Page 95 of Brutal Collateral

She wipes the rest away. “I never had this, you know. Clubbing. Alexander dropped me off at a naval base the day after my eighteenth birthday.”

Fuck. I hadn’t done the math. “I’m sorry.”

“Lola and Lucia were still in primary school. I had a party. I had a cake. One sip of champagne. Then the next day my life changed.”

“You’ve had nights out since.” I hover over her. “I remember one pretty vividly.”

She licks her lips. “I remember it, too.”

A charged silence wraps around us, and I’m not sure what I’m doing.

“Ava, either get your ass into this limo or we leave without you,” Ares says from a rolled-down window.

Music pumps from the stretch, and I’m glad I don’t have to listen to that.

“I’ll see you in a few hours.” Ava reaches up and kisses my cheek, but I pull a fast one and capture her mouth with a harsh kiss.

I seal my lips over hers and moan into her mouth when her long fingers snake into my hair. I deepen the kiss, frustrated that she’s leaving me. The past few weeks of tension rush to the surface, and I can’t keep the visceral possessiveness I feel for her inside one second longer.

“Fuck, you taste good.” Gravity hits me with the heat of her mouth and the friction of our tongues tangled up.

She steps back. “And those aren’t the lips youreallylike if I remember correctly.”

Stunned, I watch her get into the limo as I’m standing on the street all alone.

Hard as fuck.

***

STARING OUT THE WINDOWin the sitting room of my bedroom, I take in the view of the city. The clown taunts me and I consider again what would happen if I got rid of it. It will clear the way for me to roll into Ava in the middle of the night and give her permission to fuck me.

Knowing her, she’ll buy a giant giraffe instead. Just to defy me. Just to be a brat.

I smile when the phone rings with a call from Bourne, Ava’s guard. A call I knew I’d get.

“Bourne. Talk to me.”

“She’s drunk, boss. I think you should come get her. I tried taking her home. She said she didn’t want...” He stops.

“She didn’t want,what.”

“She said she only wanted you.”

“On my way.” I hang up and jog down the stairs. “Gus, get the car. Zeke, come with me. Ace, stay here.”

A few minutes later, I get into my Escalade that Gus now keeps in a private garage around the corner. It just meant more guards. So far, everyone Trace and Rhys brought in has been excellent.

Gus drives me to the club, and when we pass a velvet roped-off line, the bouncer stops me, his hand on my chest.

I slap it. “I am marrying Ava Zervas. Your boss’ sister. If you don’t want to lose that hand—”

He steps aside and apologizes.

This club isn’t what I expected. I thought it would be loud and obnoxious with a giant mosh pit of a dance floor. There are a few platforms for people to dance. But the music is soft and sensuous.

This place is to get people in the mood. Zeke finds Bourne and we’re brought to a VIP area where Ava sits on a sofa with her head in her hands.

Ares comes up behind me smelling of perfume. “I was in my office. What happened?”

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