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The music is loud, the club’s packed, and I am a little drunk.
Since Thalia, Theo, and I arrived over an hour ago, we have been taken care of in our own private booth by our personal server. Nothing is too much trouble, and no alcohol is off-limits. Which means we have been sipping on Dom Perignon Vintage Rose champagne. And yes, the bubbles have gone to my head.
Bishop hasn’t turned up yet, and I don’t know whether he will, which means I can let my hair down and have fun without having to worry about him turning into a caveman.
“Theo, stop,” my sister gripes as she rolls her arms and swats playfully at her man. I glance at Theo, following his glower to Parker, who is strolling toward us with our brother. I stifle a laugh. No matter how comfortable they are in their relationship, I don’t think Theo will ever like Parker.
My brother slides into the booth beside me, followed by his best friend. Evan throws his arm around my shoulder. “Having fun?” He looks at me, then Thalia, before throwing Theo a look. There will always be a love-hate relationship between those two, no matter how much time passes. Evan never did agree with their relationship.
“The best time,” I slur in Evan’s ear at the same time Thalia says, “The club is amazing. You both should be proud.” She smiles, and I don’t miss the way Theo pulls her in closer. He would look less obvious if he pissed on her. I roll my eyes. Bishop is the same in his possessive ways. Another reason I am glad he decided not to come.
“Thank you both.” Parker’s smile is wide as he looks between us, then smirks at Theo.
“Let’s leave the men and go dance, sis.” I push to a stand, holding my hand out for her to take.
Thalia eyes me before chuckling. “Okay.” She presses a kiss to Theo’s mouth and stands. Her eyes move between all the men. “Play nice,” she warns. I giggle as I shuffle past the two blocking me in. Taking my sister’s hand, I lead us down the stairs to the dance floor. Pushing through the writhing bodies, I find a spot with enough room for us to dance. The song changes to a remix of Sam Smith’s and Kim Patras’s “Unholy”, and the crowd goes wild. I grin at Thalia, then squeeze my eyes closed as I move my body to the music. My hands dart up above my head, my hips swaying to the beat. I don’t know how long I am dancing before hands land on my hips and hot breath hits my ear. I don’t know what is growled, but the voice is masculine. Raspy.
Smirking, I spin to find a very tall, very familiar man grinning down at me—Tucker Morrow, quarterback for The New England Patriots and most eligible bachelor in the NFL. I know him through friends and have met him a couple of times but never took any interest in him other than on a platonic basis. Maybe I need to change that?
“Tucker,” I shout in greeting over the music.
He leans in, his breath hitting my ear again, and this time, I hear it. “Good to see you, Aria. You are the sexiest thing I have ever seen. The way your body moves to the music. Damn girl.” He pulls back, his fist in his mouth, eyes playful. I chuckle and turn back to face my sister. She looks behind me before her gaze comes back to mine. I see the worry in her eyes. She thinks I am going to do something stupid. She thinks because Bishop hurt me, I am going to even the score. I should. But I won’t use Tucker like that. I shake my head almost imperceptibly, and she blows out a breath before she starts dancing again.
Tucker grabs hold of my hips and moves us to the beat. I tense when I feel his erection harden against my ass. He leans in again. “How about we go and grab a drink and talk somewhere private?” he murmurs, then kisses my neck. I turn in his arms, making his hands drop from my hips, and am about to tell him that I am not interested in him like that when he is ripped away from me. Tucker is a big guy, but he goes flying across the dance floor, falling to the floor in the next second.
My eyes widen, and my mouth drops open. What the fuck? I stare at Tucker, laid out on his ass, ignoring the shocked faces surrounding me before my gaze moves up, landing on a raging Bishop. I am vaguely aware of my sister beside me, her fingers wrapping around my elbow, but my eyes never leave the angry man in front of me. His chest heaves, and his gaze is wild. I am in a trance as I watch him, waiting for his next move. And then, he makes it. Just as security moves in, Bishop stalks toward me. I jump out of whatever daze I am in, sucking in a deep breath when Bishop takes my hand and yanks me into him.
“Mine,” he says with so much conviction, I believe it.
My eyes fly over his shoulder when I spot my brother talking to Tucker and security, but I don’t have the chance to see if everything is okay because Bishop drags me off the dance floor and toward the hallway that leads to the restrooms. Glancing over my shoulder, I spot Thalia in Theo’s arms, the shock on her face evident. My gaze moves to my brother, who has resolved the disruption like it never happened.
Snapping my head back up at the asshole who caused all this, I snap, “What are you doing?”
He simply casts me a look like I am the insane one and says, “Claiming what is mine. No one,” he comes to a stand, pushing me against a wall away from prying eyes, and cages me in, “and I mean,no one, touches you but me. He had his filthy fucking hands on you.”
Planting my hands on his chest, I try to push him away, but he is like a brick wall, all hard muscle and unmoving. “I amnotyours. I can dance with whoever I want.”
His eyes darken as his mouth opens to say something before clamping shut. He stares at me for a beat before his lips crash down on mine. My breath hitches in my throat as he claims me. My mouth parts on a much-needed breath, giving him a chance to slip his tongue inside. Bishop has always been a good kisser, and he was amazing in bed, the best sex I have ever had, but this kiss feels different, feels like more.
“Aria, what the hell?” My brother’s voice hits my ears, and I shove Bishop away as I suck in ragged breaths. Evan looks positively furious as he looks between me and Bishop. “What the fuck, man? You can’t come into my club and cause trouble like that,” he snarls at a blank-faced Bishop, who has his arm wrapped around my waist possessively. I try to pull out of his hold, but it’s no use. Footsteps sound, and over Evan’s shoulder, I see Theo, Thalia, and Parker joining us.
“Sorry, man, but he shouldn’t have touched what belongs to me,” Bishop responds in a calm, cool voice.
My brother’s eyes bug out of his head before he glowers and steps toward us. “Aria is not yours. You made sure of that when you fucked off and left her.”
Bishop tenses beside me. Not wanting things to escalate further, I step between them. “Evan, leave it,” I plead. “I’m sure that what Bishop meant to say is that he is sorry, and it won’t happen again.” Bishop snorts, and I elbow him in his ribs. Before I can say more, Bishop drops down and throws me over his shoulder. I shriek as my name is called. My head pops up, and I see my family trailing behind me. I sigh. This is not how I expected my New Year’s Eve to go, but at this point, I am just going to roll with it. “It’s okay, guys. I am okay. I will see you tomorrow.”
A door is kicked open, and the cool air hits my bare legs. My siblings, Theo, and Parker all stand at the open doorway, mouths open, but they don’t stop the brooding man.
They know he won’t hurt me.
“I can walk, you know?”
“I know,” is all he says as if he didn’t just basically kidnap me.
“Where are we going?” I ask as he strides down the alleyway.
“My hotel.”
