A hint of a smile played on his lips. “That we avoided a confrontation with them. The kiss was a delightful bonus.”
The magic inside her welled up until the air crackled around them. Secrecy be damned! She was going to blow him halfway across Rome.
“Hey, hai intenzione di scoparla?” a male voice asked from nearby, and the people around them laughed.
Her anger turned from the stranger who’d boldly kissed her to the arrogant punk who’d asked if her rescuer-assailant was going to fuck her. She tensed her muscles, ready to unleash the spell poised on the tips of her fingers.
“Careful,” the stranger whispered. “Blowing him up will only attract unwanted attention.”
And his distraction didn’t?
He turned to the teenager and replied, “Not tonight.” Then his gaze slid back to her and his grin widened. “Unless you would like to continue this elsewhere.”
“Vaffanculo!” She shoved him away and stomped off with her spine rigid and her shoulders squared. In the brief amount of time she’d known this asshole, he’d gone from a potential kidnapper to a possible lover to a man whose balls she wanted to smash.
When he caught her hand again, he pressed a keychain into her palm. “Your room is being watched. Stay here tonight.”
Icicles formed in her veins. “What do you mean my room is being watched?”
He chuckled softly. “Morwen needs to learn not to give her employees a company card.”
“But my things—”
“Already taken care of.”
“Why should I trust you?” Blood pounded in her veins as she waited for his answer. Her gut told her she could trust him, even though her mind remained cynical. And she wasn’t even going to start on how much her body craved a repeat performance.
He closed the space between them until their noses touched. She caught a faint whiff of mint as he replied low enough for only her to hear, “The staff is no longer here in Rome. I have moved it.”
His confession shocked her. Perhaps it would’ve been easy for him to figure out what she was looking for, but for him to tell her he’d beaten her to it? It was almost unbelievable. “Where?”
“That’s for me to know.” He backed away. “Stay safe, little witch.”
He spun on his heel and disappeared into the crowd, leaving her hot, bothered and confused.
She studied the hard, oval-shaped plastic keychain he’d given her.
Pensione Preziosa, Room 7.
No address. No idea where in the city it was. Nothing.
I need a drink.
Daniela headed straight for the bar of the café. “Due bicchierini di grappa, per favore.”
As the first shot of the liquor burned down the back of her throat, she formed a game plan. First, she needed to call Morwen and update her on the status of the mission. Then, she needed to find this hotel and get her things.
But as she sipped the second glass of grappa, she wondered if the sexy stranger would be waiting for her when she arrived. As much as she wanted to blame her fevered skin on the alcohol, she knew it was the lingering aftereffects of his seductive kiss.
Also by Crista McHugh
Die Kelly Brüder
Heiße Küsse à la carte
Liebe Auf Dünnem Eis
Sein Glücksbringer
Das Spiel des Herzens
Eine Verführerische Melodie
Eine Starke Abwehr
Immer an deiner Seite
Lass dein Herz frei
Die Seelenträger-Trilogie
Seele auf Hexenfang
Seele in Aufruhr
Seele Auf Rachefeldzug
Seele Auf Wiedergutmachungskurs
La saga de la porteuse d’âme
Deux âmes pour le Chaos
One Fond Embrace
Os Irmãos Kelly
Na Zona de Perigo
Corações em Festa
Melodia Sedutora
Rodeo Academy
A Cowboy's Sweetheart
The Bard Nebula
Where Nothing Ill Can Dwell
The Deizian Empire
Tangled Web
Poisoned Web
Deception's Web
Shattered Web
The Kavanaugh Foundation
Heart of a Huntress
Angelic Surrender
Kiss of Temptation
The Kelly Brothers
The Sweetest Seduction
Breakaway Hearts
Falling for the Wingman
The Heart's Game
A Seductive Melody
Let Your Heart Be Light
The Queen B*
Confessions of a Queen B*
The Queen B* Strikes Back
The Queen B* and the Homecoming King
The Soulbearer Series
A Soul For Trouble
A Soul For Chaos
A Soul For Vengeance
A Soul For Atonement
Standalone
Searching for Billy Shakespeare
The Complete Queen B* Trilogy
Once in a Coyote Moon