Her eyes widened. “Really?”
“Really,” I said dryly. “I’m going to help Andrei. It won’t be long. You can drink your weight in cosmos, and I’ll even carry your ass out the door when you’re too drunk to walk in a straight line.”
She flinched. “My hero.”
“I try.” I smirked.
She seemed to shudder, and then she gave Andrei a curt nod. “Sounds fun. Let me just let my dad know I’m not getting kidnapped.”
“I wish,” I muttered under my breath, earning a sharp heel slamming into my right foot.
I winced.
Again, deserved.
Candles flickered around the room as more people started to dance and drink. Hell, it felt like a cult; the way they worshipped Chase wasn’t right.
He was too rich.
Too powerful.
Too good looking.
And he had the ear of the United States President.
Hell had indeed frozen over for the state of Illinois. If only they knew who wielded all the power now that he was in office, now that he could put who he wanted into the cabinet, now that he’d helped pick advisors.
I sighed as he made his way over to us.
“Keep her safe,” he snarled under his breath.
“My blood for hers.” I gave the pledge I always did since I had first started following her last year.
Chase leaned in and kissed my right cheek then whispered, “Make sure she has a bit of fun. She’s pissed she’s had to wear those heels for three hours.”
“When is she not pissed at these things?” I wondered out loud.
“It’s necessary,” he said coldly. “And remember the rules, no touching her, no looking at her and fantasizing, absolutely nothing that could mean I’ll have to kill you.”
“Got it.” I stood back and winked. “Plus, I have enough female attention, the last thing I need is one who’d probably suffocate me with a pillow just to see my legs twitch.”
Chase grinned. “That was a good day.”
“Yeah, it really was, nearly dying.” I rolled my eyes. “Have fun. Give Luc my love.”
“My wife,” he barked.
I made a face, “I’m eighteen, don’t be weird.”
Andrei just chuckled under his breath while Violet returned with her matching white coat.
Sometimes I wondered if Chase did it on purpose.
Made her wear white to make himself look less covered in blood.
Made her wear white to remind me she was an untouchable queen.
And I? I was the slave. The adopted bastard son of someone he didn’t even ask to know.
Wouldn’t that be the shock of his life?
I almost laughed.
“Let’s go.” I put an arm around Violet and attempted to keep my body from reacting like it always did when we were this close.
But it was like holding your breath.
You last thirty seconds, maybe more, and then you’re gasping for air, greedy for it; my hands trembled a bit as I lowered my palm down her back and held it there.
She sucked in a sharp breath but didn’t look in my direction.
And when we got into the waiting limo, she kept her expression blank as she stared straight ahead.
Classical music turned on.
I groaned. “Tchaikovsky? Really, Andrei?”
He smacked me in the back of the head. “It’s called culture, I’m almost insulted to call you—” He hesitated. “Human.”
I exhaled the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
Nice save asshole.
Violet shifted in the leather seat, drumming her fingertips along her tanned thigh.
I reached for her hand and scowled. “Red fingernail polish how scandalous, next thing your dad knows, you’re going to start having sex and watching porn.”
She jerked her hand away, her cheeks flushed. “Could you keep your lewd thoughts to yourself, Campisi?”
“I could. Will I? No, no, I won’t. I like pushing your buttons”. Pushing, touching, caressing, really, I didn’t discriminate when it came to her or any other girl. I gave her a chipper grin. “Besides, who else is going to teach you about the birds and the bees. See guys have these things called cocks and—”
“Andrei, if you don’t muzzle him, I’m going to pull out my knife and shove it against his scrawny throat!”
“There she is.” I slow clapped. “Welcome back to earth, princess. You’re not in front of the cameras; people aren’t hanging on your every word while you discuss global warming and the need for true leadership in America. You’re so damn uptight I wouldn’t be surprised if those diamond earrings came from your ass.”
Andrei chuckled and looked up from his phone. “I approve of this message.”
“You’re both impossible.” She crossed her arms and then moved against the leather again and sighed, pulling down her skirt.
“Knife.” I held out my hand.
After some hesitation, she dug into her purse then handed it to me; it had the Abandonato crest on the hilt and was sharp as hell.
I tore into her expensive dress and made quick work of creating two slits on either side of her dress. “Better?”
She swallowed uncomfortably and nodded. Shit, she was still thinking about the party, still wondering if her performance was good enough, probably going over every mistake that nobody even saw.