Page 20 of Vinny

“Oh, Annalissa, that’s not what I meant,” he quickly said, wanting desperately to bring the smile back to her face.

Looking out of the window, she said, “It’s fine…really. I was just…um?—”

Jerking the car into the right lane he pulled off at an exit, driving until he found a small gas station. Pulling to the side, he cut the engine and twisted his large frame to face her. Giving her arm a little tug, he said, “Look at me. Please.”

She turned her face to him, trying unsuccessfully to hide the hurt.

How do I make this right?he thought. Realizing he had never felt this way, he wanted to make it better. Running his hand over his face in frustration, he looked into her green eyes staring at his in curiosity.

“Annalissa, you’re not…this is no longer…what I’m trying to say is…ah hell,” he growled.

A laugh erupted from her lips as she lifted her hand to cover her mouth. “You sound like me,” she said with a small smile.

He leaned his head back for a second, trying to still the pounding of his heart. Her soft voice broke through his gathering thoughts.

“Vinny, it’s really okay. I know you were hired to take me…and Easnadh back to Richmond. I get it, I really do,” she said as she laid her hand on his arm. She felt the corded muscles underneath her fingertips and wished that they were surrounding her, even as her words told him what she knew. “I know I’m a job. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not having a good time.”

He leaned forward, staring into her eyes as he slid his hand under her hair and to the back of her neck. “You became so much more than a mission to me miles ago, Annalissa.” He watched as her eyes widened in…shock? Lust? Approval? What are you thinking, baby? Can you give a man like me a chance even if I don’t deserve a girl like you?

He watched as she licked her plump lips and his cock pressed into his zipper at the thought of kissing her.Come on, baby, give me a sign. Anything.

“I…I’ve never…I…oh damn,” she cursed, blinking back tears. “I hate not being very articulate when I don’t know what to say,” she confessed.

“Just tell me what you’re thinking,” he prompted, pulling her lips a little bit closer to his.

“You’re everything…a woman could want, Vinny. You have to know that. I know I’m the dorky harpist…the one that someone like you would never see.”

“I see you,” he said softly. Rubbing her cheek with his rough thumb, he moved in a little closer, his lips now a whisper away from hers.

Her eyes grew large and he watched them drop to his lips. He refused to move closer knowing that if they were going to share a first kiss, she needed to be the one to want it. He already knew what he wanted and it was her. And for a lot longer than one night.

“I don’t know the games…you know…the ones that men and women play, Vinny. The pick-up lines or the flirting. I’ve never…done that. I’m too likely to get…hurt,” she said all in one breath, afraid of his response.

“What I feel for you has nothing to do with games. You’re strong and funny. You’re beautiful and sexy, without even trying. You make me feel things that I’ve never felt. And all I want right now is to kiss you. But you gotta do it. It’s gotta come from you,” he said, his thumb now running over her lips.

With hope and a prayer, she leaned in the rest of the way and gave her lips to his.

The kiss started gently. The slow exploration of two people who seemed to have all the time in the world to discover each other. He moved his mouth over hers, relishing the feel of her soft lips against his. With a little pressure from his hand on the back of her neck, he angled her head for better access. Licking the seam of her lips, she opened her mouth on a groan which he felt all the way to his dick. Her arms found their way around his neck and he felt himself pulled closer.

He plunged his tongue into her mouth, exploring each crevice and tangling with hers. Sucking on her tongue she groaned again, this time causing his dick to swell uncomfortably, pushing against his zipper. He moved his hands to cup her face, holding her, cherishing her.

Her innocent kiss led him to wonder if she was innocent in other ways. Slowly he pulled back, immediately regretting the loss of her heat, but knowing she deserved better than to be mauled in the front seat of their SUV in the parking lot of an old gas station.

She mewled at the loss of his lips on hers. As hepulled away, she lifted her fingers to her mouth, feeling her swollen lips as they tingled. Her eyes sought his, afraid of what she would see.Disgust? Regret? Or worse, a cocky look of conquest.

As her gaze focused on his face and not just his lips, she saw…care. A slow smile. A look of…

“Annalissa,” he whispered her name and she loved the way it moved over her. “You deserve more than a kiss where we are now. But know this and take it down deep in your soul…you’re not just a job to me. But you are my mission. Keeping you safe. Keeping you happy. Keeping you.”

Her eyes widened again as she tried to understand what he was saying. “Vinny, I’m no good at this. I told you. You have to speak…plainly, so I get it,” she said.

“Okay, baby. Here it is. I want you and I want to see where this goes. You stopped being a job to me, but wanting to make you happy and wanting you with me, is my mission now.”

A slow smile spread across her face, illuminating the dark corners of his soul. Leaning over to kiss the end of her nose, he nodded toward the old gas pumps. “We’re here so I’m going to fill up the car. It doesn’t look great but do you want to take a bathroom break?”

Receiving an enthusiastic nod from her, he pulled to the pumps and she went in to get the key. She walked around to the side of the building to enter the restroom. It was old and she was afraid of some of the bugs she saw under the sink. Quickly finishing, she hurried outside wanting to rejoin Vinny. Smiling to herself, she thought back to their kiss.He wants me? Me?

Suddenly, a hand clamped over her mouth while another hand snaked around her waist in a vice grip. Whirled around, she saw another man coming from the corner saying, “Keep her quiet. Get her in.”

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