Page 69 of Heir of Darkness

“I’m sure it’s been a good morning for you,” Cecilia said with a grin. Blair elbowed her in the side.

“How was your night?” Blair asked.

“Fine,” Luna told them, walking into her room.

“I’m here!” Gianna called out from the living room, running into Luna’s room. “Have you started talking about anything yet?”

Luna rolled her eyes. “I’m not sharing anything.”

“Oh, so it wasn’t good?” Cecilia asked. She had a frown on her face.

“No, it was more than good,” she said, grinning. She gave into it easier than she wanted to, but she couldn’t help herself.

“I knew it!” Blair squealed.

“God, that’s disgusting,” Gianna said, clamping her hands over her ears.

Luna indulged them in a couple minutes of gossip that ended up taking longer than she anticipated, leaving them rushing toget ready for the party. She threw on the dress she’d bought the other day with Cecilia: a lacy pastel-blue, mini dress. It had a little blue satin bow right at the neckline of the dress and held her breasts tightly. The bottom flowed freely with the uneven cuts on the end making it feel more whimsical and fairy like. She threw on white platform sandal heels and curled her hair. Luna loved the way she looked, even with the bruises on her neck and collarbone from Valerio.

After one of his drivers picked them up, they finally arrived at the mansion that seemed even more packed than it had been for his homecoming party. The space was crammed with people, music blasting through the yard. Luna, Cecilia, and Blair followed behind Gianna, who demanded people move out of her way—and they did.

Luna found Dante before she found anyone else. His shirt was ripped open, exposing his defined torso. Sweat coated his face as he left the middle of the dance group.

“Look who it is!” he cheered, walking over to them.

“Where are the others?” Gianna asked.

“Being losers sitting on the couches over there,” Dante said, pointing in one direction. “Enjoy yourselves, ladies. I know I will.” With that he disappeared into the crowd again. Luna shook her head, walking over to where he said Valerio was.

He was slumped against the couches, a look of indifference on his face and a drink in his hand. When his eyes caught hers he stood, ignoring whatever the people around him were saying and instead walking over to where she stood.

“You look beautiful,” he told her, pressing a long-lasting kiss to her lips. “You get more and more perfect every time I see you.”

“You saw me a couple of hours ago,” Luna said with a little laugh.

“Too fucking long,” he growled, kissing her again. “I want to introduce you to some people,” he said, leading her over to thegroup at the couches. The girls had already made themselves comfortable, pouring drinks and mingling.

“This is Zahir,” he said, pointing to the man who sat beside Allister. Zahir had a defined beard covering his face and thick black hair that was pushed back. He was undoubtedly handsome. Luna wondered if Valerio was only associated with attractive people. “And this is Cass,” he said, pointing to another man. This one had longer hair that reached down the length of his neck and big muscles covered in tattoos. He looked mean, but the smile he gave Luna made her feel better. “This is Luna, my fiancée,” he introduced.

Her face flushed as she waved at the two other men as she took a seat beside Valerio and Cecilia. “How do you all know each other?” she asked.

“We went to high school together in Italy,” Zahir said.

Luna raised her brow. “Any crazy stories you can tell me?”

Cass snorted. “About this grandpa? Yeah, right. The extent of his craziness included assignments from his father. Brutal, but this asshole doesn’t know how to lose control.”

Luna eyed Valerio closely. So much of his life was really spent in service to his father and to his duty. Had he truly ever had fun?

He leaned in close, his lips brushing her ear. “I think I did a pretty good job of losing control last night.”

Luna felt a blush settle on her cheeks immediately. “You still held control. Let me tie you up and keep you completely powerless, and then we’ll see if you can handle it.”

“I’m never opposed.” He bit her earlobe, pulling on it. “But I don’t think you realize just how much power you already hold over me.”

“Do they do that often?” she heard Zahir ask as Valerio moved away.

“Wouldn’t know. They just started getting along recently,” Gianna said.

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