Page 58 of His Dark Vendetta

My memory kicked in and connected the dots—Luca’s date from the DeVita Foundation gala. I downed a big mouthful of martini.

The door opened again, and the two dancers who’d been on stage when I arrived filed into the room in nothing but thongs and heels. Time to shrink into the corner of the couch with anotherPeoplemagazine instead of ogling their perfectly lush curves, strong legs, and full breasts.What I wouldn’t give…

They grabbed robes and plopped down on the couch opposite me.

“My feet are killing me tonight,” the woman on the right said and rubbed her foot. “New shoes are torture. Are you new? Are you dancing tonight? I could use a break.”

“No. She’s with Luca,” Jenny sniped and filled the air around her with a cloud of aerosol. She swiveled her head from side to side and must have decided her hair was sufficiently shellacked, because she set the spray down and picked up a tube of lipstick. “You know he came to see me yesterday.”

“Jenny,” Mia said in a chiding tone.

Jenny ran the bright pink across her lips. “It’s true. She should know.”

A pang of jealousy slammed into my chest. I was about to launch into a grandiose explanation of why I couldn’t care less about who Luca saw but was interrupted by a disgusted scoff from the other couch. The woman on the left dropped her magazine into her lap and rolled her eyes.

“Nothing happened, Jenny, and you know it. You’re just trying to cause trouble.” She leveled me with an irritated look. “She’s jealous. She’s been trying to bag Mr. Moretti for the better part of six months”—she shot a hard look over her shoulder—“despite him making it very clear he’s not interested.” The woman picked up her magazine and leafed through the pages. “Not to mention, he barely even bit you before he stormed out.”

My head rocked back in surprise.

“Trixie!” Mia’s eyes darted between me and the woman on the couch.

“What?” She looked over her shoulder.

Mia widened her eyes in a non-verbal “shut up.”

Trixie shrugged and returned to her magazine.

Bit her?I drained half my martini.

“Whatever,” Jenny said and stood. “I need to get ready for my next appointment.” She teetered across the room, sparing me a nasty glance when she reached the couches, and walked out the door.

How this random woman despised me so much when we’d never exchanged more than a handful of words was beyond me. Then again, my blood had boiled at the gala when I saw her hanging off Luca’s arm. But I hadn’t really been angry with her. I’d been angry with Luca.

“Ignore her,” the woman on the right said, still massaging her foot. “She’s bitter. She’s been trying to bag one of the made guys for years. Before Mr. Moretti, it was Richie.” She looked at Trixie. “Remember?” Trixie nodded. “Before Richie, it was…” She furrowed her brow. “What was his name?”

“Enzo,” Mia said and got up from her stool. She smoothed her tank top in the mirror.

“Enzo. Right. Point is, Jenny’s always been out for one thing—money.” She raised her eyebrows. “She’s just salty she’s run into another dead end.”

“Damn straight,” Trixie said.

“I have an eleven o’clock,” Mia said and glanced at me. “You going to be ok until I get back?”

“I’ll be fine,” I said and lifted my drink. “I’ve got one more of these to go, remember?”

She laughed. “Right. I’ll end my session a couple minutes early. Make sure I’m back before Jenny.” She exaggerated an eye roll, and I let out a nervous chuckle.

So Jenny was a gold digger. Fine. Whatever. Go get it, girl. My brain was stuck on the biting comment. Did Luca have some sort of biting fetish? Was that even a thing?

As much as I hated thinking about The Incident, hehadbeen attached to that girl’s neck. Rather aggressively. And just now, Mia had a massive hickey on her neck that looked suspiciously like a bite mark. I mean, I’d heard of kinks like choking or being dominated, but neck-biting?

Something about Mia’s reaction didn’t sit right either, like she was worried about keeping the biting thing a secret beyond protecting my feelings. The suspicion pushed at the back of my mind and wouldn’t let up. It tried to force me into another part of my brain but couldn’t quite make the connection.

I downed the last of my martini. Strange fetishes aside, I was relieved nothing had happened between Luca and his former blow-up doll Jenny. Maybe too relieved. In fact, I shouldn’t have cared at all. Then again, Luca shouldn’t have smashed a beer bottle on the counter earlier.

God, we were toxic together, and this close proximity thing wasn’t doing either of us any favors.

I pushed off the couch. I needed to get away from him and this entire fucked-up situation. But since I couldn’t, time for another drink.

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