Page 2 of Toxic

It was another reminder of the sixth sense he and Dante had. It made the fire in my cheeks burn hotter. I elbowed him and hissed, "Shut up. I'm watching the movie."

"Sure you are." He put his hand under the blanket and touched my thigh, but I slapped it off me.

"Stop it," I whispered.

More arrogance flashed on his face until Dante leaned over my breasts while shoving his finger deeper in me and curling it. He quietly muttered, "Don't touch her."

The twins exchanged a look. I don't know what it meant, but they did. They could always have silent conversations. That one look made Gianni slide his arm around Cara and say something that made her giggle.

"Shut up," my brother Aidan barked, throwing popcorn at us before returning his attention to the movie.

Dante's thumb moved quicker, and his hot breath slid across my chest, thanks to my tank top. Tingles assaulted me everywhere, and he murmured in my ear, "Have a drink."

I turned toward him, my mouth an inch from his lips, adrenaline pooling in my cells, and my heart beating so fast, I was sure everyone in the room could hear it.

His mouth curved into so much arrogance, it caught me off guard. He pinned his dark gaze on me, and I couldn't look away. Then, everything exploded around me, as if he knew what was about to happen. My eyes rolled and I whimpered. As much as I tried not to make a sound, I couldn't help it. Thankfully, besides Dante, I think only Gianni and Cara heard it, because my brothers, their girlfriends, and the rest of the Marino kids never bothered to look our way.

Fire sparked in those dark eyes. He removed his hand from my body then shoved his fingers in his mouth, arching his eyebrows in a smirk, before returning to the movie.

I was hardly breathing again before his fingers were crawling back up my thigh, and he was starting all over.

I lost track of how many times he made me come. When the movie was over, he went to play pool with the others and ignored me the rest of the night.

That was a month ago. Since then, he's acted like nothing happened, having conversations with me like we always have.

Not once has he touched me or looked at me the way he did that night.

All I think about is him.

His eyes.

His cheekbones.

His cocky lips I want on mine, as well as places no other boy has ever touched.

And something about the way his body towers over me, as if he could make me his and protect me from the world, makes my insides throb. Not that I have anyone to worry about. My father is the head of the Irish clan in New York, and even I'm not naive enough not to know what that means.

No one will ever get close enough to hurt me. My father would kill anyone, and everyone knows it. But still, I like thinking about being Dante's and him protecting me.

Cara is the only person who knows what happened, unless Dante told anyone. Well, I'm sure Gianni knows something went on. And Cara slept with Gianni that night. Ever since, she's been trying to play it cool but is dying for a replay.

All day leading up to my party, I wondered if tonight would be the night Dante would pay attention to me again. Cara's game suggestion makes me nervous. What are the chances Dante will end up with me and not someone else? When I don't answer her, she shouts, "Who wants to play spin the bottle?"

The room turns silent, and I refrain from looking at Dante, yet I feel his eyes on me.

It's Gianni who answers, "I'm down."

"Siblings are off-limits. I'm not touching my sister," Aidan says.

"Eww. Yuck," I state, horrified at the thought.

"Hey, you know what happened at Matt's party," he replies.

My stomach flips. This is how fucked up the kids at my school are. Matt and his sister Lana had a party last weekend. Matt spun the bottle, and when it stopped, Lana was in front of it. No one trusted them to do anything in the closet, so they pressured them to kiss in front of everyone, and instead of saying no, they gave in to the pressure and played tongue tag for the entire fifteen minutes.

"Agreed. I'll go first," Dante states and grabs an unopened bottle of wine he snagged from his father's party. He sits on the floor, and everyone follows.

Flutters fill my gut, and when he spins the bottle, I pray it stops on me.

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