17. Teo
17
TEO
“ I don’t want to do this.”
I sigh. “I know.”
“What happens if I don’t sign?”
“It will be up to the Guild,” I explain again. “I’ll do my best to back you. Your father will too, but I doubt it will do much to sway the others.”
Mia runs her hands through her hair. “What if I just ran away?”
“The only thing worse than a liability is a liability on the loose. This isn’t a bad deal, Mia. I’ll keep you out of it all as much as I can. Need to know only.”
She stares down at the contract before us. I’ve already signed my half. All that’s left is for Mia to add her signature to the bottom.
I can practically see the gears turning in her head, so I give her a moment. I look toward the window that overlooks the main floor of the Candelabra .
It’s a busy evening, as it usually is when Danny is singing. The blonde bombshell dazzles her audience with a sparkling bodysuit, much to the delight of the party of men sitting at the VIP table below the stage.
How many nights had I sat in that same spot with Rocco, watching him fall in love with a different singer? It’s almost funny to think back now that Cassandra is his wife.
“How much time do I have?” Mia calls me away from my reminiscing.
I look back at her. “A week, maybe.”
She nods. “Then I’ll think about it.”
“I don’t know how long I can delay it,” I warn her.
“I’ll get back to you in a week. You have my word.”
For a moment, we simply stare at each other. Look at us now. We’re not kids anymore, are we?
But then she stands up and brushes herself down, and that cocky smile is back on her face. “Well, I better get back to work. This place doesn’t run itself.”
She picks up the contract and folds it into her jacket before taking off toward the door.
“You have a week.”
She brushes me off with a vague gesture before leaving.
Not wanting to stay alone with my thoughts for too long, I gather my things and head down after her.
The wave of noise hits me the second I’m out the door. It’s the sound of the happy chattering of our patrons clinking glasses as they’re lulled in by Danny’s impressive soprano and the live band behind her—a new addition that Cassandra herself had suggested.
It’s a carefully curated ambience and one that I know the Guild is especially proud of. It’s the perfect cover for under-the-table deals or discrete meetings in back rooms. The exclusivity gives us the excuse to vet all of our patrons upon entry.
Which is why I stop short when I see her sitting at the bar.
Her long, tan legs are crossed over the barstool, preserving her modesty despite her sinfully small black dress. Gold jewelry adds sophisticated accents, but it’s the gold chains around her neck that catch my eye, plummeting below her already scandalous neckline.
She notices me then, dropping her martini to offer me a little wave with her perfectly manicured fingers.
It’s been over two weeks. Enough time for me to convince myself that her beauty was some kind of delusion I concocted to explain my ill-advised actions.
You fool.
I’m not the only one that’s staring at her. Plenty of the other men and a fair few women keep throwing her meaningful glances.
It comes with no small amount of satisfaction that she ignores them in favor of watching my approach.
“And here I was thinking you might have forgotten me.” She smiles brilliantly as I stand over her.
“How did you get in here?”
Isabella takes a sip of her drink. “How did you bypass security at the casino?”
“You’re playing with fire.”
“You stopped watching. How else was I supposed to get your attention?”
She’d noticed then. Had it bothered her? Did she miss me?
Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.
There are too many people here. Too many of the Guild here. Even if she managed to get in without alerting anyone, her anonymity won’t last long if she stays out in the open like this.
I need to get a hold of the situation and fast, or else we’ll both be answering for…whatever this ambush is.
“As you’re here already, would you mind joining me for a drink?” I ask curtly, risking a glance toward the table at the back of the room where I know at least three members of the inner circle are currently enjoying a half-a-million-dollar bottle of scotch.
All three sets of eyes are watching us. It’s too late for any preventative measures. This has to be purely damage control.
Luckily, Isabella seems to be in an amenable mood. “I’m quite partial to champagne.”
I offer her my arm politely as I make the request to the bartender, before walking us toward a booth in the corner of the room. As we pass by, I tilt my head in acknowledgment to the Guild members.
Thankfully, they nod back.
Isabella doesn’t miss a thing. “Look at you, still protecting little old me. What is it they say about old habits?”
“Just sit down if you know what’s good for you.”
She laughs lightly as we both take our seats. The booth offers some concealment from prying eyes, but a flash of red in the corner of my eye alerts me to the fact that Mia, at least, is watching our every move.
“Don’t tell me you’re still sour over all that business with the cartel,” she muses on. “From what I hear, there was a very tidy cleanup.”
“No thanks to you.”
She tuts. “Again, I didn’t ask you to follow me.”
“You wouldn’t have stood a chance against them on your own, so stop pretending I didn’t do you a favor.”
“You know it’s funny, but I’ve actually handled myself just fine these last two weeks without you.”
Ice-cold fear strikes me straight through the heart. I left her alone. Anything could have happened, and I wouldn’t have been there. “Have they?—”
“No,” she cuts me off quickly before letting her smile broaden, “but you should have seen your face. Honestly, Teo. I thought you were smart enough not to show your hand.”
We’re thankfully interrupted by the arrival of the champagne, and I take the pause to collect myself.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
“You’re allowed to, you know,” she says lightly, taking her glass after the server disappears. “Want me, that is. I wore this dress for you, after all. I thought you might appreciate it.”
It takes every shred of my willpower not to let my gaze drop to her plunging neckline and the golden chains that dangle in it. Temptation incarnate.
“You assume my desire is for you and not the possibility of destroying your family,” I hiss out instead.
“Can it not be both?”
I grab my glass just to do something with my hands. I could deny it, but she knows exactly what she’s doing here. Admitting it won’t change the situation in any way and will only add fuel to the rumors that are likely already circulating the room.
“She’s very pretty,” she says suddenly.
I follow her gaze to the main stage, where Danny has just finished another song. I watch for a moment as she waves delicately out at the crowd.
Isabella is scratching her arm when I look back at her. A nervous tic, perhaps?
“If I agree, would you be jealous?”
She smirks at this. “That depends.”
“On what?”
“Whether you’ve fucked her against a mirror as well.”
My grip tightens around the stem of my glass. I raise it to my mouth to buy myself time.
I don’t know exactly what it is that makes me hesitate. A gut feeling, perhaps. But that split second is enough time for Isabella’s gaze to dart to my glass.
With one tiny glance, the entire setup is revealed to me. The dress, the flirting, the distraction.
Whatever now resides in my glass is something she is very anxious for me to consume.
I swirl the liquid around some, pretending to be lost in thought, before placing it back down. “You’re the only person I’ve even thought about in weeks.”
My confession seems to alarm her. Good.
“Then why did you stop following me?”
The question is far more vulnerable than the last.
“Perhaps I needed to let you go. Perhaps whatever this is between us is too dangerous to remain unchecked.”
Her chocolate eyes find the tablecloth, and her blonde hair cascades over her shoulder. “So this is done then, is it?”
I consider her for a moment. “Why are you here, belle ?”
“Would you believe me if I told you I missed you?”
“You never had me.”
“Didn’t I?”
Yes, you did.
Instead, I lean back in my chair and let my eyes drift back to the stage. Danny starts up a new melody, and I pretend I’m enraptured, just like everyone else. As if she even holds a candle to the woman in front of me.
“Her hair is shorter,” I comment mildly, “and she wouldn’t be able to pull off your dress.”
I take the opportunity the second Isabella turns around to look at the stage for herself. All it takes is a quick nudge, and I’ve swapped our glasses before she can turn around again.
She raises a pleased eyebrow at me as she reaches for what she believes to be her glass and takes a long drink.
The remaining glass must be safe, then. I raise it to her before taking a drink.
I swear her eyes never leave the liquid. They pause at my mouth long enough for me to swallow, before glancing down at the bob of my throat. Her tongue pokes out of her mouth, seemingly involuntarily.
“See something you like?” I ask sweetly.
She leans back in her seat, suddenly much more relaxed. “As a matter of fact…” Her eyes rake over my body unashamedly.
“There are too many eyes in here,” I warn her.
“A pity,” her confidence returns in full force. “I was hoping you might indulge some of the fantasies I’ve been having.”
It’s just an act. It’s just an act. It’s just an act.
“Such as?”
“Well, ever since you told me you’d like to fuck me under the table, I’ve had a bit of trouble thinking about much else.”
To my complete and utter despair, she uncrosses her legs.
My hands act before my brain has a chance to catch up, reaching out greedily to touch the soft skin of her thigh. It’s a casual gesture initially, until her hand falls on top of mine, and she slowly begins to push it higher.
“Not so many eyes down here, are there?” she whispers as my fingers brush against the warmth of her core.
It might be a ploy, but I can’t tear my eyes from her lips. Her scent overwhelms me, and my fingers twitch eagerly, wanting to stroke, wanting to soak in her wetness a moment or two.
“What are you waiting for?” Her words are as soft as a breath.
I could have her. I could. It would take nothing at all.
But when I look into her eyes, unfairly framed with beautiful lashes and dark, glittering shadow, and I see it. The glazed look that has begun to overcome the chocolate brown.
I snatch my hand away. “Perhaps somewhere a little more private?”
Before she can protest, I get to my feet and offer her my arm once more. I pretend to ignore the way she wobbles on her towering heels and hold her steady as we walk through the Candelabra .
More people are watching us now. Several even shoot me pointed looks as Isabella becomes increasingly unsteady on her feet. Finally, I spot Mia in the crowd. All I can do is nod at her and hope she can somehow read my mind.
“So,” Isabella murmurs at my side, “where are you taking me?”
“Somewhere I think you’ll like.”
She giggles a little deliriously just as we make it to the front doors. I push them open, dragging us both out into the frigid night.
The sudden change in temperature seems to perk her up a little. “It’s freezing.”
I take off my jacket and drape it over her shoulders, hiding her outfit from the view of a few curious pedestrians. “Not much further. This way.”
She relaxes a little, snuggling adorably into the fabric of my jacket and allowing me to guide her over to the entrance to the underground parking lot.
“Teo?”
“Yes?”
“I’m really tired.”
“I know, sweetheart.”
My car is only a few meters away now. I just need to get her there before?—
Isabella wobbles again. This time, her legs give out entirely. I rush to catch her before she can injure herself on the concrete floor.
In my arms, she blearily looks up at me. If she’s shocked by our current embrace, she’s too tired to say anything other than. “Don’t let them hurt me.”
Then her eyes close entirely, and her body lies limp in my arms.
Suddenly, it feels quite hard to swallow.
“No one will touch you. I promise.”