Page 39 of Explosive Prejudice

“Why so hostile?” He pretended to frown for a second before checking me out, his eyes slowly roaming down my body. “I’ve missed you, mon péché. Will it hurt you to at least pretend you felt the same?”

“Yes, it would hurt me very much. So does this conversation, so stop annoying me.” I tried to look past his tall frame, but he made it difficult by placing one of his hands on my hip and the other under my chin.

“I was invited to this hideously expensive benefit in Milan.” He caressed the parts of my jaw the mask didn’t hide. “You should join me.”

“Am I supposed to be impressed?” Unfazed by his offer, I looked at him, annoyed.

“Just think about it. A whole weekend filled with nothing but luxury and sex.” He locked eyes with me, and holy shit, he was serious.

“Oh my God.” I couldn’t help the evil smile that crept to my lips as I shrugged him off. “You’re actually into me, aren’t you?”

Finally, he lost his stupid smile, and that made me laugh.

“You are.” As realization sank in, I stepped aside. “That’s a bit sad, don’t you think? Believing I hold any interest in you that goes beyond meaningless sex?” It was a bit of a surprise, but then again, maybe not if I had dug deeper into the last few times we fucked. Lately, he’d unsuccessfully tried to extend our time together. But to think a man like him could get attached seemed unlikely.

“What’s sad is you falling in love with a whore,” he hissed bitterly.

Whoosh. Someone didn’t handle rejection very well.

“He isn’t a whore.” I didn’t bother to deny the falling-in-love part. I couldn’t say what I felt for Nero was love, but there was definitely something. Something that made my stomach flip at the thought of him or put a smile on my face randomly.

Meeting Dion’s stare, I patted his chest. “I love it when you fuck me. Let’s not ruin it with bullshit.” I was ready to let go and continue my night when he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back, pressing his cheek to the side of my mask.

“I’m a dangerous man, mon péché,” he whispered in my ear, his voice lower than before. “Insulting me is a mistake.” He cupped my jaw and turned me so I completely faced him, the smirk back on his face. “So don’t make me lose my smile again, or you’ll regret it.”

Suddenly, his words on my first night here when I asked why he didn’t wear a mask hit me.

How do you know I’m not wearing one right now?

For the first time, I saw his true face behind his mask. Even though what I saw for that brief moment was enough to frighten any sane person, it didn’t affect me at all. Probably because I wasn’t sane.

“I’m also a dangerous man. Make sure to remember that, too.” I pushed him away before he could say another word and walked toward the stage. If Dion wanted to fuck me again, he’d better get over himself and stop acting like a pathetic juvenile.

Luckily for me, all hard feelings were soon forgotten as I found Nero waiting for me by the stage.

“Pink?” was the first word I spat as soon as I was close enough to reach and touch his buzzed hair. “You dyed your hair pink?”

“I lost a bet,” he said simply, placing his hands on each side of my arms, and then looked behind me. “What did he want from you?”

Looking over my shoulder, I saw Dion was still staring at us with cold eyes and clenched jaw. Turning back to face Nero, I shrugged. “Nothing worth repeating. Now, would you tell me what you mean by ‘lost a bet’?”

“It sure didn’t look like nothing.” Nero hardened his stare.

I sighed. “He asked me to go to Milan with him as his date or some shit. Can we please forget Dion and focus on your extremely hot pink hair?”

“And did you?”

“Did I what?”

“Agree to be his date.”

Oh my God, he was like a dog with a freaking bone.

“No, I obviously didn’t. Why do you even care?” I narrowed my eyes at him and then poked the side of his mask. “Are you jealous?”

“Obviously.”

I was ready to tease him more but then realized what he said. “Oh,” I blurted, a bit taken aback by his directness. Trying to hide the thrill his jealousy caused me, I rolled my eyes and huffed. “You have no right to be.”

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