“Hmm, that was a good time, wasn’t it?” Hunter asks, kissing the back of my neck before lowering his voice. “You have five minutes. He’s getting antsy.”
“Stefan, can I confess something?”
Stefan leans back, his eyes flicking over the crowd. I pull him to me by his neck, making sure if they want to hurt me, they’re going to hurt their boss instead – whoever ‘they’ are in the crowd.
Stefan swallows as I speak against his lips. “I’m not a delicate little flower. I’m hard to break. And I know what I’m getting into here.”
He tugs on my hand, but I slide my legs around his hips, making his eyes widen and his face heat. “Be a good boy and tell me what I want to know, or I’ll take you into one of those back rooms and show you exactly how much control I have, exactly how tightly pleasure and pain are linked.”
“You have no-”
I swat his ass and see him tremble. I stroke over his bottom lip. It was a risk and it’s paying off beautifully. I tut at him. “I don’t tolerate being interrupted. I can read minds, remember? I know you want a woman in control, you want to ease that burden on your shoulders. But I also know you don’t want to lose Tonya.”
“I don’t,” He says obediently.
“And I know that you don’t want a truce. If you did, you’d be going to the head of the family.” I shake my head when he tries to open his mouth. “If you hadn’t brought your girlfriend, I’d be in one of those dungeons showing you what happens when my men lie. Because I only reward the truth.”
His eyes burn through me, but it’s half desire and half fury. I twirl my fingers in his tie. “Shame.”
All at once, I release him and rub all the way up Hunter’s leg until he hisses in frustration, but I can feel him all hard and ready too. I sigh and pout at Stefan, a very sarcastic pout.
“Men who lie to me … such a turn-off. Hopefully, next time we meet, you’ll be better behaved so I can reward you.”
Stefan’s eyes widen as he watches Hunter and I leave into the crowd. I lower my voice. “If he follows me, I’m going to stab him.”
Hunter and Chase get me through an employee door and I drag my nails over my skin, anywhere he touched. Ugh, everything about him was wrong, but I understand why they needed me specifically. Because I can pull off the tricks. I got him to stop being paranoid, and I know why Hunter didn’t like the offer he received.
I meet my men’s eyes. “The only truce he’s offering you is a quick funeral. He’s greedy for everything.”
“How do you know?”
“He lied about having power. He lied about having cars. He has a tell. Natalia would destroy him in poker. Did he ever meet Sven?”
“Not that I know of,” Chase whispers.
“You should look into conversations between Stefan and his mother. There has to be something.”
They exchange a long look before Lief joins us. Lief strokes my back. “Stefan left, very flustered. Nearly forgot his girlfriend.”
“I didn’t stab him,” I remind them. “Does that earnmea reward?”
LIEF
Valerie keeps scratching at her skin in the car. She winces at something and I unbuckle her and pull her into my arms. I’m better than any seatbelt she could have.
“Did you have fun dancing?” She asks.
I only watch her. I know she has something else on her mind, even if she doesn’t want to tell me what it is. I’m just as worried about her as she is for me. She sighs and kisses my neck. I stroke down her back and she gives up, just straddling me. As I rub her thigh, I feel something.
She grabs my hand before I can push her dress up and shakes her head. “It was a just in case.”
“Little viper, you have enough bite without a knife.”
“You had a knife on you!” Hunter demands from the front seat.
“Of course she did,” Chase says. “She knew she would be close to him. Baby doll, how many times did you have to talk yourself out of violence?”
“Every time he touched me, every time he called me ‘little one’ in fucking Italian.”