Athena
“Smile Cara,” Luciano leaned down to say in my ear, pulling at the lobe with his teeth. I pushed away from him quickly, fixing him a glare. The bastard had the nerve to smile and tilt his head at the flashing cameras. “I can’t have people thinking I kidnapped my date.”
“Like you didn’t?” I hissed, sucking my teeth at him. “I don’t want to be here.”
“I know Cara, I know,” Luciano replied in a patronizing tone. He was treating me like a child! I gritted my teeth in anger, trying to stop myself from throwing a fist square in his stupidly handsome face. “But I need you tonight. By my side.”
And folks, I almost melted at those words.
Almost. I caught myself quickly and gave him another glare, hoping it would put a hole through his flawless face.
He looked ravishing. His suit was an old Italian model, black and glistening in the lights of the ballroom perimeter. His hair as always was slicked back but just to please me however, after I expressed my distaste over how he always had to put such a beautiful mass of hair in bondage, he allowed a strand to fall free across his face. And I loved it. Absolutely.
Would it be weird if I asked Frederick to shave his head before he was buried? I would want to keep those beautiful locks as memoirs. Hold on to them and recall how they brushed against my inner thighs anytime he buried his face between them.
My face flamed hot and I fanned it with my hands, feeling incredibly flustered. My dress was a black dress with a halter neckline. My back was exposed as it was a backless dress and the soft silky material draped against my hips rather seductively. I had seen Luciano’s eyes as he watched me slip into the dress and boy it set my body on fire.
Something was off, however.
I had attended several balls with Luciano but only as his assistant. I had to garner information from several companies or if he was the one throwing the event, I had to ensure everything went as smoothly as possible. But not this time. This time felt different.
Luciano had referred to me as his date. Date!
His hands on my waist tightened again as he steered me toward a smiling cameraman. Everyone would get a false impression and think he was with- wait a fucking minute!
“What are you doing?” I hissed at him, glancing sideways to see the expression on his face.
The jackass gave me another impish grin and when he was certain the cameraman had taken enough pictures of us, he slipped his hand over mine and tugged me into the ballroom.
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t known about this event. It hadn’t been on his schedule. He had just told me that morning after the whole fiasco in the bathroom.
When he… Ah fuck. My face flamed as I recalled how good he had felt against me. I could still feel his thick throbbing member stroking against me, driving me crazy.
Oh, I had been so close to giving in. I had wanted to throw caution to the fucking wind, toss my head back and sink slow and easy on him. I bit my lip trying to stop myself from relishing the sensation too much. It was a warning.
A warning that I should take seriously.
I could not keep Luciano away forever. I had to double my efforts, get the information I wanted, and scram. If he had his way with me, he’d throw me out before I could do that.
But boy, I wanted him to have his way with me. His wicked, rough ways. I wanted to feel his hands pry and play with all the sensitive parts of me. I wanted to watch his face twist in pleasure as I went down on him. He was addicting, Luciano, like sweet nectar and I was being such a greedy butterfly.
“That look on your face Raven,” He whispered, holding my hips as he guided me to the wine stand. His hand hidden from the numerous people in the room, slid up to cup my breasts through the dress and I sagged against him. “What are you thinking about? Tell me.”
“Nothing,” I whimpered, fighting to ignore the throbbing between my thighs. “Why are we here?”
Luciano chuckled darkly and grabbed my breasts one last time before withdrawing. “I thought we could spend the evening together,”
My jaw almost dropped to the fucking floor. He had to be lying. Oh, he was lying. He was here for some shady mafia deal, wasn’t he? There was no way he came to the ball with me just because he wanted to “spend time with me.” Who the hell did he think I was? A fucking eighteen-year-old?
“Ah come on Raven,” he muttered having the nerve to look offended. His dark eyes are slightly misty. “You don’t believe me, do you?”
I shrugged in reply. What would I lose anyways? If he was sincere, then all that was left was the final blow. A final seduction. Perhaps if I promised I would allow him to have his way with me if he spilled the beans about being a mafia lord, he would give in this time.
My eyes took in the wild glint in his eyes and I tsked, shaking my head mentally. Luciano was not that easy. This could be a ploy on his part as well. To get into my pants and then haul my poor ass out the very next minute.
My eyes slid around the ballroom instead, trying to find anyone I knew that was affiliated with Luciano. If Luca was here, then yes it truly was a cover for mafia operations. The ballroom was huge.
On the upper part of the walls were glassless windows that revealed the large skyscrapers around the hall. One of them stood directly facing the wine stand, causing several lights from outside to fall on it. It made for a very pretty sight, lights dancing around the skies.
“Dance with me Cara,” Luciano urged and my eyes widened.
“What?! No!’ I snapped and pulled away. What the hell was going through his head? Did he think we were on a picnic or something?
Luciano frowned, his gaze darkening. “Why? You’re a terrible dancer?”
“Of course not. Don’t be absurd.” I hissed. I wasn’t much of a dancer but that didn’t mean I was terrible. I’d think I was quite decent with it anyways.
“It’s okay Raven,” Luciano said and from his tone of voice, I knew he was taunting me. “I would not feel for you less if you had two left feet.”
“Who are you and what the hell have you done to Luciano?!” I gasped in disbelief. The man before me was being too damned nice and it both annoyed and creeped me out. Why the hell was he nice?! He shouldn’t be nice! The last thing I needed was for him to be nice!
Withdrawing from him, I spoke up, eager to get away from him. “I’m going to have a look around.”
He opened his mouth most likely to protest but I walked away quickly not waiting for him to say a word. I had to get away from him. Before I did something stupid like ask him to carry me home, treat me to a candlelight dinner, and then fuck the brains out of me.
Ignoring the loud music and the boisterous people around me, I glanced at the windows again. There was a rather remarkable skyscraper a few meters away, facing a window on the building directly. It had a dome at the top and a rather pointy antenna that gave the allusion to a sacred place. What was a scare building like that doing in the heart of America?
My eyes drifted back to Luciano. He stood rooted where I had left him, reading something on his phone that made him frown. His forehead was creased with lines and his eyes grew fierce with each passing second. Ah, something was up again. I could guess who that text was from. Luca. Or Marcus. Hell, it could be Giorgia. I hadn’t heard a word about her ever since she had been banished to Italy.
I glanced at the pretty building one last time and froze. There was… there was someone on the dome-shaped mountain. It was either that or someone had just placed a figurine on it.
I could see the silhouette of someone kneeling on one knee on it, something was sticking out of the side of the person in a rather weird way and my heart slammed into my chest as I slowly realized what I was seeing.
“Get down!” I screamed, racing towards Luciano. Time seemed to slow down as I sprinted across the hall for him.
A loud bang resonated through the air and for a long minute, there was maddening silence.