Page 38 of The Secrets We Share

I fall in beside Keira as the elevator fills with other hotel guests. It doesn’t go unnoticed how many looks my girl gets. It only serves as a reminder that the small jewelry box is burning a hole in my jacket pocket. With everything going on, not to mention sharing a house with two other people, I haven’t had the right opportunity to make the special moment happen.

My fingers trace up and down her spine, gliding against the thin fabric. Leaning in, my lips meet the soft spot below her ear. Her intoxicating scent fills my inhale as her body melds perfectly into mine, two halves of a whole once again reunited.

“Have I told you how much I want to rip this dress from your body,” I growl in her ear. Just the thought of having her writhing under me is enough to have my cock hardening. It’s not exactly the best time to be dealing with a chub.

“Then I probably shouldn’t tell you the only thing I have on under this dress is long, steel, and pointed,” she teases as the elevator dings our arrival on the fourth floor.

I groan inwardly, resituating myself and thinking about every unhappy, disgusting thing my mind can conjure as I follow the wicked temptress out into the hall.

“Just the two of you?” the woman at the doors to the bar asks before letting us in.

“Yes, we’re meeting a Mr. Morelli. Has he arrived yet?”

Her demeanor quickly changes from one of disinterest to one of uncomfortable fear. Domenico must have his hands in the pie here if she’s aware enough of who he is to be concerned.

“Of course. Let me show you back to his table. He should be arriving shortly.”

The small space is shockingly intimate, with candles and a fireplace providing a warm glow in the otherwise dimly lit room. Small tables fit like sardines through the middle, while the gold leaf-decorated walls are lined with single-sided booths. The host leads us to the back, where the bar looks out over the crowd, already enjoying the overpriced drinks and food small enough to feed an infant.

She doesn’t stop when the room ends. Instead, her hand runs across the rich art deco-inspired wallpaper, pushing slightly before it pops out enough for her to grab the edge of a hidden door. I quickly step in front of Keira, placing her behind me and out of the way of whatever we’re about to walk into. Her harrumph of irritation hits my ears in passing.

“Just follow me. The room is up here to your left.”

If I thought the bar was dark, this hallway rivals the entrance tunnel to a movie theater. The only lighting is thin strips along the floor. I drop my hand back, linking my fingers with Keira’s just in time to step through the open door.

“He’ll be with you shortly.” And then she’s gone, disappearing into the dark hallway, the door we just came through closing behind her.

“That was weird, right?” Keira asks, looking around the room.

“Yeah, she knows something.”

“I don’t like that we’re separated from the main room.”

“I expected it. We’re good,” I assure her, letting my fingers gingerly slip against the tracker inside her arm.

The door opens again before she can say anything else. Two bulky men in fitted black suits walk through, followed moments later by Domenico and Alina. His muscle makes their way in our direction, motioning for us to raise our hands and widen our feet like they’re planning to pat us down for weapons. Before they can get within five feet of Keira, my hand moves to my holster, freeing my gun.

The click of the safety stalls their movements as they make to reach for their own. “Put your filthy hands on what’s mine, and this meeting’s over.”

Alina’s presence here is already grating on my nerves as her indignant scoff reaches my ears. On the other hand, Keira looks like the cat that caught the canary as she stares down the man twice her size, daring him to try me. I see her fingers at her side out of the corner of my eye. She wouldn’t have let him touch her anyway. That knife at her fingertips is just as dangerous as the gun pointed at his head.

“Now, now. I said this was a friendly meeting. There’s no need for all the theatrics. We’re all family here. You two can watch the door,” Domenico orders.

The two meatheads look irritated that their master pulled their stings back on duty. One slips through the door, closing it behind him, while the other posts up right in front of it.

A clash of hands clapping draws my attention back to the man putting me on edge. He motions for the two empty leather barrel chairs across from where he and Alina sit. Instead of holstering my gun, I sit with it perched on my knee in Domenico’s direction. Keira joins me, resting against the arm, looking more bored than worried about what’s to come.

“You got us here. Now, don’t waste my time,” Keira spits, ever the force of nature.

EIGHTEEN

KEIRA

YES MOM - Tessa Violet

Irefuse to let her presence get to me. She’s nothing. No one. Yet, an annoying little bee buzzes around my head, trying to tell me otherwise. That was until Harkin made it extremely fucking clear I was his. She wasn’t too happy about it. But I was brimming with pompous energy now, and it was bleeding into my first words to Domenico.

He studies me. Not with the eyes of a father seeing his daughter for the first time in months, worried about her wellbeing. No, this man is gauging my ability to handle this interaction. Well, two can play that game. You didn’t survive living on the streets, bouncing from one unstable and unsafe situation to another without learning how to read the slightest tell someone’s trying not to give off.

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