The beast?
What in the actual fuck?
“He works for me and me alone,” Lex says, putting actual raw meat on the iron poke and shoving it inside.
The man snatches the raw meat off and stuffs it into his mouth like it’s nothing, and the mere sight makes bile rise in my throat.
But then Lex turns to look at me. “And when I tell him to catch someone, he will do it.”
Chills run up and down my spine.
He steps closer. “Do you understand what I mean, girl?”
I shudder in place. “Yes.”
He leans in to tuck a hair behind my ear. “Good.”
And then he passes me and goes back upstairs, leaving me with the Beast.
I’m too stunned to move.
Who would do this to a fellow human being?
Then again, the De Vos family is vile enough to do just this.
When the Beast looks up at me, my pupils dilate, and I make a run for it up the stairs.
Lex laughs as he turns off the light from upstairs. “C’mon, let’s go back to the party.”
And when he places a hand on my back, I try hard to fight back the tears.
Because that wasn’t just a warning … it was a threat.
I go back to the main hallway where the party is while Lex disappears into the bathroom. I don’t want to be anywhere near him for the rest of the night.
I grab my champagne glass and chug it back in one go.
Luca approaches me from the side, his hand barely grazing my shoulder. He leans in, his bristly shaven beard prickling against my neck as he whispers, “Dance with me.”
I close my eyes and put my resolve away as he tugs me toward the middle of the floor. My gown barely allows for movement, but he guides me through every step, one hand firmly clutching my hand while the other rests on my waist. There is not an inch of a smile on either of our faces.
Why are we doing this?
He twirls me around and pulls me back into his arms so hard I almost fall, but he catches me and leaves me dangling on one foot. With a simple push, he has me back on my feet, drawing circles on the floor in slow-motion. One misstep, and my heel lands on his toes. His face scrunches up, and he drags me in and whispers, “I know what you’re trying to do, but it won’t work.”
“What am I trying to do?” I respond, raising a petty brow.
He continues to pull me around the dance floor like he intends to keep people around us fooled. “You can’t hurt me. But if you try, I will make sure you get it back twice as painful.”
I shudder from the threat. “Of course you would. You enjoy seeing me in agony, you sadistic bastard. You’re just like your father.”
He smirks. “Your insults are like music to my ears.” He leans in so close I can feel his breath on my skin. “But I’m nothing like my father, and I’ll be claiming far more from your filthy mouth once we get out of here.”
My body heats like he just lit a fire with a match, but I want none of it.
He’s always had a way with words, and I know he’s only trying to set me off so I’ll do something reckless.
“Would you believe me if I said I didn’t step on your foot on purpose?” I say, hoping to ease the tension.
“Would you believe me if I said I hope you did?” he whispers back. “Lie to me even once and your punishment will be painful.”
“It’s not a lie,” I hiss back.
The smirk on his face deepens. “Then we should work on your dancing skills.”
He twirls me around some more, and some of my female cousins and others from the Baas family are literally swooning over him like he’s some goddamn Casanova, and it makes me want to slap them.
Luca notices them too, and there’s a wicked smile on his face as he raises his brows at me. “Jealous?”
I laugh, maybe a little too loud. “You wish.”
Suddenly, he drops me, and I’m bending over backward with nothing but his arm around my waist to stop me from falling. He leans over me, his finger tracing a line from my neck down to my belly until I shiver from the electrical current going straight toward that spot between my legs.
“I’m not the only one who’s been craving something wicked,” he muses, gazing at me with those sinfully dark eyes of his and all the desire hiding behind them.
“All those years spent running away from me … only to land right back where you belong,” he says, licking his lips.
“Not because of you,” I spit. “I came back to save my sister.”
“Of course … You don’t mind stepping in for her,” he says, pulling me in so close I can barely breathe. “But you know being my wife comes at a price.”