Page 73 of Heirs of Havoc

“Come on, Bunny.” Feliks takes my hand and when I glance towards Dom, his eyes drop to it. I grip Feliks tighter. He leads me over to another chaise next to Dom. At the back, where the boys can see every bit of the hedonistic party around us. A pole stands in the middle, red lights spinning on top.

“Why are we here?” I ask, my voice straining over the music. With vodka still rolling through my system, it’s easy to bob my head to the beat.

Feliks opens his mouth to answer, my hand on his thigh, but Dom’s voice comes loud over the music instead. “Shut up and stay put.”

Lev puts a shot of clear liquid in front of me. “And enjoy the party, M&M.”

Dom leans towards the twins, his forearms on his knees. A bottle of vodka hangs from his fingers. “We know those guys?” Dom juts his chin towards another set of luxurious seating at the front of the room. “I haven’t seen them.”

Following his gaze, my eyes narrow. “They look familiar.”

“Didn’t ask you, Merlo,” Dom retorts, taking a swig.

My narrow eyes turn to him, his eyes narrowing back. An intensity rises between us, the thudding beat matching my heart. Anger.

Stay put. Do this. Do that. The more time I spend around Dom, the more I hate him.

My eyes land on the pole. Fuck it. I’m not staying put. Not anymore. Downing the shot, I stand to my feet.

“Mia,” Dom gives a growling warning, but I don’t care. Marching up to the pole, I grab it with one hand, walking around it. Dom’s eyes move from my sneakers to my eyes before warning me again. “Mia Mouse.” He tsks. “Don’t be stubborn.”

“Deal with it, Dominik.” Spinning into a pirouette, the moves come back to me like Dom's kiss in the prison. Fast. Another twirl makes me feel more alive, and another spin makes me feel in charge. Tapping into the rhythm of the music, my hips move to the beat, swaying with the bass.

“Well, well…” Lev leans back in his seat when I catch his eye. “We’re in for a show.”

Someone whistles from across the room, and that only fuels me. What fuels me more? Dom’s eyes darken when I whip my curls around and squat low. I’m into the moves, and if I’m really putting on a show, these pants won’t do.

My back to the pole, I slide my pants off, watching as Dom’s chiselled jaw tightens. Swinging them around my head, I catch Feliks’ eyes, staring at me like he’s ready for another round. The twins whisper something to each other, Lev’s hand on his crotch. Letting go of my pants, it lands on Dom’s head, so he knows how I really feel about him dictating my attire.

He pulls it off, throwing it to the ground, but I don’t slow down. With my body balmy and my spirits high, my shins press into the pole as I hoist my body up, climbing. Using my muscles and my quickening heart gives me the energy to own this entire room.

“Damn, Mia,” Lev's mutter is clear from here, a grin on my face.

There’s something about having these four sets of eyes on me that keeps me going. I don’t care who else watches, all I see is them. The tension in Vlad's muscles. The grin on Lev's face. The awe in Feliks' eye. Every twitch of Dom's jaw, every twitch in his pants. And when I go into my lay-back, my thighs tight around the pole, I imagine I’m riding Feliks again. Then Vlad. Then Lev. Hell, even Dom. Vodka fuels my thoughts, but so do their gazes latched onto my body. I can’t stop moving as long as I’m their centre of attention.

“When did you learn to move like that, Bunny?” Feliks leans forward, his voice landing over the music.

“Took lessons behind Daddy’s back,” Dom replies, a reminder he knows way too much about me. But he’s right, it was a release. Something Martin Merlo would never dictate. Along with jogging, I forgot how good pole dancing helped me feel. Free. Sultry. Alive. “That’s not the only thing you did behind Daddy’s back, though, is it?” Dom leans forward, his teeth gritting. “Unless you don’t want to be on your back, get the fuck down.”

“Fuck you.”

On another twirl, Vlad’s eyes shift to the door, hollering coming from behind me.

“Get down, Mia,” Vlad says.

“Right, you’re on his side.” With the pole against my back, I dip, squatting with my legs open. “Too bad, Vlad.”

“Mia!” Lev’s voice rips through my attitude as Dom’s eyes shift behind me. Reaching in his waist, he pulls out his gun. So do Vlad and Feliks.

Wow, they’re fucking serious.

POW!

Everything slows, the loud bang forcing my eyes closed as I wince. The music muffles around me, my hands gripping the pole. I’ve been in this world long enough to know what that is.

A gun.

Opening my eyes, a bullet hole sits in the framed photo above Vlad and Lev. Right in the head of the Virgin Mary.

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