Page 5 of In the Dark

Thankfully, it was the end of the song as he ground his crotch into my stomach in a disgusting gesture that made my skin crawl.

My aunt Perla always said to have grace over grievance, and she would have been proud of how I walked away from him with a tight smile.

My uncles were at the mahogany bar, and they threw back shots of Clase Azul like water before I got to them. Paolo smiled at me. “Be good to Tomás tonight, sobrina. I smoothed the waters for you.”

Uncle Monte, Paolo’s younger brother, saw the disgust flash in my eyes. He had to, because he looked away. Damn, I hated Paolo more and more every day.

Poor Monte had to be the mediator in the family. “He means well, Jas. Honest.”

I tapped the bar and motioned for the bartender to get me one of what they had. “Did you tell him I shouldn’t have been in that meeting with you earlier? I’ve run all the numbers for you guys for years.”

Uncle Paolo shrugged. “I know, but women really shouldn’t. You know that. Like I’ve told you, you’re different, but it’s hard to make everyone understand.” It was a phrase I hated, that rubbed me wrong, that proved he had a disdain for everyone like me, but it was okay to have that as long as he proclaimed I was the exception.

No, it wasn’t okay. It was a cop-out.

“You know I love you,” he said. “Not everyone gets that.”

“And I’m supposed to be with someone who doesn’t get it?”

“He’ll be good for the family and the business, sobrina.” Paolo tapped my hand.

Guess my uncle really did want that Abarca connection. Tomás’s family had ties to many, but it didn’t make him any less of an asshole.

“He’s not good for me though, Paolo.”

“What’s good for the family is good for you,” Paolo snapped. He took a deep breath before he tipped his head toward the dance floor. “Don’t be stubborn. We need allies with them closing off ports to us lately, right? Come on, dance with your old uncle, huh?”

I stared at him for a few seconds more. Tension snapped between us, words unspoken and anger checked but bubbling at the surface. He didn’t like my defiance, and I didn’t like his idiotic misogyny. Still, I nodded after a moment and went to waltz. I tried to dance away the fury that continued to build in me.

Even Monte took me around the dance floor after and whispered, “Mi niña, sometimes not even I want to swallow the amount of bullshit Paolo’s feeding you, but you’re a Ruiz. We survive and endure, right?”

That didn’t make it any better.

I moved up and down the dance floor with grace for a whole hour more. The gala happened to have a twenty-piece chamber orchestra playing beautiful classical arrangements, giving off a sort of Bridgerton vibe mixed with a haunting, deadly one.

It didn’t ease the darkness in my chest. Neither did the front-row seat to Callahan Knight’s dancing with other women.

He was an attractive but dangerous gravitational force. He stood taller than most, had a brighter smile, and a laugh that traveled through the room. Every woman in the vicinity saw him or heard him. His voice sent shivers down my spine as he waltzed past, and I heard him talking to the girl on his arm.

He was dancing with a thin, willowy blonde, his head dipped low as he whispered something in her ear. She immediately threw her head back and laughed. Instead of keeping his eyes on her, though, he glanced up at me, like he’d known exactly where I was the whole time we’d been on the dance floor. And then he winked.

My traitorous stomach dipped.

What the hell was wrong with me? I wanted no part of the sexuality he exuded. So, I glared back at him and turned to the older man who’d asked me to dance and was now listing off every decade he’d come to this gala.

“And so you see, dancing with a pretty woman comes natural to me after all these years.”

“Of course.”

That’s when Tomás asked to cut in, and then I was back in my date’s arms. “Shall we say our goodbyes soon so we can leave together?”

Callahan had the audacity to raise an eyebrow and give me a shake of his head like he disapproved of me dancing with Tomás some more. Then, he smirked, and his hand slid lower on the blonde he had in position for his waltz.

My eyes trailed exactly where he touched her, and I felt the heat of that touch like it was my back instead of hers. I bit my lip and tried my best not to indulge in the idea of him anymore.

“I can tell you want to leave too.” Tomás chuckled as he brushed a finger over the blush on my cheeks.

Ugh, I wasn’t blushing for this asshole.