Lust & Lies Box Set-Sexual Awakenings, Excess, Predator & Prey

“Ah,” he said, pushing his salad plate to the side. “My first compliment.”

“Thank you for the wine and the flowers,” I said in a daze, buzzing from the electricity between us and the whiskey running through my veins. “I still hate that you break into my house.”

“And I will continue to,” he said flatly.

“Well, I may shoot you.”

“I look forward to that fight.” Smirking, he moved his hands from the table as his plate was delivered. We ate in comfortable silence and lingering glances that told me what I was in store for.

“How old are you?” I asked, knowing he couldn’t be much older than me.

“Thirty-three.”

“Do you—” I squeaked and he chuckled.

Fucking whiskey.

“Do you have a large family?”

“Large, define large in American terms,” he ordered as he cut his steak.

“I don’t know,” I said carefully. “Five brothers and five sisters, big?”

“There were thirty-one people at our last family dinner.”

“That’s a family reunion,” I said, stunned as he looked at me in question. “It’s a gathering of family you haven’t seen in some time,” I said in explanation.

“We do not do this. We do not see each other for a long time,” he said, amused.

Our worlds were completely different. It had never been more apparent to me.

“That’s…that’s good.” I’d been jealous all my life of families who were close. It was nothing new, but suddenly I found myself glad Daniello had that for himself.

“And you?”

His tone was uninterested, so I waved him off in reply.

“I do not accept that, this gesture with your hand,” he snapped.

“One sister.”

“And your family union, how many of you are there?”

I didn’t bother to correct him on his verbiage. “Two.”

One day. One day, a reunion of two.

“I see.” It wasn’t pity that covered his features. It was indifference, and it confused me. Up until that point, he had seemed interested. Maybe I was asking too much.

“It doesn’t reveal anything about you if you have a big family, Daniello.” My damn mouth.

“Let us go,” he barked, lifting his hand to get Chris’s attention.

“You know if I can’t speak without pissin’ you off, I don’t see the point.”

I’d heard it. He’d heard it. Not just my words, but also the accent. I sat back in my chair and folded my arms at his slightly shocked expression.