He snorts.“It’s not a crush.”
“Right.”I shake my head in disbelief.I could give him hell about it for hours, but I’d rather talk to the ladies.
I grab another beer and head through the house, wanting to see if Harper showed up.I doubt this is her scene, but if I’m lucky, her friend will drag her out tonight and I can spend some time outside of class with her.
But realistically, I’m not getting my hopes up.
The girl is way out of my league.She’s smart, sophisticated, and I know her type; she doesn’t date athletes.The fact that I’m a hockey player works against me.Which makes me like her even more, probably because I have zero chance of hooking up with her.
My stomach sinks the moment I lay eyes on a girl with dark hair pinned against the wall, making out with one of our teammates.
“Oh, hell no!”I hurry across the room and grab Chase Lancaster by the arm and yank him off Nova.The girl is practically a sister to me.She’s also seventeen and has no business being at our party.
“What the hell, man?”Chase growls, and I shove him away, knocking him backward several steps, into a flurry of people.
“She’s underage,” I seethe, and he throws his arms up in the air.
“I didn’t know.”He glances from me back to Nova.“Seriously?”His eyes rake over her body, wanting confirmation.
She forces a smile, and I swear she’s acting out more and more now that I’m no longer living at home.Dressed in a short black leather skirt and crop top, her midriff shows off her pierced navel.There’s zero chance her mom and dad know about that piercing.
“Come with me.”It’s not a question but a command.I grab Nova and drag her upstairs, shoving her into my room.I yank open my closet and grab a sweatshirt off a hanger, tossing it at her.“Put this on.”
“You don’t get to boss me around like Dad does,” Nova scowls, but she catches my sweatshirt in her hands.She doesn’t make a move with the article of clothing, holding my stare.
Is she fucking challenging me?
“Do I have to put it on you?”I growl.
Nova is two years younger than I am.We grew up in the same household.Her father works for my dad, the head of the Italian Mafia.
And like a sibling, my job is to protect her.
“Don’t be a dick, Luca.”Her eyes narrow.“I was having fun downstairs.”
“With Chase?”I choke on her words, coughing, attempting to clear my throat.“He just wants sex, and you’re a minor.”
“I’m seventeen.He’s only a year older, and I’ll be eighteen soon.”
I refuse to see her point.“No.You shouldn’t even be here tonight.”
“And why not?”Nova asks.
She finally puts the sweatshirt on over her head, pulling her arms through the sleeves, which at least wins my approval, but I’m not letting her stay.
“Aside from the fact that you’re underage and this is a college party?”
Nova shrugs and folds her arms across her chest.“I’ll be in college next year.Maybe sooner.I’m graduating a semester early.”
I want to be proud of her, but I’m pissed as shit at her showing up and making out with my teammate.
“And next year, you can attend all the parties that you want.I won’t stop you.”
She snorts.“Yeah, right.”A grin forms at the corner of her lips.“You’ll be just as controlling as your father.It’s in your blood.”
“I’m not my father.”My jaw clenches and I grind my teeth, seething.My blood runs cold just thinking about the man, Dante Ricci.He’s a murderer.A villain.The man who hires people to kill for a living, so that he doesn’t have to get his own hands dirty.He uses people like Nova’s father for those jobs.
She plays with the hem of the sweatshirt and glances toward the door.“Neither of us want to be our parents.Please, I just need a night away from everything.”Her pleading voice is enough to make me give in, because I know all too well what she’s going through.
