35. Jealous Wittle Wabbit
Jealous Wittle Wabbit
CARTER
Cade was all over Sara on the dance floor, and I stormed right past them, towards the bar, wishing I could rip his arms out of the sockets.
It took me several minutes to get my order in, and I spent that time leaning over the counter, pouting and feeling sorry for myself, but a moment later a familiar smell hit me, strawberry and amber. There you are.
“Hi.” Sara breathed, her cheeks flushed as she leaned back against the bar.
“Hi.” I rumbled, and I couldn’t help myself as I placed a hand on the other side of her, and scooped her into the space in front of me. Fucking mine. “I thought you were busy dancing?”
“I was.” She had the audacity to bite her lip as she shyly looked up at me through her lashes. “And now I’m not.”
“Don’t give me that innocent little coquette act.” I teased and leaned in, almost close enough to kiss her. “I know you’re all wicked, lusty thoughts in there.”
“Maybe I am.”
The bartender set my drink down, and never leaving Sara’s gaze, I pulled out my card and slid it across the bar. “I’ll start a tab.” The bartender took the card as I asked Sara, “What are you drinking?”
“Are you an option?” She hummed, eyes dropping to my mouth.
I dragged my knuckles down her arm, leaning in even closer. “What happened to taking things slow?”
“You’re the one who wanted to do that, not me.” She tilted her head onto her shoulder and crinkled her nose adorably.
“Oh, you are so very mistaken, pretty girl. That is the exact opposite of what I want to do, but it is what I think we should do.”
“Good luck with that.” She said sweetly and grabbed my drink off the bar, throwing it back with a long sip that made her sputter endearingly. “ Yelck. ”
“Yeah, that was whiskey. Your favorite.” I chuckled and leaned in, deciding I could steal a quick kiss.
Sara pushed off the bar top just before my lips hit hers, and I got a mouthful of ponytail as it swished, smacking me in the face.
Jules and Douglass broke through the crowd a moment later. Fucking hell. Thankfully, neither of them saw.
“Hey you made it,” Sara said tensely, giving Douglass an awkward side hug.
“Of course.” He nodded at me. “What’s up, Kensington?”
“Nothing much.” I watched Sara run her finger around the inside of the necklace I’d given her last night, eyes still honed in on my mouth. This was pure torture.
Just then, the music changed. “This is my song!” Jules squealed, dragging Sara out onto the dance floor, and Sara threw her head back and laughed, shooting me one last wide smile before she disappeared into the crowd.
I shook my head with a grin and turned back to the bar to order another whiskey. Goddamn, she was an angel. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her again, couldn’t wait to just talk to her even. I missed her. She was in the same room as me, and I missed her .
So so fucked.
Douglass was dressed in a full suit, like he usually was, and he leaned on the bar top next to me, neither of us saying anything to break the awkward silence between us.
Instead, he made conversation with the girl on the other side of him, chatting her up as if Jules hadn’t been standing here a mere second ago.
I shook my head, waiting for my drink to be made, watching him smile a little too big, and lean in a little too close, flashing a little too much of his cash when he went to pay.
When my drink was ready, I didn’t bother sticking around to watch.
I’d never really cared for Douglass. We were cordial, but what Jules saw in him, I had no idea.
Frankly, I thought she deserved better, she was a sweet girl, and how he had bagged her, I honestly had no idea .
Truthfully, he was a bit of a jackass, even when he wasn’t flirting with random women that weren’t his girlfriend. It was an odd match, to say the least.
I took my double whiskey and headed back towards the booth, but I caught Liam’s gaze over the sea of heads and headed across the club towards him.
When I came out on the other side of the crowd, I immediately surveilled the men standing next to Liam. They were just as tall as us, and each of them was covered in tattoos, necks, hands, everything.
“Carter, this is Dante and Luca Leone.” Liam nodded between the two men. They looked nearly identical. They had to be brothers, or at the very least, closely related. “Dante owns the club.” Liam explained rather tensely.
“And I’m just along for the ride.” Luca said, smiling like a Cheshire Cat.
I felt like I was being sized up as prey when I shook Dante’s hand. “Hey, what’s up, man? Nice to meet you.”
“You all having a good time tonight?” Dante asked, and something in me immediately went on defense. This guy was dangerous. They both were, but so was I—we shared a glance that established exactly that .
“Yeah, this is a great place you’ve got.” I nodded. “Liam tells me he’s doing the menu for you.”
Dante smiled wide. “He’s a visionary when it comes to flavors.”
“He’s in high demand these days. You’re lucky to have him.” I agreed, watching this strange interaction unfold.
“Indeed, I am,” Dante said, while Luca stood, toothpick hanging out of his mouth, looking bored and uninterested—I knew he was anything but.
“Even luckier that we have an ongoing agreement.” Dante mused, and I looked at Liam.
What an odd thing that was to say, but Liam shot me a look like, don’t ask.
I felt Luca quietly watching me, and when I finally met his gaze, there was something behind his eyes that I couldn’t quite figure out, like he knew something I didn’t.
“If you’ll excuse us, gentlemen, we have matters to attend to.” Dante said. “Enjoy the evening.”
“Happy Halloween.” Luca winked as he trailed off in the opposite direction. “Stay safe out there, kids, and be sure to watch out for the monsters under the floorboards.”
When each of them strolled off through the crowd, it parted around them like butter on a hot knife. I watched as Dante disappeared into a backroom, and that’s when I noticed Cade inside, just before the door closed.
“What’s their deal?” I asked, watching Liam closely.
Liam shook his head warily. “It doesn’t matter.” Bullshit.
“How’d you guys meet?”
“Here.” Liam said, already cutting back through the crowd towards the group while an odd feeling settled in my chest. What the fuck was he up to, running with guys like that?
Cade too—another reason he was going to keep his filthy paws off Sara.
I didn’t want her anywhere near The Society, and anywhere near whoever the hell that had been.
Throughout the night, the group took turns rotating from the dance floor to the booth, taking breaks to refill their drinks and catch their breath.
Of course, there was only one person I cared to dance with, and all night my eyes were on her, just waiting for the right moment to steal her away.
I found myself alone for several songs when Riley stumbled back to the table by herself. “Doing okay?” I asked, wondering if she was even old enough to be in the club at all.
“Great.” She beamed.
I chuckled. “Just take it easy, would you? You’ve got your whole life to party.”
She rolled her eyes, and then asked, “Do you want to dance with me?”
“Why don’t you have some water? You look like you could use it.” I offered, pushing a glass towards her. “How did you get in here, anyway?”
After she’d chugged half the glass, she explained, “Gemma is one of my best friends. I can come anytime I want. I just have to come through the back.” She rolled her eyes, and I chuckled.
“Her brother Dante owns the club.” Riley explained.
Interesting. She rattled the ice in her empty water glass, looking bummed.
“I was dancing with Cade, but I don’t know where he went. Have you seen him?”
“He’s a little old for you, don’t you think?” I mused.
“Not you too.” Riley rolled her eyes. “For your information, I’ll be twenty-one next month. If you see him, will you tell him I was looking for him?”
“Actually, I saw Cade in a meeting with Dante earlier.”
“You did?” Riley said, her demeanor shifting. “Oh.”
I sat forward. “What’s the matter?”
She looked around. “You don’t know?” Her eyes widened a little as she leaned in and lowered her voice. “Dante Leone?” She raised her brows as if I should know what that meant. The name did sound familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it .
“Is that supposed to mean something to me?” I asked warily, turning the name over in my head.
“The Leones run the mob. Or they are the mob, I guess. I don’t know. Gemma doesn’t tell me, and I don’t ask. She just told me to stay away from her brothers—I heard Dante murdered his fiancée.” Riley said nervously. “But don’t tell anyone I told you that, though.”
I nodded, but I didn’t hear anything else Riley said after that, because I kept turning Dante’s words over in my mind. Liam and I have an agreement .
What the fuck kind of agreement did Liam have with the mob? And even weirder, why had Liam introduced us when he seemed anything but happy about it.
“There you are, Riley. We’ve been looking for you.” Jules lilted a worried mother hen. “Come on, guys, we’re all going to dance to the next song.” Riley popped up immediately, but I was still lost in thought as Jules motioned. “You too, Carter. You’re not getting out of this one.”
Drink in hand, I let the girls drag me out to the dance floor, and even though she wasn’t anywhere near me, my eyes were glued to Sara as she moved to the music.
Her short green dress shimmered, catching the light as it hugged her every gyrating curve.
Except for a few shimmery, silvery straps across her bare skin, the dress was open-backed, and I was all lusty thoughts, utterly mesmerized by her—I couldn’t help it.