The Girl He Marked by Laila Callaway novel Chapter 2

I calm myself down and tap the blonde man on the shoulder, he looks up at me and grins.

'Hello, beautiful. I'm Sam,' he greets me, and I smile awkwardly.

'Hi, I'm Aria. Is someone sitting here' I gesture to the barstool, suddenly feeling the need to sit down, my legs feel numb.

I always use Aria or Lucia's names when I'm being hit on by a guy I don't want, the girls don't appreciate it but it's very handy for me.

'I am.' A husky, deep timbre of a voice replies from behind me, and I jump.

Sam smiles, he obviously knows the owner of the jacket....my mate.

I grip the bar tightly as the man steps out from behind me, over to Sam so I can see him fully. My breath catches in my throat as my eyes settle on the tall, painfully attractive, God in front of me.

Holy Mother of Nora.

Sinful fantasies float around in my mind whilst I evaluate the flawless specimen that is my mate. He has dark, straight hair, styled sexily so that a couple of strands fall over his forehead. His mahogany, almost obsidian black eyes look me up and down, a small smile forms on his luscious rose lips.

He looks delicious and Italian. It is only then that I take in his tall frame, broad shoulders and tanned skin and grasp that he is older than me.

A few years older.

'Can I buy you a drink' He asks smoothly and I swallow quickly, trying to find my voice.

Come on, Lex. You're better than this, get your flirt on.

'Sex on the beach would be wonderful, please.' I grin at him, and he smirks and turns towards the bartender.

Sam leans around my mate to wink at me, I roll my eyes and he grins back.

When I turn around, my mate is holding out my cocktail for me. I take the glass from him, our fingers brush and the most wonderful buzz flows under my skin. Our eyes meet and he gazes down at me with desire.

I quickly look away, suddenly feeling uncomfortable under his warm gaze, I was not prepared for this tonight. I catch Lucia's eye and give her a nod that I'm okay.

'What's your name' I ask him and he smiles, revealing his perfect, white teeth.

'Rixon. What's yours' he replies simply.

His eyes fall to my lips and turn impossibly darker. I quickly look down at my drink, feeling my cheeks heat up.

'I'm Aria,' I mutter.

It feels weird to lie to my mate, but I can't say Lexi now, after lying to Sam. He runs his thumb over his lower lip, his black eyes assessing me as I swallow hard.

This man is going to be the death of me.

'Look, I'm gonna go. I'll see you tomorrow man,' Sam announces and gets up from his chair.

Rixon doesn't make any effort to protest, so I do instead. Something about this guy makes me nervous, he is definitely the sort of guy my father has warned me to stay away from.

'Please, don't leave on account of me. My girls are over there, I should probably get back to them,' I reply and instantly, Rixon's hand is on my wrist, pulling me close to him.

I look up (despite being in heels I am shorter than him, I'm only 54 for fucks sake), into his coal—black eyes and suck in a breath at our close proximity. My chest rises and falls with sharp intakes of air, pressing against his rock—hard chest. He looks delicious in a dark navy shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal his tanned arms.

'See, I don't want to interrupt,' Sam explains, gesturing at me pressed against his friend.

'Thanks, Sam. I'll see you tomorrow,' Rixon says and wraps an arm around my waist, so I am completely flush with his body.

'It was nice meeting you, Aria.' He nods at me, and I respond just as he walks away.

'I should really get back over to my friends,' I tell him.

I watch with wide eyes as his hand reaches up and he runs his thumb over my bottom lip. My breath catches in my throat, and I briefly close my eyes to recollect my thoughts.

'Can I come with you' He asks and for a moment, I try to imagine him joining us with the girls awkwardly asking him embarrassing questions, not to mention I've told him my name is Aria.

I shake my head and discard that thought immediately. Also, a small part of me doesn't want to share him with the girls just yet.

'No, that's not happening.' I laugh and he smirks at me.

'Well, you're just going to have to stay here then, I'm going to get to know you one way or another Tesoro,' he replies, and I shiver at the sound of him speaking Italian.

Before I can reply, someone taps me on my shoulder, and I turn around to see Lucia and Aria stood behind me. My eyes widen in surprise, and I realize I've got to get them away from Rixon before they introduce themselves with the wrong names.

'Hey, we're off to another bar. Are you coming' Lucia asks, eyeing Rixon up and down with suspicion.

'She's going to stay here with me. You ladies don't mind if I steal her for a bit, do you' Rixon winks and flashes them a huge, white smile.

Both of them stare at him, completely stunned, and then their eyes fall on me. I shrug sheepishly and hope they'll forgive me.

'I'll text you, okay' I say and Aria nods, pulling me in for a hug.

'Be safe,' she whispers in my ear and then the two of them leave.

I jump as Rixon's hand lands on my lower back.

'Now, you're all mine,' he breathes into my ear and every hair on the back of my neck raises in anticipation.

'So...what do you want to do' I ask him and his eyes darken, I gulp, and he laughs as he sees me swallow hard.

'I won't pounce on you just yet, amore, you can stop looking so scared,' he jokes, laughing at me. I blush and take another sip of my drink.

'I'm not scared I'm just...nervous. You keep looking at me like...' I trail off and he leans in closer, a smug smile on those plump lips of his.

'Like what'

'Like you're going to eat me,' I mutter, rolling my eyes when he laughs at me, tipping his head back and giving me a gorgeous view of his throat.

I just want to kiss it...

'Oh, amore mio. I think you'd like it if I ate you, in fact...' He leans in close to me again, so I can feel his minty breath on my face. 'I think you'd love it.'

I inhale sharply.

'You're rather...' I try to think of the right word, but he finishes my sentence for me.

'Gorgeous,' he comments, and I snort with laughter.

'I was going to say forward or smug but hey,' I shrug, and he grins at me.

A panty—dropping kind of grin.

Fuck.

⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆✥⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆