“Get him out of here,” Dave says quietly to two men who’ve materialized behind him.They grab Cesare under the arms and drag him away, leaving a trail of blood droplets on the stone.
My father’s eyes find mine.Something unreadable passes across his face before he nods once and follows the others inside, leaving Shelby and me alone on the balcony.
The silence stretches between us.Shelby is still heaving, his knuckles red and starting to swell.He won’t look at me.
“I’m sorry,” he finally says, his voice rough.“Sorry you had to see my beast.But I won’t let anybody disrespect you like that.”
My heart flips in my chest.I step closer to him, reaching up to cup his face in my hands, forcing him to meet my eyes.
“That’s okay,” I murmur.“I kind of like your beastly side.”
He snickers, some of the tension leaving his face.His arms come around me, pulling me against his chest.We stand there for a moment, wrapped around each other, his heartbeat gradually slowing beneath my ear.
“Not afraid of monsters?”he whispers into my hair.
“Some,” I admit.“But not you.”
“Because you think I’m not a monster?”
I pull back to look at him, at this beautiful, broken, fierce man who just shattered another man’s nose for daring to touch me.
“Because you’remymonster,” I claim.
Something shifts in his expression.Something raw and vulnerable and full of want.His hand comes up to cup my face—gently, so gently, and he leans down to kiss me.
This kiss is slow, intentional, and deliberate.A statement rather than an action.His lips move against mine with purpose, and I taste his promise.It’s his commitment to stop hiding, to stop pretending that what we have is anything less than real.
The kiss escalates quickly.My hands come up to grip his shoulders.His hand slides from my waist to the curve of my hip, pulling me closer against his throbbing cock.The kiss deepens, becomes more urgent.We soon realize we need to get out of this ballroom before we do something that will give the entire Syndicate even more reason to talk.
Shelby pulls back, breathing hard.“We’re leaving,” he says, and it’s not a question.“Right now.”He wraps his long fingers around my hand, steps back inside, and starts moving through the crowd.
We nod politely at people who try to engage us in conversation.Nobody tries to stop us.Nobody dares.The Boyle family does what the Boyle family wants to do, and everyone knows better than to get in their way.
19
Shelby
Marcus is already waiting for us in front of the hotel, the town car’s rear door held open.He doesn’t have a crystal ball or psychic powers.I texted him on our way out of the fundraiser.However, I admit Marcus has worked for my family long enough to recognize when a Boyle needs to disappear quickly.
I acknowledge him with a quick nod as I help Serena into the back seat, my hand splayed possessively across the small of her back.The golden silk of her gown whispers against my fingers, and I feel her shiver at my touch.
“Shut the partition,” I tell Marcus, my voice rough with barely contained need.Realizing the drive home is too short for what I have in mind, I add, “Drive around the city until I tell you otherwise.”
He doesn’t question my order.He never does.The partition slides up with a soft mechanical hum, sealing us in darkness broken only by the city lights streaming past the tinted windows.
Once the partition clicks into place, I pull Serena onto my lap.She comes willingly, a soft gasp escaping her lips as she straddles me.The haute-couture evening gown, a designer creation that she bought during the last edition of Fashion Week Paris, rides up her thighs as she settles against me.
I slide a hand under the soft fabric, trailing my fingers up the smooth expanse of her inner thigh.When I reach her center, I find exactly what I ordered her to wear.Or rather, what I ordered hernotto wear.
Her sweet pussy is bare.I grin as I slide an index finger inside her.“So wet.Always ready for me.”
My fingers, on the other hand, brush against the base of the gold butt plug, and Serena squirms in my lap, her breath catching.I bought the sex toy specially for tonight.The plug has been inside her all evening, stretching her, preparing her for what’s to come.
“You’ve been such a good girl,” I murmur against her ear, running my nose along the column of her neck.I inhale deeply, drawing in the sweet aroma of her arousal mixed with that floral perfume I’ve grown addicted to.“Fuck, pet.I wish I could bottle your scent and carry it with me the whole day.”
“I’d love that, sir,” she moans, slipping effortlessly into our role-playing game.
The motherfucker Dom in me revels at how eagerly Serena jumps into my little scenarios.I’ve been testing her since the wedding.She’s passed all my tests with flying colors, without ever knowing she was being graded.Whenever I call her ‘pet’, she immediately turns on an internal switch and complies.
