Page 10 of Red Velvet

I cast him a glance from the side but don't fully turn around to face him. "Excuse me?"

He nods back to the french doors that lead inside.

"That was the bride's sister, no? What's her name again?" He twirls his hand in an impatient gesture, beckoning me to help him out. But I couldn't even if I wanted to. The girl and I never wasted time on pleasantries.

"Lila! That's her name," he finally exclaims, throwing his hand up in the air. "She never mentioned her fiancé? They just broke up a few weeks ago."

Lila. Such an innocent name for such a naughty girl. I fucking love it.

He leans in closer, desperately searching for eye contact that I'm not willing to give. "Quite a nasty story so shortly before the wedding. And it came out of nowhere, too! Poor guy didn't see it coming. She just threw him out on the street, just like that." He snaps his fingers to emphasize his impertinent ramblings.

"That's none of our business." I throw him a dark look.

He laughs.

"Buddy, I'd say it's yours for sure," he says, still chuckling. "Maybe she left him for you."

I'm sure the darkness hides the fact that my eyes almost roll out of my head at his words, but I wouldn't mind if he saw.

Who is this guy? Why does he think it's appropriate to talk to me like this? He must be drunk.

"I can assure you that's not the case," I say.

"Well, something must've gotten into her," the guy insists. "I've known this family for years, and she’s always been the good one. Her sister, though, different case. Boy, did she give her family a headache! They were so worried about her. ‘At least Lila’s doing well,’ they used to tell me. And now look at them. Guess you never know, huh?"

I scrunch my eyebrows as I try to make sense of his words, an expression that he takes the wrong way, luckily.

"I'm not trying to badmouth her or anything, but… I mean, you know—"

"No, I don't know. But if you're a friend of the family, you'd do best to stop talking now."

He glares at me, visibly upset at being put in his place.

I couldn't care less. I take one last pull before I push the cigarette out on the stony balustrade in front of us, nodding at him before I turn around and make my way inside without another word. He looks as if he wants to say something or try to stop me, but I close the door behind myself as quickly as I flit through it.

I have to find her. I need to see her again, taste her again.

I need so much more of her.

Lila. The good girl who broke free when no one expected her to.

She may not realize it herself yet, but I'm just what she needs right now, if my assumptions about her are right. And my senses have yet to fail me when it comes to women and their needs.

She called out for me, louder than anyone before, her lure sweeter than any other.

That girl needs me just as much as I need her.

But she's nowhere to be found. I scan the festive hall again and again, traveling between evening gowns and dark suits left and right, ignoring all the eyes that seek mine in a greeting. My focus is set on one goal: finding the girl whose divine gasp as my hand closed around her throat I can’t forget.

I grow angrier with every moment that passes, but not desperate. I know it's only a matter of time until I find her, until she's back in my grip and I get to hear that faint sigh again, see her bright eyes widen as I take from her while giving her something she never knew she needed.

"Lost something?"

Her words startle me so much that I can’t stop myself from flinching in surprise before I turn on the spot. She's standing right behind me, still with that drunken glow on her pretty cheeks, her eyes glazing as she looks up at me. A smile tugs at the corners of her mouth and she tilts her head to the side, a challenge flickering across her expression. Her pinned-up hairstyle has come lose a little, blonde strands tickling the side of her face as she moves.

"You," I say, jutting my chin forward. "Didn't think you could just run away from me like that, did you?"

She shrugs. "I'm here now, aren't I?"

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