Page 38 of A Love So Deadly
I bite down a retort but just nod and hold out my hand for a friendly handshake. “I’m Elliot.”
She stares at it, lip curled up in disgust. “Vittoria.”
With that, she turns and leaves the bathroom, giving me no choice but to follow.
I expected a glittering show of red carpets and flashing cameras. Instead, we ascend into a decadent world money and decaying morals. The girls are sleek, almost naked, their curves impossible and their faces more so. Even though I’m dressed like a movie star, I’m in a potato sack near the women here.
Vittoria has disappeared, and I’m a little relieved. I want to say something to Lucian, but what do I say? His business partner, or colleague or whatever the fuck she is, sniffed me?
I’d lock me up for saying something like that.
Her ‘not yours’ haunts me. There’s something I’m missing, something my mind slips away from.
“You all right?” Lucian asks, his hand on the small of my back.
“Just dandy,” I mutter.
“Just relax and stay by me,” he says. “I’ll keep you safe.”
It’s a strange thing to say, but as I look around, I sort of get why. The people in here aren’t what I’d ever label as nice.
The men in here ogle the sleek, almost naked girls; some of them touch them in ways that makes my skin crawl. Others play card games or smoke cigars and talk. This is a place where old corrupt men from government and the lower echelons of society rub shoulders.
Lucian’s attentive, though, passing me drinks and making the kind of small talk that feels like exceptional finger food—delicious but nothing to sink teeth into.
In a way, I’m grateful for it. He’s letting the room know who I’m with and I don’t mind. The people in here give off the kind of vibes that make my journalistic senses twitch. Like it’s all bad juju under the layer of expensive perfume.
Then there’s Lucy who’s like a safe harbor. He seems like one. Until he looks at me. Because when Lucian turns his gaze on me, I tremble.
I don’t understand how my whole being is drawn to him, wants him, even though a part of me tries to scream he might be the worst of them all. I’m drowning in a sea of red flags. And yet… Yet there’s no one I’d rather be with than Lucy. Especially in this other world.
It’s obvious he’s in his element. I’m sure he could take down everyone in here in one move.
I stop.
Where the fuck did that come from?
When I glance up at him, I find that he’s watching me with a melting stare. “I’m glad you’re here,” he murmurs.
Spiders to flies, cats to mice, predator and prey come to mind. Or maybe there’s magic involved. I certainlyfeelbewitched by him.
Is this what happened to Kayla? So entranced that it was easier for her to fade away to nothing?
“I’m not sure you need me,” I say.
The air throbs.
“There’s need andneed. And,” he pauses and takes a small hors d’oeurves from an almost naked waitress as she passes. Lucy doesn’t even look at her. “I may not need you here, but… there is aneed. Or is it want?”
I can’t breathe. I’m not sure I want to. Because he’s looking at me the way I have looked at double salted caramel ice cream before.
He feeds me the world’s tiniest tart, his fingers dipping it into my mouth, and I can’t seem to stop myself from licking his finger. Then when he smiles.
“Ms. Montague…Monty…” His gaze dips down to my lips. “Elliot.”
A shiver races through me, sending my temperature rising. That smile contains a wicked knowing, and he takes my chin tenderly.
“Wh-what are you doing?” I pant. “This is part of my job. I’m not your lover.”
