Page 160 of The Contract

He pauses. Eyes cut to Decker. Then Dante. Then finally, with one quick jerk of his chin, he nods.

Good.

My feet slow as I close in on Dante, each step weighted, cautious. A minefield of red flags my horny little body always wants to ignore.

He’s on the phone—shoulders relaxed, voice low—composed in that effortless, dangerous way he wears like a second skin.

Too absorbed to notice me at first. “It won’t be an issue. As soon as Zver arrives, I’ll leave. It’s that simple.”

The name lands and butterflies scatter in my chest.

I blink, pulse kicking clear to the moon.

Zver.

The man whose voice has whispered across mind more times that I can count.

If our paths cross again, I’ll take more than a kiss…

Dante turns, gaze sharp—like he’s just registered the sudden disturbance in the force… and didn’t expect it to be me.

“I’ll call you back,” he says, slipping the phone into his pocket without looking away.

His jaw ticks. Just once.

But it’s enough to stir something reckless in me.

Somewhere between panic and lust, I want to lick the pulse in his throat.

Taste the storm simmering under all that control.

Then, like a switch flipped off, the fire in his eyes dims—cooling to something calm. Detached. Indifferent.

“Problem, Pom?”

“I would like to leave.”

“Anytime,” he says lightly. “Glad to see we’re finally on the same page.” He steps aside, all flourished gesture and mock condescension. “My car is at your disposal.”

“I would like to leave. With my friend.”

He glances across the room to Mila. Decker lifts his glass in a lazy salute.

“Sorry, Pom. I can’t help you.”

“You have to.”

My hand shoots out before I can stop it, fingers wrapping around Dante’s arm.

He rips away like I’ve tased him.

My heart spikes. “There’s something going on. An auction?—”

A man steps forward, interrupting us, menacing as hell without even trying. No mask. Not that he needs one. He’s carved from stone, emotionless. A statue in a tailored suit.

“Did you still want to leave, sir?”

Dante doesn’t answer. Instead, he looks down at me, a flicker of life in his eyes.

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