“I can’t deal with that smirk of yours.”
“Oh, come on, Petal, I know you love it. I see the way you look at me—every goddamn part of me.” He pushed himself to a kneel, close enough that I could feel the want rolling off him. Hands braced on either side of me against the rock, caging me in. “It fucking turns you on. That’s why you hate it. Wrong time, fine, sure. But admit it, my Petal. You know I want to fucking play when you look at me like that.”
My Petal?
Without even noticing, I’d parted my legs, and he’d moved in closer. His arms enveloped my waist, locking me in place. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. With Cezar around, everything fell away until it was just us.
Dorin came over and put his hand over Cezar’s eyes and yanked him backward. “Fuck man, what the hell are you doing?”
Standing there as if nothing had just happened, Dorin said, “As much as I’d love to see whatever the fuck this is play out, we can’t be hanging around the site we just burned to the ground. Let’s fucking go.”
Cezar was smiling, making it obvious to everyone within a ten-mile radius what he wanted to do. He didn’t even need words. People began loading into the cars, and I got into the back seat of the one Dorin was driving. I just wanted five minutes of peace. Why the hell would I think peace was possible with him around?
The door on the opposite side opened, and Cezar climbed in like he owned the entire vehicle. “Where to, Doc?”
“Cezar, what the hell are you doing? And how did you even get here? However you did, use that to get home. This isn’t a free ride service.” I shoved him into the door.
“Nice try. Use those muscles,” he shot back, mocking me as the car lurched into motion.
“Dorin?”
“Lina, we don’t have time to deal with him right now. We need to move. The cops have been on their way for a while. We’ll have to change routes to avoid them. Passing them on the road would look suspicious.” Dorin kept his focus on the road, glancing at us through the rearview mirror like none of this was his problem.
Cezar grabbed both of my hands, the ones still pushing him into the door, and held them tight. “You can slap me if you want, Petal. Tell me what you want to do to me. Or maybe what you want me to do to you.” No shame. Nope. Not even an ounce of it.
I was certain my face was tomato-level red, and I snatched my hands back, fighting out of his grip while seriously contemplating throwing myself out of the moving car. He was too intense. And it was getting impossibly hard to pretend I didn’t like it.
Chapter 18
CEZAR
The ride with Lina beside me and Dorin behind the wheel felt unreal. When I first laid eyes on her, I never imagined being this close without a gun pointed at my head. She was their leader, yet she sat next to me like I belonged here. No caution or distance, partially because she only had so much space to move away in a car.
Fucking ecstasy.
Our destination didn’t matter. As long as she was near, I didn’t care where the hell we ended up. The mansion we arrived at was massive, with a garden maze sprawled across the grounds. The kind of place I used to dream about.
Maybe I could chase her through it someday.
She lived in a level of luxury most people could only fantasize about. I wondered if it came from old money or if she built it all herself. Her clan—her empire—had definitely been crafted from the ground up. Every time I thought I understood her, she showed me something new. Something that made me want more.
When we stepped out of the car, a few other vehicles pulled up behind us. Subordinates poured out of the mansion, making one thing very clear—she commanded a force much larger than I realized. Lina never left herself unprotected.
Some of her people seemed hesitant when they saw me. A couple I recognized from the kidnapping. I pretended not to notice, throwing out a casual “Sup” with a lazy wave as I stretched my legs.
Dorin and Lina shook their heads and headed toward the entrance. I stopped for a moment, unsure if I was allowed to follow her. Would her people let me through the doors? Would she?
Suddenly, someone poked me. Instinct took over, and I grabbed the hand that touched me. A woman stood there—a bit shorter than Lina, around the same age—and unfortunately, she’d chosen to jab me right in the broken rib. Pain shot through me and, judging by the sounds behind us, guns were drawn.
“Ah, shit, my bad. Didn’t expect anyone to sneak up on me.” I moved her hand away and lifted mine behind my head. Not a complete lie.
“You should always expect the unexpected. Who are you anyway?” she asked, polite but curious. Dorin and Lina were both watching. Dorin looked like he was seconds away from sprinting over. Was this his girlfriend? No. No fucking way.
The thought amused me, and a laugh tripped out. “My name is Cezar. And you are?”
“My name is Vali. I’m Dorin’s little sister… unfortunately.” She smiled and bounced lightly on the balls of her feet.
“Oh, he has a sister. That is unfortunate for you. Sorry to hear that.” We acted as if we were mourning who she was related to.
