Page 45 of The Darkest Prince

Tom moves through the crowd and exits the bar without looking back.

“I hate you!” Alex shouts. “Fuck you and your stupid fucking games, Luca. I waited over a year for the three of you to visit me. No return phone calls or texts. I’m done with all of you and your bullshit.”

She attempts to leave.

I throw my arm out in front of her. “You’re not leaving us, Pet.”

Alex flicks her long, blonde curls over her shoulder and scoffs. “Fuck you, Damian. I’m notyours. Not anymore.”

“You’remine.” I bend down to her height, sliding my hand beneath her chin. “Ours. Stop denying it, Pet.”

She sighs, her shoulders sinking. “Why haven’t you answered any of my texts?”

“Been busy,” I lie.

“Same,” Bash agrees. “But we’ve been watching you, Cherry. We always know what you’re doing.”

She laughs, but it’s forced. “Well, that’s not at all romantic or comforting.”

Luca steps closer, so the three of us have her boxed in with nowhere to go. “If I have to come back here and dispose of that loser’s body, you’re not going to like the punishment, Drea.”

“What?” Alex chokes on her words. “Are you serious? Tom is my partner for a group project. We can’t complete it without the other, or we both fail.”

“You like him,” Luca tells her because he already knows from reading her text messages and listening to her conversations with Aiden. “And if you think about kissing him or doinganythingwith him, Iwillkill him.”

“Wow,” she mouths, shaking her head. “Fucking crazy asshole.”

“Yeah, baby girl. I am crazy.” He yanks on her curls, his lips inches from hers. “Crazy about you and protecting what is mine.”

“I’m not yours, Luca. You don’t even want me.” She sighs, lowering her eyes. “That much you made perfectly clear at your graduation party. And it’s been over a fucking year since that night, asshole.”

He slides the pad of his thumb across her bottom lip, smearing the red lipstick. “If anyone who doesn’t have the last name Salvatore kisses these lips, I will cut them off and shove them down their throat. Do you understand me, Drea?”

She rolls her eyes. “So I can kiss your brothers?”

He nods.

“Any of them?”

Another nod.

She folds her arms over her chest. “Even Marcello?”

“Yes,” he bites out. “Were you not listening to me, woman?”

“You know,” Alex says, twirling a curl around her finger. “Your dad is kinda hot for an older man. Maybe I’ll kiss him, too.” A smirk pulls at her pretty mouth. “Since you guys have the same last name and all.”

She’s just trying to piss Luca off. I love how she pushes his buttons and finds ways to get under his skin. No one really challenges him. Marcello does sometimes, but we usually just go with the flow and let Luca take charge.

It’s easier that way.

“You could try,” Luca fires back, his eyebrows pinched together in frustration. “But I doubt you’d get very far with our father.”

She inches her hands up Luca’s chest and wraps her arms around his neck. “How about you, Luca? You say I’m yours, but you haven’t kissed me.”

“I don’t like kissing,” he admits.

“Why not?” Alex wets her lips, keeping her eyes on his. “Don’t you want to claim what’syours?”

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