She leans up on her toes to place a quick kiss on my lips before sauntering back to Atlas and climbing on his bike. “No criminal activity, check. Want me to seduce somebody to get you a promotion?” My chest rumbles with warning, the very thought making me want to rescind our agreement and toss her ass back in the house. She winks. “I’ll take that as a no. Don’t worry Lucien, just teasing. A girl has to have alittlefun.”
Atlas revs the bike and they disappear from sight. I scrub a hand down my face as I climb into my car, exhausted before the day’s even begun and already imagining the hole I’m going to have to pull myself out of after this.
***
“Fuck, Atlas is a luckybastard,” Dorian grumbles beside me.
After dealing with Belinda’s screaming tirade, we decided it would be better if Cambria arrived with Atlas to the party instead of me. If she had shown up on my arm, the rumors would have flown out of control, and her showing up with all three of us was just asking for trouble.
“Not like you can’t dance with her, just don’t kiss her.”
Dorian gives me a withering look and gestures towards her emphatically. “How am I supposed tonotkiss her looking like that?”
She’s clad in a soft purple dress, form fitting at the top and a short pleated skirt that flares out every time she turns. Atlas keeps a hand on her lower back possessively, shooting daggers at any guy that looks at her too long. But fuck, she draws the eye and everyone’s looking. With her outlandish hair, she stands out severely in this stuffy crowd as it is.
The construction crew cleaned up for the event in dress slacks and button up shirts, while the investors and company employees are decked out in their most expensive. Gatherings like this serve the dual purpose of also networking for upcoming projects and investments, and the more affluent you appear, the higher chance someone will want you involved.
“Besides,” Dorian continues, unable to take his eyes off of her as they start to scan the crowd looking for us. “I’m pretty sure that girl from accounting is going to try to seduce her away from Atlas the first chance she gets.”
I glance over at Cindy who’s practically drooling and chuckle. “You might be right.”
Cambria ends up catching sight of Cindy gawking and adds an extra sway to her hips, sauntering over and chatting for a while. The two of them flirt shamelessly and I bite my cheek, wanting to storm over there to publicly claim her as mine so the others will back off. I hate that that’s my first instinct, priding myself on being rational, but she just drives me crazy, this girl.
Cindy and Cambria end up swapping numbers before she finally tears herself away. Atlas takes her hand, dragging her to where we’re leaning against the wall, watching like a pair of stalkers.
“Planning to torture me all evening?” I ask coolly, taking a sip of my drink.
Cambria rolls her eyes. “I’d like to extend my inner circle beyond just Stella. You three are great and all, but it’d be nice to have other women to talk to, thank you very much. And Stella has been so busy with Jax, that she only seems to end up being free on the days we need to cross. Cindy’s sweet, and I promised the next time I come to work with Luce we’d do lunch. It’s a pain in the ass navigating all of the schedules and limitations we’re stuck with, but it’s worth a shot.”
Dorian grins. “You just want to leech out all of that adoration she’s throwing your way, don’t you?”
Cambria puts her hand to her chest indignantly, fingers brushing along my mark longer than necessary. “Well I do say, sir; I never!” She drops the act and shrugs. “I mean, it’s a bonus, yeah. But I really would like to have another friend that I can at least text if you guys are being annoying.”
I pass her a drink. “Oh, we’re annoying now, are we?”
She thanks me and takes a sip. “On occasion,” she teases. “I went from living alone for five years to suddenly having one of you up my ass every moment of every day. It’s a bit of an adjustment.” Atlas opens his mouth to speak and she laughs, slapping a palm to cover his mouth. “I walked right into that one.”
I have to fight the urge to reach out and trace the scarring on her chest. It’s on full display in the dress, all of ours are. I slide my hand into my pocket instead to hide my clenched fist, hating the lack of control she incites. She doesn’t even need to do anything beyondexistand she has me tied up in knots.
“You look gorgeous,” Dorian tells her, smiling and changing the subject.
She gives him a mock curtsy. “As do you, good sir.” She turns to me with a wink. “See? No ‘master’ and I’ve steered clear of Belinda. I can fit in with the fancy crowd if I try, so no need to look so tense.”
My lip twitches as I fight a smile. “You stick out like a sore thumb and you know it. Like a splash of color in a white room.”
A waiter walks by with flutes of champagne and she grabs two, frowning. “I’ll take that as a compliment.” She downs one glass and sets it on an empty tray, sipping the other slowly. “You saw my apartment when you met me. So you can see why I despise all things pristine.”
I hone in on her nervously fisting the skirt of her dress, giving herself away. She’s clearly deflecting, but this isn’t the time or place to interrogate her for it. Instead, I tip my head in acknowledgment before hiding my scowl. Victor breaks off from the group he’s speaking with and approaches us. He doesn’t even bother to mask the frequent glances he shoots in Cambria’s direction either.
Victor has always been my biggest problem before Cambria. He’s hinted at my past on several occasions, noting how pristine and perfect all of the paperwork is; not a speck of anything out of order. One mention isn’t suspicious, but multiple is a huge fucking red flag that he’s been digging to find any sort of dirt he can use against me. Add in the fact that he’s my company’s biggest competitor, and he’s a perpetual thorn in my side, more so than the fae beside me.
“Lucien,” he greets warmly, stretching out his hand in offering.
I shake it politely, accustomed to the political song and dance. “Victor. So kind of your niece to invest in the project. What a lovely surprise that was to discover.”
He chuckles, eyes as dark as his brown hair catching the light while he shifts his gaze to Cambria. “Looks like I’m not the only one with a few surprises up their sleeve. I hear rumor you have a ward of your own now?”
My jaw tenses for only a fraction of a second. “Friends with her family and she found herself in a bit of a spot, though she’s old enough to be on her own. She just needs some stability until she gets her life in order. I would be remiss not to help.”
