“She ruined the entrees!” she whines but steps away from me anyway.
“Let me handle this.”
The redhead, thankfully, falls silent.
A pair of dark leather shoes enter my field of vision, and I struggle not to cave in on myself.
“I asked you a question.”
Suddenly, a rough hand yanks my chin upward.
My breath catches in my throat.
His dark hair tumbles out of its hair tie, framing his strong jawline and flawless skin. These are the trademarks of an aristocrat disguised by a short-cut beard and the tattoos that crawl up his neck from below his white shirt collar.
But what draws me in most are his endlessly dark eyes. There’s nearly no distinction between their onyx color and the blackness of his pupils. They are framed by a pair of thick brows set in a seemingly perpetual scowl.
I imagined Teo Vitale to be many things: a monster, an enemy, a threat.
Never once did I think he would be…beautiful.
And that somehow frustrates me more than everything he has ever done to my family.
Of course, I’ve seen his photo before. I’ve studied it. Programmed every camera in our casinos to alert me if his face was ever detected inside or nearby.
It’s funny how much a lens of hatred can mar your perception of someone. In my case, a lens that is overwhelmed the moment the scent of sandalwood and vanilla washes over me.
“Who are you?” he asks, and I’ll be damned, but I watch his perfect lips curve around each word with more attention that I should give to anything about him.
“Someone who didn’t want to miss the party of the year,” I reply, channeling all my frustration into the way I’m speaking in order to keep my words steady.
He smirks. “There are two ways this is going to go. You can either tell me who you are, or I’m going to take that earpiece of yours and leave you to Mia while I trace the connection back to whoever sent you.”
In my periphery, I can see Mia twirling her knife expertly over her fingers.
Teo tips my head back to examine the scratch along my neck. “Although it seems she might have already jumped the gun.”
A calloused finger swipes along the tender graze, and I do my best not to flinch.
“I would hate for her to cut up your pretty little neck.”
I try to ignore how his words make my mouth water and focus on a plan. My pick-up should be here by now. Leon will be looking for me. I just need to buy him some time.
“I’d never say no to a bit of knife play,” I flirt right back. A part of me violently protests against it, but it’s easier to do than I had thought it would be.
“I’m glad to hear it.”
His eyes don’t leave my face as he holds his hand out to the side. Mia only hesitates for a beat before handing over her knife.
I raise an eyebrow at him as the blade settles once more against my neck. “Is this how you like your women? On their knees and at your disposal?”
“As a matter of fact…”
“Teo.”
His eyes tear away from mine to regard Dante.
“An unknown vehicle has approached the front of the hotel. Gray Lamborghini Aventador.”
