Page 33 of Stealing Iris

A firm knock at the door brings us both crashing into reality. We’re breathing hard, looking at each other to see what the other wants to do. The knock comes again, and his forehead goes to the wall. “Damn it.”

I close my eyes, resigned to putting everything on pause.Damn, why did I make him stop?

“Come home with me.” His voice is rough in my ear, but my blood runs cold. I loosen my hold on him, careful not to get too close with these nails.

“No. Conny…” How do I begin to explain? Helpless, I shake my head. “I can’t.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

DANTE

Iris slips in my grasp as my limbs lose all strength. She said no, or, more to the point, she chose Conrado. Numb, I slowly release my hand, setting her leg on the floor. Stepping back, I yank my clothes into place. This time I stare at her face, ignoring the body that had held me so enthralled. Oh yeah, despite avoiding eye contact, her body language says she knows she fucked up.

“Dante…” She licks her lips, a white-knuckled hold on her top.

Another solid knock at the door stops whatever she’s about to say. Turning on a heel, I go around the desk, a strange mix of hurt and anger growing inside me with every step.

“Dante.” She calls out my name again, with an edge of desperation. “Wait.” Whatever she has to say, I don’t want to hear it. I lift my hand to silence her without losing a step.

Wrenching open the door, I find Tino on the other side. His fixed stare and deadly calm tell me something’s gone down. My stomach roils. I don’t need this right now. “We have a problem,” he confirms.Of course we do. “It’s yourguest.” The muscles along my neck and shoulder blades tense to the point of shooting pain down my back. “He was trying to work a deal outside the auction.”

Why the hell did I get involved with that goddamn son of a bitch?

A whimper comes from behind me. She heard, and she knows they’re busted. Swallowing down the bitter pill of reality, I set my jaw and take stock. That’s why she dragged me away. Why else the sudden interest in being with me when her last words had beendon’t come back?Maybe I should fuck her anyway, take out this anger on her. After all, it’s what she was offering, a distraction fuck so Conrado could strike a deal.

Nobody has to tell me I got taken for a fool.I know I’m a fucking idiot. “Get her home,” I spit out through clenched teeth, shaking my head in her direction.

“Dante, please…” I shoulder past him, ignoring her pleas because right now I can’t even look Tino in the eye without feeling like apendejo. My footfalls echo down the hall. The guests I pass have enough sense to move as I plow through, blind to those around me who aren’t Conrado.

My anger expands with every step, but it should all be self-directed. I should have kept focus on the job. When had working on my future ever steered me wrong? No, it had to be a woman to screw with me. I let her drag me around by my dick, and all she wanted was to get her partner in the door. I need her gone—both of them gone from my house, from my life, and from my memory.

My nostrils flare. It should be enough I arranged for her to get home safely. As for her companion, we’ll see. I might end up dumping him in the river later tonight. For now, I just need to find the asshole.

A cluster of my men move along the far wall. They’re taking Conrado away from the crowd. Away from anybody who can give any sort of detail on what happened here. Good. I clench my fist because I’m going to beat that piece of crap until I can’t swing my arm anymore.

“Dante.” Montoya’s voice comes from somewhere behind me, but I don’t bother to slow down.

“Not now,” I toss over my shoulder, continuing on with single-minded purpose.

Montoya hooks an arm through mine, using his body weight to change my direction mid-step.

Glaring at him, I cock an arm to let him know how I feel about getting sidelined.

“Let us discuss this for a moment.” His utter calm sets my nerves on end. His gaze goes past me to the rest of the room. In my anger, I hadn’t stopped to consider every guest was also a witness who didn’t need to see what’s happening. Giving them a show is not part of the deal, something I’ve never had to remind myself before tonight.

I let him lead me out to the patio, where I stood just moments before with Iris in my arms. Images flash through my mind until my head pounds. For the life of me, I can’t stand here, not where I’d been with her. Maybe he could have chosen a better place, but what the hell? I took her all around the great room, showed her every piece of art on display, and I’d at least imagined kissing her in every available spot, if not more.

Montoya drapes his forearms over a nearby chair. “I see you decided to invite the infamous Conrado.”

“He’s a guest,” I counter, trying to distract from my shame.

“Your guest was inquiring about the virgin auction, inquiring about how much a woman would fetch for her innocence…”

Fuck. That’s what he’d planned to do with Iris. I sag against the wall, letting my head fall back until I can see the stars in the distance. Why had I broughtthemhere? Including Conrado was a decision I made on my own, without consulting my partner, and now I owe him half the hundred-thousand-dollar door charge. Considering the piece of shit tried doing business, after he’d been instructed not to, I likely owe the entire fee. The money doesn’t really matter. I have it many times over, but the reason I have to pay it does.

“I was on my way to show him out,” I assure him, a migraine beating insistently behind my eyes.

“Hmmm.” Any other time, Montoya’s noncommittal response would have annoyed me.

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