He tiptoed his fingertips closer to the spaghetti straps of her dress, and she shuddered with a rattling breath through her bared teeth. Oh my God, she looked so sexy and hot right now.
I grabbed a shot glass and tossed the liquor into my mouth, but I didn’t swallow it. I stood up and kissed her again. Her mouth opened, and I let the vodka gush into her mouth. She swallowed it, and when she kissed me back, she tasted like vodka.
Dante scooped his hand up her neck and grabbed her chin. He pulled her head back and kissed her from directly above. A billowing waft of alcohol fumes stung my nostrils. He must have given her a shot from his mouth too.
I kissed down that arched neck, sneaking closer to her cleavage. I sensed eyes on us from all over the bar as more guys gathered around to watch.
Ariana tore herself out of our grasp and wavered toward the dance floor. She didn’t walk as steadily on her heels now.
She raised her arms over her head and gyrated onto the dance floor. At least half the guys from the bar followed her. They circled closer and started dancing with her.
“You fucked her, didn’t you?” Dante yelled in my ear over the pounding music.
“You’re goddamn right I did,” I told him. “And I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
“Good one, man,” he replied.
I cupped my palm in front of him, and he slapped down on it. He squeezed my hand, and I knew it was all right between us. He wanted her as much as I did. I just got there first.
A guy eased up behind Ariana and started dancing right up against her back. He pressed his hips against her ass, but she was too tipsy to notice. Another guy approached her from the front and spread his arms on either side of her.
All at once, the guy behind her wrapped both hands around her waist and pulled her back into him. She jumped in surprise, turned to see who it was, and started to struggle.
Dante and I stormed onto the dance floor without a moment’s hesitation. I shoved between Ariana and the guy behind her. Dante forced the dude in front of her to stumble back, and we both flanked her, facing outward to protect her.
Ariana was either too blitzed to notice or didn’t realize the danger she was in. She smiled a dreamy smile and leaned forward to rest her head between Dante’s shoulder blades, but neither of us turned around.
The minute we showed up, all the land sharks who had been circling her squared up to surround us. Their expressions went hard, and four guys bumped their chests against mine.
I braced myself for World War 3 when Ariana raised one arm and waved upward. I glanced in that direction, and my blood ran cold when I spotted Luca standing on the mezzanine. He glared down at us in fury.
A few of the other guys looked up to see who Ariana was waving at, and the atmosphere on the dance floor went subarctic. No one moved except Ariana, who kept swaying in a daze.
Every eye in the place followed Luca strolling down the stairs, and the land sharks backed off the instant he got on the dance floor. He strode over to us, and the crowd parted to let him through.
He shot a flinty glare at us and then at Ariana. He didn’t say a word. He turned away and headed for the elevator. I put my arm around Ariana, and she didn’t resist when I steered her through the crowd. The four of us got into the elevator, and it took us downstairs to the limo.
Ariana slumped against me in the elevator, and her head fell on my shoulder. She barely held herself up, so I kept my arm around her in case she fell over. She must be a real lightweight if she got this trashed over just a few shots.
Dante, Luca, and I faced forward. None of us looked at each other, but it didn’t take an act of Congress to know we were in for the ass-whooping of our lives as soon as we got into the car.
Chapter12
Luca
Ariana tottered across the parking garage. She kept staggering from one side to the other. The twins took turns catching her, straightening her up, and helping her to the car.
Dominic opened the passenger door, and she dove headfirst inside. I followed to find her sprawled across one seat. I sat down on the opposite side.
The twins climbed in and sat her up before they resumed their places on either side of her. She folded over, wrapped her arms around Dante’s ribs, buried her face in his chest, and shut her eyes. Her hair came loose from its up-do and scattered over her cheeks. Anyone could see she was out for the night.
“Do you mind telling me what possible reason you could have for disobeying my orders when I specifically told you to stay at the table?” I snarled. “Give me one reason not to bust you two down to clean-up duty for the rest of the decade.”
Dominic stiffened. “What’s the point of taking her to a club if she’s just gonna sit at a table and do nothing?”
“I already told you,” I snapped. “We were there to show her off to the world and make the families think I was dating her. When are you two gonna stop fucking up and listen to me? I gave you a direct order. What’s so difficult to understand about that?”
“You can’t treat her like any floozy you picked up on the street,” Dante countered. “She’s different. You can’t keep her locked up and expect her to just lick your boots and do your bidding. She has a mind of her own. She wanted to dance, and she wanted to drink. What were we supposed to do—hogtie her to the ground in front of the whole club?”