Page 4 of Villainous Kingpin

“Hey,” I whispered, trying to act nonchalant. “How are you?”

My arms burned. My body was strong but Derek’s upper strength was much better than mine. After all, he lifted my weight up above his head, not the other way around.

“It seems I’m better than you are,” he answered.

Smarty pants.

I peeked over my shoulder again. I wished I could see his face.

“Could you help me please?” I asked. “I’ll pay you,” I offered hopefully, my muscles shaking already. I’d have to start lifting weights. This was unacceptable.

In my head I ran through my allowance. Uncle and Mom were generous, but I tended to spend a lot of money on my gear. And then, we never cooked so we spent a lot of money on food, parties, and other junk.

“Five hundred bucks,” I added, grunting as I shifted my weight. “Just don’t let me break my legs. They are worth a lot.”

“Yeah, they look pretty good from down here,” he mused, humor coloring his deep voice. “Priceless.”

“Thank God I’m wearing pants,” I grumbled.

“Shame.” Gosh this guy was something. “I bet that’d be an even better sight.”

“C’mon,” I begged. “I’ll give you anything. Just catch me.”

A soft chuckle. “Okay, runaway principessa. Let go and I’ll catch you.”Principessa?He said it with an Italian accent.

Unable to dwell on that right now, I closed my eyes for a moment, praying the guy wasn’t a dick and wasn’t joking about catching me.

“Promise?” I breathed, my muscles aching and shaking by this point.

“On my life. I promise to catch you.”

I closed my eyes and let go.

CHAPTER2

Basilio

The petite, slim body landed in my arms and a light flowery scent hit my nostrils as her long, blond curls brushed across my face. Surprisingly, her body was all lean muscles. Strong with the most amazing ass I had ever seen on a woman.

She twisted around, her body brushing against my three-piece-suit as if she needed to see who just saved her precious legs. She had nicely shaped legs, but it was her face with those light green eyes that hit me right in the chest. An angel stared at me with long golden curls, glowing like a star. But it was nothing compared to her eyes. They were big, almond shaped, and brilliant. Shining like light emeralds with flecks of gold in their depths.

Chest-to-chest, when our eyes connected, the world stopped turning for a fraction of a heartbeat. We watched each other, and I was certain from that moment, nothing would ever be the same.

Her luscious red lips curved into a smile as she tilted her head.

“I guess I owe you five hundred bucks,” she said, her eyes shining.

No accidental grinding herself against me. No flirtatious look. Just pure curiosity as those light green orbs studied me. She wasdifferent.

I couldn’t decide if I minded it or not. For the first time in my life, I actually wanted a woman to show interest. I had no shortage of women, thrill-seekers, and shallow pampered girls bored with their lives that wanted a taste of danger. They flirted and were always eager, but there was always an underlying look of fear in their eyes.

If they were smart.

Yet, I sensed no fear from this girl, and I didn’t think she was dumb. Intelligence shone from her eyes.

“Keep the money,” I told her.

She chuckled softly and her eyes glittered like stars in the sky. She gently slid down my body and landed on her feet, taking a small step back. Then she craned her neck, her head tilted up and her eyes continued to study me.