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"You need to slow down," he says through gritted teeth.
I glance at him, then raise the glass in his direction. "You need to remove the stick up your ass."
His jaw hardens. A vein pulses at his temple.
"If you grit your teeth any harder, you might crack your molars," I whisper.
"Do you care?" he shoots back.
I glance down at my drink then back up at him. "And if I say I do?"
"I won’t believe you."
I raise my shoulder. "I know this entire situation is tricky—"
"Tricky?" He grips his tumbler so hard, the skin across his knuckles stretches with it. "Negotiating a contract is tricky. Evading your enemy in a car chase is tricky. This—" He leans forward in his seat. "Is a goddamn catastrophe."
His voice cuts through the noise, and both Solene and Declan fall silent.
Declan glances between us. He seems to finally remember me, the traitor, and places his arm around my shoulder. "Everything okay?"
Massimo glares at him like he’s going to leap across the table any moment, grab his tie, and yank him across to his side. Or worse. The tendons of his throat flex like he wants to say something but is holding back. His shoulders swell. He must grip his glass even tighter because it splinters. The smell of alcohol laces the air. Blood drips from a cut in his palm and stains the white cloth on the table.
He shoves his chair back and springs up. "Excuse me." He pivots and walks off in the direction of what I assume is the restroom.
I jump up, as well. "I… Just need to make sure he’s okay." Without glancing at the two of them at the table, I take off after him. I reach the corridor and spot him entering the men's room. I walk toward it and enter, to find he’s alone. I shut the door behind me and lock it, then lean against it.
He holds his hand under the tap for a few seconds before straightening and grabbing a fresh towel from the holder and wrapping it around his palm. He glances at my reflection in the mirror. Anger radiates off of him. His eyes flash as he meets my gaze.
"Massimo, I’m—"
"Get out of here. If you don’t, I won’t be responsible for what happens next."
I rub my sweaty palms on the fabric covering my thighs. "I’m sorry. So sorry."
"For lying to me? For trying to pass off someone with whom you don’t have a shred of chemistry with as your fiancé?"
I hunch my shoulders. "Is it that obvious?"
He glowers at me in the mirror. "Get out of here, Olivia. Else, I swear, I’ll say or do something that both of us will regret for a long time."
The air in the space grows thick with unspoken words. He continues to hold my gaze, and my insides turn to smoke. Every pore in my body seems to pop. An electric current seems to stretch from him to me and I can’t stop myself from taking a step forward, then another. He stalks me with a brooding look as I draw level with him. I can’t break the connection between our gazes. Can’t stop myself from reaching out and placing my palm at the small of his back.
He squeezes his eyes shut. A shudder runs up his spine. He brings his unhurt hand down to the edge of the counter and squeezes it. "Fuck. F-u-c-k, Via, don’t do this."
I slide my arms about his waist and flatten my cheek against his broad back. The muscles jump under his skin. The wings of his back pull back toward each other. Nervous tension thrums from him. That dark, testosterone-filled scent of his teases my senses. My nipples tighten, and my core clenches. I’m going to hell for this. I shouldn’t be doing this, but he feels so damn good.
"Step away, Olivia, please." His voice is tortured. "I won’t be able to contain myself any longer."
I swallow. I should say something. Ask him to not react. Ask him to stay where he is. Ask him to turn me around, bend me over the counter and fuck me. And then what? How will I face my sister again? She may be attracted to another man, based on her reaction to Declan. It doesn’t change the fact that she’s engaged to my— To Massimo.
I lower my arms to my sides and spin around to take a step away, when he grabs my wrist, turns me around and pushes me up against the counter. "The hell you playing at? Have you any idea how much you’ve complicated all of our lives?" He glares at me, and I can’t stop the shivers that ladder up my back. Little zings of fire spark off from where he’s touching me.
I open my mouth to speak, but no words emerge. I want to say I am sorry, but that doesn’t seem enough. I peer into his face, and we stand there breathing each other’s air, not touching, except for where he’s gripped my wrist. My chest rises and falls. My breathing grows shallow. The scent of him bats against my senses, pulling at me. Tugging on me. Moisture laces my core, and I sway closer to him. I fix my gaze on his lips. I’m going to kiss him now. That’s it, damn everything that happened. Fuck the engagement to my sister.I want him. I need him. I—
He releases me and steps back so quickly that I stumble. He doesn’t right me, though, and I miss him already.
"You made your point. You’re engaged and so am I." He takes another step back. "It’s best we keep our distance from now on."
