It was as if he’d sifted through purposefully in search of a wallflower.
Someone clapped him on the shoulder, and Carlo turned to him, and Salem breathed out when she was freed of his piercing gaze.
Her stomach unsure.
Attracted…but…not.
She never could quite put her finger on it.
So, she watched from afar, the interactions that didn’t seem so by chance going down across the room.
The low voice in which Carlo spoke to her brother with their heads tipped together, as if giving instruction as Darius nodded along.
A command of the room.
A deal she realized as there was the shaking of hands.
The dirty kind, she realized just as fast, or maybe she’d just caught on to what she already knew.
The way Darius all of a sudden had money.
The way he moved.
The secrets he kept.
Salem blinked and jerked her attention away, realizing she was staring when Carlo leaned back against the wall with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his dress slacks and stared right back.
She peeked again.
His smile was a challenge.
Heat slithered over her flesh. Salem felt like she couldn’t breathe.
She tapped Talia’s arm. “I’m going to go get some fresh air.”
Talia frowned. “Do you want me to go with you?”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll be out back.”
She didn’t want to be a downer more than she’d already been.
She stood from the couch and worked her way over people’s legs and bodies, angling through the house, pushing through the throng. She heaved out in relief when she made it through the sliding door at the back and onto the patio.
There were just as many people out there, but they were spread out, this crowd not quite shoulder to shoulder the way it was in the house. The volume of the music from inside cut in half.
She crossed the porch and took the two steps down onto the lawn, and she found a close to secluded spot under a tree. She crossed her arms over her chest, contemplated, then decided she’d send Talia a text and leave.
Except the voice whispered over her from behind, “Pupa.” It was almost a tsk as his lips scraped across the back of her neck. “I think it’s time, don’t you?”
She slowly turned, confusion in the knit of her brow as Carlo smiled at her.
Half in affection.
Half condescending.
Her heart hammered. Attraction and fear. “For what?” she managed.
He ran his knuckles along her jaw, cocked his head. “For you to realize you’re mine.”
EIGHTEEN
JUD
Monday morning, I pushed through the door that led from the shop into the lobby.
There was nothing I could do but heave out a stone of relief when I saw Salem sitting behind the reception desk.
So what if I’d been all fucked up over the thought of her not returning this morning.
I’d spent yesterday worrying over what’d gone down between us Saturday night.
The way it’d gotten intense and fast.
Hands and mouths and fuckin’ bleeding hearts.
Way the two of us had seemed to cut ourselves wide open.
The confessions I’d made, and the way she’d looked at me like she’d hold part of them if I’d let her.
Like she might see me different.
I scrubbed a palm over my face like it could give me some clarity. Make me remember what I was supposed to be living for, where my loyalty lay, when the only thing I could do right then was edge closer to the girl who was steadily stealing every commitment I’d made.
It was that realization that affirmed I needed to put about fifteen-thousand miles between us, but nah, I treaded toward the desk. “Morning, darlin’.”
She was already looking up before I spoke, like she’d gotten hooked by that flashfire of energy, too. Her own relief at seeing me washed through her expression, though those thunderbolt eyes were filled with caution.
This morning, her black hair was this perfect structured mess piled on her head, her lips glossed, her shirt stretched just right over those tits I was really regretting not getting a better look at Saturday night.
“Good morning, Mr. Lawson.”
Gruff laughter toppled out. I couldn’t help it, not any more than I could help from sauntering the rest of the way in her direction, loving the way her eyes swept over me, flaring at the memories of what we’d done right upstairs.
“Mr. Lawson, huh? Is that how it’s gonna be?” I set my arms on the high countertop, shooting her a grin from over the top.
Her tongue licked across her full, plush lips.
My dick jumped at the sight.
“I think that’s for the best, don’t you?” She whispered that, glancing around to ensure we were alone before she looked up at me from under those full lashes.
Girl so damned pretty.
A punch to the gut.
A shock to the senses.
A fucking fantasy that I wanted to disappear into forever.
There I went, getting greedy when I knew full well I couldn’t.
Juni’s sweet face invaded my mind. Her little voice. Her excitement for life.