Page 61 of Made to Sin

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When Luciano said I wasn’t going to be out of his sight, I didn’t think he meant it literally. He glowered at everyone I talked to, and after a few failed interactions with men who were too scared to approach me, I begrudgingly retreated to the VIP lounge.

I predicted it right, the place was beyond boring. All that was there was booze and business. The prime example was my keeper himself. He sat by my side, nursing a glass of whiskey and talking to one of his men about a weapons trade.

“Ah, so he’s held you captive again.” Dante’s smooth voice rang through the air as he slid into the booth across from me.

I had only talked to the consigliere once prior, but he somehow knew exactly what I was thinking from a single glance.

“Yep, this is the most fun I’ve ever had at a club.”

Dante let out a deep laugh at my flat voice and bland face. I looked over at the sound, and although he was undeniably handsome, there was no attraction there. His hair was too brown, his eyes were too blue, and his skin was too pale.

Bitterly, I’d come to the conclusion that Luciano ruined every other man for me. It didn’t matter if he intimidated them or made them dull in comparison, both achieved the same results.

“Luciano, let the woman go have some fun. Her husband just died, she must be sad,” Dante said.

Albeit blunt, I was glad someone was trying to help me. I wasn’t sad per se, more like bored, though that wouldn’t have made the case sound very appealing.

Luciano said something back, but I ignored their conversation. Using his distraction to my advantage, I stood and announced I was going to the bar. He looked like he was going to disagree, but I didn’t stick around to find out. Dante winked and kept him occupied long enough for me to sneak off.

As my foot touched the bottom of the metal stairs, I sighed, relieved to be free from the banalities of the lounge. I felt slightly bad for double-crossing Luciano, but he deserved it for keeping me there most of the night.

I had sat at the bar for less than five minutes when someone came up to me. I retracted what I said as the guilt disappeared. Without his looming company, people actually wanted to talk tome. It was reassuring to know he was the problem and not me.

“What’s a pretty girl like you doing here alone?” A flirty voice asked, words slightly slurring.

Snapping my attention to the guy in front of me, I took in his presence. He was standardly attractive, nothing particularly jumping out, but he looked like he could get the job done.

The thought had me excited, but I toned it down. If there was one thing I learned about men like him, it was that they drew to a hard-to-get woman to stroke their egos.

I swirled the skewer in my martini, giving him half my attention. “Waiting for a man like you to come talk to me.”

Depending on how he interpreted the movement, it could be taken as I was either shy or bored. However he saw it, the bait was set up for him to try and woo me.

“It’s a good thing I decided to come over then.”

The bait was taken.

I internally snickered at how easy it was. These types of men were too readable, thinking they were unique. In reality, there were likely dozens of them in this club alone.

My lips curved. “And what exactly are you here for?”

He stepped closer. “To see if you would give me a chance.”

His lines were corny, but sometimes those were the best ones. I couldn’t help but smile.

Mystery Guy became bold at the sight, reaching his hand out to tuck in the stray piece of hair behind my ear. With somewhat manipulative doe eyes, I stared lovingly at him.

If I calculated it correctly, the next step would be for him to kiss me. From there, things would escalate on their own. Bang, boom, we end up screwing in some dark corner, and it would be a victorious end to the night.

I leaned into the touch as his hand lingered on the fleshy underside of my chin. The guy had the same train of thought, inching closer toward my face.

“Remove your hand before I remove it from your body,” someone interrupted as we were inches away from kissing.

I scrunched my eyes shut to hide my growing fury, not needing to look to know who owned the cold voice. I wasn’t going to even question where Luciano came from. It was likely his villainous superpowers again.

“Are you serious?” I grumbled to nobody in particular.

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