Page 87 of Pretty Pink Poison
He didn’t remove it. He didn’t flinch. He didn’t even slide a millimeter away from her. Instead, he leaned in when she whispered in his ear, but I heard her comment, “I hope you know I’ll never look at another man when that time comes for us.”
He nodded.
Nodded.
He didn’t ask what time. He didn’t even make an effort to correct her. So, I did it myself. “What time, exactly, is coming for you and Bane?”
Sabine’s smile was saccharine as she dropped her head on his shoulder and met my gaze with a flutter of her eyelashes. “Well, just like you’re engaged to Rafe, I hope I’ll be engaged to Bane at one point too.” She winked at me as if this was some elaborate plan we were both a part of.
“What?” I whispered at her in shock, and then my eyes shot to Bane’s.
His father answered for him. “That’d be a perfect fit, Sabine. Your parents and I have known one another for years. We’d love to see you two married.”
“Bane?” I wheezed, almost choked on his name. I wanted him to stop this, to put an end to the conversation the way he’d put an end to Yuri’s life. “Do you agree?”
“Agree with what, Bianca?”
I felt my skin heating, felt the embarrassment of the moment taking over as I watched him not react at all. How could he sit there without any emotion when I was about to break under the weight of mine? “Do you agree that Sabine would be perfect for you?”
“Of course I would.” She patted his hand and then moved to wipe a speck of blood that had shot across the table when Bane had killed Yuri. He watched her do it like he was consideringhow well she’d fit by his side, how perfectly she did. I’d never considered Sabine a threat. She’d allowed us to touch her in the Vault, she gave Bane access to her any time he pleased, and she begged for more every time. But his interest always seemed focused on me, on us, onourtime in the Vault together… though now I wondered.
She was poised, had to have connections if she was in the Vault with us half the time, and now she was seated next to him like she’d been a part of his circle for a long time. She even cleaned up the blood when he murdered someone.
“She’s a complete package, Bianca. Most men would think she’s perfect for them,” Bane said in a measured tone.
“Like I’m perfect for Rafe?” I couldn’t help but fill in all the blanks.
“I’d say you are. It’s a matter of when my son decides it’s time for the wedding.” His father chuckled and nudged Rafe and then my father too. I looked at my parents.
Neither of them said a damn thing to stand up for me. My father actually laughed with Mr. Black, like this was the way. Neither of them even looked at me. I wondered if my mother wanted to, if deep down in her soul somewhere she knew there was a girl that felt exactly like I did.
She had to feel that way once, right? There had to be a hope there that desperately wanted something different even if she buried it down deep.
And I considered if I would do the same with Rafe. Would he force me to have a kid and then raise her to give in time and time again?
“Pink.” Bane’s voice broke through all the talk between my father and his. “Now’s not the time for—”
“A fit?” I finished for him.
“If you’re mad, you can stab me later,” he told me, like he could lighten the mood, like he read how my mind was racing, but there was no way he could slow it down now.
“She’s perfect for you, truly, Bane. I think we both know Sabine belongs by your side, and I belong by Rafe’s. Right, Rafe?”
My chair scraped back faster than lightning as I stood up abruptly. I grabbed Rafe’s arm and yanked him with me. “I need to talk with you.”
“Damn it. Really?” He looked put out as he stood. I didn’t care. I grabbed his hand and started pulling him through the crowd. I didn’t stop walking as we left the ballroom and went to the elevators. I pressed the Vault level and moved his watch to the pad to swipe for access.
He lit up green and I scoffed, “Of course you have access.”
And then we moved quickly through the double doors into the club where I immediately told the host we were going to the dark room. Normally they would have told me no, but I saw how their eyes ping-ponged to Rafe who just nodded as if he was bored. I didn’t care.
I pulled him in and then I closed my eyes tight, trying not to think of the man who’d taken advantage of me all those years ago as I grabbed his face and kissed him. I tried instead to remind myself that he would be the one I’d spend the rest of my life with, he’d be the one I had to build a future with.
Him.
Not his brother.
Not anyone else.
