Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
“Are you a gentleman?” she asked, eyes sparkling as she looked up at him.
“I can be,” he said, lowering his voice as he bit her neck. “Or I can be what you really want me to be.”
She laughed. I rolled my eyes. Getting married made these men fucking pussies. It was ridiculous. Dean and I were the only two left without partners, and we usually commiserated while they acted like teenagers. Neither of us would admit that being around them all the time made it hard not to want what they had. Sometimes. Most of the time, all the PDA just annoyed me. Cat and Loren were still having a moment, so I looked away again. I’d never been that way with Crystal. At the thought of her, I inwardly cringed. That was a bad call from the start. Normally, cutting ties with a woman meant going back to my old ways — working, drinking, working out, and fucking whoever I was attracted to that night. That usually lasted for about a week before I got bored.
It wasn’t like I wanted to jump into another relationship. The whole fiasco with my ex was tiring enough. I was just being more careful about who I sank my dick into. Sometimes I envied Gio’s situation. I mean, a gorgeous woman shows up at your door, tells you you’re already married to her, and ends up being your dream partner? His arrangement was the only one I’d seen work out. My parents had an arranged marriage, much like Lenora’s situation now. The women always bickered about being told who to marry, as if any man wants to be forced into marriage. It was just the way things went for some people in this life. Even kings were used as pawns.
The laughter I’d been trying to avoid all night got closer, and I looked up to see Dominic, Rosie, and Lenora trying to escape the group they’d been speaking to. When I got here an hour ago, Lenora had been sandwiched between her father and husband-to-be, so I’d made it a point not to look in her direction. If I did, Giuseppe would call me over and talk my ear off all night. I’d already interacted with Dominic’s old man the other day. We drank his expensive bourbon, smoked my expensive cigars, and talked about life — his favorite topic, which was ironic, considering. I enjoyed hanging out with Giuseppe. He was a psychopath, but he sometimes reminded me of my father, and he told me stories about times they’d shared. He treated me like I was one of his sons, which felt nice. That was another reason I didn’t want to stand anywhere near Lenora while he was around. He’d probably read my thoughts, and since they involved soiling his virgin daughter, he’d kill me before the night was over. As if he knew I was thinking about him, he looked over at me and met my gaze, smiling and lifting his glass. I returned the gesture. His attention was taken away by Rosie, who went up to greet him. He opened his arms and kissed her on each cheek, smiling from ear to ear as he spoke to her.
I looked away and focused on Dominic and Lenora, who were headed our way. I tried to look away from her. I tried to tell my eyes to look at Rosie, who had joined them, but I couldn’t force my eyes away from Lenora. I let my gaze fall over her body, taking in every single curve I could make out in that dress. When our eyes met, hers were glossed over. It did absolutely nothing to help the situation in my pants, which confused and annoyed the fuck out of me. I’d been around plenty of beautiful women. I’d been going to strip clubs weekly with Mattia, Nico, and Marco. How the hell was Lenora fucking De Luca making me hard without touching me?
“Took you long enough.” I looked at Dominic because if I looked at his sister any longer, he’d catch on faster than his father, and the outcome would be the same — me at the bottom of the Hudson.
“Rosie had rehearsals,” he said, giving me a half-hug. “That dancer I told you about was there tonight. You should’ve gone with us.”
“Dominic.” Rosie slapped his chest. “I told you to leave Marissa out of this.”
“I think she’d be good for Rocco,” he said, looking over at Lenora. “Did you think she was pretty?”
“I guess.” She shrugged and looked away, biting her lip like she was uncomfortable, which, for unknown reasons, amused the hell out of me.
“Is she hotter than Rosie?” I asked Dom, keeping my eyes on Lenora to gauge her reaction. Her jaw twitched. She looked right at me and glared. Oh, she was jealous. I bit back a smile. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. This was too good, but it was also really fucking bad. Two more days. Two more days I’d have to deal with her, and on both days, we’d be surrounded by people who would undoubtedly kill me if I made a move, so I was safe.