Page 7 of Under His Control

I crossed my arms, immediately bristling at his challenging, droll tone. Something about him set me on edge and made me want to argue—more than I already usually did. This man, who clearly couldn’t belong, just rubbed me the wrong way.

“Something tells me there will never be a right time foryouto belong here.”

He rolled his eyes and set his empty beer bottle down on the table. “Great.Anotherstuck-up bitch who can look at me like I’m something the cat dragged in. This party is a blast.”

Stuck-up bitch?His first mistake was in assuming I was like any other woman here. And his second was his guess that his words would make an impact on my night. I knew my worth, and he never would. I was an intelligent, confident woman, and no plebeian like him would wound me with his inferior opinions. But it sure as hell didn’t mean I had to put up with it.

“Get out.”

He huffed. “Yeah, right.”

“I don’t know how you get in here, but you clearly weren’t invited if you intend to attack the Constella name.”

“Oh.” Slight surprise lit up his striking blue eyes. I hated that they were so gorgeous, so alluring and drawing me in. Especially when his tone was so mocking. “You’re one of the Constellas?”

Who was this man? How could he not know where he was or who he was speaking to? As I furrowed my brow, trying to puzzle out how a stranger could get this far into the mansion, Romeo approached.

“There you are,” he said, holding his arm out to place it around my side.

“Another ‘family’ member?” the stranger guessed, placing a sarcastic emphasis on that one word.

“Yes.” Romeo nodded. “Liam, meet my cousin, Eva.”

He looked up me and down, taking a good, long look of me in my short dress. “Hmm.” He didn’t extend his hand to shake mine, a deliberate insult, no doubt, with how we’d already exchanged words.

Romeo frowned a bit but didn’t lose his stride. “Eva, this is Liam Gray. Tess’s friend.”

I’d be damned if I offered my hand to him. As far as introductions went, this one rated sub-zero in temperature and a high exponent of hostility. Since I had his full attention, I let him feel the pressure of my stare as I took him in. Every lean, muscled, and rugged inch of his tall frame.

Handsome asshole.

I held my head up higher, letting him see how far I was out of his league.

“Eva,” Romeo prompted, squeezing my shoulder. “Help me welcome Liam,” he said through clenched teeth.

“Welcome him?” I asked.

This was just a party. He’d be going as soon as it was over.

One glance up at my cousin suggested otherwise. The tense expression he gave me also implied that he disliked how rudely I was behaving.

“Tess has offered for him to stay with us for a while. To visit.”

Fuck it all.So much for thinking he wouldn’t be here for more than one night as a guest who didn’t belong.

Romeo squeezed his fingers on my shoulder a little more.

Keeping my lips tight together, I refrained from scowling or giving any sign that the indifference I was showing was false. I looked Liam dead in his gorgeous blue eyes that were dancing with mischief and held out my hand.

“Nice to meet you,” I lied.Judgmental asshole.

“Likewise,” he said, likely lying through his teeth with a smirk on his lips. He took my hand, stunning me with the zing of awareness at his calloused hand touching me with what should’ve been a simple gesture of greeting.

It felt like anything but. It felt like… a dare. A challenge. And I wasn’t sure whether I’d want to back down from whoever the hell Liam Gray was.

3

LIAM

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