“I’m your date for the gala.” He paused, halfway out. “I’ll pick you up at eight.”
My stomach clenched. “Why are you messing with my life?”
He offered no answer as he strolled toward the exit. Michael had probably filled him in on the dumb plan, and Vinn took it upon himself to save me.
“Vinn, I’m not going with you!”
“You are. Everyone will think we’re an item.” He curved his hand over the edge of the wood. “You’ll hang on my arm. You’ll smile. It’ll confirm rumors that we’re dating, which will get back to Nico.”
“Like a stupid game of telephone.”
“Exactly. He can’t give you away if you’re already mine.”
I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall, wishing I could tell him what an arrogant dickhead he’d turned out to be.
“You’re not the boss of me.”
“I am, and I don’t care how many summers we spent on that shitty beach. I’ll make you submit, and not in the way you hope, darling.”
Asshole.
“Do as you’re told, Liana.”
Six
Vinn
Why was she blowing me off?
Why did I care?
I cycled through my phone, swiping past Girl A through Girl E to banish Liana from my mind. I banged a handful of girls on a semi-regular basis, never giving anyone too much attention because I had no use for a clingy mistress. My tolerance for company dried up long before the cum on my cock. Luckily, Boston didn’t lack hot girls with low expectations.
Girl B had sent a nude photo, a mouthwatering shot of tits beading with moisture. It generally would’ve dragged me to her place. Instead I put her on read and paused at Liana.
I didn’t chase women.
That required effort, which was beneath me. And yet, I’d spent hours checking my cell, wondering why I didn’t have her wrapped around my thumb, annoyed that I’d ignored my mistresses because I’d assumed Liana would take up my time.
On paper, Liana and I made little sense.
She was too good for me. The girl never went outside without looking perfect. She’d never touched a drug. Unblemished, inside and out. Until recently, she’d acted like a teddy bear stuffed with cotton candy.
I’d climbed a mountain of bones to get where I was. I wanted nothing to do with marriage. I didn’t like people, so having one chained to my side for eternity seemed like a horrible idea. If I walked down the aisle, it’d be for political gain.
Never love.
We couldn’t be together. Liana would not like being a mistress, and I couldn’t do that to her. Michael would have a big problem if I fucked his sister, and I had nothing she’d want. The reasons to leave her alone outweighed getting involved, but I couldn’t stomach leaving her future to Michael. The idiot wanted to give her to a stranger like DiMaggio.
I wouldn’t let that happen.
Liana should’ve fallen in line, but she’d returned zero of my messages. I showed up at her doorstep as planned, only to have to field a call from Michael. She’d taken a taxi. And she’d come with another man.
I parked my armored car next to the waterfront museum and stormed inside, almost blowing off the mayor on my way to find Liana.
Michael waved from a balcony strung with lights. Beside him stood Alessio, a tight-lipped, broody asshole. He’d been acting-boss before I ousted him. I’d fucked him over, and he paid me back by disappearing from Boston, leaving us without his wealthy contacts for months. We were even, but Alessio still stared at me like he’d love to have my head on his wall.
I ignored them, looking for a brunette among the red, white, and blue decorations until I found her lurking near the catered food.
Liana wore a backless, sparkling, wine-red dress, the shiny bauble of this boring party. Her hair was pulled into a braid, and she’d put on dark eye makeup, her eyes popping like icicles against the black, her porcelain innocence transformed into savage beauty. A dimple shadowed her chin, but I couldn’t believe this was the same woman.
I tuned out a man who called my name, lost in a daydream that involved Liana hanging on my arm, her face tipping to mine. My hands clenched and released.
I wanted her.
Want was too subtle a word for the warmth that grabbed my balls. I needed to be inside her, my hands tangled in her hair as she moaned my name.
A man in a suit approached, embracing her from behind. My jaw clenched as he linked his arm with hers. His shaven baby face filled my stomach with fire.
The college boy. She’d brought him to the gala.
The possibility that kid had seen her naked infuriated me. My abs tensed as his palm roved all her skin. Suddenly, her going home with him was intolerable, like inhaling smoke. My throat tightened. Air was scarce.
I headed for them.
A body slid in front of me.
Convinced he was yet another politician with a grievance, I raised my head and schooled my tone, but my best friend blocked my path. His hawk-like stare narrowed as he followed my gaze to his sister.
“Vinn. What are you doing?”
I could’ve thrown him aside. “Getting my date back.”
“About that,” he snapped, setting his wine glass down. “You never asked my permission.”
“No, I didn’t.”
A muscle flicked in his jaw, and his lips flattened. His chest puffed out.
I held my ground, resenting the line in the sand he’d drawn. It shouldn’t have been such a big fucking deal to go out with his sister. Michael was being unreasonable.
“I’m interested in her. Why is that a problem?”
Michael said nothing for the longest time. Then he spoke in a tight, angry voice. “You’re my best friend, but I don’t want you dating Liana.”
I saw that coming, but it burned.
“Why not?”
“You’re an addict,” he explained, as though he wasn’t one. “You were kicked out of the military.”
“What the fuck does that have to do with anything?”
His body tensed. “You don’t do relationships. If I look in your phone, I’ll see Girl A because you can’t be bothered to use your mistresses’ names. You have no interest in kids, marriage, or a relationship beyond sex. Of course I don’t want you involved with Liana.”
“You think I’d do that to Li?”
“I never know what you’re thinking. All I can do is make a judgment based on the facts.”
“Who looked after her when she was little? Who slapped you around when you were too rough? You think I’m not good enough. You.” I spat the word like it’d poisoned my stomach. “The man who snorted everything in sight and knocked up a stripper.”
“Fuck you.”
If he dug up my past, I’d do the same with his. “Remember when you strangled a made guy to death?”
It happened during one of his coke binges when the hotheaded idiot reacted to insults by dialing everything to eleven.
’Course, I wasn’t much better.
“Lower your goddamned voice,” Michael hissed. “They’re still looking for him.”
“Let’s take a walk down memory lane to last year. You and Alessio murdered Anthony’s kidnapper and lied about it.” I smiled as a spasm of panic crossed Michael’s face. “Yeah, I’m aware of that.”