“Tonight, what?” her brother snarls, slamming down a tumbler of something dark.
“Lucca!” Sofina shrieks. “Stop!”
He turns her way, searing her with a nasty look that has her cowering. Fuck this guy. Fuck the way he tries to pin her down when she was meant to fucking fly.
“Tonight, she’s coming home with me.” I smirk at him.
“The hell she is,” he roars, no longer caring about his patrons. “Get the fuck out of my bar, asshole.”
I pick up the glass and drain it, my eyes locking on his. I set it down and shake my head. “Your sister needs a break from you. You’ve done enough damage for one lifetime.”
My words wind him because he visibly flinches. Guilt flashes in his eyes before he hardens his stare once more. Turning from me, he glowers at Sofina.
“We’re understaffed,” he growls at her. “You’re not leaving. So help me, Sof, if you leave, you can’t come back.”
Her eyes water and her bottom lip trembles. Later, I’ll soothe away all her heartache.
“Lucca,” she chokes out. “I do need a break. Not only from this damn place. But from you. You’re smothering me.”
His jaw clenches and he fists his hand. It makes me wonder if he’s ever put his hands on her. If he has, and I find out, I’ll bury this asshole myself.
“I’m your goddamn brother. He’s what? Some suit you met for a week? Come the fuck on, Sof. Look at you. You’re practically creaming your panties for whatever false promises this smarmy dickhead is offering you. Wake the fuck up. There is no contract. He wants to fuck you.”
A girl walks past, and I tap her shoulder. She looks at me in confusion before a smile turns her lips up. “Yes?”
“How’d you like to make a thousand bucks tonight?” I ask, challenging her with a lifted brow.
Her mouth parts. “I’m no prostitute.”
I fish out a grand from my pocket and hand it to her. “Help that guy out for the night.” Then, I nod my head at the door, my eyes penetrating Sofina. “Let’s go, sweetheart.”
Lucca’s face is turning more purple by the second. I expect Sofina to fret or stall, but she surprises me. She must be more eager to get away from her brother than I ever thought because she bolts to the back. A few seconds later, she returns with her purse. I slap down a hundred-dollar bill for my drink and then walk away, ignoring the hateful look directed my way.
Sofina rushes over to me and I take her hand. So small in mine. She’s so desperate to be taken care of—truly taken care of. In a way her controlling brother never could.
I tug her outside and to my car. When I get to the passenger side door, I stop her by grabbing her hip and pressing her into the side of my car. Gently, I stroke her hair from her eyes—eyes she’s left untouched by makeup, which pleases me.
“I’m so proud of you,” I tell her, my gaze drinking up every pretty part of her face in the moonlight.
Her eyes widen and her mouth parts. “Why?”
“You stood up to him. You came with me. Where you belong.”
She bites on her bottom lip, her brows scrunching together. “I don’t know what I’m doing. If I’m making a mistake…or ruining my relationship with my brother.”
I slide my palm to her delicate neck, loving the way her pulse beats erratically beneath my thumb. “Your relationship with your brother wasn’t healthy. Maybe it needed to get ruined first before it could ever have any hope of being repaired.”
Tears glisten in her eyes. “Maybe.”
“This thing between us has nothing to do with music or the contract,” I tell her, my eyes dropping to her plump, juicy lips. “If you walk away from me, you have a solid future. Understand?”
She nods rapidly.
“This thing is different and we’d be idiots not to allow it to happen,” I rumble, leaning against her body so she can feel the effect she has on me. “Do you feel it too?”
“Y-Yes,” she breathes.
“Yes, what?” I murmur, pressing a soft kiss to her perfect lips.
“Yes, Daddy.”
“Good girl,” I croon. “Good fucking girl. Now I’m going to take you home so I can properly reward you.”
Her eyes close and I kiss her supple mouth deeply. She deserves a taste of what’s coming. And it’s coming all right.
I palm her ass cheek and grin against her lips. “Where’re your panties, Sof?”
“In my purse,” she exhales, melting into me.
Opening the car door, I pull away from her and nod for her to get in. Once she’s inside, I grab her purse, unzipping it and taking out the underwear. Black cotton. I bring them to my nose, inhaling, and my dick jerks. Then I put them in my pocket and take my girl home.