“We could kill him,” I suggest, glancing at the door of the Fang. “It would be easy.”
“Sure,” Luca drags the syllable out, glaring at me as if I’m chewing on his last nerve. “That’s a great fucking plan... if the goal is to make sure Celine never speaks to either of us again. Tell me what happened to Ciprian.”
“He was gone by sunset, like I told him to be.” I cross myarms, my helpless fury growing as I imagine the hulking angel in Celine’s apartment whispering vows or some other bullshit from their past in her ear. I hate it.
“Do you think he’s okay?” Luca asks.
I narrow my eyes. “Who cares?”
“Well, fuck... Me, I guess.” Luca’s lip ring winks in the dim glow of the streetlight and the Fang’s neon sign. “And you’re not as blasé as you act. You wouldn’t be this mad if you didn’t care.”
“Don’t tell me how I feel.” I poke his chest, and he slaps my hand down.
“Uh-uh. No way. You don’t get to snap at me, Ali. I’m mad at you—you aren’t allowed to be mad at me. Not when you’re the one who decided to be a dickhead and leave me alone in a tiny apartment with two angels dead set on pretending everything is fine when it isn’t.” He tosses his arms wide. “You should feel the tension; it’s so thick you could choke on it. And Celine’s in her stone-cold, can’t-be-fucked with anything mood. It’s stressing me?—”
I grip the back of his neck and shut him up by slamming my lips to his.
I would kill to be there—doesn’t he know that? I didn’t plan to freak out and drive her away. Our kiss is furious, dripping with heat. I nibble on his full bottom lip, scraping my fangs over the delicate skin.
“None of that.” Luca pulls his lip free from my teeth.
“I’m sorry,” I grunt, pressing my body against his and nipping at his lips again until he kisses me back.
“Shut up,” he hisses, switching our positions until I’m the one with my back to the graffiti-covered concrete wall. “Fix it, Ali. Do you hear me?”
I nod, kissing down his neck, then drop my forehead against his shoulder. “I’ll figure it out; I swear. She’s not ready yet.”
“Godsdammit, I already told you that!”
“I won’t give up, Luca.”
“You better not.” He threads his fingers through my tangled hair and jerks my head up, sealing our lips again. My desire roars to life as his hard cock rubs against mine, and my fangs throb in my gums.
Luca still wants this; he hasn’t turned on me.
I cling to that realization, using it to soothe my panic. If I can earn Celine’s forgiveness, we can have what I envisioned before Casanell showed up and angels started falling from the sky.
“I’ve got to get back inside,” Luca whispers. “I have an angel to babysit and drinks to serve.”
“Don’t go,” I beg, wincing at how needy I sound.
Luca pulls away, raises his chin slightly, and meets my eyes. “Ali... She’s my priority, you know that, right?”
I nod, stepping back as a chill runs through my veins. The outsider. Always alone. Why am I surprised? “Of course,” I say calmly, trying to recover the stoicism I’m known for. “You better not do anything to jeopardize your place in that apartment.”
“I won’t.”
Luca kisses me again, but this time is different. The press of his lips is soft. Is he trying to cheer me up? When he drags his lips away from mine, I see the rush of blood in his cheeks. I wasn’t imagining it: Luca Saratelli was trying to comfort me, and he’s embarrassed by it. He shouldn’t be. It’s the only good thing that’s happened to me since that enclave asshole called Ciprian by his full name.
“Thanks,” I rasp, licking my bottom lip to get one last taste of him. “Be at the venue at sunset tomorrow. I’ll make the introduction... And Luca, if she’s serious about fighting there, she has to win. I can’t get her a spot otherwise.”
He sighs. “She’s more than serious about it; she’s an army of one preparing for war. Gods help anyone who stands in her way.”
He disappears into the Fang, but his words linger with me long after he’s gone.
I never want Celine to feel alone. My temper landed us here, allowing a shiny, stacked angel to swoop in and claim her attention at the exact moment our fragile unit fractured.
Self-loathing mixes with my determination, and I groan.
