“God, you’re such a priss. You act like we’ve never fooled around.” He shot me a wounded look. “You were all over me at the Sigma Fi party.”
“I was unconscious for most of our fooling around, so I’m not sure why you’re surprised.”
I’d never brought up the incident, because it embarrassed me to death. Part of me wanted to pretend it never happened.
James reacted like I’d taken a dump on the floor. His eyes widened, and he shook his head. “You weren’t asleep.”
My nails bit my palms. “We both made mistakes, but you put your hand down my pants while I was out of it.”
A muscle jumped in his mouth before he went on the offense. “So you’re one of those girls. Everything’s all good until you sober up, huh? Suddenly, it’s a mistake. Fuck you, Liana. I didn’t—I did nothing wrong.”
“Then why are you freaking out?”
“Accusing me of this could get me expelled!”
“This? What do you mean?”
He shot me look. “You know.”
“Say it,” I taunted sweetly, watching the tan drain from his face. “What is that called, James?”
“You’re crazy.” He chewed on his lower lip, looking away. “I mean—just—wow.”
Your gaslighting is on point tonight.
Behind James, a man’s silhouette carved through the crowd. He walked with a nonchalant grace, towering over the other men. The rich outline of his powerful shoulders strained against his jacket. Vinn’s square jaw tensed as he spotted me. Just the man who’d beat James into a puddle of crimson if I felt so inclined. It wasn’t like me to crave vengeance, but inviting James had been like lighting a match to a powder keg.
Luckily, Vinn paid James as much attention as the dirt under his shoes. He approached me, beautiful with his hair tamed to a smooth wave, his well-groomed appearance incongruous with our last exchange.
Do as you’re told, Liana.
I hadn’t.
His fingers, tapered and strong, brushed my collarbone before his palm rolled over my shoulder and held me. His biting grip sent a chill through my body.
“You were supposed to wait at your apartment,” he admonished, squeezing hard. “What am I going to do with you?”
Danger throbbed behind those words. The warmth of his smile wasn’t echoed in his tone. It said I’d suffer a worse fate than a bruised ass if I defied him.
“What the fuck, Liana?” James snapped, reminding me of his presence. “You still with the Neanderthal?”
Vinn’s eyes lit up in vague amusement. “Get lost, kid.”
“I’m her date, Mr. Cockblock,” James snarled. “Sorry, I mean, Costa.”
Vinn’s firm mouth curled as though on the edge of laughter, but when he slid his gaze from mine to James, a cold fury radiated from him.
“I’m feeling charitable tonight, so I’ll allow you ten seconds to leave. Mouth off to me, and I’ll stop being amused at the man-child throwing a tantrum. I’ll drag you outside and hurt you.”
James flinched and stepped backward.
My stomach knotted. “James, just go.”
“How can you blow me off?” He shot a terrified glance at Vinn. “That dead-eyed creep needs to be locked up.”
I groaned. “James, go home.”
“Why the hell did you even invite me?”
“Because she’s pissed at me.” Vinn caught a loose tendril on my cheek. “My girlfriend likes to act out, but she knows who she belongs to.”
Girlfriend.
My hands found the seashell necklace, and I stroked the ribbed edges, pressing my thumb into the sharp corners as though the pain might distract me from my most desperate ache. I imagined the old Vinn saying that, my insides somersaulting with butterflies. The same heated rush from all those years ago, when he’d kissed my head, stained my cheeks. Then his stare drifted to two men hanging in our peripherals. He nodded.
They grabbed James, who protested with a loud, “What the fuck?”
“Take him outside.” Vinn dismissed the security with a wave. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Let me go,” James roared, struggling. “Stop! I want to speak to your manager!”
The lump in my throat sank.
I hadn’t meant to harm James. I’d pictured a public humiliation—my way of teaching the fucker that there were consequences to treating women like garbage. Vinn delivering a beatdown was over the top.
“Don’t hurt him.” I studied his clenched jaw. “We’re in the same social circles. Queenie will never forgive me if I let you beat him up.”
“Let me? You have no pull over me.”
“She’s not going to care!”
His hawk-like gaze swung to me. “You should’ve thought of that first.”
“Vinn, this is ridiculous. James is just a friend.”
“Not when you ask him out and wear a fuck-me dress.”
A sliver of heat rippled through his words, lashing my face.
His black eyes burned with a strange intensity. It was an insolent, possessive stare, like he had every right to look at me and gape down my neckline. He plucked the drink from my hand and slammed it on a table.
“What’s your problem?”
“We were supposed to go together. Coming here with that fucking kid messed everything up.”
“I didn’t feel like hanging on your arm all night.”
“You’d rather be on his?”
“Yeah.” The lie heated my cheeks. “It might surprise you, but some women like to be treated like they’re more than flesh wrapping your cock.”
“Or you just did it to piss me off.” Vinn wheeled us away from the open bar, his fingers gouging my waist. “For someone who hates me, you sure have a lot to say about me.”
I gritted my teeth, annoyed at Queenie. She had planted this seed in his brain, and it’d grown out of control, taking root in places it had no business. He was getting all sorts of wrong ideas. They needed to be killed with fire.
Now.
“Vinn, I am not interested in you. At all.”
“The more you say that, the less I believe you.”
“Well, you need to,” I blurted. “I can’t stand you.”
“You’re not my favorite person, either.”
I grabbed his tie and yanked. “I’m serious.”
“So am I.” Vinn’s roaming gaze lingered on my mouth as he stole the tie from my fist. “I like my women submissive and easy. You’re a pain in the ass.”
“Cut your losses and leave.”
“Not happening.”
I held out my hand. “Give me your phone.”
He lifted a brow. “Why would I do that?”
“I’ll block your mistresses since you’re so hell-bent on controlling my life. Or maybe I’ll tell them humiliating stories, like the time I caught you and my cousins watching porn in the living room.”
“That story is only embarrassing because you were nine.”
“No, it was weird because we’d just returned from a funeral.” I still remembered tottering downstairs after the wake, captivated by the moving limbs on the television. “What kind of kid watches porn after seeing a dead person?”