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“Whoa. I was just kidding.” Declan glances at his brothers for help, but neither of them moves. Cain looks amused. Archer just looks bored. “You can let go now.”
I blink, my actions fully hitting me. I could brush it off. Say that even if she is the enemy, she deserves at least some respect for being my future wife. But I don’t. I don’t say anything at all. Shoving him away, I head straight to the bar. There’s no way I’m getting through this night without some alcohol buzzing through my system. I order three shots of tequila, tossing them back without the lime before ordering a whiskey on the rocks.
The Arco brothers move on, clearly sensing I’m not going to be much fun tonight, recognizing a shit show just waiting to happen. Most likely, they don’t want to be around when Sienna threatens to skin me alive. Which she definitely will…if she catches me. When she’d first promoted me, I’d had to sit through a lengthy lecture about how I needed to change, how I couldn’t go back to my old ways of partying and drinking until I couldn’t even remember my name. At the time, I’d wanted to so desperately prove myself.
But that was then. And this is now.
Now, I’m being forced to accept a marriage I don’t want with a woman who will most likely try to betray me. Hell, I wouldn’t put it past her to try and fucking poison me on our wedding night. Cara doesn’t seem like the type to take it lying down. I know a fighter when I see one. Leaning back against the bar, I take time to study the woman I’m supposed to be pretending to fall in love with. Correction—that I’m supposedly already in love with.
She stands with perfect posture, which is just annoying, and not a hair out of place. Anytime someone approaches her father, she plasters on the most brilliant smile, though it never reaches her eyes. I don’t think anyone else notices, though. She’s the perfect socialite, greeting everyone by name, making a show of listening to every asinine thing that comes out of their mouth. I can hear her conversation and laughter all the way across the room, supporting her father without showing any signs of being uncomfortable. It takes me a moment to realize that this is what she’s been trained her whole life to do.
While I’d been wasting my time bar hopping and waking up with little to no memory of the night before, she’d been gearing up to take over her father’s business. No wonder she’s so uptight. The little princess never allowed herself to have any fun. She laughs again, head tipping back, and I can’t help but trace the slight curve of her throat. Her eyes open, catching mine across the room, and instantly, the spell is broken.
I turn back to the bartender. “Screw the glass. Give me a bottle.”
“You sure you want to do that?” Dante leans an elbow against the bar top. “If Sienna catches you….”
“Oh, fuck off.” I glower, taking a swig from the bottle.
“Killian…”
I twist towards him. “I’m trying, alright? I’m here. But that’s all I can give you tonight. And if I need something to take the edge off a little, then so what?”
“We both know this will be more than just taking the edge off,” Dante growled.
“Am I interrupting something?”
We both turn to find Cara just feet away. Her eyes flick between me and the bottle of bourbon in my hand, judgment already in her eyes. I really don’t need this tonight.
“Not at all, princess.” I move to her side, hooking an arm around her waist. She resists at first, until she notices everyone watching us. “I was just coming to find you.”
“Well, here I am,” she says nervously. My hands rest against her ribcage, the satin fabric soft against my palm. I can feel her heart beating wildly against my own pulse.
“Let’s go say hello to our guests, shall we?” I herd her away from my brother, just thankful I don’t have to hear his god-forsaken speech on how well I’d been doing without the alcohol: ‘is that really what you want, Killian? To go back to all that?’
Cara allows me to lead her across the floor, only stopping occasionally to greet the most important people. But mostly, I just need to get away, and she’s the getaway car. No one stops us. No one tries to pull me into a conversation. And most importantly, it gets my brother off my back.
The reception hall leads out onto a balcony, though the night is a bit too chilly to be out here for long. We find ourselves entirely alone…which is just how I want it, minus the up-tight bitch I’ve had to drag out there with me.
As soon as we’re outside, I let her go, stumbling towards the stone railing that overlooks the freshly trimmed lawn of the hall. I don’t care whether she stays or goes; I just needed to get out of that room and away from everyone judging me. Cara stays right where I leave her, hesitating. But I don’t really care. At least now I have some peace and fucking quiet. I take another swig from the bottle.
“Maybe you should slow down.”
I groan, closing my eyes. “And maybe you should be seen and not heard.” I hear a sharp intake of breath. If she doesn’t like me drinking, that’s all the more reason to do it. I owe her nothing. Besides, I haven’t had a drink in forever, and it’s not like I’m falling back into my old ways. I’m just…trying to relax. Something I clearly can’t do with her around.
“Fine. If you’re going to be like that—” She marches to my side, reaching for the bottle. But I’m faster. In seconds, I have the bottle out of reach and her hand pinned to my chest. I’m gripping her wrist tightly, feeling the delicate bones between my fingers. Cara winces but refuses to make a sound. Which is a pity. I’d like to hear her whimper one of these days.
“Haven’t you ever wondered what it would be like to just…let go?” I murmur. Her head tilts up, onyx eyes catching mine. Her red lips part slightly, and my mind flashes back to yesterday. Now that I know what she’s hiding, I can’t help but to be tempted.
“Some of us have responsibilities,” she says coldly, though her voice is weak.
“Not all the time.” I lean in closer, smelling the scent of jasmine along her skin. It’s nearly as intoxicating as the booze.
I set the bottle on the stone railing, my fingers lightly tucking the hair behind her ear. Her breath catches as I brush against her skin, my hand slipping down her throat. “For just one night, Cara, I’d love to see you break the rules.”
My fingers tighten at her throat. I lean closer, nose brushing against her neck. I can feel the rise and fall of her chest against my forearm, feel her heartbeat skip as I touch her. As much as she likes to pretend she hates me, I know the truth. Her lashes flutter, and her eyes close. It would be too easy to take her right now. To really make her mine.
But then I remember who she is. The daughter of our enemy.
