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Talk about advertising who you were.
“Certainly. Especially in a place like this. We want everyone who comes here to dress up. Dance. Drink. Party. But when a woman sits in a booth reserved for me and my brothers, then men need to keep their eyes to themselves. At that point, it’s no longer only about you.”
“If not me, then who could it be about?” I asked somewhat snottily. I had a more-than-strong inkling, but I wanted to see how he would put it into words for me, an outsider.
“It’s about respecting the Lupu name.”
Clever answer. Succinct, while remaining vague. His response did assume that I knew a fair amount about his world, but I wasn’t about to let him off the hook so easily.
“I’m not property,” I snapped.
He gave me a slow look-over. “Everyone’s property, pretty one. You included.” He paused. “Especially you.”
A jolt of electricity zipped through my body at the corrupting ownership dripping from his tone. I opened my mouth to ask him what the hell he meant by that when Luca and Cat emerged from wherever they’d snuck off to.
Cat tugged my hand, begging me with her eyes to follow her to the bathroom. Grateful for the chance at escape, I stood up when Luca addressed Nicu, “Cat doesn’t feel well. I’m taking her home. Watch over her friend and drive her to her place when she’s ready to leave.”
He did not just order his younger brother, in no uncertain terms, to take me home, did he? Nicu’s cold eyes turned on me, hungry. Oh, fuck, he did. Cat mumbled something, and I let her drag me away. We turned the corner into a quiet hallway and stared at each other.
“What happened?” I almost screeched.
She hopped up and down, squealing with joy. “Oh my God, didn’t you hear him say he’s taking me home? He’s going to claim me. I mean, we’re going to go all the way.” She grabbed both my hands and squeezed them tightly. “I’m a little scared and a lot nervous.”
I squeezed her back. “Woman, you’ve got this. Remember, you’re strong and you have the right to choose your mate.”
“But I’m a virgin, and it’s going to hurt.”
I brought her close to me and locked eyes with her. “Listen carefully, Cat. Yes, you’re a virgin, but Luca knows that. He will do everything in his power to make this good for you. First off, that’s the kind of guy he is, and secondly, it’s obvious he cares for you. So stop worrying.”
She nodded vigorously. “You’re right. You’re right.”
“Come on. You’re ready for this, Cat. You’ve been ready,” I said encouragingly, hauling her back into the main room.
Luca caught sight of Cat and met us before we made it back to the booth. He’d stripped off his jacket and promptly draped it over Cat’s shoulders. An instant later, they were gone. Staring after their receding figures like a deer in headlights, I was desperate to follow. I swung my gaze back to Nicu and found him already halfway out of his seat, his face hard and resolute as if prepared to run me down. With one final glance at the entrance, I dejectedly made my way back to the seductive monster.
Nicu’s low, growly chuckle greeted me as I dropped into the booth. The sound coasted over my skin like a gust of decadent, sultry, charred smoke. He slid across the banquette until he was by my side.
My head whipped in his direction, my eyes narrowing on him. “I don’t know what you find so amusing. Nothing about this is funny.”
“Oh, I’m laughing because you and I both know the truth,” he spoke with a smugness that made me want to smack it right off his face. A frisson of fear ran down my spine. Wait a minute… Was he talking about Luca and Cat?
Keeping my breathing even, I leaned back and crossed my arms over my chest. The fine wool of his jacket rubbed against my bare skin, the slight roughness almost erotic. I’d never realized how sexy it felt to wear a man’s jacket while barely clothed.
“Oh, and what truth is that?” I asked nonchalantly, praying he didn’t know.
“That you’ll be writhing under me, screaming my name, by the end of the night,” he boasted.
A mixture of relief and fury tangled in my chest.
Conceited. Fucking. Bastard.
“I highly doubt it,” I sneered. Swiping the glass in front of him, I knocked it back. The taste of an unfamiliar liquor burned a path down my throat to my belly, causing me to cough. What the hell was this? Nasty motor fluid or the awful Romanian brandy Cat’s mom had me taste once?
Another sinful chuckle triggered a spray of goosebumps coasting down my arms.
“Easy there, tiger. That liquor’s not for little girls.”
My head went up in flames. Was it only pure anger? Or a mixture with lust? Most likely both.
