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9
Fucking hell, this discussion with Cat topped the charts in terms of raw agony. It was fucking killing me. The light in her bright eyes dimmed and turned glassy with unshed tears. I had done that to her. If it would help, I’d rip my beating heart out of my chest and hand it to her to crush under her dainty little shoe. At least I had the wherewithal to admit that our powerful attraction was mutual. I could never let her walk away thinking that I didn’t want her. That would’ve been a travesty and an outright lie.
I tapped on my horn at a pedestrian jaywalking diagonally across the street, tugging his dog behind him. Fuck, I hated this city. Especially in the summer. In Manhattan, the buildings practically touched the sky, blocking the sun’s rays even in the middle of the day. People swarmed everywhere, the noise was constant and the traffic brutal. There was no space, no greenery. The stifled, cramped trees with cement or grates plastered over their roots didn’t count in my book. The miserable place—dirty, noisy, and oppressive—left me with a headache.
Instead of spending the entire summer in L.A., I’d spent the last two weeks there. Working nonstop. I got as much done as possible and cleared my schedule so that I could be back to shuttle Cat to her class and back home. Things were heating up in L.A. The small mafie family that no one had paid attention to took issue with us for encroaching on what they perceived as their property, but what we equally regarded as free, unmarked territory. I’d met the sef of the Hagi clan. Although small, I could attest that they were a feisty bunch. Feisty was best treated with kid gloves. For now.
If an issue came up out West, I’d take the red-eye and be back before Cat’s next class because no one was taking my place. Over my dead body would Simu ever drive her. That fucker had to be kept in check. Knowing that he pressed his lips against hers made me to want to smash my fist through the windshield. This had nothing to do with our rivalry. This was all Cat. I wanted each and every one of her kisses and touches.
After she told me about those innocent kisses he’d stolen, swear to God, I was about to turn the car around and tear that man to shreds. Fucking poacher. I didn’t give a shit that they thought they were promised to each other. Fuck that. He shouldn’t have touched her. Period. The only reason I didn’t go beat his ass was because I wouldn’t have gotten away with it without breaking her confidence. But his time would come.
For the first time, I learned what it felt like to be possessive, and…I gave zero fucks about it. To keep hold of my sanity, I’d soon have to extract an oath from her to stay away him. One day, I’d get my revenge. The reason? Because he’d touched what was mine.
Stop.
She’s not yours.
Try telling my heart and my dick.
I was living through hell, but I didn’t give a rat’s ass. I was prepared to suffer any amount of pain to be around her. To check her out in that sweet little dress, with the hem riding up her thighs. Or the way her bare shoulders gleamed in the light coming in through the windows. Her enticing floral peach scent alone had my cock in a chokehold.
It was excruciating, and yet…I couldn’t get enough.
A tense silence had descended between us. Not knowing what to say, but unable to take the silence any longer, I burst out, “Well, I’m sure you’ve heard about my father and his enormous faux pas.”
Cat turned to face me with a blank look.
“You know…” I made a little waving motion with one hand as if that could somehow hurry along her memory and we could get past the humiliating acknowledgment that my father was a cheating son of a bitch who should’ve had his balls cut off. Christ, am I a glutton for punishment or what?
A frown marred her smooth forehead and she pursed her lips in an expression of concentration that was cute as fuck.
Shaking her head, she said, “No, I don’t think I have. I haven’t been around much these last six years, and my best friend is from school. I try to keep to myself and avoid the other Romanian girls from the neighborhood, because honestly, they can be catty.”
I stared at her like she’d sprouted two heads. A Romanian mafie girl who wasn’t on top of the latest scandal? A Romanian mafie princess who wasn’t absorbed in our world of intrigue? If I wasn’t such a good judge of character, I’d have thought she was pulling my leg. I knew for certain that Cat was the furthest thing from manipulative as a person could get.
“How did Alex introduce Sebastian and Emma to you?” I asked curiously.
“As your brother and sister,” she replied straightaway.
“Didn’t you find it strange that he introduced you to an additional set of siblings?” I prompted.
That adorable expression of concentration returned.
“Now that you mention it, there’s only ever been the four of you. Alex, you, Nicu, and Tasa. It was so hectic that weekend, I guess I hadn’t noticed.”
“Yeah, well, they’re our siblings by another mother,” I replied, blowing out a breath.
“You don’t like them?” she queried.
“Sebastian’s a stand-up guy, and Emma is funny and sweet, although she shares the same stubborn streak that Tasa has. It’s my father’s betrayal of my mother that I can’t forgive.”
She gave a little sound, half snort, half huff. “I’m baffled when we pretend to be better than we are. We create this honor code to make it seem like we’re virtuous, but considering what our families do to survive, I can’t see how you’re surprised by his behavior. You and I both know that it’s by far one of the milder things your father has done.”
“While I appreciate you calling out the fake bullshit, it’s rare that anyone notices, much less says anything about it. I would know better than anyone how deep hypocrisy can run in a family, but I still believe in loyalty. We’re supposed to treat family better than the way we treat people on the outside,” I ground out. “At least, in principle.”
“And how often are we able to keep up that pretense?” she scoffed.
“For such a pretty, young thing, you’re quite jaded. And to top it off, you’re a woman. It’s not like you’ve engaged in any of the unsavory activities we men are routinely forced to partake in.”
