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I leaned in close. His gaze flicked to my breasts, showcased as if I were a heifer for sale in this stupid, stifling, bodycon dress. I grinned at his moment of weakness.
“That statement proves you don’t know a thing about me,” he countered.
Yeah, right.
“And which part am I wrong about, exactly?” I asked with a scornful chuckle, knowing it would get a rise out of him.
“I’ve thought of what it’s like to be a woman,” he pronounced.
I raised a dubious eyebrow and looked at him askance.
“Is that right?” I drawled. “I call bullshit.”
“No need to sink down to using slovenly language,” he chided, one side of his sculpted lips curled up.
I barely restrained myself from snapping at him. He was so damn perfect he rarely cursed, the sanctimonious prick. It made me want to get in his face and spit out, fuck you, Tatum. Fuck your gorgeous, beautiful face. Fuck your big, hot body. Fuck your impeccable manners. Fuck your eloquent charm. Just. Fuck. You.
Instead, I bit my tongue.
“I have a mother and younger sister,” he went on. “I’ve often thought of how they live. Of how limited their lives are.”
He rolled his eyes. Huh, he rolled his eyes like a petulant little boy. I almost laughed. He rarely broke character, especially the haughty pose he’d perfected oh so well. While he was charming, he always carried an air of being above the fray, of being above us lowly humans, certainly of being above me.
“Never mind,” he muttered. “You wouldn’t understand.”
I pulled back in shock, catching a vulnerability I would’ve never imagined. For a moment, I almost believed him but quickly shook the compassion off as insane. He brought out empathy I only felt for my brother. But Tatum was nothing like Adrian. He was sitting on top of the food chain, a predator of the highest order. And he was so cold and haughty, peering down at us from his high horse, he must get a crick in his neck.
I barked out a short, bitter laugh.
“Riiight, you think about what it’s like being a woman until you step into a strip club and have your fun. God forbid you refrain from playing with women like they were in a harem made especially for you.”
His eyes turned flat as obsidian. “I don’t have that kind of fun. In fact, I don’t have fun at all.”
He straightened his already straight-as-a-rod spine. “I’m consilier of the Lupu clan, and I’m the head of my family. I have no time for mindless stupidity. As evidenced by this moment. Here I am, at the wedding of a man who’s like a brother, and I’m stuck babysitting you.”
His heated gaze burned a path down my body, making me squirm with rising lust. He looked at me with disgust, and yet, every time he looked at any part of my body, it went up in flames. I didn’t know what it was about his icy, condescending glare that made me want to hate-fuck him. Jesus, I was sick. That was what happened when you were still a virgin while every mafie woman your age was popping out babies, I thought bitterly.
He stood up abruptly, his chair screeching a little even in the loud hum of the festive room.
“I wouldn’t expect you to understand. Engaging with you is only marginally better than squandering my precious time at a strip club,” he said in cold fury. His insult stabbed me like a stake in the heart, taking my breath away.
“Excuse me,” he snapped with condescending formalness, even going so far as to give me a mocking little stiff bow before stalking away.
My mouth dropped open.
His sharp answer and curt exit left me burning with shame. It churned and roiled in my stomach like acid.
Watching him slip out of the reception hall, it hit me that I’d been too judgmental, too harsh. I’d gone too far. Having left my father, my brother,and everyone I knew, having been forcibly plopped down into this cold, hostile city with this foreign clan, I was on the defensive. To be fair, that was generally my go-to attitude. Despite Alex’s mother’s and grandmother’s kindness, being around Tatum amped me up, and I’d taken out my frustration and homesickness on him.
Unfair, I know. I tortured him any chance I got, like some sort of high school bully. It was infantile of me.
Remorse sliced through my chest.
Even a blind man could see I’d been handed to Tatum against his will. He avoided me where he could and when required to be with me, ignored me as much as possible. Besides his arrogance, his avoidance behavior pricked my pride. There was no doubt it still got me into trouble.
Letting out a weary sigh, I dropped my chin to my chest. There was no denying it. I’d been undeniably rude, and I owed him an apology. I had four months to go in this godforsaken city. I didn’t need to antagonize him further.
Pushing my chair back, I slapped my hands on my lap and stood up to go find him.
