Page 485 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

Ooh. Right.Thathits me like a sledgehammer to the chest.

My spine stiffens and I grip the handle of my handbag tight, clearing my throat.

“You’re still here,” I finally say. Brilliant opening, Lily. I mean, Academy Award-worthy.

“Not for long,” he grunts and my eyes drop to his side where a leather duffel bag hangs off of his shoulder.

I pull myself up to my full height, not that it even comes close to his. “Did you have fun after you left us last night?”

“It was never supposed to be more than what it was,” he says, narrowing his eyes.

“Oh,” I say, my throat tightening. “So staking out girls to mess around with in darkened clubs is your MO, then? Just like a ‘get ’em off and then get out fast’ kind of thing you do to…for what reason, exactly?” I lift an eyebrow. “To give yourself blue balls so you have to rub one out on your own? Doesn’t sound like much fun to me.”

The words dripping from my lips are foreign to my own ears. I can’t even believe I’m saying them, in public no less.

Then again, dry humping a guy on a nightclub couch isn’t exactlymyMO.

“Trust me, it’s not fun at all.”

I fold my arms over my shoulders. “You’re the one who left. It didn’t have to be that way.” Oh my Lord. What the hell is possessing me to say this crap to him?

“Yes, it did,” he hisses, his jaw twitching.

“Lily!” Kat’s voice floats through the air and I look up to see her waving at me as she jogs toward the entrance. “We’re waiting!” She flashes me a smile, but I don’t miss the grimace she directs at Zeno. He turns in her direction, and the menacing eye standoff between them is more than a little unsettling, if I’m being honest.

And I have no idea what the hell it all means. It’s not like she knows this guy. Kazimir introduced him to us all last night. And I didn’t tell her what happened between us, so it’s not like she has to defend my honor or anything.

I look between them, confused as hell as to why they’re trying to kill each other with their minds right now.

“Wanna tell me why?” I press. I should tell him to just screw off, that I’m not going to melt at his feet just because he gave me, sad to admit, the greatest pleasure I’ve had from a human in a really long time.

“Oh, you mean you haven’t heard?” He whips back around toward me, his lips stretched across his god-like face. “It’s because I’m a fucking thug.” He says that last part a little loud, enough for Kat to hear. She gives a little nod when he tosses one final glare at her before pushing past me toward the hotel lobby.

“Good luck, Lily,” he murmurs as he passes. “I hope shit works out better for you than it did for me.”

My jaw drops, his musky scent still lingering in the air, just like my next words.

Wait…what?

CHAPTER5

ZENO

My Uber pulls up to my family’s new hotel, the Excelsior, about twenty minutes after I stormed out of the Severinovs’ property and away from Lily Salesi.

It isn’t a long-enough ride for the anger festering deep in my gut to subside.

Those fucking assholes!

I rub the back of my neck and step out of the Honda Accord, pulling my duffel out of the backseat before grunting a ‘thanks’ to the driver.

With a deep sigh, I push open the revolving door, not bothering to take a second to admire the glitzy exterior, or the elaborate porte-cochère leading up to the hotel entrance. I don’t give a good goddamn about the oversized potted plants, or the gaudy, gold-plated shit. I don’t care about the fancy lighting fixtures or the twinkling lights flashing at me as I stomp into the lobby.

It all means nothing.

I didn’t come here because I was invited.

I came here because I was ordered.

---