Page 41 of Ace of All Hearts

I shove against his chest, yet he doesn’t budge. “Let me go,” I order in a wobbly voice.

“Don’t be so hurt, Rose. We all want you badly enough that we’ll wait forever for you to come back to us. Just stop being so stubborn.”

Back on my waist, his hands tighten around it, this time practically stopping me from breathing. “But the more you make us wait, the harder the punishment will be when you do come back to us eventually. And you will.”

“Fuck you, Sam.” I push against him some more, and it infuriates me how weak I feel against him. How easy it is for him to keep me right where he wants me. “Let me go. I swear I’ll scream.”

This time he laughs. He pulls his head away slightly, until we can look into each other’s eyes. “You’ll only damage your throat. I’ve got better ways to do that.”

The reminder of his silencer down my throat makes me flush. For the first time in my life, I feel myself genuinely blush. I start to imagine patches of red covering my cheeks.

Sam makes us twirl again, maneuvering my upper body until my back is bent and I’m almost falling back. Then he puts a hand behind my neck while the other slides to the small of my back. My arms fly up to hold his strong shoulders, the fear of crashing to the floor stifling my lungs. He keeps me mid-air as one of my legs comes up to balance myself, making its way past the slit in my dress. He forces me to put my trust in him, forces me to believe he won’t drop me.

His head is right above mine. So close, yet I can still make out every single one of his features. His black, longer hair at the top is gelled and combed back. Like always. A style he’s never changed.

Clean-shaven, as usual, his cheeks look smooth enough I want to rub my face against them. His black orbs are making a point to stab into my soul.

His voice is so deep when he talks again, it resonates through my entire body. Vibrating to the rhythm of his sharp British accent. “I’m handling the Conor situation, Rose. Trust me. All you have to worry about is who, between Lik, Rach, or I, will get to punish you when you come crawling back for our forgiveness.”

My heart is kicking so hard, I can barely hear his voice anymore.

“In the meantime,behave.”

He drops a kiss to my neck, forcing a sigh out of me and my whole body to tremble.

He brings me up quickly and forcefully. My hands come to his chest, so I don’t crash against him. Then he lets go of me. I’m too shaken and dizzy to even notice where he’s going. I turn around multiple times, lost in the crowd of dancers.

Of course, Conor and Rachel are nowhere to be seen.

When I come off the dance floor, Jake and Chris are on me within a split second. “Was that Sam you were dancing with?” my twin snaps.

“Jake,” Chris scolds him. Right, his way of giving me life lessons is usually gentler than my twin’s.

“Change your contacts,” I bite back at Jake. “You clearly can’t see shit anymore.” I push past them, my rage not tamed one bit by Sam’s interaction. I hurry toward Luke, knowing that if one of my friends will have what I want, it’s him.

But they catch up before I can reach him.

“Rose, what exactly have you been up to while we’re away?” Chris insists. They’re walking at the same pace as me, one on each of my sides, making sure to keep up.

“I don’t know, Chris. Being unsupervised and yet still alive. Turns out Icansurvive even without you two constantly on my back.”

“Yeah? ‘Cause I could swear I just saw you dancing with a hitman,” Jake hisses quietly, making sure no one except us can hear him.

I stop dead in my tracks and turn to make sure they both see me. “Hey,” I tell Chris. “Remember when you were fucking your best friend’s younger sister behind his back? Andnevertold him about it?” I shamelessly remind him of when he used to date Luke’s sister. I spit my next words at Jake. “And remember when your girlfriend almost died because of your involvement, albeit reluctant, with thefuckingmafia?”

They both watch me in silence, and, fuck, it feels good. “That’s what I thought,” I conclude. “Now, if you don’t mind. I’d like to get fucked off my face in peace.”

I take my time reaching Luke because I know they won’t try anything else tonight. I bought myself an evening free of them. They’ll either join me or leave me be.

“Tell me you’ve got powder with you,” I huff as I sit next to my best friend. He was talking with Jamie, and her eyes widen at me. I guess she’s still a good girl. That’s nice for her.

Can’t say the same for myself.

Luke reaches inside the pocket of his suit jacket and grabs what I’m assuming is a pack of cocaine. He keeps his fist close until he drops it into my hand.

“Thanks,” I mutter. “I’ll be back.”

Except I don’t come back. Because post powdering my nose in the ladies’ bathroom, I have the brilliant idea to join Emma on the North Shore. I’m a bit done with this Stoneview engagement. A quick change out of my annoying dress, and I’m ready to have some fun.

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