Sonny offered me his arm, and I latched onto him as we moved throughout the ballroom. “The sign of a true queen.”
“I hate politics,” I groaned. “And all the bullshit in this town.”
“If you want out, there are ways to leave Devil’s Creek… if you know the right people.”
“And you’re the right person?”
He gave me one of his golden boy smiles and winked. “I have my ways.” Sonny swiped two champagne glasses from a server’s tray, handing one to me. “You look like you could use another drink.”
“Do you read minds?”
“I read faces,” he countered. “Don’t worry. This will all be over soon. Just smile and look interested. Everyone is watching you.”
I looked around the room and found Luca staring at me. He sat beside his father at the front of the room on a chair that looked like a throne. The chairs had high backs with intricate symbols carved into the wood. An S with a snake wrapped around it.
Luca rested his elbow on the arm, leaning over to speak to his father, who gave him a curt nod. His terrifying gaze swept over the room and landed on me.
Were they talking about me?
Sonny moved his hand to my back and sipped from his glass. “Rule number one, Little Wellington. Never let them see you sweat.”
“I’m not sweating.”
“You look like you’re about to crawl out of your skin.”
I looked up at him, inspecting his handsome face. “What’s your secret? You’re too happy to be a founder’s son.”
He shrugged. “Lots of alcohol, loose women, and the feel of the open sea on my face.”
“How did you get the nickname Sonny?” I asked to change the subject from me.
“Because of my last name. Mac is Irish for son. My father is Shane Cormac III. I’m the fourth.” He rolled his eyes as if it annoyed him to share the same name as his relatives. “Since my family owns Mac Corp, my uncle thought he was funny and started calling me Sonny Mac. It was already getting too hard to tell all the Shane’s apart. The rest of my family started calling me Sonny, and the name stuck.”
Luca appeared at my side, as if he’d materialized out of thin air. His cold, hard stare rocked me to the core, settling deep in my bones.
He extended his hand. “Dance with me.”
I took Luca’s hand, and he hooked my arms around his neck. His hard body felt incredible against mine, a fact I tried to ignore as his fingers jabbed my hipbone. We moved to the beat of the song, acting as if we were a normal couple. Like he wasn’t holding me in his death grip with a forced smile for our audience.
“You’ve spent most of your night with Sonny,” he said midway through the song. “Do you prefer his company over mine?”
“It wasn’t intentional. You were busy with your family.”
“You are my queen.” His breath ghosted my lips, so close we could have kissed. “It’s time we make it official.”
“If you want a wife and a queen, you better start treating me like one.”
“That mouth of yours,” he growled, his voice deep and smooth.
Licking my lips, I stared up at my handsome prince. “Maybe you should do something about my mouth.”
Luca smirked, then rolled his thumb across my bottom lip, smearing my lipstick. “Perhaps I should.”
After years of fighting with him, I knew he would only respect a woman who made him work for it. He was one hundred percent alpha male. Intimidating and scary in every way, his cock got hard for mouthy women.
He stroked my cheek with his fingers, staring at me as if we were the only people at the party. “Come to my room tonight for a drink.”
“No.”