She was used to it. Her clothes were never designer because of the limited amount of money she had. It was even worse when she was walking down the street with Aiden. Everyone assumed that he was her child and she was a teenage mother. Which wasn't true, and even if it was, no one should judge her or any other woman because of such a thing. Life happened and people dealt with it the best they could. Nothing to be ashamed of. But rarely anyone understood it.
She felt a hand on the small of her back and startled. "What would it take for you to loosen up?" Elio asked as he guided her to one of the tables which was situated in such a way that Savannah could see the Strip in its full grandeur. It was breathtaking. All she could do was stare, admiring. Walking up to the barrier she got lost in the view.
Being born in Las Vegas was a wonderful thing. It was a city full of opportunities and, for her, it symbolized strength. Because as hard as her life got, she pushed through. It wasn't a place that killed dreams but one that could help find one's footing. She couldn't move out anywhere else.
The wind blew, a slight breeze shrouding them as Elio came up behind the girl looking at her while she gazed at the city of sin. And goddamnit, he wanted her to become his sin. Savannah's tantalizing scent deprived him of his senses. All he could think of was how much he wanted to bend her over the table and bury himself to the hilt inside of her. Fuck people. That almost started to feel like today’s mission.
Savannah couldn't be further from his usual girls. He was used to dealing with dancers and whores. But they were all eager to satisfy him, to give him anything and everything just so that they could tell their friends that he'd fucked them. They didn't shy away and even their fear was close to nonexistent the moment he showed interest in them. If it wasn't business-wise, no one gave a damn that he was an Enforcer. So typically, most women cared about how wide they could open their legs for him. And he loved it.
Yet, he went out of his way to spend some time with the girl in front of him. Because she didn't seem to take a hint and start flirting with him or offer her body. A big, fat cry from that. And as a guy, he needed a challenge sometimes.
Savannah Quinn was exactly that.
He took a step closer, his chest touching her back and Savannah shivered, realizing that she’d completely ignored Elio's question. However, she forgot what he had asked.
"What?" Her eyebrows knit together.
Elio chuckled, shaking his head. Turns out it didn't take much to distract her. Then he heard her stomach grumbling. "Shall we order?"
The girl bit her lip and nodded. She tried very hard to forget about Elio being a mafioso at least for a while. Being in her head too much right now was making it difficult for her to simply go through the meeting. She wasn't sure if calling it a date was too much.
"You texted me yesterday. So you could've told me to wear something more elegant," she said, once again focusing on how much she stood out.
The Made Man frowned, searching her face. The embarrassment shined through as she averted her eyes from the girl sitting a few tables behind him. Elio glanced back, making the girl quickly go back to talking to her partner.
"The less fuck you give about what others think, the better you will feel, Savannah. If they think you care, they'll walk all over you," he commented, unfazed.
"It's not always as easy as it may sound. Not every person is unworthy of being taken care of."
That's where the two of them parted ways as to what they believed in and lived by. For Elio, there was no one he actually cared about. Not completely at least. His mother held a few pieces of affection, however, he didn't respect her enough because of how she handled Father. Being weak was a disposition he couldn't get behind. No matter who the person was. Death was better than settling for something useless that got them nowhere.
"It must be an exhausting life to put others first," he said.
"Not as exhausting as always having to be the one to pick you back up in your worst moments."
§ § §
His desire to own her didn't disappear. Their alien opinions apparently weren't enough for his dick to calm the fuck down. It was getting to a ridiculous point of sexualizing each bite she took of her food. Elio could only blame it on deciding to stay home yesterday evening rather than finding a woman to fuck.
After dinner during which they tried to stay away from the topic of caring, they decided to walk towards the Venetian. It was only a few minutes before seven and as much as Elio wanted to make a move, even he realized how absurd that would be since he obviously had already gone out of his way to meet with her. Normally it wouldn't matter, now it did.
The buildings of the Strip hovered over them as they walked along the sidewalk. This part of the city was probably the most overwhelming with its majestic hotels, casinos, high-end shops and many other places. For Elio, there was the additional pride that many of them either belonged to the Famiglia or were under their protection. Realizing this alone could give a good sense on what it actually meant that they were ruling over the city when a few years ago Las Vegas was still a common business ground for many organizations. However, as Noah Falcone didn't like sharing, he made sure that it wouldn't be the case for long.
Elio watched Savannah as she took in
