I shiver at the thought of him touching me, let alone fucking me. At least, that’s what I tell myself when my core warms and tingles slightly at the thought. Fucking him wouldn’t be the worst travesty, but I’ll never admit that out loud.
Vincent pulls out his phone and takes a call. Thankfully, that usually means dinner is about to end. He says something to Lennox and walks into a different room.
As soon as Vincent leaves the room, the table gets rowdier.
Lennox finally turns to me. “Are you ready to leave?”
“I am, but not with you.”
“We should be seen leaving together. Of course, we aren’t going to the same place.”
Thank heavens.
I glance at my phone and see a message—perfect timing. I nod and let Lennox pull my chair back as I stand, giving the impression of leaving together.
The table looks up at us with amused looks, expecting to see some display of affection between us. If that’s what they want, they’ll be waiting a long time.
River, Beckett, Hayes, and Gage all stand too and follow us out of the restaurant. Lennox walks by my side but doesn’t touch me. For a moment, it does feel like we are equals, but that’s not how this works. If I marry him, I will be below him. I will be expected to follow his orders without defiance or opinions at all. I’ll be expected to be his obedient wife—a woman at his side with no real power or responsibilities at all except to look pretty and bear his children.
I sigh as we wait in the lobby for the valets to bring our cars around. My stomach is rattling with anxiety as I wait for my moment to act.
Tonight is one step closer to my ill-fated destiny, one step closer to having to marry a man I didn’t choose. I don’t care how kind, smart, or good-looking Lennox Crane is. I don’t care that he saved my life and helped ensure Beckett and River got their happily ever after.
I look over at Lennox, who is looking bored as we wait for our cars. I don’t care about any of that. I don’t love the man, and I didn’t pick him.
I look over at Beckett’s hand wrapped around River’s stomach, holding her protectively. They look so at peace with each other no matter how the rest of the world is spinning into chaos around them. That’s all I want. I want to choose the person I love. I want to choose my own fate.
Our cars appear quickly, and I realize my plan isn’t going to happen after all. One of my last chances to have a say in my future is vanishing.
As we all step outside to get into the cars, a Corvette pulls into the drive next to us.
I grin and quickly come to ease. I need to take control of my life back. I need to show Lennox just how bad of an adversary I can be. I need there to be no way he wants to marry me. I need to put a stop to all of this.
I start walking toward the Corvette.
“Rialta, what are you doing?” River asks.
“Taking my future into my own hands.” I strut toward the car, surprised no one has stopped me. Especially Lennox—I know he recognizes the car as soon as he sees it. As I approach, the man in the driver’s seat gets out with a swagger to his step. He’s wearing dark jeans, a black t-shirt, a leather jacket, and shades even though it’s dark outside.
He grins at me—clearly as thrilled as I am about my decision. His smirk is infectious, so I smile back and practically sprint toward him. I throw my body around him—arms around his neck, legs around his waist—and I kiss him.
Chapter4
Lennox
I watch her kiss him.
I watch how she throws herself at him, wrapping her body around him like she owns him. He grins into the kiss, loving the attention, and that she finally decided to make their relationship public. He doesn’t realize her rash decision tonight was probably a death sentence for him, especially with how reckless the other night had been. I was so close to killing him without question.
If Vincent Corsi or any of his top men find out, theywillkill him. Luckily for him, I don’t see any of Corsi’s men anywhere in sight. And I doubt killing Rialta’s boyfriend would make her like me more. He’s safe—for now. Although I’m sure Ri and Gage are already doing a background check, so he may not stay safe from them, depending on what they find.
Rialta runs her hand down his muscular arm. They’re muscles you get in the gym, not muscles from learning to survive a fight. Unlike everyone else here, he doesn’t have a scar on his body. This man has probably never even punched someone before.
She continues running her hand down his body until she’s encouraging him to grab her ass—a public display of affection meant to rile me up.
It’s not going to work. I couldn’t care less who she’s kissing or fucking as long as the guy doesn’t hurt her. If he did, I would be the one blamed. I’m supposed to protect her. It’s my main mission if I want to become a Corsi man.
My only real problem with this guy is that he’s an opponent to winning Rialta’s affection. And if I fail to make her love me, I’m a dead man.