“I was dancing with my stepdaughter, if you don’t mind.” Stepping around me, he reached for Leighton again.
Screw the knife. I’m going to kill this motherfucker with my bare hands.
This time, I shoved both hands into his chest, knocking him backward. “Actually, I do mind. Now, I’m going to say this one more time. Get your fucking hands off her, or I’ll take them off for you.”
That wasn’t a threat.
“You can’t do this,” Leighton whispered behind me. “Don’t take risks for me.”
What the hell was she saying? All I’d done since coming back to Houston was take risks for her. Despite the animosity still simmering between us, I would still risk everything for her.
“What’s your name, son?” Finn asked, his eyes narrowed on my face. “I created the guest list for tonight, and I’m fairly certain you’re not on it.”
I started to tell him where he could shove his list when Leighton slipped in beside me and grabbed my hand. “He’s my plus one.”
“I thought you came here with Brody?”
I caught the challenge in Leighton’s glare. “You think a lot of things.”
I let go of Leighton’s hand and wrapped my arm around her waist. His eyes went exactly where I wanted them to, irritation hardening his pretty boy face.
“Well, Mr. Plus One, do enjoy the time you have left here.” Straightening his tuxedo jacket, he stepped away and disappeared into the crowd.
I waited for some show of gratitude. Instead, she stomped her ridiculously high heel on the floor. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that you were thirty seconds from flatlining, so I saved you. You’re welcome, by the way.”
“I can handle Finn.”
“It looked like it,” I shot back with a smirk. She turned on her thin heels to push me away, so I took advantage of her unsteady footing and pulled her flush against me. “Dance with me.”
“What?”
“People are starting to stare, mi amor. Dance with me or go answer their questions.” During our argument, the music had changed, the stuffy and outdated song they’d danced to now replaced by a slower, more hypnotic beat. Slowly guiding her hips, I forced her body into compliance until she melted into me.
She shivered in my arms and placed a hand lightly on my chest. “Mateo, that was stupid. You just outed yourself in front of every major player in Houston.”
“Are you kidding me?” I laughed. “Leighton, the Carreras own half the men in this room. Everyone here has a secret they don’t want exposed, and it’s our job to find it and use it to our advantage. Most men have a price.”
“Do you?” she asked, her face a mass of confusion.
I stiffened. “I said, most men. Let me be clear; I am not for sale, and I don’t give a shit about any skeletons falling out of my closet.”
Her face fell, and I wasn’t sure why. “I see.”
“I’m not sure you do.” I tightened my hold on her. “I don’t give a shit because my only skeleton is you, Leighton. I’ve kept you locked away in there so long, I almost forgot what it was like to feel you against me. Now that I’ve re-opened that door, if you think I’m going to hide like some little bitch while another man puts his hands on what’s mine, you’ve misjudged me.”
I didn’t wait for a response. Pulling her against me, I let my body crush any other doubts she might have had. The flush from her chest crawled up her neck, reddening her cheeks. I knew she felt the power she had over me. On any given day, I decided if men lived or died, but one woman in a ridiculous plastic dress could bring me to my knees.
“Why does Finn Donovan scare you so much?”
“He doesn’t. I’m fine.”
I’m fine.
If I’d learned anything about women, it was that when one bit out those two words, they were anything but fine. The mystery that was Leighton Harcourt unraveled by the minute, and I was all too happy to tug at the loose string.
“Tus secretos son mis secretos. Confía en mí, mi amor.” Your secrets are my secrets. Trust me, my love.
She shivered again and tucked her delicate face into the crook of my neck. My heartbeat spiked at her confession. Verbally, she said nothing, but physically, she whispered everything I needed to hear.
For now.
We danced so close there was no beginning to her and no end to me. We danced like we did the night of her prom, filled with hope for a future together that would never come. We danced until her brother reluctantly cut in to take her to say hello to an old family friend who’d apparently gained enough zeros in their bank account to warrant an invitation.
“Do you mind?” Brody asked, a strange respect on his face.
Brody Harcourt had never challenged my authority over him. I had his respect from day one concerning the cartel. However, something had changed, and if I didn’t know better, I’d swear I’d earned it for being with his sister.
Which didn’t make sense when he’d spent the last six days threatening to cut off my dick if I laid a hand on her.
“It’s fine. I’ll find something to occupy my time.”
That something wasn’t hard to find.
Lilith Harcourt Donovan stood by the makeshift stage, her bright beaded dress calling to me from across the room like a disco ball from the depths of hell. I wanted to get her alone all night, but every time I took a step out of the shadows, some asshole waving a check in one hand and a drink in the other stole my opportunity. However, as she stared at the teleprompter, mouthing the words to her speech, I knew both our times had come.
“Fabulous party,” I said, leaning over her shoulder. She jumped, letting out a surprised yelp as she folded her hand over her chest.
“Thank you. I always love to hear from the community I represent. However, if you’ll excuse me, I have a speech to prepare for.”
“Oh, I’m not one of your constituents, Mayor Donovan. In fact, I don’t even live in this country anymore, much less your city or state. But I bet the ones who are here would love to get their hands on the scandal you’ve been hiding.”
She sighed, folding her arms across her chest in defeat. “If it’s about my daughter’s dirty little secret, you can save your breath. I already know.”
Shit! Did she know about Leighton and Luis? Or even worse, did she know about Leighton and the DEA? For a woman whose child was being blackmailed with a murder charge to infiltrate the darkest side of Houston, Lilith Donovan seemed to swat the revelation away like an annoying gnat.
Still, after what I’d seen tonight, I wouldn’t put anything past these people.
“Actually, this has nothing to do with your daughter. But speaking of dirty little secrets, maybe you can shed some light on one of yours.” It took less than ten seconds for me to pull my phone from my pocket, hold it in front of her face, and play the video I’d loaded onto it in all its pornographic glory.
Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my God.”
“Mayor Donovan, that is one uncompromising position you’re in.” Tilting my head, I grimaced at the screen. “And dangerous too. That could break a hip at your age.”
From the way her mouth tightened up like an uncooperative asshole, I knew I’d hit her where it hurt. She was more furious over my insult than the tape being in my possession.