“Oh yeah?” he murmurs, and then he lifts a hand, gently trailing the backs of his fingers over the hidden bruise. “I guess you could, if you don’t mind being disappointed.”
The balls on this man.
“I’m sure I’ll find the will to persevere.”
“Do whatever you want. Just keep this shit—” he lightly taps my throat with the tip of one tatted forefinger “—to yourself like a good girl. Because if you don’t, you’re not going to like the consequences.”
Something is seriously wrong with me, because hearing Alessio saygood girlis enough to make my clit throb.
“What consequences?” I demand.
Yeah, I guess I have a death wish.
He meets my gaze in the mirror. “I’ll make sure you can’t make any trouble for me ever again.”
My God. He’s threatening to end me. To my face.
I choke out a laugh that’s almost hysterical. “If you think my telling Luna about an accidental hookup with you is going to stir shit between you and Priest, but killing me won’t, you don’t know her at all.”
“Who said anything about offing you, Jane?” He tsks. “Do all writing professors have such wild imaginations, or is it just you?”
Before I can answer, he straightens and steps away.
I’m so shaken by his presence, the raw, animal magnetism he exudes like a pheromone, that I barely register the fact that he’s either insinuating he’ll torture me, or he’s flat-out telling me he’ll have me killed. I can’t tell if he’s bluffing or if he’s serious, but I don’t want to find out the answer.
Also, he called me by the wrong name.
Again.
I glare at the psycho, sexy bastard as he stalks toward the door. His trousers hug his tight ass to perfection.
He stops, and to my abject mortification, looks over his shoulder and catches me eye-fucking him.
Alessio gives me a cocky grin. “Oh and, sweetheart? Sorry for ruining you for every other dick.”
Then he flicks open the lock and breezes out the door like the Mafia sex god he is.
Damn him.
Chapter 8
SAINT
My brother is having the time of his life, which is exactly what I want for him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Priest looking so damn at ease and carefree, a constant smile on his face as he lives it up with his beautiful bride.
The dance floor is a swirl of writhing bodies and flashing lights. The drinks are flowing, the music is banging, and all the guests are having a fantastic time celebrating the bride and groom. EvenZiaMaria is out there on the floor, happily doing the Macarena to a song that sounds nothing at all like the nineties dance hit.
I’m embarrassed I even know what that shit looks like, but this isn’t my first rodeo. This wedding’s a little different because we’re in the islands and Priest and Luna kept the guest list shorter and more private. But I’ve seen way too many Electric Slides and other reception line dances to ever truly consider myself normal again.
And I proved as much earlier when I ambushed Isla in the restroom and ground my cock against her ass. Not one of my finer moments, but in my defense, she looked fucking irresistible standing there in that pale-blue dress, her hair falling in loosewaves down her back. I was still pissed over finding out who she really was, pissed over the implications hooking up with her had for my relationship with Priest, and just generally pissed that I couldn’t hook up with her one more time.
I was a complete jackass to her.
Oh well. Iama jackass, most of the time. It comes with the line of work. So much death and destruction surrounds us at all times that I can’t afford to be soft. It’s my job to be ready for anything, regardless of how fucked up it is, and no matter how dangerous and deadly.
Priest throws back his head and laughs, dancing with Luna as a new song starts to play. Everything went down perfectly. Despite the fact that I managed to fuck the maid of honor, no one else knows. No one will ever know. I’ve played it cool. Every second of the ceremony went off without a hitch. Luna got her pictures. I even fucking smiled. Dinner was delicious, I managed to return from the restroom in time to catch the cutting of the cake, and now we’re in the cruise-control portion of the evening.
I should be happy.
