer.”
“Because I’ll be hungry?” She opened her refrigerator. “And I don’t have anything to eat?”
He glanced inside. Looked stocked to him, but he wasn’t there to inventory her food supply.
“What won’t you eat?” he asked.
“Red meat. I used to be a vegetarian, but now I eat chicken and fish.”
“Do you get seasick?”
Up went her eyebrows. “If I say yes, will that get me out of this?”
He smiled. “We’ll dine on my boat.”
“Planning to throw me overboard?”
“Come hungry.” The urge to touch her had him pressing his lips to her soft cheek. One lingering kiss, then a second to her other cheek. Her flowery aroma soothed him, and he inhaled deep.
Rather than step away, he stared into her eyes. Her pupils expanded, blanketing her irises in a sea of blackness. The intensity in her gaze kept him cemented in place, but the second she stroked his arm, he pulled her close and kissed her.
“Fuck,” she murmured as she snaked her arms around him and pressed flush against him.
It would be easy to succumb to the desire. Take her in her kitchen, or in her bed, but he was better than that. She wasn’t going to get fucked now.
She’d have to wait until later.
“One dinner, that’s it,” she said taking a step toward her front door.
“Because you’re eager to get back to spying on me?” She tried biting back a smile, but failed. He liked the effect he was having on her. “As a personal shopper,” he continued, “you can take our training programs and become a verified shopper for us.”
He was calling her bluff.
She said nothing.
Once outside, he peered down at her. “Addio bella.”
As he stepped off the porch, her moan caught his ear. She was having the same effect on him. A powerful—and dangerous—mix of emotions. He shouldn’t beengagingher. He should be cutting her off, punishing her for snooping.
But he wasn’t afraid. Fear was an emotion thatnevercame into play.
Stuart opened the back door of the Rolls Royce. After slipping inside, Luciano glanced up at her front porch, but she was gone. As the sedan drove away, he pulled up her background check on his phone.
Who are you Simone Redding, and why can’t I find out anything about you?
His phone buzzed with an incoming text from his cousin Willie—known to fhe family as Willie Boy.