Finally, after what felt like a hundred groping hands later, I made it out of the thick cluster of the dance floor. Rooms lined the walls. The doors that were not closed were still occupied, but even if Saverio had been in them, I couldn’t have done it.
I couldn’t have watched him do what some of those people were doing with other people.
Taking a breather, I stood with my shoulder against the wall, trying to collect my thoughts. The tingling sensation on my lips had spread throughout my body. I felt even lighter, but something was stirring inside of me. Just the thought of Saverio touching me…a low moan left my lips, and they trembled.
I touched my lips, the vibration making my pulse race. Even my own touch felt…sexual. If he were to touch me…my head lolled against the wall, and my hand drifted over my chest, causing goosebumps to rise.
Then my heart pounded, directing my feet, pulling me like a magnet.
It wasn’t my feet that were in control, though. It was a woman who had me by the hand, pulling me toward a room.
“What—”
“Quiet, Mia,” she hissed.
That voice.
It belonged to a woman’s body, but there was something undeniable about the familiarity in it.
Even though I felt on edge, I didn’t feel panicked around her.
She brought us to a room that seemed like it was made of black velvet. The chandelier above our heads was the only light in the room. It made everything shimmer like onyx.
I put distance between us. “Livia,” I said.
She nodded. “Welcome, Mia.”
Chapter12
Mia
Icouldn’t see her face—she was hidden behind a mask—but I could tell she had grown into a beautiful woman. She had long, chestnut hair, eyes that reminded me of milk chocolate, and skin that was smooth and glistened under the light. The rock on her left hand did, too. She was always thin, and she still was—well, parts of her. Her body had changed. Something about it nagged at me, but I wasn’t sure why.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I am not going to hurt you.”
“No worries,” I said. “I’m not going to hurt you either.”
We both grinned at the same time, or it felt like we did.
“I had to see you after all these years,” she said. “What happened—”
“I’m sorry for it,” I said. “I truly am.”
“Even though Maman went against—”
“Even so,” I said. “I hate what she did to mamma. I hate her for it. But the love I feel for you has never changed. We were both kids. It wasn’t your fault.” It wasn’t. Neither was it mine that I was born into a family that she and her family despised.
“You were always…touched,” she said, narrowing her eyes at me. “This is not personal. Against you. But someone must bringthemdown. A man has no bearing on their sorrow. He will die for honor in their eyes. But an innocent woman? It would eat them alive to have failed her.”
“Bring them down,” I repeated. “We share blood, Livia.”
“So unfortunate,” she said, shaking her head. “If I could only wash my veins clean ofthatblood, I would.”
“It’s a pity that you can’t wash the blood of the Nemours clean,” I said. “The Faustis might be a lot of things, but at least they don’t try to steal innocent women and put a price on them. My mamma was chased by Olivier Nemours for years. She almost died at his hands, more than once.”
“He was only trying to—”
“No,” I said. “Let’s not even go there. No fucking excuses.”
