A Taste of the Dark
Mia didn't leave.
Even though the encounter with that man had set off alarms in her head, even though her gut told her that staying was a mistakeâshe stayed.
She wasn't sure how long she sat in that booth, replaying his words over and over. Men like Lorenzo burn everything they touch.
And yet, she wasn't running.
Not when she felt the heat of Lorenzo's presence return before she even saw him.
The air in the room seemed to shift as he approached, the weight of his power undeniable. When he slid back into the booth across from her, his sharp eyes studied her carefully, as if searching for somethingâsomething he feared he might find.
"You're still here," he said, his voice low.
Mia tilted her head, watching him closely. "Was I not supposed to be?"
Lorenzo exhaled slowly, leaning back, his fingers tapping rhythmically against the table. "Most people would've left."
Mia folded her arms. "I'm not most people."
A small, dark smile pulled at his lips, but there was something else behind it. A shadow.
"Did anyone bother you while I was gone?" he asked, his voice deceptively calm.
Mia hesitated. She could lie. She could brush it off.
But something told her Lorenzo would know.
"Some man," she admitted. "Didn't get his name. He said he was a 'friend of the business.'"
Lorenzo's expression didn't change, but she felt the shift in his demeanor instantly. The ice in his eyes sharpened, his body going unnaturally still.
"What did he say?"
Mia hesitated, choosing her words carefully. "He wanted to know why you brought me here. Said men like you burn everything you touch."
Silence.
A dangerous kind of silence.
Lorenzo's jaw clenched once before he exhaled through his nose, rolling his shoulders as if forcing himself to relax.
"That's not entirely untrue," he murmured, eyes locked onto hers.
Mia's stomach twisted, but she didn't look away. "Then why bring me into it? If you know what you are?"
Lorenzo leaned forward, elbows resting on the table, gaze intense. "I told you, I'm a selfish man."
Mia swallowed. "And what happens when your selfishness gets me hurt?"
His fingers twitched, a flicker of something raw flashing across his face. For a moment, she thought he might tell her the truth. That he might warn her, push her away for good.
But instead, he reached across the table, brushing his knuckles against the back of her hand. The touch was light, almost hesitant.
"You won't get hurt," he promised, voice rough, low.
Mia's breath caught. She should have doubted him. She should have questioned everything.
But God help her, she wanted to believe him."Lorenzoâ"
His phone buzzed.
Mia watched as he checked the screen, his entire expression turning to stone.
"I have to go," he muttered, slipping out of the booth.
Mia stood, something inside her twisting. "What's going on?"
Lorenzo hesitated, just for a second, before reaching outâhis fingers ghosting along her arm.
"Nothing you need to worry about."
But something in his voice said otherwise.
Before she could press further, he was gone.
Mia stood there, heart pounding, knowing with every fiber of her beingâshe was in too deep.
And there was no turning back now.