13. Matti
Matti
I know I told Vin I’d show up tonight, but after hours of sitting at the bar, a random woman rambling on nonstop next to me, I’m seriously considering bailing.
Zero is my level of interest in continuing to sit here while empty headed, drunk females throw themselves at me, half of them sent expressly for that purpose by Vin.
But a promise is a promise. Plus, Olivia’s been on my ass about showing up to Graffiti, the pop-up club night she put together with Eleanor.
Spray-painted walls, cars, and other items set up in my lobby weren’t exactly my vision for the place, but Olivia won that argument by annoying the shit out of me and promising to take every precaution.
I can admit the old school hip-hop and street food are nice touches. She did a good job.
I’d like to tell her so, but of course, I haven’t seen her all night. I’m sure she’s busy running things, and I told her I wasn’t coming. At the time, I meant it.
With Vin off flirting and buying drinks for arbitrary females, my thoughts drift—as they always do—to Siena. Vin banned me from using the “stalker apps,” as he calls them, tonight, but last I checked, she was working late.
Vin promised to have one of his guys tail her from a distance.
He sold it as a way to stop me from fielding unnecessary updates from my security all night, but I’m pretty sure he did it so they would stop me if I got too drunk and tried to find her.
I’m not going to argue. Given what happened in the parking garage, I obviously can’t be trusted to keep my hands off her.
Downing the rest of my drink, I give the chatty woman next to me a half nod, my dick instantly hard as images of fucking Siena in the parking garage flash through my mind.
I hate myself for fucking her that day, but I couldn’t have stopped if I wanted to.
An image of her underneath me, begging me to kiss her flashes through my head, and I signal the bartender for another shot of bourbon.
Fuck, if I were back there right now, I’d kiss her and never stop.
And that’s exactly why I didn’t do it. The security upgrades I started on the penthouse when I sent her home just wrapped up today, and if I kissed her I knew I’d drag her back here, putting a target on her when I wasn’t yet prepared to protect her.
I turn around to face the crowd, most of whom are dancing with some eating and others at the art stations Olivia set up.
The music drowns out the woman running her mouth next to me, but she doesn’t seem to care that I’m not listening.
As long as she keeps her hands to herself, I’m fine with it since it means it’s less likely that other women will bother me.
Leaning back against the bar, I scan the room.
A few drinks make it easier to be out, especially at a party called Graffiti.
I’m wearing jeans, a black t-shirt, boots, and a ball cap.
Not being in a suit feels weird, like I left my armor at home, but it’s also easier to move, and I can’t say that I’m not looking for a fight tonight.
Fucking Siena the other day was a huge stress relief, but only briefly. Staring at her day in and day out does nothing to ease that craving to be inside of her constantly, and now that I have to put the phone down and be present, I’m ready to beat someone’s ass if I can’t fuck hers.
Scanning the crowd, I’m looking for anything that seems out of line.
Someone disrespecting the building, someone fucking with a female.
That’s when I see Valentina stumble through the crowd, drunk as fuck and sloppy as hell.
I roll my eyes and turn back to the bar, hoping she doesn’t see me, but it’s too late.
“MATTI!” Valentina shrieks too loud to ignore, and she throws herself at me. Her arms clamp around my neck, and she bites at me like a deranged animal, her perfume suffocating me.
When the woman who’s been talking to me gives her a dirty look, Valentina hisses at her like a cat. “Fuck off, bitch!” Then she’s instantly all smiles again, shoving her face in mine.
“What the fuck?” I snap, disentangling myself from her. “Keep your fucking hands to yourself.”
“Awww, Matti, come on,” she purrs, wrapping her leg around my thigh and grinding her pussy against my jeans. Her dress rides up, and I can see her red lace thong.
“Jesus Christ,” I spit out in disgust, stepping back and letting her stumble. Fuck, I’m going to smell like this bitch now—her pussy and her perfume.
Vin appears next to me with a girl tucked into his side. He’s more than half in the bag, but he pulls his shit together when he sees Valentina, turning to me with a raised eyebrow. “You good?”
“No.” I jerk my head in Valentina’s direction. “I need a fucking shower before this bitch’s poison penetrates my skin.”
Vin laughs and pulls me away from her. “Nah, don’t bother. Those clothes are going to end up on your floor in a couple of hours anyway when you drag one of these women upstairs with you.”
“Not gonna happen,” I grumble.
Vin lifts his chin in the direction of a few other women standing near us. “You want one of them? They can’t shut up about you.”
Glancing in their direction, two of them are eye fucking me as we speak. “Pass.”
The grin drops off Vin’s face, and he releases his companion. “Man, you promised you’d come out tonight. You know why we’re here. Stay away from that psycho bitch,” he says, gesturing toward Valentina, “but grab someone you can throw around for a night and get back to your old self.”
I think about throwing Siena on the hood of his car—I’ll have to ask him what he thought about the dents—and my dick twitches.
I shake my head. “I’m not feeling it.”
Valentina stumbles at the bar and falls into a group of guys behind her. One of them spills his drink all over himself, and he whips around on her, furious.
“What the fuck, bitch?” he yells.
Vin and I glance at each other, then stop our conversation to watch.
“Fuck you, asshole,” she screams, shoving his chest. “I made that shitty shirt look better.”
Grabbing her wrists, he twists her around so that she’s bent over the bar. Her dress rides up, and he slaps her ass as his friends laugh and the other patrons back away. “What’d you say?” he yells. “You say you want me to fuck your asshole?”
The tension in my chest snaps like a rubber band. I glance at Vin, and his grin mirrors mine as I turn my cap backward.
Let’s fucking go.
Vin grabs the back of the guy’s shirt and yanks him off of Valentina, tossing him toward me.
I catch him as he stumbles back and then plant my fist in the middle of his face. “How about I turn your face into an asshole?”
Groaning out something unintelligible, he grabs my shirt, hanging off of it with all his weight until it tears from collar to hem.
“Fucker,” I mutter, ripping the shredded fabric off me and pulling him up so I can hit him hard in the gut.
Security comes running, as they should, but I’m not done yet. I pound my fists into him, pouring all my frustration over Siena into tearing him apart. My hat falls off, my hair falls in my face as sweat drips down my bare chest. I keep pummeling him until Vin pulls me off.
“Feel better?” he asks with a grin, handing me my ball cap.
I can’t help but grin back, pushing my hand through my hair, blood dripping from my knuckles, as the security guards drag him off.
Before I can respond, Valentina is on me again. Her tits are practically hanging out of her dress as she digs her nails into my chest and drags them down hard, drawing blood.
“My hero,” she purrs, licking her lips as she looks up at me. “Let me thank you for your kind service.”
“Fuck,” I snap, grabbing her wrists and prying her off me. “ Thank me by getting the hell away from me.”
The expression on Valentina’s face sours like spoiled milk, but she’s not looking at me. “Who ordered the trash?”
I follow her gaze, confused, when it lands on Olivia. They don’t like each other, I know, but it’s not that level of hatred.
Olivia’s eyes pop wide as she locks eyes with me. She gives me a panicked little shake of her head, then darts a glance over her shoulder nervously.
Next to me, Vin breathes, “Oh, shit.”
When I zero in on what Olivia’s looking at—or who—my blood runs cold.
Siena is staring back at me, and she looks like she’s going to be sick.
Actually, she looks drop dead gorgeous. I’ve never seen her dressed like this, and I can’t stop myself from staring at her, raking my eyes up and down her body, my cock thickening.
I fucking hate that she didn’t dress like this for me, that she’s looking this fucking amazing out around other men, but holy fuck.
Her metallic mini dress shows off her round tits and ass, and her spiked matching heels do something amazing for her legs. Her shiny hair is pulled back in a slick ponytail, and despite the fact that she’s wearing more makeup than I’ve ever seen on her, her face is pale. Like she’s been gutted.
It takes a second to process why before it hits me: she thinks I’m with Valentina.
Granted, it doesn’t look good—me shirtless at a club with Valentina hanging on me—but the fact that this scene has such an obvious effect on her has me fucking elated.
I know it shouldn’t, but it means she cares.
As much as I need her to hate me right now, it’s obvious that she’s hurting without me, and seeing her jealousy fills me with a rush of hope.
Olivia is laying into Valentina, and Valentina is giving it right back to her, digging her claws into me. I don’t hear any of it, the sound of my own blood rushing in my ears drowns it out.
Shoving Valentina off of me and into Vin, who clamps his arms around her to stop her from following me, I close the distance between Siena and I. When she sees me coming, she stiffens, jerking away from me.
Then she turns and bolts.