He was much quicker than me and had somehow anticipated my move. Or maybe it was pure manly instincts kicking in, going all protect-the-goods at all cost. He blocked the impact of my knee with one swift move of his hand.
My knee met the palm of his hand with a force I wasn't expecting as he simultaneously warded me off. I leaned forward involuntarily to maintain my balance and was greeted by a firm grip around my neck.
"Carla," Dante whispered, his eyes blazing with heat. "Did you just try to mutilate me?"
I swallowed as his fingers tightened around my neck. Why in the world wasn't I scared? I didn't know anything about this man and here I was acting like I'd known him for years.
Despite all of that, desire pooled in my veins and my heartbeat started dancing beneath his assertive palm. I licked my lips and I watched as his eyes tracked the movement. Black, long lashes framed his intensely beautiful eyes and I couldn't look away.
Dante had the kind of eyes that could freeze any woman in her place and cause fire to burn under her skin, wicked flames seeking to strip her soul and body bare.
Eventually, I ripped my eyes from his hypnotizing gaze to look at his full lips when a soft groan escaped through them, causing them to part.
The air sizzled between us and I licked my lips again, leaning forward slowly until there was not enough space between us to fit a sheet of paper. I was about to kiss the most gorgeous man I had ever seen and my heart was beating out of control as I fought to remain calm.
This was going to be my first time kissing a man and not a boy, and it was going to be perfect. Dante was older than me but I didn't know by how many years.
And at this point, I was too far gone to care.
His hand around my neck was shooting darts filled with lust straight to my pussy, causing my clit to throb. My panties were a dripping mess right now, and all of that was just from looking at the man.
I never knew it was possible to feel so many sexual things happening in my body at once. How could the thought of a kiss mess with me down there? Why were my nipples hardening behind my sweater when his hand was around my neck?
"You are a stupid girl," he whispered against my lips. "So stupid. So fucking beautiful. But stupid. We should go back upstairs before I regret this."
His hand fell from around my neck and left my body feeling bereft. Cold. The fire beneath my skin fizzled out faster than a mousetrap could kill a stealing, unsuspecting, cheese stealing, son of a rat.
I didn't know whether to be offended that he had called me stupid or turned on because he had me call beautiful, all on the same breath. My mind eventually chose for me, instantly shutting down by wrapping a protective bubble over my heart.
What was I thinking? I was grumpy Carla. Unlovable Carla. And just because I was in a new country now, didn't change the fact that the male population wasn't attracted to me. My own mother didn't even love me.
If normal guys wouldn't spare me a second glance, what made me think that a gorgeous hunk like Dante would?
Yup, I was going to die a fucking virgin.
All my friends, and especially my best friend Eva had had multiple boyfriends throughout high school. Eva even had a boyfriend in primary school. And here I was, at the start of my second year at the university and I couldn't get a boy to like me enough to make me his girlfriend.
Or take me on a second date.
Or kiss me.
My mother always told me grumpy wasn't cute, and I guess she was right. The first time I ever kissed a boy was during a game of Truth or Dare in high school. His name was Caden and he was cute and tall for his age. The kiss had been brief, but it meant a lot to me because he'd smile afterward.
At that moment, I thought it was going to happen for me. He was single. I was single. Let's be boyfriend and girlfriend. That's what people did when they shared a kiss that both parties believed was enjoyable.
But Caden never made a move. He never tried to kiss me again no matter how many times we were left alone because our coupled up friends had wandered off to do God knows what in the gym hall when gym classes weren't in session.
Three weeks later, Caden showed up to school with an extra swag in his step. I found out it was because he now had a girlfriend from another high school.
I was heartbroken.
And every day after that, I hated waking up to go to school. I started hating the weekends too because Eva's then boyfriend was obsessed with her and wanted to fuck her every chance he got.
Going out with them was embarrassing. I couldn't get over the third wheel syndrome, and the sight of them only made it pathetically clear that I was going to be forever alone.
I blamed my singleness on my grumpiness which had improved drastically over the years. I had evolved from grunting one-syllable words to full-blown sentences. But it still wasn't enough.
Men preferred chatty and bubbly women.
Dante backed away from me, but the bulge in his pants told me that he was affected by me, the same way I was by him. He was breathing hard just like me, and he had this dark sexy look in his eyes I couldn't get enough of.
His hard breathing could also be explained by the fact that I had been prepared to destroy his baby-making machine with my knee. But I chose to believe otherwise.
"I wasn't stupid when I tried to kick you in the balls," I said, finally.
That had to be the lamest comeback ever, but I couldn't think of anything else as I shriveled under his stony gaze.
Although his hand was no longer around my neck, Dante was still surprisingly close to me. So close, I saw his eyes darken with disapproval. "No, Clara, that was smart but unnecessary. I think you're an attractive woman and my body naturally reacted to you, but I would never force myself on you or any woman. I called you stupid because you don't know anything about me and you were so willing to..."
"To what?"
"It doesn't matter. I don't know anything about you either but I can tell you're fucking trouble. And right now I'm trying to stay away from trouble and women like you."
°°°
Finish the lyrics... 🎶 I knew you were trouble when I met you 🎶 :