Page 20 of Villainous Kingpin

Because I’d never let you go.

CHAPTER8

Wynter

“This is beautiful,” I breathed, looking at the New York City skyline. “I’ve been here for four years and never knew this existed.”

I convinced Bas to bypass a dinner sitting in a fancy restaurant. Instead, we got sushi carry-out from a small Japanese restaurant. He swore they had the best sushi in town. We walked into the crowded restaurant together, where people stared at Bas with wide eyes. I had never been more glad to convince someone to do carry-out.

Once in a while, I’d run into a figure skating fanatic and it’d get awkward. But this time, Bas took all the show. He was probably well-known, considering who he was.

When we picked up our order, Bas drove us to Hamilton Park and now we sat on the hood of his Lamborghini, shoulder to shoulder, with the best view in town stretching for miles in front of us. The lights glittered, yet the city noise didn’t reach here. It was so quiet that all I heard was our breathing and the soft sounds of the waves separating us from the Big Apple.

He pulled chopsticks out of the bag and handed them to me. I fumbled a bit, trying to figure out the best way to grip them.

“Don’t tell me you never used chopsticks before?”

I shoved my shoulder into his. “I haven’t,” I admitted. “But not to worry, I’m a fast learner.”

“Want me to help you?” he offered, as he pulled food out of the bag. Then opened the first box with tuna rolls.

I was starving. The last few days, with all the shenanigans we found ourselves, I’d burned more calories than consumed.

Gripping the chopsticks, I kept trying to grab a roll without dropping it. After a few tries, I gave up. I was too hungry for this right now.

“Ah, screw it.” Getting rid of one chopstick, I held the other one as a fork and stabbed the sushi roll then picked it up and dipped it into a soy sauce.

He laughed as I shoved the roll into my mouth and instantly the wasabi taste flared on my tongue.

“Holy shit,” I breathed, my nose and tongue burning as I searched for the drink.

His continued booming laughter filled the quiet night air as he dug out a bottle of sparkling water and handed it to me. If my tongue wasn’t on fire, I’d have laughed that he ensured we had pricey mineral water. Like a drunk, I snatched the bottle from him and brought it to my lips.

I gulped it down like a man dying of thirst, blinking tears away.

“You okay?” he asked.

“What the fuck?” I rasped, putting the bottle down. “How much wasabi was in that soy sauce?”

“I should have warned you,” he said, humor still in his voice. “That place knows I like it extra spicy so they usually prepare it that way.” He produced a handkerchief out of somewhere and dabbed at my eyes. “I’m sorry.”

I sniffed, letting him wipe the tears rolling down my cheek with his thumb. His touch was gentle, almost reverent and had my chest fluttering. The only thing that ever rattled my heart was ice skating and to feel it around this man shocked me every goddamn time.

Even more concerning was how much I liked it.

“Not your fault,” I murmured, sniffling. “It was just unexpected. Next one will be fine. I won’t let my sushi roll soak as long in the soy sauce.”

Bas picked up another roll and dipped it in for a mere second. Then brought it up, holding it in front of me. I leaned forward, holding his gaze, and closed my lips around the sticks, then pulled back.

“Hmmm.” I savored the taste. “So much better.”

Bas’s eyes darkened, his gaze glued to me like I was the best sight he had ever seen. Nobody had ever looked at me that way or made my stomach flutter with butterflies. The feeling thrilled me and scared me at the same time.

I swallowed the food, while the words of my mother echoed somewhere in the far corner of my mind. The words she used to say to Juliette and I during our teenage years all the time. She hadn’t said them in a while. Yet now they screamed in my brain.

First love shatters your innocence and ends your dreams.

Was that the reason I never bothered with boys? Boys always intrigued Juliette, even more after those words. I didn’t heed the warning because ice skating was everything to me and that seemed to please Mom immensely.