Page 148 of Niccolo

“…uh… sure,” Roberto muttered.

“Excellent. If I don’t see you before I leave, I’ll see you back home. Give me a call and keep me updated on your progress.”

“…alright…”

“Mr. Han – a pleasure.” I didn’t offer my hand since he’d refused it earlier when we’d met at the airport. Plus, now I knew he was the enemy.“Arrivederci.”

I walked out of the restaurant and disappeared into the gamblers and tourists crowding the casino floor.

I had anotherveryimportant meeting to attend to.

I checked my watch.

Seven minutes to spare before my hour was up.

Perfect.

61

Sofia

Idecided to take a shower while I waited. Not just to freshen up but to distract myself from waiting around.

Truth be told, I was extremely anxious. After all, I’d never had sex before.

I’d also never been so powerfully attracted to anyone…

Much less a mafioso.

And the whole ‘swearing not to kill me’ part added a whole new layer of mixed feelings, both good and bad.

But once the hot water hit my skin, I started to calm down.

My shoulders relaxed, and the tension slowly left my neck.

The entire time the water poured over me, I wondered what it would be like…

Whathewould be like.

And it made me want him all the more.

When I got out of the shower, I considered getting dressed again – but my clothes had that ‘been worn for 36 hours’ feel to them, and I hadn’t brought a change.

I decided they were coming off anyway, so I put on a plush terrycloth robe instead.

I wiped the condensation off the mirror and looked at myself.

Good enough,I thought.

If it’s not, he can leave.

I killed time by watching a documentary on TV.

I was trying to distract myself, but I kept glancing at the clock by the bedside.

Then… almost exactly an hour after we’d parted…

I heard a knock on the door.

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