Page 89 of Wicked Prince

He rolls his eyes. "Whatever. Look, I'm sorry I scared you, but I knew you'd freak out and alert the whole house if I didn't find a way to keep you quiet."

"You're right," I agree. “I would have. So did you ever think that maybe, just maybe, you shouldnotdo the thing I'm going to freak out about instead of being a complete creep?"

He shrugs. "Clearly, creeps are your type, or you wouldn't be hanging out with that douchebag."

"Here we go again," I say, rolling my eyes. "I already told you, I'm hanging out with him because he's new here, and my dad asked me to show him around."

"Sure. And you really expect me to believe he hasn't made a move yet?"

I pause before I answer, and I can see from the livid expression in his eyes it's driving him nuts. Maybe it's petty, but I decide to have a little fun with that. "Maybe he has, maybe he hasn't. It’s none of your business."

His eyes flash in rage again and he closes the distance between us, backing me against the wall. "Is that supposed to make me jealous?"

"That depends," I answer, staring him down. "Is this supposed to make me intimidated?"

His eyes narrow. I can tell he wants to argue. The fact that his brow furrows and his expression turns from pure rage to concern actually gives me pause. "I'm not trying to intimidate you. I'm trying to protect you. Can't you fucking see that?"

I stare at him for a moment, knowing I need to choose my words carefully so I don't hang myself with them.

"Why?" I ask.

I can't help but voice the question that's at the forefront of my mind. As much as I want to believe this is just Lorenzo being his usual possessive self, wanting to have his cake and eat it too, there's part of his insistence that seems genuine enough. I'm not saying I believe it, but I'm starting to thinkhedoes.

"Why what?" he asks, clearly perplexed by the question.

"Why do you care?" I clarify. "I already made it clear to you that I have no intention of being your mistress, now or ever. I'm sure there are plenty of other girls who would jump at the chance, though, so why haven't you moved on to one of them?"

He doesn't seem to know how to respond to that, either. He just stares at me blankly for a few moments, and I have no idea what he's thinking.

"Do you really need to ask that?" he asks at length.

"I wouldn't have if I didn't," I say with a shrug.

He grits his teeth and growls in frustration, planting his hands on the wall on either side of me. "I swear, for a smart chick, you can be really fucking dumb sometimes."

I raise an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be your version of a compliment?"

He blows a puff of air through his nose and the corner of his lips tilts up in a slight smirk. "Maybe."

I just shake my head. "Okay, I'll bite. Now's your chance. What exactly is it that's supposed to be so dangerous about Stefan?"

"Would you believe me if I told you?" he asks.

I shrug. "Depends on the answer, I guess."

He sighs. "I'm assuming he didn't tell you anything about why his family came over from Italy."

I pause to think back. "Not really," I admit. "The same reason anyone moves, I guess.”

"Yeah, normal people. Not mob families. Especially not ones as well-connected and old as the Romeros."

It's a fair point, and one I have to concede I hadn't really thought of before.

"So they were a big deal over there, too?"

"To say the least," Lorenzo scoffs. "They practically owned Italy. They're the only family that even comes close to matching us in terms of reach and wealth."

"Is this really what you want to do with your time? Humble brag about how rich you guys are?"

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