Page 121 of Untamed

Luciano stills.

The air around us tightens.

He raises one brow slowly, the only visible crack in his composure. Then leans back in his chair, fingers steepling over his stomach as he studies me.

“You were shot?” he asks, tone cool, but his eyes say otherwise.

Enzo twists toward me, voice low, urgent. “What?” he snaps. “Where?” his gaze sweeps over me, eyes narrowing. “What the fuck, Ares? Why are we only just finding out about this?”

I shrug with my good side. “It’s just graze, no big deal. I handled it.”

Enzo’s face hardens. “Who was it?”

But before I can answer, before I can say Nicolai’s name and ignite the fuse, I hear footsteps.

Soft and too fucking familiar.

Bianca steps out first, her heels clicking like punctuation across the floor. She flashes a smile at the table, unaware of the storm circling the air.

And then Jordyn follows, her laugh low, a little breathless.

She’s next to Matteo.

Standing a little too close for my liking.

He’s saying something in her ear, something that makes her glance up at him, smile tugging at her lips, just as they cross the threshold into the dining room.

My jaw twitches in agitation.

I don’t even hear what Luciano says next.

Because all I see isher. Her in that light purple dress that hugs her curves perfectly, curves that belong inmyhands. Her long blonde hair, damp and tucked behind one ear, standing beside him like she belongs there. I get flashes of them kissing at the BBQ the other night and I can feel the blood in my veins heat up.

She doesn’t look at me. Which is worse than if she did.

Because silence is agreement. And her silence right now feels like the worse kind of punishment.

“We’ll discuss this later, ragazzi. I have an important announcement.”

Enzo doesn’t look at me. He just lifts his cup, sips once, then I hear him mutter.

“You’re not going to like it.” I pay no mind to either of them.

Jordyn hesitates when she sees me, but I keep my gaze on her settling across the table from me, sliding into a seat next to Bianca. She doesn’t meet my eyes, but her hand brushes the side of her neck, where I pressed my lips this morning.

The moment she takes her seat, the scent of her fills the air around me. Sinfully sweet, floral and fruity. I draw in a deep breath, filling my lungs with it.

Fuck, I hate that I have to sit here like nothing happened, pretending I didn’t almost fall to my knees for her this morning.

Luciano clears his throat. And just like that, every conversation stops.

Here we go.

He stands slowly, smoothing the front of his tailored jacket. Enzo doesn't move, but I can feel him watching me. I already know he’s going to say something that is going to piss me off.

Luciano’s voice is calm and measured as always.

“Before we start, I want to share something important. A new development for our family.”

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