Page 28 of Shield

Zero is my level of interest in continuing to sit here while empty headed, drunk females throw themselves at me, half of them sent expressly for that purpose by Vin.

But a promise is a promise. Plus, Olivia’s been on my ass about showing up to Graffiti, the pop-up club night she put together with Eleanor. Spray-painted walls, cars, and other items set up in my lobby weren’t exactly my vision for the place, but Olivia won that argument by annoying the shit out of me and promising to take every precaution. I can admit the old school hip-hop and street food are nice touches. She did a good job.

I’d like to tell her so, but of course, I haven’t seen her all night. I’m sure she’s busy running things, and I told her I wasn’t coming. At the time, I meant it.

With Vin off flirting and buying drinks for arbitrary females, my thoughts drift—as they always do—to Siena. Vin bannedme from using the “stalker apps,” as he calls them, tonight, but last I checked, she was working late.

Vin promised to have one of his guys tail her from a distance. He sold it as a way to stop me from fielding unnecessary updates from my security all night, but I’m pretty sure he did it so they would stop me if I got too drunk and tried to find her. I’m not going to argue. Given what happened in the parking garage, I obviously can’t be trusted to keep my hands off her.

Downing the rest of my drink, I give the chatty woman next to me a half nod, my dick instantly hard as images of fucking Siena in the parking garage flash through my mind.

I hate myself for fucking her that day, but I couldn’t have stopped if I wanted to. An image of her underneath me, begging me to kiss her flashes through my head, and I signal the bartender for another shot of bourbon. Fuck, if I were back there right now, I’d kiss her and never stop. And that’s exactly why I didn’t do it. The security upgrades I started on the penthouse when I sent her home just wrapped up today, and if I kissed her I knew I’d drag her back here, putting a target on her when I wasn’t yet prepared to protect her.

I turn around to face the crowd, most of whom are dancing with some eating and others at the art stations Olivia set up. The music drowns out the woman running her mouth next to me, but she doesn’t seem to care that I’m not listening. As long as she keeps her hands to herself, I’m fine with it since it means it’s less likely that other women will bother me.

Leaning back against the bar, I scan the room. A few drinks make it easier to be out, especially at a party called Graffiti. I’m wearing jeans, a black t-shirt, boots, and a ball cap. Not being in a suit feels weird, like I left my armor at home, butit’s also easier to move, and I can’t say that I’mnotlooking for a fight tonight.

Fucking Siena the other day was a huge stress relief, but only briefly. Staring at her day in and day out does nothing to ease that craving to be inside of her constantly, and now that I have to put the phone down and be present, I’m ready to beat someone’s ass if I can’t fuck hers.

Scanning the crowd, I’m looking for anything that seems out of line. Someone disrespecting the building, someone fucking with a female. That’s when I see Valentina stumble through the crowd, drunk as fuck and sloppy as hell. I roll my eyes and turn back to the bar, hoping she doesn’t see me, but it’s too late.

“MATTI!” Valentina shrieks too loud to ignore, and she throws herself at me. Her arms clamp around my neck, and she bites at me like a deranged animal, her perfume suffocating me.

When the woman who’s been talking to me gives her a dirty look, Valentina hisses at her like a cat. “Fuck off, bitch!” Then she’s instantly all smiles again, shoving her face in mine.

“What the fuck?” I snap, disentangling myself from her. “Keep your fucking hands to yourself.”

“Awww, Matti, come on,” she purrs, wrapping her leg around my thigh and grinding her pussy against my jeans. Her dress rides up, and I can see her red lace thong.

“Jesus Christ,” I spit out in disgust, stepping back and letting her stumble. Fuck, I’m going to smell like this bitch now—her pussy and her perfume.

Vin appears next to me with a girl tucked into his side. He’s more than half in the bag, but he pulls his shit together when he sees Valentina, turning to me with a raised eyebrow. “Yougood?”

“No.” I jerk my head in Valentina’s direction. “I need a fucking shower before this bitch’s poison penetrates my skin.”

Vin laughs and pulls me away from her. “Nah, don’t bother. Those clothes are going to end up on your floor in a couple of hours anyway when you drag one of these women upstairs with you.”

“Not gonna happen,” I grumble.

Vin lifts his chin in the direction of a few other women standing near us. “You want one of them? They can’t shut up about you.”

Glancing in their direction, two of them are eye fucking me as we speak. “Pass.”

The grin drops off Vin’s face, and he releases his companion. “Man, you promised you’d come out tonight. Youknowwhy we’re here. Stay away from that psycho bitch,” he says, gesturing toward Valentina, “but grab someone you can throw around for a night and get back to your old self.”

I think about throwing Siena on the hood of his car—I’ll have to ask him what he thought about the dents—and my dick twitches.

I shake my head. “I’m not feeling it.”

Valentina stumbles at the bar and falls into a group of guys behind her. One of them spills his drink all over himself, and he whips around on her, furious.

“What the fuck, bitch?” he yells.

Vin and I glance at each other, then stop our conversation to watch.

“Fuck you, asshole,” she screams, shoving his chest. “I made that shitty shirt look better.”

Grabbing her wrists, he twists her around so that she’sbent over the bar. Her dress rides up, and he slaps her ass as his friends laugh and the other patrons back away. “What’d you say?” he yells. “You say you want me to fuck your asshole?”

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