Page 30 of Their Reckless Thief
Prisoner or not, I couldn’t deny that Dorian was... captivating. Annoyingly so.
When he was done, Dorian wiped the sweat from his brow, grinning like the cat who got the cream. I felt like an absolute idiot for staring at him. The man was ridiculously fit, all hard muscle and effortless swagger, and I hated myself for noticing every inch of it.
“Did you enjoy the show, love?” he asked, slinging a towel over his shoulder. His eyes sparkled with mischief, and I didn’t know if I wanted to slap him or kiss him.
I huffed, rolling my eyes again to cover the fact that, yeah, I had enjoyed the show way too much. “You wish.”
He let out a chuckle, leaning in just a little too close, his voice dropping to a low growl. “You’re right. I do.”
I swallowed hard, heat rising to my cheeks. Of course, the bastard had noticed. Dorian was impossible to ignore, and somehow, that only made me hate him more. His charm wrapped around me like a noose, tightening with every smirk and comment. What bothered me the most was that I wasn’t sure I wanted to break free.
“Come on,” he said, nodding toward the door, “I’ve got a meeting to get to. You still tagging along, or would you rather spend some quality time with yourself locked in a room?”
I scowled, but the truth was, I wasn’t ready to be alone. Being locked away would only make me spiral again. So, I nodded. “I’ll come.”
He grinned like he’d won a competition, and I followed him down the corridor like an obedient little puppy, hating every second of it.
You’re better than this, Celeste.It was hard to believe myself when I was trailing after one of the most dangerous—and dangerously attractive—men I’d ever met.
We entered a spacious room where Luca and Vincenzo were already seated—the same room I’d stumbled upon the previous night. The stakes were higher than I’d realized then, but now, I knew the extent of what they were dealing with: missing women, drugs being tampered with, and borders shrinking like shadows in the night.
At first, they didn’t seem to know we’d joined them.
“I need to make a visit to the human world to see Fred. Perhaps he knows something about the mirror,” Vincenzo said.
Dorian cleared his throat.
Vincenzo barely glanced at me as we made our way into the room before his cold, calculating gaze flicked to Dorian. “You brought her?”
Dorian shrugged. “Better than locking her up again. She’s already in the know. Couldn’t hurt for us to keep an eye on her while we meet. I’m taking her to the club later, too.”
Luca leaned back in his chair, silver eyes cutting through the dim light. “She’strouble.” His expression gave nothing away, but the way he looked at me… It was unsettling, like he was studying every inch of my soul.
“She tried to escape again,” Vincenzo said to Luca, then directed his words at Dorian. “You can’t even keep up with her here in the mansion, and you think she’ll be safe out there? At your clubs?”
I opened my mouth, but before I could even form a defense, Vincenzo’s eyes locked on mine, his jaw tightening. “You need to understand that you’re not in control here,dolcezza. No matter how much you run your mouth or try to act tough, you aremineuntil I say otherwise.”
That was it. I couldn’t take the constant power play anymore. “I’m not yours,” I snapped. “I’m not anyone’s.”
Dorian snorted but quickly stifled it when he saw the look on Vincenzo’s face.
“You really don’t get it, do you?” Vincenzo growled. He rose from his chair and stared me down. “You think this is a game? Do you have any idea what’s happening outside these walls? Women are going missing—mywomen. My borders are shrinking, and there’s a war coming. You will remain here as long as I deem necessary. And I will use you in whatever way I see fit. Don’t think for a second that you have a say in any of it.”
“Yeah, well, maybe if you weren’t so busy playing mafia lord, you could’ve figured out what’s going on in your territory by now,” I shot back, my anger flaring. “And maybe if you weren’t so wrapped up in your bullshit power games, you’d have a better handle on your drugs and your women.”
There was a beat of silence—dangerous silence.
Luca’s shadows moved before I even realized what was happening. They curled around my wrists, tightening enough to stop me from moving but not enough to hurt. His face remained expressionless, but there was a glimmer of something in his eyes—annoyance, maybe, or intrigue.
“Watch your mouth, doll,” Luca said, his voice barely above a whisper, but it carried more weight than any shout could.
I struggled against the shadows, but it was like trying to breathe through smoke. “Don’t fucking call me that.”
“You don’t know when to close that pretty little mouth,” Luca said, stepping closer, his presence more imposing than ever. It was the most I’d ever heard him speak. He was close. Too close. Too fucking beautiful, like a god. Or maybe the devil would be more accurate.
Dorian sighed. “She’s got spirit, I’ll give her that.”
Vincenzo waved a hand, and Luca’s shadows retreated reluctantly, freeing my wrists. My skin tingled from their cold touch, and I rubbed my arms, glaring at both of them.
