Total pages in book: 148
Estimated words: 142939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
But I haven’t said anything against it, no matter how badly I want to. Carina made up her mind. She told Antonio exactly what she wanted. He agreed to give it to her. I can’t get between them. Not on family business. But that doesn’t mean I can just grin and bear it, either.
I fix my tie–no mirror necessary–and stride out into the evening. A string quartet is already playing inside the main house, and the windows are lit and welcoming. Angelica wanted to make a good impression on her first event, and I can already tell she’s outdone herself.
When I stride into the house, the low hum of voices greets me. Up ahead, two young men are having a quiet discussion in the hallway outside the dining room, and many more are standing and talking in the foyer.
Antonio greets each one of them with a handshake and introduces them to Angelica, who hangs on his arm as he dotes on her. I stalk down the hallway, my hackles rising as more voices meet my ears. There have to be a least a dozen men here tonight–all of them wanting a piece of my Carina.
My Carina. That’s something she’s not. I may be obsessed with her, in love with her, fucking unable to escape thoughts of her–but she’s not mine. My loyalty requires I keep my distance and remain respectful as I keep her safe and keep her family’s fortunes on the rise. The thing in the pantry–that was a slip. A bad one. I can’t let it happen again. No matter how much I want her, I have to put her welfare over my need for her. At least, that’s what the level-headed Gilly would do. That’s what I should do. But the moment I get a flash of what it felt like to discipline her with my hand against her ass–I’m dangerously close to snapping again.
“--definitely still a virgin.” One of the young men smirks at the small group he’s talking to.
“The fuck you say?” I step to him.
He looks up at me, his smirk disappearing.
“I-I-I–Nothing.” He swallows hard.
“And this is Carson Falco.” Antonio and Angelica move next to me and introduce the little shit who dared talk about Carina like that.
The prick glances between Antonio and me.
“Did we interrupt?” Antonio asks pointedly, and I realize he’s trying to keep the peace.
“N-no.” Falco shakes his head. “I was just apologizing for speaking out of turn.” He smiles, one I bet he practices in the mirror. The little shit.
“We do that a lot around here,” Angelica adds gracefully. “Let’s get drinks. Carina will be down shortly.”
“Sure,” Falco says a little too quickly, then hurries toward the dining room with Antonio and Angelica following behind.
Antonio gives me a questioning look, but I shrug him off. I’m not repeating what that prick said.
Carina is taking her time. I figured she would. Building up the drama before making an entrance is just the sort of drama I’d expect from my little brat. There’s that word again–my. I have to stop thinking like that. It’s only going to lead to more mishaps, more moments of me losing my rationality.
For Carina’s sake, I have to be on my game tonight. This event isn’t just a marriage mart–not that I’d ever let her marry one of these assholes–but it’s also a wonderful tool to pick up information. Tidbits that the young idiots will let slip, which is exactly why Angelica is encouraging them all to have plenty of drinks. Any gathering is a perfect place to gain intel, especially when it’s full of young, cocky, drunk pricks.
“You good?” Butcher grunts from behind me.
“You look tense enough to spring from here to the roof.” Bianca frowns. “Are you all right?”
“I’m good.” I roll my shoulders. “Don’t worry.”
“Okay.” She doesn’t seem convinced, but she pulls on Butcher’s arm. “Come on. I want to see how many victims Carina has to choose from.”
“Victims?” Butcher’s lip twitches. “I like it.” He leads her into the dining room, where the voices are still humming.
I turn and look up the stairs.
For some reason, that’s the exact second Carina walks into view on the landing.
My heart seems to shudder and seize, everything inside me grinding to a halt before jumping forward at ten times the normal speed. She’s wearing a light blue dress that wraps tightly around her chest, hugging her breasts and then flaring out in gauzy fabric that barely reaches mid-thigh.
I stare at her face, at her bright blue eyes that seem to consume everything they see–including me.
She meets my gaze, and her chin rises in challenge as she walks to the stairs, her heels giving her hips even more sway. A temptress, an irresistible demon sent to torment me–she’s all those things and more.
When she reaches the floor, she stops for a moment before slowly walking to me, her hips swaying in that tantalizing way. I can’t speak, can’t think. This is the first time we’ve come face to face since the pantry. I’d counseled myself over and over again that I was to keep my cool, to keep my hands to myself.