Page 6 of Taboo Flames

Aurora and I aren’t even supposed to cross paths at all, which begs the question: what in God’s name is she doing here? Who let her come here unsupervised?

Regardless, the blame is solely at my feet. I’m the adult here, more experienced and worldly. I should have been the one with some iota of self-control.

“You’re leaving. Now,” I tell her in a stern voice.

She laughs mockingly. “You must be joking.”

“You know damn well I’m not joking. You know how protective your brother is of you. You’re out here alone without any bodyguards. What if one of your brother’s enemies uses you to get back at your family?”

“It is none of your business what happens to me. I am an adult.” She raises one perfectly shaped brow at me. “So you can cool it with the macho bullshit. It doesn’t do anything for me.”

“Rory! Don’t mess with me right now. This is not a request. Either you walk out on your own, or I’ll carry you out,” I tell her in a low voice.

Her blue eyes go wide. “Y—you can’t do that,” she splutters. “You can’t just manhandle me like that. That’s called bullying. I have a right to be here. I’m not a child.”

“What you are is bait. I could have killed you if I were an enemy. You made it pretty easy by following a masked stranger to a secluded place. Don’t you have any sense?”

“Go to hell,” she spits.

“You have five seconds to decide.”

“I just got here. I’ve barely been here for half an hour. A time that, if I seem to remember correctly, you completely monopolized.”

“Five.”

“What about my friend? She’ll look for me. I can’t just leave her.”

“Four.”

Her face twists into a glare. “You’re such an asshole, you know that, right?”

“I have been called far worse, but thanks.”

“And I think you’re a terrible kisser too,” she says smugly, thinking that it’d hurt my feelings or something. She is such a silly child.

“Three.”

She must see the seriousness in my gaze because she just huffs and marches past me toward the staircase leading down from the roof.

I grab her elbow as soon as we make it back into the ballroom and steer her to the exit. I don’t trust Aurora not to disappear into the crowd, and I wasn’t really in the mood to hunt through this throng of people for one woman.

“Looks like your goons got tired of looking for you,” I observe as we make our way through the room.

“They must have seen something vile in you that made them go in the opposite direction,” she says sweetly. “Pity I didn't see it sooner.”

I ignore her tirade, eager to get her in a cab and wash my hands off of her. Aurora was undeterred by my silence, though. The girl never shuts up, and I’m sure my ears will be bleeding by the end of the night.

I almost groan in relief when her ride pulls up as soon as we get to the curb. I hold the door open for her and wait until she’s settled inside before turning to the driver.

“Hello, Angelo. Remember me?” I don’t wait for a reply before continuing, “I never knew you existed before today, but it doesn’t change the fact that I can make you a part of the past. Make sure she goes straight home and nowhere else. I know what you look like now, so you can be sure there’s nothing else I can’t find out about you. Fail to drive her home intact, and I’ll find you. And trust me, I’ll take great pleasure in dismembering you. Are we clear?”

He swallows nervously. “Yes, sir.”

I flash him a smile full of teeth and then press several hundred-dollar bills into his hands. “Great. I’m glad we have an understanding.”

A moment later, the car zooms away, but not before Aurora pokes her hand out the window and flips me off. My hands itch to drag her over my lap and show her exactly what happens to girls who like being little brats.

But I suppress my anger. After tonight, she won’t be my problem anymore. But that doesn’t mean I won’t keep an eye on her. I hadn’t even realized she was back. I barely notice her when I visit Leonardo, and she’s home for the holidays. But now that I’ve seen her again, I have a sinking feeling I won’t be able to maintain my previous distance from her.

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