Page 10 of Devious Kingpin
* * *
Wynter’s wedding was a lavish affair. A farce about to explode.
Wynter kept glancing Basilio’s way. She didn’t seem all that unhappy, despite the fact that Basilio kidnapped her and forced this wedding. The guy was seriously obsessed.
If I were Wynter, I’d have told Dad to just shoot him in the church. The fucker dragged her down the aisle to the altar. Literally dragged her.
That would never—fucking ever—be me.
A cold awareness touched my skin and I turned my head to find Dante’s eyes on me. His eyes coasted down my body, leaving a trail of ice and something else I couldn’t quite pinpoint in their wake.
I gritted my teeth and glared at him, making it clear that I disliked him. It didn’t seem to deter him though. His eyes were on me pretty much through the entire dinner. I ignored him, but every single hair on my body stood up in warning. I wished there was a way to get my hands on a gun and shoot him. I’d just feign clumsiness.Oops, my bad.
As if he could read my thoughts, he grinned. That smug, arrogant smirk that I wanted to wipe off his face, despite his good looks. I really wished he weren’tthatattractive. The dark three-piece suit fit his tall, muscled frame, making him look more like a sharp businessman than a mobster. He shifted over to say something to his brother and the tip of his gun came to view.
There goes the sharp businessman look, I thought smugly.
Bottom line, he just wasn’t my type.
Basilio and Wynter found their way onto the dance floor for their first dance as husband and wife.Only in the fucking underworld. Mere hours ago, everyone had guns pointed at each other at the church. All because Ivy and I showed up in the back room to save her. Well, maybe we wanted to kidnap her back from the crazy New York kingpin.
All the DiLustros were nuts. Batty. Looney. Probably a touch of a few psychopathic traits there too.
And here we were. Dancing, eating, bullshitting.
Although, I caught both Dante and Basilio checking their weapons a few times. As if they expected someone to start shooting at any moment.
I stood up and headed for the bar on the opposite side of the lavish backyard. The waitresses seemed to be giving more attention to the men than the women. The freaking reception was full of testosterone.
Basilio went all out for this wedding. It made me wonder whether the fucker had it all on standby before he kidnapped my cousin. The bartender was swift to take my order.Fireball. It was only appropriate for this kind of event.
“May I have this dance?” A familiar voice came from behind me and awareness shot through me. It was so stifling I could hardly breathe. It settled in my lungs and filled the room with so much tension, a single wrong word or move could detonate a bomb.
A bomb I wished Dante would lie over and goboom. It’d probably be the nicest thing he’d ever do for a human. Saving all our lives.
“I don’t dance,” I declared, letting his rainforest scent wash over me. Somewhere in the back of my mind, a memory danced along the shadows. One I couldn’t quite grasp, but I knew it was triggered by his scent. The intoxicating fragrance taking me over.
“Liar.”
I peered up at him, those dark brown eyes appearing almost black. He had the thickest black lashes I’d ever seen on a man. The shadow of stubble ghosted his chin and cheeks, making me wonder how rough it would feel against my palm.
Not that I’d ever touch him.
“Fine,” I caved, watching victory flash in his eyes. “I lied. I do dance, just not with you.”
He smiled, not letting my rejection deter him. “That’s because you haven’t danced with me yet.”
“Listen,Dante,” I started, emphasizing his name as though talking to a kid. “I know you think you’re godsent and all, but you are not my type.” I didn’t have a type. The traumatic experience from high school might have scarred me for life. “So do us both a favor, stop gawking at me. Stop talking to my father about me. In fact, erase me from your thoughts. Like we’d never met.”
Dante smiled darkly. “But I did meet you. And there’s no forgetting you, Wildling.”
I really didn’t like him. He was annoying and arrogant.
“Name’s Juliette.” I smiled sweetly. “Unfortunately for you, I have no trouble forgetting you.”
My words didn’t deter him. If anything, this guy became more persistent. He was definitely stubborn as fuck.
“Is that right?” he drawled lazily. “Did you forget your offer?”
