His hand moves to my thigh, giving me just enough space to slip the soft material from around my hips. I try to ignore the slight pang of loss as soon as he withdraws his touch. It’s awkward getting them off around my black heels, but once they are, he deftly plucks them from my hand. I glower as he tucks the lacy material into his jacket pocket. The smirk on his face tells me I won’t be getting those back any time soon. “Truth or dare?” I ask, seething.
“Truth.” He takes another bite, smiling.
“What are your plans for the future?”
He sighs. “Tesorina, I barely know what will happen tomorrow, let alone the future.” I frown at his answer. “Truth or dare?”
I hesitate. If I pick truth, I know he’ll throw a sensually-loaded question my way. As for dare…I’m not so sure I’m confident enough to pull off the latter right now. “Truth.”
Killian sets his fork down, trapping me with those stormy eyes of his. “Did you enjoy it when I touched you?”
I nearly choke in surprise. He doesn’t seem amused, the edges of his lips twitching downwards. “No,” I say firmly, pressing the napkin into my lap. “And what do these types of questions have to do with getting to know each other?”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m learning a lot,” he replies smoothly. “Like, for example, how much of a liar you are.”
His phone goes off in the small pocket at his chest. He slips it out, the light of the screen tracing the sharp edges of his jaw. Killian frowns for a second, muttering something under his breath before he clicks it off, stuffing it back into his pocket. “Sorry to cut our…date short, but something just came up.”
A flare of irritation jolts through me, but I quickly shove it away. “Go,” I say, waving him away. “Duty calls.” It’s not like this dinner was that productive anyway. I’d learned next to nothing about him other than the fact he enjoys messing with me. Which I already figured out on my own.
He hesitates momentarily, looking as if he was about to say more, when he swiftly stood. “I hope we can do this again soon,” he replies politely before smirking. “Perhaps we could continue our little game somewhere more private next time.”
Not likely. I ignore him, keeping my eyes firmly on my plate as he weaves between the tables, leaving me completely alone once again. He’s halfway across the room when I realize my panties are still in his pocket. Jerking my head up, I spot him slipping down the steps to the first floor. I wave the waiter over quickly.
“Can I get the check, please?” I ask hurriedly.
The waiter smiles. “That’s not necessary. It’s already been taken care of. Do you need anything else?”
I sit there for a moment, surprised. “No. Thank you.” Glancing down at my plate, I hesitate, stomach clenching. “Can you wrap this up for me?”
“Certainly.” He whisks the plate away, leaving me to my thoughts.
Whatever this was, it’d been a mistake. I’d learned almost nothing from him, while he seemingly read me like an open book. I’d thought getting to know him better would give me something to hold over him, some sort of leverage. It turns out, I’d probably just given him more ammo for his own arsenal instead.
And that’s the last thing I wanted to do.
13
KILLIAN
Itext my driver as I hurry down the glass steps of the restaurant, heading straight for the front door. Niccolo, my head of security, is already waiting outside the door, looking grim. He doesn’t say a word as he opens the back door, allowing me to slip into the seat. I yank off my suit jacket as he slides in behind me, shutting the door.
“We need to get to The Rose Club. Right now,” I bark, rolling up my sleeves.
“Sir?” Niccolo asks, shooting me a questioning look.
“Dante just texted. The Rose was attacked,” I snarl. Another pipe bomb, but from the looks of my brother’s message, it was worse than the first.
The tires squealed against the pavement as my driver took off down the street, merging into the evening New York traffic. The Rose Club was only a short distance away, but it would take us a good half hour to get there. My fingers tapped against my knee, eyes darting to the sides of the door where I used to keep spare flasks. They were gone now, of course, but the habit hadn’t left me just yet.
“Do you think it was the Russians?” Niccolo asks, eyeing me. He’s been with me for a year now and has witnessed me overcoming my dependency. It wasn’t pretty.
“I don’t think,” I growl. “I know. Those fuckers aren’t exactly original.”
Niccolo falls silent as we race through the city. I have to hand it to my driver, the man knows how to handle vehicles. We take various side streets, avoiding the worst part of New York City. I can see the black smoke rising above the skyscrapers growing steadily larger as we near. By the time we finally pull up, adrenaline is practically eating away at my nerves. I leap from the car, slamming it behind me as I stalk towards Dante.
The Rose is nothing but a charred mess behind my brother as he talks with the local PD. I stop short beside him, unable to keep the snarl from my face as I take in the damage. The Rose was another club of mine, and now it’s nothing. Everything I’d been working towards was gone in seconds. The officer thanked my brother for his time before heading towards the crowd that had gathered to help wrangle the people away.
“What’s the damage?” I ask quietly.