Page 24 of Vicious Vows

Kelvin looked from her to me and back again before he gave us a tight smile and walked off.

"Watch yourself," I whispered.

"You watch yourself," Faye responded without letting even the smallest part of her smile fall from her face.

I was the one who told her to keep up appearances, and right now she seemed to be doing it much better than I was.

I walked through the crowd with Faye on my arm, but the longer I did, the more I could feel the heated gazes from men in the crowd. Some of whom Farrah had a history with, others who wished they'd taken her when they had the chance.

It was expected. Farrah was a favorite among many people in my circle, I should be more worried about them not looking at her.

Still, with every gaze, the need to rip someone's eyes out of their sockets got stronger and stronger.

"Go sit down, don't make a scene and if I were you I'd keep our arrangement to yourself." I gestured with my chin for Faye to sit at one of the side tables where I'd be able to keep an eye on her. I was more than ready to get out of here, all that was left for me to do was to find Marisa Nicoli and wish her a happy birthday.

Without Faye on my arm, I instantly felt more at ease, more in my natural state.

My eyes scanned the crowd, it didn't take me long to find Marisa. She stood out as she should for her special occasion. She wore a long black gown that hugged every one of her curves so tightly I was surprised the fabric held. Her hair was pulled to one side and she glittered with all the jewels that adorned her neck and wrist.

Her face lit up in a sexy smile as she watched me come in her direction. Marisa and I had a complicated relationship. We'd had sex a few times but I quickly found out that she did nothing to keep my attention. There was no fire on my end for her, that wasn't the same for her though. She constantly made a fool out of herself to get back into my bed.

"I was hoping I got to see you tonight." Marisa reached out, sliding a hand up my arm, grabbing onto my bicep before squeezing once and leaning up to kiss the side of my cheek. Close enough to my mouth that I had to shift my head to make sure she didn't make contact. "Maybe, I'll get my other wish too."

"Depends on what that is?" I stared down at her.

"It involves you tying me up to the bed like you used to." She mumbled so softly I had to lean forward to hear her.

"Now that sounds tempting but I'm sure you've heard that I can't play those games with you anymore. Not even for your birthday." I shrugged.

"Yes, I heard but I didn't quite believe it. They say you're a married man now."

"I am. My wife is waiting for me to take her home as we speak."

Marisa took another step forward, clearly not trying to keep any boundaries between us. "What the little lady doesn't know won't hurt her."

"How much of a cad do you think I am to cheat on my wife? You must think very lowly of me." I shook my head and took another step back. The last thing I needed was anyone getting any ideas about what was going on here. "Besides, I'm supposed to be on my honeymoon. I only came to wish you a happy birthday and to show my face."

"How much of a cad?" Marisa tossed her head back and laughed loud enough for a group of people to turn and look at us. "Dominic, I know you. I also know you only keep people around for as long as they're useful. You're not going to get me or anyone else to believe you're actually in love with her. In fact, I'm pretty sure she knows the deal too. It doesn't look like she's missing you too much." Marisa gestured with her chin behind me in Faye's direction.

I turned to see Faye and a man I didn't know deep in what looked like an intimate conversation. Pure rage spiked through my veins as I watched him place a hand on her thigh only to have her blush and laugh at his advances.

"Seems like I have some things to discuss with my wife." I bit out in Marisa's direction before I began to prowl in Faye's direction.

I didn't know what she was playing at but before the night was over Faye was going to learn what it meant to belong to someone like me.

CHAPTER 13

Faye

If Dominic thought putting me in a revealing dress and having me slap on some makeup would prepare me for the event, he was sadly mistaken.

I'd never been to a party like this in my life. Not only the company but the actual atmosphere was more than I was used to. Within moments of us stepping into the large party tent, I was overwhelmed. Still, I did my very best to make sure that I didn't show it to anyone.

Farrah was as fearless as they come. Or rather, that's what I'd always thought. The fact that she sent me off to my ultimate death at the hands of her would-be husband lets me know there are at least a few things that she's scared of.

Dominic walked around for a few moments and made sure to keep a tight grip on my hand. He smiled at the appropriate people and introduced me to those who didn't know me. It didn't seem like there were a lot of people at the party who didn't know me.

All this time, I thought my sister was leading a much different life. Of course, I knew she partied, but I didn't judge her for it. If she wanted to go out and have fun with a few people, that was her business, but from the people that came up to me so far at the party, I could tell, by the way they stared at me, that they weren't just platonic friends of my sister. She'd had relationships with these people. Sexual in nature if I could guess.

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