“See what exactly?”
“A physically fit, gorgeous specimen of a man consume dozens of ice cream bars. I mean, come on.” She cocked a hip, blatantly flirting. “How do you eat junk food and still look like that?”
“It’s not for me.” He angled his chin to speak behind him. “You can stop spying and come out.”
An annoyed huff sounded in the bathroom, and a moment later, Gina strode into the room.
She’d left her hair curly, and those silky, raven spirals sprung around her arms and chest as she navigated the sky-rise heels with more poise and grace than he would’ve thought possible.
His eyes tracked her, his insides heating and tightening anew. Tomas was right. She was getting to him, under his skin, in his head, and fucking with his heart rate.
He never had trouble shutting off sexual attraction. But this went beyond shallow interest.
For the first time in his life, he wanted more from a woman than a night of pleasure.
He wanted more with this woman.
“Vera,” he said. “Give her the ice cream.”
He could retrieve the bag himself but wanted to study the interactions between the two women.
As expected, Vera clenched her jaw. Then she slowly lowered and gripped the bag, her eyes locked on him.
“I can’t eat that right now.” Gina approached his side and curled a hand around his elbow.
An unsolicited touch? This was new, and damn him, but he felt her grip through his entire body.
He slid his other hand over hers, and Vera homed in on the connection, scowling her displeasure from beneath beetled brows.
With his eyes on her, he focused his other senses on Gina, marking the stiffness in her posture, the slight tremble in her fingers, and the overall nervousness wafting from her pores. He suspected it had little to do with Vera and everything to do with Alejandro’s dinner.
If she wasn’t dreading the next few hours, she should’ve been.
“Put the dessert in the freezer.” He flicked a finger toward the kitchen, dismissing Vera like a common servant.
She hesitated, her face pinched like she would argue. Then she pushed back her shoulders and obeyed.
Turning toward Gina, he twined his fingers through the soft curls on her shoulder. “Are you ready?”
“Fuck no.”
“Good girl. Stay on your toes. But know this…” He bent in and grazed his lips along her cheek. “No one will touch you but me.”
“Is that supposed to ease my fragile little rabbit heart?”
“There’s nothing fragile about you, and I’m counting on that tonight.” He straightened and pivoted toward Vera. “Will you be joining us this evening?”
“Yes, I’m headed there now. We can walk together.” She sauntered to the door and looked back at him expectantly.
He emptied his expression, hiding any response she might’ve sparked in him, which was very little. All criminal behavior aside, there was something off-putting about her.
Tula hadn’t shown him any recent photos, but the digital images he’d seen of teenage Vera had alluded to the gorgeous woman she was today. He couldn’t find a single flaw in her appearance.
It was her personality. The smarmy way she ogled him, the constant hair-flicking and lip-licking, the overly servile responses to his demands—she rubbed him the wrong way.
Sliding his hand around Gina’s, he felt a sudden jerk, her reflex to pull away. Then her fingers curled around his, slick with sweat and nerves.
He was right there with her, anxious to end the evening before it had even begun.
With a nod at Tomas, he followed his friend out the door.CHAPTER 15“Your hair is the sexiest shade of red I’ve ever seen.” Vera inched closer on the couch, bending over Luke’s sprawled leg.
“Mm.” His tongue took a stroll through his mouth, casting off the sour taste of her flattery.
She’d openly watched him across the table all through dinner. After dessert, it hadn’t taken her long to seek him out in Alejandro’s den.
Ten minutes into their private conversation, he knew he would have her beneath him by night’s end.
Would…
Definitely should.
He should fuck her into delirium, drug her with orgasms, and win her over once and for all.
With a sharp pang in his gut, his gaze gravitated to the dark-haired beauty sitting alone on the far side of the den. He’d kept Gina in his periphery from the moment they’d arrived but hadn’t spoken a word to her.
Her eyes shone with alertness, her posture cautiously still. The purple markings that splotched her face lent a tough edge to her feminine appearance. But it wasn’t just the bruises that made her unapproachable. Her entire aura screamed, Fuck off.
She and Tomas had that in common.
Luke didn’t want her here, for her own protection and his peace of mind. But Alejandro had instructed otherwise, and the reason for that wouldn’t make itself known until the entertainment began.
Given the tautness in her shoulders, she knew what was coming.
“She belongs to my brothers.” Vera slid a fingernail beneath Luke’s jaw, attempting to turn his attention back to her.