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“Me neither.” I surveyed his dark tuxedo, and he did the same to my dress.
“This was not how I had planned to spend Valentine’s Day with you.” He slid his hands down my back and over the beaded fabric of the pale dress covering my ass.
“Don’t do that.” I sighed as his fingers left a trail of goose bumps on my arm.
“You look stunning.”
“We’re supposed to hate each other. Remember?” I pushed him away, ignoring the pressure building between my legs. Tyler and I had been forced into an arranged marriage and were expecting a baby in the summer. For the safety of our little family, we’d agreed to let everyone continue to believe that we hated each other’s guts, that our marriage was merely a business transaction to unite the New York and Jersey factions under the Rossi family.
“How could I forget? I miss you.”
“I miss you too.” I shuffled back another step. Even in this crowded space, we were being watched. The desire in his blue gaze made me wish we were back at his penthouse, the only place where we could be ourselves. “So this Valentino guy wants to talk to us. Why?”
“It’s hard to say how many allies or enemies Jax Rossi had.” He rubbed the sexy stubble on his cheek. “I’m the new boss of a faction that’s about to double in size. My guess is Valentino means to have a pissing contest with me. Fuck off is what I want to say. Actually, I did, and now we’re here.”
“Same with me.” I diverted my gaze to the women dancing on the short platforms set around the space. Their see-through leotards left nothing to the imagination. “How about we mingle and see if we can learn a bit more about this Valentino guy.”
“Mia, I think it’s best if we stay together.” He wrapped his fingers around my elbow.
Across the way, the man who’d brought me in regarded us with an impassive look about him, as if he wasn’t interested in our existence. I didn’t believe it for a second. I yanked my elbow free and glared at Tyler before I walked away. As much as I wanted to kiss him right now, we had to keep up appearances. If we let our guards down, our baby would pay the price. I cradled my small bump, then quickly dropped my hand to the side. This place wasn’t safe for us. Not until we figured out why we were here.
I set down my untouched glass of bubbles and headed for the bar near the glass enclosure. The view from up here was mesmerizing, though no one seemed to notice. Guests were too busy ogling the half-naked servers and dancers. In front of me, two women in their early twenties placed their orders. They held hands while their curious gazes roamed the surroundings.
“Holy shit, Emma, I can’t believe we got in.” The one in a tight leather dress bounced in place.
“I had a feeling tonight was our night. This place is everything I thought it would be.” Emma practically had stars in her eyes. “I wish I had my phone. My Insta account would blow up if I managed to post pictures of me inside the Crucible.”
“Dork. I’m sure that’s why they snatched our phones.”
“I swear this place is making me horny.” Emma bit her lip and smiled at a shirtless guy walking by.
My gaze skipped him and moved on to Tyler across the way, looking incredibly hot in his tuxedo and just-fucked dark hair.You and me both, girl. You and me both.I exhaled. The sooner I found a way out of here, the sooner Tyler and I could have that Valentine’s Day date he’d promised. We’d made plans. Then the Mafia came calling.
After Emma and her friend got their drinks, the bartender addressed me with a slight bow of his head. “Mrs. Rossi. Another glass of Champagne?”
My heartbeat quickened. He knew me? So much for flirting with him to get some answers. “Club soda and lime, please.”
“Of course.” He tapped his ear and nodded, with his eyes zeroed in on someone behind me. “The conference will start in a few minutes. Aaron will escort you.”
I turned around to find the guy who’d brought me here. Scanning the sea of faces, I could see that Tyler had already left. “Lead the way.”
Aaron strode toward the other end of the room. His massive back seemed to get wider as he elbowed people out of the way to make room for us. The guests didn’t appear to mind; they merely held on to their drinks tighter and stepped aside. He opened the door that led to a different corridor than the one I used to get to the party. A set of stairs later, we were in a part of the building with walls paneled in a rich, embroidered fabric and furnishings that looked intricately old and expensive. More money, more power.
When we reached the tall double doors at the end of the room, Aaron bowed and pushed the doors open with both hands. The adjacent room was a sort of vestibule. Several upholstered chairs lined the walls. A round table with a huge floral arrangement on top divided the room in half. Four groups of people were scattered throughout in their fancy garb, talking in hushed voices while slanting glances to the others.
To my right, Tyler’s form stalked over to me. The lines across his forehead told me he was furious, furious and worried for me. When he was within earshot, he gripped my waist with his large hand and cradled my cheek with the other while his mouth collided with mine. His kiss was forceful and hungry. No doubt I’d be bruised later. But I didn’t care. My body reacted to any kind of connection with him. He pulled away, his eyes still shooting daggers at me.
“Do not leave my side again.”
I opened my mouth to explain that being my husband and looking this crazy hot in a tux didn’t give him the right to tell me what to do, but the laughter coming from behind me cut me off.
“You still have work to do with that one.” An old man said before turning his attention to the younger man standing beside him.
“The chase is part of the fun,” Tyler said, deadpan. He kissed my ear and whispered, “The Big 5 are meeting tonight. That’s why we’re here.”
I stared at him with wide eyes. Shit. The five crime families, the originals, were real? I had no time to ask the question because in that moment the massive mahogany door across the way swung open. Why the hell were we here?
Chapter2
