Page 70 of The Wages of Sin

Without thinking, I instantly wrapped my arms around him and held on tight.

“I need to get out of here,” I tried to shout above the din, but my words were consumed by the pounding beat.

But amazingly, Dorian didn’t need to hear me. Somehow, he already instinctively knew what I wanted...what I needed.

Because, without a word, he pulled me into his arms, lifted me off the dance floor, and carried me away.

Chapter Twenty-Five

DORIAN

Kiera clung to me as I drove a path through the packed dance floor. Those who didn’t step out of the way fast enough were shouldered to the side, but if any of the clubgoers were upset, I didn’t hear their complaints over the blaring music.

Not that I would have cared.

The only thing in the world I cared about was already in my arms.

I moved us to the side of the building, away from the thick of the crowd and the direct line of the sound system. Then, resting her back against one of the support columns that reached the ceiling, I let her slide down to the floor.

The instant Kiera’s feet hit the floor, I bracketed my arms on either side of her, caging her in.

“What the hell were you doing?” I demanded, raising my voice to be heard above all the background noise. “I told you to stay with my brothers.”

She bit into her lip, shifting uncomfortably within the prison of my arms. “I…I don’t think they like me.”

“They’re mobsters, Kiera. They don’t like anyone,” I told her plainly. “The important thing is they would never hurt you. They understand what you mean to me.”

She shook her head, refusing to look me in the eye. “How can they know that? I don’t even know.”

My brows pulled together. What the hell was she talking about? Of course, she knew. I’d repeated it like a damn mantra the last time we’d made love.

But just in case she’d somehow missed it, I moved in closer, sliding my hands down the column. I stopped just short of touching her. So close that with every breath, the swell of her breasts barely brushed against the jacket of my suit.

Then I leaned down and whispered against her ear, “You’re mine.”

The shiver that ran through her body, from the tips of her toes to the top of her head, left no doubt that she’d heard me perfectly.

“But what does that mean?”

“I thought I was pretty damn clear about that earlier today,” I said, moving one of my hands off the cold, lifeless column and onto the lush, giving swell of her hip. “But I’m more than willing to show you again if you need a refresher.”

She swiveled her head around to look me in the eye. Did she have any idea how seductive that forest-brown gaze of hers was? How it made me itch to enfold her in my arms, slide her into the shadows behind the column, and take her right then and there?

And that impulse only intensified as I watched her nervously wet her lips. “That wasn’t what I meant.”

“Then say what you mean.”

A tight, humorless smile flashed across her face. “You sound just like your brothers.”

“Did they say something to upset you?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

Kiera nervously bit into her lip, hesitating before answering. “Just that you’re in love with me.”

“And you find that upsetting?”

She didn’t answer that, but at least she stopped trying to wriggle out of my grasp and met my gaze straight on. “Is it true?”

“Funny. I remember asking you a similar question about an hour ago.” I couldn’t help the smile that teased at the corner of my lips… even if it was laced with more than a touch of dark judgment. “A question you refused to answer.”

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