Page 8 of Don't Lie To Me

God, this guy is charming, and he knows he has me. I feel like I should be fanning my face with the heat radiating off me. Instead, I smile back a little too giddy. Get a fucking grip, Sloane. “Okay, just the one.”

His hand comes to the small of my back and he directs me toward the bar as I offer Harley a small apologetic wave. She gives me a thumbs-up and smirks like a bloody Cheshire cat, so I don’t think she’s worried about me not catching up with her. I’m sure as normal she has her hands full anyway.

“Since you have been nothing but polite, I feel I should warn you. All four of my brothers are here tonight, as well as my extremely overprotective bodyguard. If you touch me for too long, you’re liable to have your hand detached from your body,” I offer a friendly warning, wishing with every fiber of my being I didn’t have to. But the truth is, I have been in this very situation before, and it didn’t end well.

He grins, all charming, but I can see there is an edge to him. He wouldn’t be a Moretti if there wasn’t. I know what being part of the Italian mafia involves. “Your brothers’ threats have no effect on me, doll face. As long as you’re happy to have my hands on you.” Smooth, this guy is so damn smooth.

I almost laugh.Doll face, is he for real? But I can see he one hundred percent is. Of course I want his hands on me. I feel alive for the firsttime in so long. We stop when we come to the bar, and I signal to one of the staff to get us two drinks. While we wait, I turn back toward him leaning against the bar so I can see my club before me. I can see Cruz has noticed us, his pierced brow raised as if to say what the fuck, Sis. But he hasn’t moved, and when Jagger says something to him, his attention snaps back to the game the two of them are playing. Asher is making out with not one, but two girls at a booth in the front. If I’m being honest, it looks like he’s doing more than just making out, but I don’t need to look close enough to know what. And Malachi is sitting in a booth with one of Harley’s friends, Dani; the two of them have gotten very close lately.

My attention returns to the man I can feel gazing at me. “Every man in this town fears my brothers,” I snip, knowing it doesn’t matter who he is or how far away he’s from, he knows my brothers’ reputation.

He runs a finger down one side of my face, the crazy electric pull I have toward him intensifying even more. “Not me.” He grins a flash of something chaotic in his eyes.

“What brings you to dreary Ravens Hollow? It’s a far cry from the inviting charm of Italy,” I ask, needing to keep the conversation going so I don’t just jump on him right here in the middle of my bar.

One eyebrow arches in question. “Have you traveled there?”

“I’ve never left Ravens Hollow; had no reason to. But I could imagine.”

His hand slides down my arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake. “I’ll take you one day.”

A skeptical half-laugh escapes my lips; I doubt his sincerity. “Truth is, I work around the clock. This club is my life.”

“Maybe one day you will have time to explore this beautiful world. It would enrich your mind in ways you can’t even imagine.”

I’m lost in his eyes again, something in them taking me further into the fantasy of me traveling to Italy with him. Why does every guy I meet think I want saving or time away from my work? “You didn’t answer my question. Is that why you’re here, to enrich your mind? Trust me, you won’t do much of that here.”

“I’m here for business.”

“With your cousin? I hear his media business is doing quite well for him,” I ask, trying to get whatever information out of him I can.

“I have no interest in what Alessandro is working on.” His eyes lock in on mine, something in them making me swallow hard. I get the impression he is here for me, but that can’t be right.

A wild energy surges through me, an erratic impulse to do something crazy. I’m so sick of being trapped in this life. I just want to throw caution to the wind and be the young woman I am for once. His hand settles in my long platinum hair, and he tilts my head just a little, moistening his lips as he scans every last inch of my face. Even though he has hardly touched me, this feels way too intimate for someone I have just met. But I don’t want him to stop whatever it is he’s doing either.

I’m acutely aware Onyx will be watching me from some shadowy hiding place; he always is. And maybe that’s why I say what I do. “Kiss me.” I breathe the words, not even sounding like myself. I just want his lips on mine.

He doesn’t skip a beat. His face lowers to mine, our lips locking for the first time, sending an electric thrill all the way through my body. He kisses like a demon, and I’m right here for it. My hand moves to the back of his neck, and I pull him in closer as our kiss intensifies. Tingles run right through my body in a way I have never experienced before. Every part of me lights up.

I wait, my heart racing like crazy for someone to come rushing across the room and violently tear us apart. But it doesn’t happen, so I melt a little further into him, our kiss deepening. Oh God, I could do this all night. This man is perfection.

“Your drinks, Sloane,” the young woman I have manning the bar says quietly as she slides them onto the bar beside us.

I pull away. I had almost forgotten where we were, too busy lost in everything Romeo. I need a moment to clear my head. That was intense. I fix the corner of my lipstick, still caught up in his eyes. “Sorry, I’m not sure what came over me,” I whisper, taking my tumbler and sipping on the smooth whiskey. I quickly glance across the room at my brothers, but they are all still busy. Not one of them seems even a bit interested in us. Strange.

I can feel the tension in the air—a prickling sensation on my skin, a tightening in my chest. And before I know it, Onyx is closing in on us. Oh, they have left the babysitting to him tonight. “Sloane, a word alone,” is all he says, his voice tight with barely controlled rage, anger radiating off him in waves.

“Sorry, Romeo. Just give me a sec.” I offer a half smile to apologize for the oversized bodyguard protecting me, but he doesn’t look bothered at all. If anything, he looks amused as he motions for me to take my time.

I move in behind the bar with Onyx so my new friend doesn’t have to hear. “I’m going to be alone forever if you won’t even let men talk to me,” I grumble, wishing for just one night off from all the overprotective shit I have to endure every fucking day.

“Good. You will live a long life. And he wasn’t just talking to you,” he mutters dryly, but his attention isn’t on me, it’s on the guy I was with, his eyes narrowed in a way that tells me something more is going on here.

“What the fuck is going on, Onyx?” He’s pissing me off tonight. Even more so than usual.

“Do you know who you were just mauling in the center of your club?” This time his eyes travel to me, a look of utter disgust on his face.

“Yes, I do. Romeo Moretti. He’s Alex’s cousin,” I sass. What the fuck is his problem?

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