Page 23 of Only For Your Touch
“Sasha,” she said, studying his closed expression. “Is something wrong?”
“Come in, Corrine.” He held out a hand to her.Corrine, she mused as she slipped her hand in his. Notlisichkaor even baby.Corrine. And spoken in that aloof tone. The sliver grew into a shard.
The door shut behind them, but she barely heard the dull thud, all of her focus pinned on him. Something wasn’t right. Aside from his cold demeanor and the order to the valet not to park her car, a deepening unease seeped into her chest through an ever-widening crack. And when Sasha didn’t head for the staircase but stood in front of the door, the crack yawned into a fissure.
“Just tell me,” she murmured, surprised at her even tone when her heart thudded against her sternum like a scared rabbit.
He studied her, his blue-gray gaze steady…shuttered. “I received a visit from your brothers tonight.”
“Gianni and Marco?” Confusion swirled inside her head for a moment, then comprehension dawned with sickening clarity. “Damn it. They found out about my coming here. How?”
“They didn’t say exactly how they discovered that, but your friend confirmed you knew me.” A shadow passed through his eyes, but the distant reserve in his voice and expression didn’t change. “They asked about you, but they also proposed a business arrangement on behalf of the Salvaggi family…an investment in Lick. And a not-so-veiled threat if we turned the offer down.”
The unease bloomed into horror. Nausea churned, and bile raced for the back of her throat. Though her father and several men under him had been arrested, her brothers hadn’t been charged. She’d almost convinced herself they had been in the dark as she had, but this proposal…partnered with the threat…smashed that last hope. They might not have been indicted with their father, but if what Sasha said was true, her brothers were more involved in the mob life than she’d known. And they’d come to Sasha, using her as an in.Jesus. She wrapped her arms around herself, wishing Sasha would touch her, hold her, give her some damn clue that the generous man she’d come to know still existed behind that icy exterior.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “They had no right to come to you. I’ll talk to them a—”
“No need,” he interrupted.
“Of course there is,” she objected. “It was me, my coming here, that brought you and the club to their attention. I’ll—”
“No, Corrine,” he objected, his tone hardening. “The last thing I need is more Salvaggi interference.”
She flinched.God, that hurt. “I’m sorry, Sasha.” Her apology was all she could offer, all she had.
“Damn,” he swore, his cold façade finally cracking. He dragged a hand over his closely cropped hair. “It’s not your place to apologize. You aren’t responsible for their actions. But this does change things.” His sensual mouth firmed into a grim line. “Our deal was based on secrecy. No one could find out about you coming here to be with me. I told you what would happen if they did.”
No one can know you’re here. Not your friends, not the press, and definitely not your family. The moment anyone does, this ends.
His words rang in her head.
“So that’s it?” she asked, forcing the question past numb lips. “That’s why you told the valet not to move my car. You’re sending me away.”
For a brief moment, his expression darkened, but then it cleared. Except for the resolute set of his jaw and the hard finality in his eyes. “Yes. This isn’t just about me, Corrine. I have my friends and what we’ve built to protect. Your brothers would only be the first to come sniffing around. Now it’s your brothers, but who next? A cousin who figures he can get in on the action? And if the word gets around that Lick is vulnerable, weak? Then others will be in here trying to claim us as territory. They want toinvestlike your brothers, only to turn Lick into a place to run prostitutes and drugs out of. I’ve seen it happen, Corrine. I,we, can’t afford—”
“Me,” she finished for him. “I’m a liability you can’t afford. You made that abundantly clear from the moment we met. I really should’ve listened to you and just stayed away.” If she had, then this terrible cold wouldn’t be invading her blood, numbing every limb and organ. Especially her stupid, stupid heart.
But then, the ice was better than the pain. That was sure to come, but she had to get away from here—from him—first. Damn if she would break down in front of him. Let him see how he’d hurt her…how she’d started to hope for more…
“Corrine.” He stepped toward her, his hand outstretched, and a horrible softening in his eyes. Pity. She didn’t need his pity. She wanted… Didn’t matter what she wanted. Just like when it came down to it, she didn’t matter to him.
And there went the razor-sharp pain.
Ducking her head, she sidestepped him and barreled through the door. The valet handed her the keys and held the door open for her. Unable to murmur a thank-you past the fist squeezing the air out of her lungs, she climbed into the Escalade and started the vehicle.
She didn’t glance over her shoulder to see if he followed. A brutal crack of laughter escaped her. Why would he come after her? She was giving him what he wanted.
She was out of the club.
Out of his life.
