I closed my eyes and exhaled. “You’re the genius, why don’t you tell me?”
“I’m serious, Karina.”
“So am I.”
“Both of you, stop,” Dante bellowed.
“And the cop?” Antonio asked, blatantly ignoring Dante.
“Oh, my God!” I pulled my palms down my face in frustration. “There is nothing going on with the cop. Enzio was being a jerk, and Lorik just—”
“Lorik?” Antonio interrupted. “So, you’re on a first name basis with the cop now?”
I gaped at him, partly because I couldn’t believe he was giving me the third degree…and also because I had nothing to say to that. Nothing. There was no way I could explain how Detective Stone and I got to a first name basis. It just kind of happened.Great, now I’m confused.
Again, I turned my gaze out the window, flat-out ignoring Antonio and his dark stare of disapproval. Now that I said his name, Lorik was all I thought about. When he pinned me up against that damn wall, I wanted nothing more than for him to tear my clothes off like a damn caveman. The way his dark gaze raked over my face, the look of pure sexual hunger reflecting in his hazel irises, made everything south of my navel pulse with need.
God, I needed to get him out of my mind. I took my phone from my purse, and I stopped breathing. There was Lorik’s face in a little bubble in the corner of my screen, signaling a new message—from him. My heart wasn’t beating. No, it was pounding against my ribs like it wanted out. Like it needed air.
I took a deep breath then hesitantly clicked on the icon, and up popped the message.
Lorik: 21 Unity Ct #3. Let’s finish what we started.
Oh, my God, did he send me his address? Holy shit. My heart tried to force its way up my throat, my stomach close behind it. And right on cue, I rubbed my thighs together thinking about everything he made me feel back at the club, when he was literally inches away from kissing me. Every fiber of my being wanted to taste his lips, wanted to know what his tongue would feel like dancing with mine. I wanted him to pin me against that wall with his hard body until I became one with the damn concrete. For a few seconds, we were completely swept up by the moment, utterly captivated by each other. But when I felt his warm breath against my wet lips, knowing I was a split second away from tasting him, I stopped. I was too consumed, too entranced by him, by what I was feeling, and the last time I felt that way, I made the worst mistake of my life.
I glanced at Antonio, thinking about the anger and disappointment he must be feeling. It seemed like that day had come, the day the biggest mistake I ever made would come back to taunt me.
When I looked back at my phone, I let my finger hover over the keyboard. Everything inside me was screaming for me to go to him, to take what I needed from him. To forget about all the rules and live my life for me, for what I wanted, even if it was only for one night.
But I couldn’t.
Unfortunately, my life was not my own. I might not agree or like the rules we were forced to live by, but this was my family. Was I so selfish I would jeopardize everything, risk hurting my family because of one detective who had the undeniable talent of getting me wet and needy with a single goddamn glance?
No.Yes.
Shit.
Dante parked the car in front of the house and switched off the ignition. The heaviness of the silence around the three of us was slowly suffocating me, and I couldn’t stay in the damn car any longer.
I opened the door and got out. Antonio jumped out and called, “Karina, wait.”
“What?” I turned to face him.
The sullen look on his face gave me this weird feeling of warning that moved across the back of my neck.
“Dad needs to know.”
I frowned. “Excuse me?”
He closed the passenger side door and started toward me. “Dad needs to know about whatever happened between you and Enzio.”
“Antonio, man,” Dante started, “don’t be an asshole.”
Antonio looked at Dante. “An asshole? Am I being an asshole for trying to protect the family?”
Dante slammed his door shut. “No, you’re being an asshole for not wanting to protect your damn sister.”
“Can you both not see that that’s exactly what I’m trying to do?” Antonio bellowed.