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He raised an eyebrow. Eden’s swift answer spoke volumes about her character. The blonde hadn’t blinked once or averted her gaze while saying that. She knew how dangerous he was, and obviously, she somehow didn’t care. People were usually cautious around him, but that girl looked different. In the way she stared at him, she obviously had something else going on. No woman stared at him that way. They either feared him or wanted him.
However, Eden looked like she loathed him.
“So you aren’t afraid to die?”
“I am. You’re the one coming to the wrong place carrying a death wish,” she retorted.
“Oh... so this is why I get the glare,” he said, grabbing his glass of whiskey.
Eden had a sullen look on, and she wasn’t afraid to hide it.
No matter how terrifying that man was, she was much angrier at him for coming here, to begin with. He was putting everyone in danger for the sake of pissing off a rival. She couldn’t get past that. The rest, she didn’t need to speak about now. She watched him drink his whiskey and tried to ignore Jack making faces behind the bar, practically begging her to watch her attitude with a mafia lord.
“...Aren’t you going to ask me why I’m here, then?” he asked.
“To chit-chat?”
Eden served him an icy smile, but it only made him smile more. His fingers moved on her leg, still playing with the fabric of her dress, but now closer. A hot chill went down her spine. How come this was shaking her so much more than if he were to actually touch her? Eden was used to the guests using her body as they wanted. There wasn’t a place a man hadn’t touched her before, and she thought she was impervious to those kinds of gestures.
Yet, seeing those long fingers of his playing with just a few loose strands of her dress was driving her crazy. She tried to control her breathing and, with trembling fingers, reached out for her glass to have something else to keep herself busy with. However, before she did, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto his lap.
That position took Eden by surprise. She was now straddling his legs, her hands grabbing the sofa’s back behind his head by reflex, his face right under hers.
The suddenly-confused expression on her face seemed to entertain him. Eden looked baffled, angry, and troubled. She had been cautious not to touch him, but his legs were caught in between hers, and their faces were way too close. If Eden’s hair had been just an inch longer, it would have fallen onto his shoulders.
She felt her throat go dry in a second and her heart go insanely wild. She wanted to get mad at him and ask him what he was playing at, but those words stayed stuck in her throat. She couldn’t anger him, and she wasn’t even sure what to say. Moreover, Dante De Luca was still smiling, like the devil looking upon her. She felt his fingers slide up her back, and a chill ran up her spine. She couldn’t understand what he was doing. Men usually played with her body, not her reactions. Yet, the Tiger was going so slow and gentle that it was terrifying. As if he was toying with his prey. His other hand grabbed one of her wrists, and he silently guided her to hold on to his shoulder instead. The situation was escalating so fast, Eden couldn’t understand what was going on. Despite her experience working at the bar, she had no idea how to react to all this.
The rest of the bar was gone, and Rose’s voice over the speakers felt like a faraway dream.
Eden had to cling on to her hatred to not give in. She couldn’t give in to him. Not Dante De Luca, among any others; not that man. Taking a deep breath and trying to regain control of the situation, she changed her attitude, playing along. She spread her knees farther apart, sitting on his crossed legs. She was a hostess, and he was a customer. Eden kept repeating that sentence in her mind like a mantra she ought to stick to. Her fingers on his shoulder relaxed a little, and feeling the change in her attitude, Dante squinted his eyes a little bit too.
“Playing along now?” he asked.
“Isn’t this what you wanted?”
“We should make this believable.”
Eden’s heart skipped a beat. She wished he was a bit less handsome and his voice a bit less attractive. It was hard to get out of his game. Moreover, she was confused once again. Believable to whom? This probably looked like some sexy but not-so-unusual scene for a hostess club from an external perspective. She wasn’t the first one getting on a man’s lap tonight, and some of her colleagues were a lot busier already.
However, Eden couldn’t have bothered to check how the other girls were doing. Dante De Luca was way too captivating at the moment. She had no idea how long this game would entertain him. She was just willing to play along until he left and hopefully never came back.
He put a hand on her neck, caressing her nape with a stronger grip than she had anticipated. The strength in his fingers was scary, and when he pulled her closer, Eden didn’t resist. She felt exposed to him, too exposed. Her dress was one of the least sexy ones as it covered her legs, but it still had a deep cleavage and showed off her neckline.
When he pulled her in to kiss her neck, Eden felt her senses run amok. His lips were soft against her skin, yet it felt like her whole body was being caressed. The chills, again. How was he so good at throwing her off course?
“...I hope you don’t die too quickly,” he suddenly whispered against her skin.
“What?”
Eden suddenly sat up, understanding his words one second too late.
Right after that, the bar’s door slammed open, and Kris Yang and his men appeared in the doorway. The music stopped right away, and all eyes turned toward the entrance. Some of the girls screamed and jumped away from the Italians realizing what mess was about to happen. Eden, however, didn’t move. Even if she had tried to, she could feel De Luca’s strong grip on her neck and back.
She understood and saw red right away. Sitting like that on his lap, she was right in between the Tiger and the entrance. That bastard. He intended to use her as a shield!
“De Luca!” Kris yelled. “You die today!”
Eden clenched her teeth, turning her head from the entrance to glare at De Luca with all her might.
