Luca shut his locker and looked at me, his black hair extra spiky today. He reminded me of the devil in the best way possible.
“I did. Of course. I’m the only one with any taste in this family.”
“Speak for yourself, brother,” Bastian snapped, the anger practically radiating off him.
Whenever I asked Bastian and Damian why they wouldn’t touch me, they avoided the question. I felt the tension pouring out of them in Luca’s presence as if they were holding back their anger.
Luca shrugged, giving Bastian one of his evil grins. “It’s the truth.”
“You really got this for me?”
I had to ask. It seemed so weird that the Luca I met all those months ago would buy me a dress like this. And why?
Luca’s right eyebrow rose a few inches. “It was in your locker, Drea. Who else would it be for? Do you like it?”
My cheeks hurt from smiling. “Are you kidding? I love it.”
I hugged Luca to see if he would let me. A sickened expression crossed his handsome face when I peeked up at him. I especially noticed how much he squirmed when our skin touched.
“It’s beautiful.” My arms slip away from Luca’s lean but muscular body. “But why did you buy this for me? I don’t have anywhere to wear it.”
Luca backed me into a locker, smirking, his fingers skimming up my right thigh. “Because you’re mine. And I won’t have you attending our graduation party without looking like a queen.”
“Luca,” I whispered when his lips were inches from mine. “Thank you. It’s perfect.”
“You’ll wear it on Saturday. And you’ll come as my date, understood?”
“Don’t tell me what to do.” Gripping his shoulders, I stood on my tiptoes and got in his face. “You’re not the boss of me.”
He cupped the side of my face with possession. “You are mine, Drea. Say it.”
“No.”
It would take more than fancy dresses and favors from famous artists for me to choose Luca. But this was a good start.
CHAPTER 20
DAMIAN
We graduated from Astor Prep on a Friday, and the following night, had our graduation party at the Salvatore Estate. I couldn’t have cared less about any of this.
Marcello was over by the bar, drinking with his best friend, Sonny Cormac, and the newest addition, Aiden Wellington. Alex’s brother became fast friends with them despite being two grades ahead. They would all be members of The Devil’s Knights one day.
I found Bastian on the right side of the ballroom and tapped him on the shoulder. “I’m bored.”
He turned to look at me, grinning. “I’m sure you can find something to do until the party ends.”
I leaned into his arm and lowered my voice. “I’d like to do you, but you haven’t touched me since Alex?—”
“Damian, for fuck’s sake.” He scowled, then scanned the surrounding space to ensure no one overheard me. “My grandfather is right there. If he hears you, he will kill me.”
Bastian couldn’t handle anyone—especially not his piece of shit grandfather—finding out about us.
Fitzgerald Archibald Adams IV was one of Bastian’s few living relatives, and he treated him like garbage. After our parents died, Fitzy took both of us in for a few weeks. Those days of being locked in a dark basement without food or water were worse than hell. Our parents hadn’t been in the ground for more than a few days when the beatings started. Some days, we woke up in our piss and shit.
He got into Bastian’s head by calling us dirty, filthy animals as if we were still the little boys trapped in the basement, wasting away in the dark.
I was a disturbed kid and discovered I enjoyed inflicting pain. My father used that rage, showing me how to hurt evil men who did horrible things. Like Fitzy, they deserved to die. Whenever I killed a man, I imagined it was Fitzy beneath me, begging for his life.
