Page 114 of Hostile Secret
I breathe in the hint of cologne his suit holds, feeling the waves of my obsession with him intensify. Oh my God, I want him to touch me, right here with everyone close to us.
“I guess it’s the next natural step given I’ve pissed off Dré,” I admit. “He won’t look at me the same anymore. I won’t be the cute kid he used to give piggybacks around his penthouse and share massive ice creams with. I’m certain he won’t want me to move to Italy.”
I notice his eyes narrow behind his mask. “And this bothers you because you actually want to move to Italy to live with my brother?”
“It’s not that I want to go… I just don’t want to hear the disappointment in his voice.” Pain twists in my gut. “Those guys tried to protect me from…”
“Men like me?” He slides his hand to my nape and presses his forehead to mine, forgetting all about the people around us. “Areyouashamed of what we’re doing together?”
“No! Of course not.”
“Then own it. Be the brave woman I know you are. Do not give a fuck about what anyone else thinks about us. As long as you’re happy, that’s the only thing that matters.”
“I know,” I whisper against his mouth. “It’s just… Dré means everything to me.”
His muscles tense and the fingers securing my head dig in harder. “Correction. I am your everything, right?”
Squeezing my eyes shut, I inhale deeply. “You know what I mean, Gio.”
Moving his fingers through my hair, he fists it at the scalp and tugs my head back to expose my neck. I moan when his teeth graze a shivery trail, and his mouth settles at my ear.
“You smell so good,” his voice rumbles through me. “My brother won’t stop caring about you because of me. But I won’t lie, hearing how much you adore him, it makes me uncomfortable.”
“Uncomfortable?”
“It makes my stomach ache, my lungs burn, and my chest feels tight.”
I suck my bottom lip between my teeth, hiding my smile as I prepare to enlighten him. This can only go one of two ways. He’ll either strangle me or relent to the truth.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, Gio, but…” I exhale hard, aware of his dick growing behind his dress pants next to my hip. “I think you might be jealous of my feelings for your twin.”
As soon as the statement leaves my mouth, he captures my lips with his and crushes the words with force. It’s hot and dirty—a hunger that hints violence.
“Maybe you’re right,” he growls in a whisper. “But he doesn’t get to do this to you. He doesn’t own my little whore like I do. Say it out loud. Who do you belong to?”
“I’m yours,” I pant into his mouth, my voice shaky and my insides on fire.
“Good girl.” The hand in my hair skates all the way from my nape, down my arm, and settles where our fingers link together. “We came here to party, didn’t we?”
I swallow hard and nod, unable to hide how my body sways into him. “We did.”
“Then lead the way.”
Turning to face the crowd, I start to walk with his fingers woven tightly with mine and my hip rubbing against this thigh. Together, we move into the ballroom where the music changes.
A DJ stands behind a set of decks at the far corner andAll I Needby Foresterbursts out from the surrounding speakers.
Giovanni leads me through the party and into the middle of the dance floor. Swinging me into him, he wraps his arms around my waist, nuzzling me tight to his solid body. Alongside the beat of the song, his heart thumps next to my ear. My body is on fire next to him, even now, packed in by all of these people.
Then it hits me. I’d put so much emphasis on going to prom because that was the plan I had when I lived in Miami––before my world blew up—before him.
So many times, I’d talked about going. Dreamed about what dress I’d wear. Imagined losing my virginity to a mediocre coward who’d never survive my gangster brothers.
But this event was never going to be how I’d planned it in my head.
It was a dying wish from my past. A familiarity that I’d tried to hold on to for the sake of keeping my old life close to me.
I don’t have an affinity with any of the people here. I barely even know them, and the two girls I do think of as friends are both occupied with dates. Prom was nothing more than a childish preoccupation, which doesn’t even compare to the complex attraction I have for the man who’d confused me, caged me, and eventually corrupted me.
