I suck in a surprised breath. Whoa. That man is not shy. I hide my surprise at the view by the pool table behind the lip of my drink. Vodka on ice. I welcome the sizzle and burn on the back of my throat. “That can’t be his real name.” I work to keep the conversation light.
The kohl-rimmed eyes of my new friend turn to me. “Who Casanova’s? Nah, he has that name for a reason and I’m about to take full advantage of it.”
Given he’s currently balls deep in another broad I’m thinking she doesn’t mind sharing.
“Is Bear here tonight?”
“Nope. He and Fergie don’t like the party scene too much. Bear is a recovering alcoholic and Fergie respects that. They’ll be here in the morning though to make sure no one got stupid and died.”
“Are you serious?”
“Sorta. A year back a man Oded right over there. Since then, the Savages laid down the law. No drugs allowed on Savage property.”
“But they’ll sell it out on the street. Hypocrites.”
“You got that wrong. Listen, I don’t know where you got your deets, but the Savage crew, they don’t get mixed up in drug runnin’. They do a lot of other shit, but not that.”
Admittedly I haven’t been in New York City long enough to know more than their crew name. It got thrown around a time or two among my clients but that’s about as much as I know. A fact I am about to change.
“Hey, I’m going to find a bathroom; hold my drink?”
“Sure. Second level. First door on the left.”
I give my new acquaintance a nod of thanks and lose myself in the crowd of booze, smoke, and sex.
With a key FOB in hand I shuffle through a fresh crowd of newcomers looking for free liquor and zero my attention on the front door cracked open enough to show me there’s no one outside looking to stop me.
“Hey, baby, where you rushing off to?”
Focused in one direction, I forget to check my peripherals.
Devil clips an arm around my neck and hauls me against his side. We’re suddenly heading in the opposite direction my feet are pointed. It’s obvious this man gets handsy after a few too many. I pry myself out of his grip and he easily lets me go.
“Maybe you should give me that.”
He grabs for the FOB in my hand. I’ve moved before I think better of my action and bust a solid right hook against his jaw. Not my finest moment. Acting before thinking has always been a weakness and one that I might regret soon.
“Wanna have a go at it, Devil?”
Nova, what are you doing? Do you have a death wish?
I hash out that thought when he steps in, pushing me deeper into a corner. Left or right is nearly impossible unless I truly want this to break out in an all-out brawl with a man over twice my size in every definition of the word.
Those dark eyes of his are sharper than they were a minute ago. He narrows them and I feel him analyzing the hell out of me. Something tells me far too many people have underestimated this man and paid the price.
Rubbing at the place I struck, instead of anger, he rolls back on his heels and bellows out a hearty laugh. “Nah, baby, but if you didn’t already belong to the prez, I’d take that hit to the face as a personal invitation to bend you over the nearest surface and fuck you all night long.”
Making eye contact with him and holding it I deadpan, “Lovely.”
He drags a cigarette from a silver case in his front pocket and flicks a Zippo to life with the other. “Pure fucking poetry, baby,” he says around a mouth of spiraling smoke. He grins and pulls a passing woman to his side and she deepthroats his tongue.
“You two have fun.”
I edge around them cautiously because I don’t care how preoccupied Devil seems, that man notices everything and I don’t need him running to find Ares. As if reading my mind he drags me back to him, points to the FOB, and says, “That’s biometrically activated, sweetheart. You have fun with that.”
Crap.
“You wanna fuck with Ares? Take those precious keys he never lets out of his sight to the old Chevy truck parked in the garage.” I’ve seen devious intent written all over a person’s face before, but I am starting to see how this man came about his name. He was the Devil in human flesh. “Like I said,” he purrs. “Have fun with that.”