by Tiffany Jade
Like I gave a flying fuck.
"Did you hear a word I just said?" her voice gets slightly screechy as she leans into me. Was she this annoying when I had actually had feelings for her? My God.
"Na," is all I say as I lift my hand in a wave to Lorenzo as he walks down the staircase to enter the room. My mother clearly had a thing for dramatic entrances, so the staircase into the ballroom was even more spectacular than the one in the entry hall. And luckily, Serafina hadn't gotten her ho-ish little hands on this one so the beautiful woodwork was on full display, without being covered in tacky red lights and God awful foliage.
"Daaaaaaaddy," Serafina whines as her father walks up to us. "Grayson isn't listening to me." Lorenzo and I both roll our eyes.
"He's going to have to listen to you for the rest of his life Princess, give him a small break tonight." I act like I don't see the quick glance they give each other. Neither thinks my life will be much longer, nice for him to agree that I shouldn't spend my last hours with his crazy spawn. I turn back to Lorenzo and give him a small smile.
Serafina takes advantage of her father's listening ear and begins to bore him with the nail salon saga. I glance around making eye contact with Daxon, Luca, Liam, and Nate. They each give an almost imperceptible nod. She hasn't been spotted yet. Why the fuck is she taking so long?
I feel my heart rate pick up a bit, there's no way Serafina would have made a move this early in the weekend. That would put everyone on edge. She wasn't that stupid right?
Right?!
"Who is that?" severe annoyance in Serafina's voice pulls me out of the dark thoughts in my head. I follow her gaze to the top of the staircase.
That.
That is mine.
The delicate black mask covers her face almost fully. The lace accentuating every feature and framing her eyes in a way that makes them almost impossible not to want to get lost in.
She halts at the top of the stairs, taking in the room below her. Giving me time to take in the black dress that is hugging every damn inch of her curves... perfectly. My hands itch to trace them myself. Two identical slits on each side of her hips allow her toned and tan legs to peak through, making it so it's not just my hands itching to feel her.
"Seriously, who the fuck is that?" Serafina is pissed. She was always convinced that she was the star in every room she was in, and Liv, while always prettier, was a fucking stunner tonight. Every man in the room was noticing too.
I refuse to smirk, as much as I want to. Serafina had always seen Liv in baggy clothes with no makeup and her hair thrown in a knot on the top of her head. My favorite looks of hers to be quite honest. But add that to the fact that Sera was about as narcissistic as they came and generally did not give one literal shit about anyone but herself, it was no surprise that she had no clue she was staring at Liv.
I contain my need to beat my cousins into a bloody pulp too as I catch them with their mouth's a bit slack as they watch her too.
"Oh my God." It finally clicks in Serafina's tiny mind as Dean appears next to Liv. His mask matches Liv's. Well isn't that fucking cute little brother.
My jaw locks as his hand lands at the small of her back and she grins up at him before beginning to step down. He whispers something in her ear and her whole face lights up as she giggles.
Mine.
She's fucking mine.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. Resisting the urge to chuck it across the room, I hold it up.
1 New Message
Assclown: Breathe dumb fuck
Assclown: If you pass out now or beat the fuck out of him in front of all these people, they might know you love her and Serasuccubus might catch on.
I catch Daxon's eye as he waits at the bottom of the stairs. He raises an eyebrow at me as I take a steadying breath. I manage to glare at the happy couple as he lands a glare on them too. I mean, looking like I want to murder Dean is kind of how I'm supposed to look for Serafina right now anyway right? She doesn't need to know it's because if his hand slips one more centimeter I'm going to cut it off for him.
"Who would have thought that your cheap little L.A. call girl could clean up so nice!" Serafina has collected herself and is back in ice bitch mode.
She wraps an arm around me and smiles, "I can almost see why you settled for her while I was gone, she almost looks a little bit like me huh... the Wal-Mart version maybe?"
More like the Oscar de la Renta to your dollar store Sera. But ok.
Liv's eyes land on Serafina and I, and purely for Serafina's benefit and the act of us being in love, not to get back at Liv at all, I proceed to wrap my arm around Serafina's waist and pull her into my side.
Liv's eyes turn black. Hahaha.
She reaches the bottom of the stairs and glances around the room, feigning interest anywhere but at my brother and I.
Her gaze lands on the dance floor, where couples are starting to begin the night’s festivities. She reaches for Dean's shoulder and pulls him down to whisper her own joke into his ear. Her eyes, slide subtly to me as he smiles and leads her over to the dance floor, the slightest hint of a smirk as she tucks her head into his chest and they begin to sway to the music.
Well shit.
"Oh we just couldn't be happier Mrs. Zello, Grayson truly is going to make an amazing husband," Serafina's sickly sweet, show off voice drags me out of my 'I fucked up' moment.
I turn my gaze to the older couple who has joined Serafina, her father and I. Serafina stands on her tiptoes and lands a kiss on my cheek, "A wonderful father too." My stomach drops, Mrs. Zello's eyes light up.
"Oh are you two expecting dear? Is that why the sudden wedding?" Mrs. Zello leans in with a conspiratorial whisper.
"Gosh no!" Serafina laughs as I squeeze her arm, a subtle warning, but a warning enough. "That won't be for a few years, my devoted husband and I have many plans to travel and see the world together. We have quite the honeymoon ahead of us don't we darling?" Serafina turns her gaze on me.
"Indeed, we do." I nod and give Mrs. Zello a smile. "Now if you will all excuse Serafina and I, I believe our party has started without us." I motion towards the now full dance floor. Mr. and Mrs. Zello and Lorenzo wave us off as they continue their conversation.
"The talk of babies make you nervous Grayson?" Serafina speaks through a nasty grin as we glide through a few people to take up our dance in the middle of the floor.
"I can't imagine there being more than one of you running around on this Earth," I take one of Serafina's hands in mine and place the other on her waist as a new song begins to play. Out of my periphery from this position I can keep an eye on Liv without raising any suspicion. Other than the fact that my heart is racing, because I should be the one holding on to her like he is right now.
Serafina rolls her eyes and she shakes her hand out of my grasp, she pulls me in close, on the pretense of, once again, looking cute and in love, but I can feel her carrying just as much tension in her body as I am. If she wasn't such bitch, I'd feel a little sorry for her. She hates me as much as I hate her. But lucky for both of us, this will all be over soon. Too bad only one of us will live to see the other side.
Chapter 30
As his arms wrap around her waist and pull her in close, again, I have to turn my head. I know it’s all fake, it’s all an act. But God does it hurt to watch.
I shouldn't have teased him when I saw he was watching. I could see the tension in his body, but he's the dumbass that wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer, just to mess with me too judging by that smart ass smirk he tried to hide. He started it! Dean gives me a gentle shake.
"You hanging in there?" he asks, his eyes searching mine.
"Of course!" I smile up at him as he shakes his head.
"You're so full of shit," he hugs me to him, offering a little protection from the rest of the party. Giving me a minute to collect myself.
I take my moment and then take a deep breath. I pull back a bit as I feel Dean's chest rumble with a chuckl
e. "What's so funny?"
"I think I have graduated from just Grayson and Daxon wanting me dead, to the rest of the Demonte clan too." I look around and catch all of the subtle glares our way.
Daxon's face is smiling as he flirts with a blonde bombshell in the corner but his eyes keep bouncing in our direction and the tension in his shoulders screams volumes. I assume he is also mad at me but then I feel it.
He's right behind me—not close enough to touch—but close enough that I know he is there. Daxon's eyes bounce back and forth, concern all over his face.
I pull further back from Dean but stay focused ahead. Daxon shakes his head, quickly, but clearly trying to stop something from happening. Something is wrong, and I need to move before Grayson fucks up.
"I need to take a quick break." I smile up at Dean as I stop dancing. His eyes are watching behind me too and he smiles back but I can see the lock of his jaw, he knows it’s up too.
"Would you like me to walk you somewhere?" he asks.
"I think I can handle it," I roll my eyes in an attempt to lighten the mood. Dean doesn't take the bait. "I need a girly moment Dean, my hell."
Now he does give me a real grin and a nod, releasing his grip from me. I walk away heading for one of the side exits, not sure where it will take me, but thinking I better take my chances anyway.
Daxon's shoulders begin to relax as he leans against the wall and winks at the pretty blonde. Jenna is gonna hand him his ass if we make it out of here and get to explain to her what happened. I smirk at the thought. God I miss that girl.
I look around at my option of exit doors, Nate stands by one, Luca and Liam by another. The other doors are covered by men I don't recognize. I quickly decide Nate's is probably the safest and head in his direction.
"You good?" he whispers as I get close enough to him to hear. I just nod and keep walking. Nate chuckles.
"You're gonna get your buddy killed if you don't tell him to watch his hands." Nate opens the door for me and makes a sweeping motion with his arms, I just glare and walk out, making him chuckle more.
I begin my march down the long hallway, unsure of where I am going but needing a minute out of the tense air in the ballroom. The raw power in that room is overwhelming. The only thing making it slightly bearable is that the scariest ones, seem to be on my side. But my God, these damn, overprotective, possessive, alpha male, "Holy sh—" my voice squeaks as the arms wrap around me from the darkened entry. A firm hand lands over my mouth, efficiently silencing me.
I take a deep breath and instantly melt into the muscular chest at my back. The second he feels me relax, his hand drops from my mouth and lands on my hip. His other, releases the arm he had pulled me by and lands on my other hip, he squeezes and pushes into me.
"If he doesn't stop touching you I'm going to lose my fucking mind Queen," he pulls me back through the door behind him, turning me around as he closes the door and pushes me against it. The hardness that had been at my back is now pushing into my stomach, making my heart skip a few beats. His eyes meet mine through his mask as I look up, I catch the slight sparkle in them as he leans in, pressing his lips to my neck.
"How did you get ahead of me?" I ask, before he wipes my mind completely blank. I can feel the smile that tugs up his lips before he runs his tongue up to my ear.
"I know this place like I know your body Queen," his hands slide up from my hips to cup my jaw, tilting my face up to his, he bites at my bottom lip. "And you'd be surprised at how fast I can move when I want something."
"When you want something?" I tilt my head in his hands and give him an innocent look, which makes him roll his eyes. "What do you want Gray?" my words come out breathier than I had intended, they make his eyes darken and his tongue quickly darts out to wet his lips.
"That's a stupid fucking question Liviana," before I know what’s happening, his hands drop from my face and are wrapped around me, picking me up to straddle his waist, the slits in my dress opening up and creating almost no barrier between us. He smirks at the involuntary moan that slips from my lips. "You Queen, you know the only thing I want is you."
She says nothing but at my words her hands find their way into my hair and tug me down to her, ravaging my lips with hers. She bites and licks with alternating fierceness and gentleness until I'm pretty sure I'm seeing fireworks.
What the fuck is this woman doing to me?
I've thought that a lot since I met her.
I pull myself back from the fuzzy edge of consciousness her lips have sent me to and realize that she has my tie thrown on the ground and the top buttons of my shirt popped open.
I silently thank God that she chose the hall with spare bedrooms and not the one full of offices. I had really only planned on pulling her into the room to hold her for a minute before telling her the truth about Dean, but her lips... No we don't have time for this.
As if reading my thoughts of hesitation, I feel her smile and she begins pulling my shirt up from where it is tucked into my slacks. I have full confidence that we will be the ones walking away from this weekend, but... fuck it, I can make time for her.
And just in case, I'm taking every minute with her that I can get.
Decided, I reach behind her and lock the door, her little giggle makes me smile. All the hell going on here this weekend and she can take it all away with a sound.
I carry her away from the door and towards the direction that I know there should be a bed. All of these rooms were designed relatively the same. Her fingers continue to work on the buttons on my shirt and her lips begin to play around my collarbone. My shins connect with the softness of a mattress and I gently set her down on the edge.
As my eyes begin to adjust in the darkness, I take her in. Her hair that she had had in a perfect up-do, now has tendrils framing her face, looking more like her usual messy hair, framing that feathery masquerade mask.
I take in the dress again. The slits expose her legs in the subtle moonlight playing through the shuttered window. An angel wrapped in black.
Her eyes run up and down my body as I stand in front of her, before landing on the skin she has exposed on my chest. She loved the tattoos, she mentioned it all the time, traced the lines with her fingers whenever she could. I shiver at the memory.
Her eyes focus on my chest now as I pull off the shirt she had been taking off. A smile plays on her lips as it hits the floor. She raises an eyebrow as she meets my gaze. With her mussed hair, delicate mask, and kiss swollen lips, she is stunning.
Old fear jumps into my heart as she continues to watch me. No words, just a curious gaze. I can feel the anxiety creeping in, my heart ready to flip, when she smiles and reaches her arms out for me. Not in a demanding way, not in a forceful way, the simple motion is full of love and acceptance.
My heart instantly calms, she's strong enough for this life, she can handle the crazy, the dangerous.
And God be with anyone who tries to hurt her as long as I'm around.
I watch as his eyes flash through emotions. He looks confused, almost scared. It's always weird to see his usual arrogance gone, but after what he had been through in the last while, thinking I had been playing him. That I loved Dean. That I could be anything like Serafina, the feelings running through him had to be intense. We weren't going to have long in this hidden moment we were stealing tonight, but we had long enough.
I wait, with my arms held up to him. As long as he needs.
His smirk finally returns, and the second it does, he's kneeling in front of me, and his lips are on mine.
Soon we are both breathing heavy and holding onto each other with a mixture of passion and desperation. Sitting back on his heels, he reaches up and unties my mask.
"Cute how you guys are matching." He tries to keep the words light, but I hear the irritation. I roll my eyes at him.
"Shut up Gray," I remove his mask, and take mine from him, gently setting them both on the floor next to the bed. I grab his hands and kiss them.
"Do we
have time?" I ask him as I pull him up with me. He backs up a fraction and looks me up and down, in his moment of quiet I reach behind me, unzipping the small zipper at my lower back and untying the halter at my neck. I let the dress fall to the floor and thoroughly enjoy the widening of his eyes as he takes in the lack of anything underneath the dress but a lacy black thong.
“Oh baby girl, I will fucking make time," his eyes light up with hunger as he continues that smirk. He quickly unclasps his belt, and his slacks and briefs hit the floor along with his shirt in seconds. He's then picking me up and throwing me down on the bed, I start to giggle but it gets caught in my throat as his mouth lands on my breast, with no warning, biting at me. His hand teases the other, his rough fingers grazing across and squeezing. His low groan vibrates through my chest as his tongue wanders, leaving behind it a burning trail of nerve endings.
He slowly creeps down, planting kisses around my stomach, his tongue dipping into my belly button, as his hands slide down lower.
Needing to do something with my hands, I find his shoulders and my nails bite into the muscled hardness of them, I'm rewarded with another deep groan as my nails dig in. As I feel his muscles move under my grip he slides his hands down to my inner thighs and lightly tickles his fingers over the now sensitive skin. I shiver. He chuckles, deep, and dark. The chuckle makes my stomach tighten.
His fingertips begin to tease the skin around the lingerie I had worn, just in case, his fingers gliding around as his lips tease at the band. His fingers dip below the band and slowly, so slowly, he slides down, his tongue following the trail of his fingers.
My breath catches as his fingers finally slip between my folds and his tongue finds my clit. My hands find their way into his hair as his tongue flicks at the knot of nerves. One hand holds my hip down as the other begins a slow rhythm, slowly sliding in and out, each time a little harder, a little deeper. Coaxing out the little moans that make his hand tighten on me.
"Fuck Queen," he mumbles against me before his tongue continues its assault on my senses, I can feel my body writhing with abandon as he meets each thrust of my hips with his hand, his fingers twisting and rotating subtly. He pulls back a bit and slides up my body, using his weight to hold me down while his fingers continue.