Page 12 of One Filthy Kiss

“You haven’t seen it, have you?” Strangely, the serious tone disturbs me more than when he threw himself in front of a moving vehicle.

“Seen what?” I’m not even sure that I want to know the answer.

“Let me buy you breakfast. Brunch. Whatever you want.Please. I’ll prove to you that I’m not an asshole, and that my intentions are honorable.”

Oh God, I love the way his tongue rolls over the word ‘honorable’.

I mentally shake myself and process what he’s trying to say while Nikki nudges my back with her elbow. “Meg,” she whispers. “Hear the man out.”

I nearly give myself whiplash glancing around at her. Why is my best friend in all the world encouraging me to get up close and personal with a suicidal maniac?

“Why?” I mouth.

“Please.”

I hear the pleading in her voice, and I remember with a jolt that this isn’t all about me. This is Nikki’s big chance. Whoever this guy is, he must have some influence over what goes on inside that studio. I mean, no one stopped him when he dragged me onto the set and stuck his tongue in my mouth.

My pulse quickens at the memory.

I turn back to him. “Give me one good reason why I should.”

Okay, so it isn’t quite a yes, but this guy is too accustomed to getting what he wants, and I don’t have to fuel his massively over-inflated ego by falling headlong into his arms.

Another guy appears behind him. He hands over his phone, and the demi-god turns it around so that I can see the screen. My heart stops its acrobatics and goes eerily quiet when I watch myself on the screen.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

This cannot be happening.

I’ve been so careful to keep a low profile, staying off social media when everyone around me thrives on it, and never letting Amber out of my sight. For what? For this fucking idiot to destroy everything because he knows exactly how drop-dead gorgeous he is.

“Take it down.” My voice is barely audible over the hum of the car engine. “Take it down now.”

“It’s already been taken care of.”

He isn’t messing around now. He might not understandwhyit’s so important to me, but he seems to know that it is. The guy almost got himself killed trying to speak to me when he could’ve just disappeared from my life and enjoyed all the clicks our kiss reaped on YouTube.

“Why should I believe you?”

He takes my hand. It isn’t a romantic gesture, he doesn’t raise it to his lips and kiss it, he simply holds it, letting me know that he’s there.

“Because I recognize fear when I see it.”

I chew my bottom lip so hard I almost draw blood. “How?” I shake my head.

Am I supposed to believe that this is more than just another chat-up line because the kiss failed? What could a guy like him possibly be afraid of?

“Long story. Which I’ll explain over breakfast. If you’ll accept?”

I sigh. “I don’t know.” I can’t even think straight.

How many people have already seen the video? I should bethinking of Amber, not contemplating a date with Mr. Hottie. I need to work out my next move.

“I promise I’ll keep you safe.” He’s persistent, I’ll give him that. “I messed up. I’m the one who should put it right.”

“I think you should go, Meg,” Nikki whispers in my ear. “Mr. Sabatelli owns the studio.”

That explains a lot.