Page 30 of No Longer Safe

A girl could get used to this.

Chapter Twenty-One

Alexei

Anxiety filledmy chest as I paced across the wooden floor. Carina and Audrey had been busy all week touring Rome. It made me nervous and jittery. The two emotions I didn’t typically have. It was causing me to be snippy.

Ivan, my bored bastard of a brother, joined me on the terrace above the pool. “Has it been too long since you were laid?”

Gritting my teeth, I tried to shoot him the best smile I could. It was an unsuccessful maneuver because the more I thought about it, the more I realized he was absolutely right. I hadn’t had sex in weeks. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d been laid.

“That’s what I thought,” Ivan’s laugh was monotone. “Dimitri wants to go to the clubs. I think that would be the perfect opportunity for all of us tounwind.”

My brother was right. I needed a distraction because every time Audrey left the villa I was a wreck. I couldn’t stop worrying and I didn’t know why. It wasn’t like my brother sent them without security. They wouldn’t be messed with no matter where they went.

Griffin joined us in the humidity and sunshine. “I’m sooo down to get out of this place. Mother asked for more help moving statues.”

The second engagement party was tomorrow and it was chaos all around the pool. Ivan rolled his light eyes to the sky. “She acts as if she doesn’t have hired help for all of that.”

“What about Ace?” I had a feeling he wouldn’t like us slipping off. Once upon a time, we wouldn’t have dared to leave him out. But now that Carina was in the picture we didn’t exactly know how to move forward. Ace wasn’t one that you messed with. He had a temper worse than our father’s and was fiercely protective over what was his.

“What about me?”

Ivan jabbed me with his elbow and somehow we managed to keep the panic off of our faces. It was Griffin who spoke up. “We are going out on the town tonight, brother. It would do you some good to get those dancing shoes out.”

Ace lifted an eyebrow. “Oh really?” His eyes skimmed over each of us.

“To keep us out of trouble, obviously.” Ivan cracked his knuckles. It was a nervous habit he’d never outgrown.

“Where to?” Ace looked down at the chaos happening beneath our feet.

“Osteria delle Coppelle,”Dimitri said from the doorway.

“What the fuckare they doing here?” Ivan shouted over the music as we watched Audrey and Carina enter the large, underground club. It was hidden behind a secret door in one of the most populated areas in the city. You needed a password to get in. It was our known spot since we were teenagers. It had only gotten rowdier and louder since the last time we’d been here.

My tongue seemed to swell in my mouth as I took in Audrey. The rest of the room faded to nothing as I watched her sashay her way into the room. The place was packed with all kinds of people, a few that got too close to her as she made her way to us. She reminded me of the Audrey I’d met at the first engagement party. Red lipstick coated her pouty lips and the black dress she was wearing left very little to the imagination. Her black sandals wrapped around her thighs and I felt all of the blood in my head rush down to my groin. She was delectable. So much for trying to get my mind off of her. I would never accomplish that here.

Carina grabbed her hand and pointed at us at the bar. She rolled her eyes and they turned toward the dance floor. They weren’t impressed and didn’t seem to care to meet up with us. Ace held a drink in his right hand while he watched them like a hawk.

“Carina goes where I go,” Ace finally said. “And Audrey goes where Carina goes.”

“At least they—” Griffin cut himself off at Ace’s scathing look. “At least Audrey is nice to look at.”

I couldn’t even cut him a glare. I had to pretend. I had to pretend that she wasn’t under my skin in the most uncomfortable way. But my pretending sucked because the more she danced, the more I watched and envied. When she threw her head back and laughed, I wanted to press my body against her. I wanted to plot murder. I wanted to do anything I could to get my hands on her, but I knew I never would.

Ace leaned in close to me as he took a sip of his scotch. “You look feverish.”

I didn’t even bother with denying it. Watching Audrey thwart all of the advances coming to her was torture. When a man got too close and didn’t take no for an answer, I was done for. Everything I’d tried to hide went flying out of the window. Thankfully, my marching steps across the dance floor wereinterrupted by a leggy blonde. It was a good distraction, maybe it would take care of this annoying itch I had.

I closed my eyes and let her do what she wanted. When she pushed me off of the dance floor and into a shadowed alcove I didn’t protest. This was what Ineeded.When the woman ran her hands down the front of my shirt, I tried to get lost in the feeling of it. The feeling of the music bumping against my skin, the smell of sweat and alcohol usually did it for me. It was usually enough for me to get excited, enough for me to push a stripper into a back room and rail her. This time? Not so much. I kept wondering if Ace was watching Audrey. When a loud shout went through the room, over the music, I could no longer focus on the girl kissing her way down to my cock. I pushed her out of the way and she shouted something at me in Italian. If I focused hard enough, if I cared enough, I would have known what she was saying but I didn’t care. Not when I noticed Audrey on the top of the bar. She was knocking back a shot and swiveling her body round and round, all while Carina sat on the sidelines and cheered her on. Carina’s phone was out and she was videoing while Audrey got down on all fours and crawled across the bar top. Women leered at her in jealously while the men ogled her. A few made quick swipes at her but she evaded the wanting hands. All the while, Carina videoed on Snapchat, just living her best life through her best friend.

Who was this woman? She always seemed so reserved, especially at the engagement party. She didn’t seem like thewildtype but now I could see it. I could see her. Whatever show she was putting on to hide who she really was was good. In that moment, as a flash of bright red panties caught my eye, I knew exactly why she got under my skin so much. She got under my skin because all this time because my subconscious knew better. It knew she was playing pretend. All I wanted to do was know thereal Audrey Wilde. Now that I knew that, this was going to be so much easier.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Audrey

A poundingheadache and a ringing phone did not mix. It had been so long since I’d been this hungover. I patted along the side of my bed as I searched for the phone that just wouldn’t quit. What time was it anyway? Based on the blinking clock, it was 4 am.

---