Page 30 of The Darkest Prince

There he goes with that word again. Lately, Luca has been saying Alex is his when she was ours from the start. That was part of the deal we made before she arrived in Devil’s Creek.

Alex is in the bathroom, changing into a different pair of panties because I ripped them off her. I think she likes our little game. She never knows what I’ll make her wear or when I will steal her panties.

Little does she know I’m addicted to her smell. I lose my fucking mind every night when I get home, dreaming of how she will feel when I fuck her.

“No more what, brother?” Bastian asks, rolling his eyes. “You’re going to have to use your words if you’re trying to make a point.”

“My point,” Luca snaps, “is that Alex is mine. And I don’t want either of you touching her anymore.”

Bastian bares his teeth, snarling at Luca. “Fuck you. Since when do you give a shit about her?”

“I don’t,” he lies. “But I don’t trust either of you not to fuck her. We have a deal, and you’re getting really fucking close to breaking it.”

Luca won’t fuck Alex, even though he wants her. And if the prick can’t have her, then no one can. He’s always been like this. A damn baby when he doesn’t get his way.

“We keep our promises,” I interject, not liking his tone or how he speaks to us like idiots. “We won’t fuck Alex. Neither will Marcello.”

Alex saunters toward us. Blonde curls brush the tops of her breasts, which are getting bigger. She’s eating meals with us at school and filling out nicely, her curvy body made for sin.

Made forus.

Luca curls his arm around her, pressing her back into his chest. She relaxes in his arms and peeks up at him, a smile on her lips.

Every girl at Astor Prep craves the same attention from Luca. He’s the most popular person at this school and has the eye of every woman in a ten-mile radius.

Women look at me the same way. But they’re usually smart enough to steer clear of me. They know my good looks mask the sinister parts of my soul. And while Luca is intimidating, he’s not frightening.

Not like me.

“You’re coming with me today after school, Drea.” Luca dips his head down, his nose brushing her cheek. “I’m taking you to an art gallery in Manhattan.”

“What?” Alex’s eyes widen, and she spins around to face him. “Are you serious?”

He nods, keeping his gaze on Bash and me, and winks. “I want to introduce you to a friend of my mother’s. She can help with your art career.”

“Wow,” she mouths, fanning herself with her hand. “Who are we meeting?”

“Arianna Lacoste.”

“Oh, my God. I love her work.” She throws her arms around his neck and kisses his cheek. “Thank you, Luca.”

I notice him stiffen at her closeness, but he doesn’t push her way. My brother actually puts his hand on her back. He hates human contact as much as me. So it’s weird seeing him hugging Alex.

She’shisexception.

I can’t fuck this up for him. Not when I already have my exception. If anyone ever took Bastian from me, I would gut them like a fish and drink their fucking blood.

Luca grips Alex’s ass and lifts her feet off the ground, rubbing this rare moment of affection in our faces. His body is pressed against hers, but his attention is on us. He’s taking her away from us because he can. And because he knows we won’t fight him.

We never do.

Bastian is the only one who ever challenges Luca. And with something this important to our family, we won’t interfere. In the end, Luca or Marcello has to marry her. And it might as well be Luca.

I hold up my hands, gesturing that I’ll back off. Luca snaps his head at Bash, waiting for his nonverbal response.

He nods.

We owe everything we have and everything we have become to the Salvatores. They took us into their home when we were scared little boys with no parents and nowhere to go. So even though it kills both of us to let Alex go, we don’t have a choice.

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