Page 38 of Forbidden Cravings

Chapter Twelve

CASEY

Armina had always felt like home to me. I loved everything about the city from the ocean air that smelled of salt to the way the waves pounded against the shore to the feel of the sand between my toes and the way the sun always touched my skin with a warmth that was gentle on my soul. But that had changed the day I’d left Mason, leaving a part of myself there that I couldn’t seem to find again. He was on my mind constantly and no matter what I did, there was no cleansing it of him.

“You’re no fun tonight, Casey,” Angie whined. Angela Donelli was the daughter of Vince Donelli—spoiled, rich, beautiful, and sexy. I tolerated the competition when I went out with her because I was just as sexy, and for every two men who swarmed to her, I had my own to choose from. “That man was hot, and you waved him away like he was nothing.”

“Have at him,” I said, taking a sip of my drink. I was milking my drinks tonight, afraid that drinking too much would corrupt my rational thinking. The memory of the last time I’d gotten drunk was fresh in my mind, as was the way Mason had taken care of me. I didn’t have him here to protect me or hold my hair back, and the thought left a strange longing in my heart.

Angie forced my drink in my hand. “I brought you out to have some fun. Now that your overprotective brother is gone, you can return to your normal slutty self and take your pick of the hotties here. I have my eye on that one,” she motioned to a tall blonde man with greedy blue eyes, “and you can have any of the other twenty men who have hit on you since we got here.”

But I didn’t want those other men. I only wanted one and as much as I told myself he wasn’t mine, that it was only one night, I couldn’t convince myself to believe the lie.

“What is wrong with you, Casey?” She had her hands on her hips, her long blonde hair flipped over her shoulder, her brown eyes expecting my explanation.

“Nothing, I’m just not in the mood. I guess I miss Tyson,” I lied too easily.

“That controlling prick? He’s an ass?—”

“He’s my brother, Angie,” I warned. They didn’t like each other, and both made the animosity clear when they were stuck in the same room together.

“I know, but he’s still overprotective and overbearing.”

“And he’s two thousand miles away.”

“Good,” she huffed. “While you sit in this corner and pout about your brother, I’m gonna let that sexy specimen of a man have his way with me.”

She pulled herself from the couch and teetered over to the guy, her flirty confidence earning a deviant smile from him. Billy came over and sat next to me. He was one of the regular guards Donelli assigned to me. There were four other men watching us, one moving closer to Angie, his keen eyes watching the interaction.

“She never learns, does she?” Billy said.

“Nope. You think this one will deal with the pat down and interrogation just to get a piece of her?”

“She’s got high standards, Casey. That one is the mayor’s son. We already vetted him the minute he started eyeing her. Now, if she’d gone for the one to the left of him, the one who won’t stop staring at her even though another man’s hand is already on her ass, well, that would have been another story.”

“What’s his deal?” I asked, giving up on my drink and plopping it onto the table in front of us.

“He’s got a habit of taking advantage of women, especially younger ones, which is why I’m surprised he’s even considering Angie. She’s too old for him.”

I turned and looked at Billy, my mouth hanging open. “Too old? She’s twenty-five.”

“Yeah, he likes them illegally young.”

“Eww, that’s just gross.” Angie looked like she was still in college, so I could see the confusion in her age. “Don’t you guys do something about men like that? You know, keep the streets clean of the scum?”

He chuckled. “Boss wants us to track him now that he’s back in the open. He went underground after he got paroled. If he makes the wrong move, we’ll make sure he never resurfaces again.”

If it was one thing I’d learned from my brother and from working with the Donelli family, it was that women and children stayed safe. The only women who were ever victims of the family were ones who turned against them. And men who hunted women quickly became prey.

“Why aren’t you out there tonight? We’re usually vetting the men who flock to you, too.”

I shrugged. “Not in the mood tonight, I guess.”

“That’s not a bad thing. You and Angie party too much, Case. Don’t let the boss know I said that.”

“Your secret is safe with me.” It was the truth. We partied a lot, and I hooked up as often as Angie did. She was the onlyfriend I had in Armina, and while she was intolerable at times, spoiled and opinionated, she was still fun to go out with.

“Have you ever been in love, Billy?” I asked, knowing it was the alcohol loosening my hold on my thoughts.

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