Page 33 of Don't Break My Heart
“Can you at least try and act like a lady tonight, treasure? Less of the profanity,” Orlando says, a little disappointed.
I purse my lips, getting irritated even though I promised myself I would try. “We both know I’m no lady.”
Onyx stifles a laugh, and I know he agrees.
Orlando takes my hand, his expression telling me he needs me to try. “Dance with me.” He kisses the back of my fingers, his gaze loving even though I know he’s on edge.
“Do I have to? I can promise you I have two left feet.”
Even with my protest, his hand comes to the small of my back, and he directs me to the dance floor that already holds a sea of bodies, moving to the instrumental version of “Lovefool.” In this part of the ballroom there is a full six-piece orchestra.
He pulls my body in closer to his, positioning me just the way he wants me. “I know this is difficult for you, but let me lead.”
“It’s your toes’ funeral.” I laugh softly. It’s not long before I get lost in his overwhelming scent and the comforting way he holds me, allowing him to glide me across the dance floor, our bodies working together.
I glance over Orlando’s shoulder and see a man watching me from the balcony. He’s tall, with broad shoulders and the kind of confidence that comes from power. His dark hair is neatly styled, not a strand out of place, a sharp contrast to his piercing blue eyes that seem to strip the truth from anyone they land on. When they lock with mine there is anunsettling intensity in them, like staring into the eyes of a wild beast right before it rips you limb from limb. I quickly look away, wondering who the hell he is.
Orlando spins me in his arms, directing me around the dance floor with more grace than I knew this man could hold. Distracted, I go to move in the opposite direction and bump with his chest. He winces in pain. “You shouldn’t be out of bed, much less directing me around a dance floor,” I tell him, annoyed with myself for hurting him.
“I’m fine, treasure,” he grumbles in a way that I know he’s not. He might be drugged up on painkillers, but nothing is strong enough to control the pain he must still be in.
I look him over in a way that says I know he’s not, but I know I won’t win this argument. He spins me just to prove he’s okay, and I can’t help but laugh. This man is more stubborn than I am. And maybe that’s why I fell for him.
Across the room I see Reef, Romeo, and Onyx all gathered with some drinks. Reef holds up my champagne glass as if to say, “I have your drink when you’re ready.” His smile is soft and filled with how much he adores me, and I know it’s not me he’s annoyed with, just Romeo. And that makes me wonder what he knows that I don’t.
I find the stranger’s gaze again, his expression filled with curiosity. But there is a shadow beneath it, something darker, that sends a shiver down my spine. A predator’s interest. As though he isn’t just observing the room, he’s calculating it, and I’m in his sights.
“I’m going to use the restroom, I’ll give your feet a break,” I say with a cheeky smirk, as the song comes to an end.
I feel Onyx behind me as I cross the room. He follows me right to the door, leaning into the adjacent wall. His dark gaze tells me to be fucking quick because he doesn’t want me alone.
Soft music filters through the air of the opulent marble bathroom, and I breathe a sigh of relief, having a second to myself. There is always someone right there at my side, and it’s slowly starting to give me claustrophobia. Glancing at my appearance in the mirror, I tip up my lace mask to check my eye make-up and re-apply my peach lipstick. I didn’t even need the bathroom, I just needed space from them. From this situation, the constant feeling of four sets of eyes on me.
Back on the island, I thought maybe I could handle four boyfriends, but that was when it was an even playing field. Now I’m married to Orlando and having to show the world I’m his wife, while the others stand by watching. The injustice of the situation kills me. Poor Reef and Onyx having to follow us around and pretend to be okay with it. Even Romeo must feel like he’s lost me to his brother. I take hold of the basin and suck in a deep breath.Get back out there, Sloane, pretend a little longer, then go back to the villa and show them this isn’t what you want.It’s all I can do, because the lack of control out here in the wild is starting to slowly suck the life out of me.
As I go to push on the door, I see a quick flash of black out of the corner of my eye. My hand instinctively flies to the knife in my bag, its cold steel pressing against the man’s throat before he can even react. He stares down at me, sucking in a ragged breath.
“Who the fuck are you?” I press the knife closer to his throat, the tip drawing a drop of blood that rolls down his neck over his stubble and lands on his crisp white shirt.
“Dante Conti.” A devilish grin stretches across his face as he stares back at me, his blue eyes gleaming with malice, not affected by my weapon positioned so dangerously close to a major artery. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Miss Stryker.” His accent is thick, but my name rolls off his tongue as though he has rehearsed that line a million times before. This is the asshole who’s been watching me tonight.
The use of my real name makes me flinch, but I don’t show it, not to him. I hold the knife strong, ready to kill him at one wrong move. My glare intensifies to icy. “The same Dante Conti who sent two men to kill me in my sleep just a couple of nights ago?”
“They weren’t there to kill you,” he says, his voice strained from the knife digging just a little further into his neck. “I sent them to rescue you.”
“Bullshit, how fucking stupid do you think I am?” My fingers curl tighter around the knife, itching to plunge it deep into his throat. This fucker wants me dead, Emilio said he would, and now he’s here to get the job done.
“Not at all. We both know your new brother-in-law wants you dead, not me.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” I snip, my patience with this fucker wearing thin.
His eyes lock with mine, sending a chill over me. “I don’t! You are more valuable to me alive.”
Something in the way his eyes flash with determination makes me believe him. I withdraw the knife, giving him room to breathe again. “What do you want with me then? I have seen you watching me all night. Following me into the women’s bathroom is a pretty low move.”
He moves to the vanity and takes some paper towel, wets it, and washes the trickle of blood from his neck, still watching me in the mirror. “You’re a hard woman to get alone.”
“For a good reason.”
