Series: Lee Savino
Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Was that the merger Thompson was referring to?
I pass a white-haired man scolding his son. “Focus. We need to win the auction.”
The son protests and gets rapped by his father’s cane.
“–Tonight, midnight. After that, you can do as you like.” The father prods the son forward, and he reluctantly heads across the room towards Paloma.
“–Sample the merchandise,” another man in the apparent queue mutters.
My bear nearly forces his way out. I want to smash my champagne glass on the ground, tear off my suit, and destroy anyone who dares touch her.
Instead, I get a giant glass of merlot and stroll to the center of the floor, where a thirty-year-old guy with a seventy thousand dollar watch and a receding hairline is attempting to steer Paloma through the other dancers. Without bothering to pretend to trip, I toss my drink on him. The dark liquid spatters all over his front and soaks into the expensive Italian cotton.
“Oops,” I say.
The man curses. Paloma steps back. Her white jumper escaped any stains.
Her dance partner starts to bluster, and I catch his gaze, holding it until he sees the ferocity of my bear and drops his eyes. “You’d better go change.” I arch my brow. “I’ll take over from here.” I step in front of him and take Paloma’s hand, then tug her into my arms.
Her sweet scent surrounds me, and for a moment, I’m dizzy. The bitter tang has receded, and I can smell only her delectable skin, along with a light scent of ginger. I want to lick up her neck and taste her properly.
“May I have this dance?” I give her my most dazzling smile and maneuver us into the waltz my mother Winnie taught us when we were gangly teens.
“Oh, now he asks.”
I can’t tell if she’s flirting or annoyed.
I’m not the grouchy and stand-offish bear type like my brother, Teddy. I learned to schmooze and charm humans to win on this cut-throat playing field. But, for the first time, I’m unsure of myself. For the first time, I actually care whether my charm lands or not.
Paloma matches me step for step, leaning on me and responding to the slightest pressure. We twist and turn together, dancing like we were born to do it.
“Don’t tell me you preferred your old partner.”
“Chinless Chad? No.”
I bark a laugh, but she lifts a shoulder. “I prefer to be left alone.” Despite her words, her gaze roams my face with what I hope is interest.
“Yes. It looks like you have a long line of suitors.” I glance over to see her former dance partner’s father angrily speaking to her retinue of guards.
She mutters something in Spanish.
“I’m sorry?”
She lifts her chin. “Underneath all that muscle you must actually be a very small man.”
Wow. Okay, now it’s getting personal. I’m not sure what I did to inspire this attack, but my bear likes that she can give it back. Last night I imagined her to be cowed by her foster father and his men.
“I don’t know, most women find me to be more than adequate in, ah, that department.” I flick my brows above the mask.
Her bodyguards surround the dance floor. Two of them shoulder their way through the dancers on the floor toward us.
What in the ever-loving fuck is going on here? Does Thom not realize what spectacle his men are making in front of his Hampton guests? Does he not care?
A flush appears on her cheeks and throat from my innuendo. She attempts to pull away, but I keep her against my body, loving the feel of her soft curves. I turn our bodies, dancing away from the approaching guards.
“You disgust me.” Her nostrils flare. “Any man who bids on a woman’s virginity must have deep inadequacies.”
Her words hit me like a blast of concrete to the chest. I stop dancing, releasing her abruptly.
Bid on her virginity?
That’s what’s going on here this weekend? Oh, hell no. Not on my watch.
My shock distracts me momentarily from the approaching guards. Before I can reply, they’re upon us.
“Time to go, Paloma.” The asshole who was making her eat last night takes her elbow.
“She’s not going anywhere,” I snarl before I remember to hide my aggression.
Paloma disengages from me, though. “Watch it. I’m not your property yet.”
Thom drops a hand on my shoulder. “Looks like my daughter doesn’t care to dance, Darius.”
I grind my teeth as the guards hustle her away, not just out of my grasp but out of the room. The concrete that hit my chest has traveled down to my gut now. I want to pummel Thom to a pulp. My bear wants to rampage, but I contain myself.
I’ve spent the last fifteen years learning to control my impulses.
Every action must be well-thought out when you live among vultures. Especially when you’re not the same species as them.