“Your boyfriend’s parents have a bounty on your head. I think you have more to worry about than who I am or am not dating,” I retort.
“Pfft, they’re not going to find me. But I do need to hunt down Zoe before she bursts through this door.” Aurora looks from me to Connor. “You wanna meet another cousin?”
“What’s one more?” He picks up her hand and entwines their fingers.
“This one happens to be a De Bellis,” I tell him.
“And that makes her differentbecause?” the asshole asks.
“If you’re rude to her, I’ll happily hold you down while my brother cuts out your tongue.” I smile at him. I don’t have abrother, but he doesn’t know that and it sounds a lot better than saying I’ll havemy little sistertear your tongue out. Sounds sexist, especially with the number of women I know who are more scary than men, but it’s just a fact. The criminal underground is always more afraid of the male gender.
“You could try, but you’ve met my girlfriend, right? Aurora likes my tongue way too much to let anyone cut it out,” Connor says confidently, which makes Aurora snort.
“He’s right. I do like his tongue.”
I’m too smart to fuck with Aurora Valentino. Like I said, I know plenty of women in our world who are worse than the men. She happens to be one of them. That girl is unhinged as fuck.
I shake my head and lead them out to the living room, where my Zia Zoe is waiting.
Chapter Seventeen
I’m not doing a great job at pushing Ares away. He’s still making it his mission in life to follow me around everywhere, even though I’m not talking to him. Earlier this week, he didn’t hesitate to take a computer to Aurora when sheasked me to help her. He did, however, make a point to tell me how much he didn’t like Aurora’s boyfriend and how he thought she could do better.
A strange jealousy hit me at his comment, and all week I’ve been wondering if Ares has a thing for Aurora. I mean, it would be hard not to be attracted to her. She’s beautiful. And I don’t have a claim on Ares. I don’t even like him. Not really. I need him because he has a way of calming the noise in my head. That’s not attraction. I also don’t want to need him, or use him, which is why I’m sitting here trying to figure out a way to really push him away.
“There’s a party tonight,” Constance says from beside me. We’re walking through the crowded halls, one of the rare moments Ares isn’t right beside me. I actually don’t know where he disappeared to and I’m doing my best to not think about him.
Clearly that isn’t working.
“You’re going?” I ask Constance.
“Uh-huh, and so are you,” she says.
“Ah, I’m grounded.” I’m not really sure if that’s technically true, but it seems like a good excuse not to go to a party.
“Please. I need a wing-woman, and you are the perfect one,” Constance pleads.
“What makes me the perfect wing-woman?” I’m curious as to what she will say.
“You’re hot. Any chick who is into chicks is going to be looking at you. And if you’re next to me, well, then they’re also looking at me.” She shrugs as if her logic makes total sense.
“You think I’m hot?” I raise my brows at her.
“You know you are. You have poor little Ares running around trying to mark his territory on you. Something every girl, other than me, has been trying to do since I can remember.”
“He is not,” I deny.
“He is,” Constance argues.
“What you talking about?”Speak of the devil and he shall appear.
“The party tonight. Zara is coming,” Constance says.
“No, she’s not.” Ares shakes his head.
“Excuse me?” I glare at him.
“That party isn’t a place for you, Zara,” he tells me.
