CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“Adelina.” Rocco’s voice caught my attention as he held out a blazer for me to put on.
“Are you hurt?”
I shook my head no. “Are you?”
He didn’t answer, but scowled past me at the crowd pouring out of the club heading right toward us on the sidewalk.
Some held phones, stopping close to record, as the security guard next to us shouted, “Vai! Vai”, telling them to leave.
I stared over Rocco searching for cuts or bruises, but he didn’t appear to have anything out of place after the scuffle.
There were sirens in the distance, but nothing heading our way. Maybe the fight at the club’s over?
“Guarda costa ha fatto!” Look what he did!
A male’s voice shrieked above the din of the crowd and traffic, drawing us all toward the source. It was the man Rocco fought. He was holding up his ripped shirt.
I grimaced. “Ripped? I didn’t see his shirt rip.”
Rocco placed his hand around my waist. “It wasn’t.”
The man’s head turned and he pointed over at us, shouting something to one of the security guards. Part of the crowd near us broke away to record him.
“Did we end up in a reality show audition?” Xander said and huffed.
Wyatt laughed.
“Xander, Wyatt. Rick’s taking you back. Thank you, and we’ll talk later.
” Rocco inclined his head toward them, his grip on my waist tightening with subtle insistence.
His tone was respectful, though the expectation was clear that they were to go without a formal goodbye.
A Mercedes swerved over and stopped, and the security stepped away from us and opened the door.
Xander touched my back as he passed, with Wyatt giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. They got in and were off down the road with a fluid ease, leaving Rocco and me to step up behind another car. Zane rolled the window down to let us know it was him.
Rocco let me go and shook the security guard’s hand. “Grazie. Parlerò con Mark e ti manderò qualcosa al più presto.” Thank you. I’ll speak with Mark and send you something.
“No, no, per favore. è un piacere.” No, no, please. It’s my pleasure.
I kept my head tilted down and climbed inside the car with Rocco following me in.
Outside, blue and red police lights strobed against the windows, flickering through the interior like warning signals I could feel in my pulse.
The shriek of a siren sliced through the night, echoing the frantic beat in my chest. As a police car pulled up behind us, the crowd finally moved back, their shouts and laughter muffled by the closed doors.
One of the officers raised his hand to stop traffic, the stark motion sharp and unyielding, granting Zane a window of opportunity to pull out, and we sped off.
The wail of an ambulance caught my attention from the window. My neck strained to see it slow down, and my stomach dropped. Could it be for the man at the club?
The quiet pressed in on the ride, and I stared out the window, watching city lights stream by, and I knew our talk about what happened wasn’t over.
When we finally turned toward the hotel, relief swept through me, only to fade as Rocco still didn’t speak to me when we went inside and stood in the elevator alone.
“Rocco?” I glimpsed him, but he didn’t answer or even look at me.
“You’re not talking to me now?” I said, raising my voice. “It’s not my fault—”
“How’s it not?” he spoke over me.
I grimaced. “I was just dancing.” My hand moved to my necklace, fingers twisting the chain.
“Just dancing?” he said, his voice raised.
My gaze dropped, avoiding his eyes. A flush prickled at my throat while I clung stubbornly to my defense. “Yeah, that’s it. I danced.”
He snorted. “Come now, Adelina; you weren’t just dancing. You put on a show—”
“I most certainly did not. I tried to dance with you,” I hissed.
“You tried too hard,” he quipped in a snarky tone.
Rocco’s remark hit hard, heat burning my cheeks.
I replayed my bold moves in my head, and his indifference turned into a sharp ache of embarrassment.
I’d made a spectacle of myself. He could have just danced with me.
My lips twisted. “So what? It was a nightclub. I danced like everyone else. I didn’t know that guy would push you or that you’d—”
“Protect you?” he snapped. “That was my reaction. He doesn’t touch what’s mine.” He rolled his neck. “And we need to stop talking; there are cameras in here.”
My gaze darted to the elevator’s security globe.
Neither one of us said anything to each other the rest of the ride to the penthouse.
When the doors slid open, I stepped out, and my attention went to him.
He looked stressed and exhausted, and my heart dropped.
“Maybe we should rest and talk about this in the…” The words faded as I spotted Isla waiting in the living room.
Annoyance surged. After a very brief nightclub mishap, he brings in Isla for damage control?
“Can whatever this is wait?” I called over to her.
She averted her eyes.
“No, Adelina it can’t. Isla’s here because I called her. As I told you before, nothing we do is private in public.”
“Fine, I’ll go to bed.” I strode past the couch, but Rocco’s voice stopped me.
“Take a seat, Adelina.” His tone bordered on scolding, making me bristle.
I shot him a glare and placed my hands on my hips. “Take a seat, please.”
His jaw tightened. “Fine. Go to bed.”
I lifted my chin and sat down on the couch across from Isla. Mainly to hear if I needed to do something. Rocco sat down next to me, and she handed him some papers that he glanced through before placing them down on the coffee table.
“All right. Catch me up on what’s out there.”
I grimaced. “Out there? It hasn’t even been an hour.”
Isla looked at me, then shifted in her seat. “I got some notifications about the incident at the club. There’s a blurry video, but it’s clear that you two are in it with him. It had about thirty thousand views the last time I checked.”
“Video?” I frowned. “Already? But there were no phones allowed in the club.”
“There’s always a way,” Isla said softly and cleared her throat. “Gunnar said he’s in touch with Mark to get the club surveillance for the lawsuit.”
“What lawsuit?” I said, frowning. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Rocco was protecting me. He barely touched that guy.”
Rocco blew out. “The man will sue without a doubt.”
I frowned. “But he pushed you.”
Isla’s expression turned empathetic. “Yes, and we will fight it, Adelina, but carefully. Maintaining a positive public image is vital. It’s very easy to get canceled these days.”
“Just in time for awards season,” Rocco said and cursed.
My skin prickled, imagining a string of articles tearing us apart, and with Rocco’s practically stellar public image, they’d definitely label me as the reason for his changed personality. “But he hit Rocco.”
“I believe you, but that doesn’t sell headlines.” Isla opened her phone and typed on it. “The guy is talking online and…Tela News is already claiming an exclusive interview.”
I hadn’t even considered it possible, but I also couldn’t rule out public backlash, even for the most minor offense.
“We’ll donate and set up some photo ops. What do you think, Rocco?” Isla asked, typing on her tablet. “I’ll personally reach out to our media contacts to secure positive press coverage. Flood the zone, drown out any negativity.”
Rocco sighed. “That’s a start. Thank you, Isla.”
“You’re welcome,” she said, then glanced at me. “Goodnight, Adelina.”
“Night,” I murmured.
She collected her bag and went to the elevators. When the door closed with her inside, Rocco stood up.
“Fuck me,” he snarled and pushed his hands back through his hair. “Now a lawsuit, public bullshit, and all because…” his voiced trailed off and he flicked his gaze at me.
A knot tightened in my throat. All because of me. I bolted from the room before the tears could come.
“Where are you going?” Rocco called to my back and followed me into the bedroom.
My eyes went to the bed, and I gasped. A box of condoms was on top of the duvet. Xander hadn’t forgotten, but now I wanted more than anything for it to disappear.
“I…it was just… I thought maybe if…” I babbled. My heart thudded painfully in my chest, my mouth suddenly dry. I hated how my words tangled themselves, half-hoping he would understand, half-fearing he wouldn’t. Heat flushed my cheeks in shame, leaving me exposed in a way I could hardly bear.
His handsome features darkened with infuriation. “You bought condoms?”
“I didn’t buy them; uhm, I asked Xander for them.”
“Was that what our celebrating tonight was all about?”
“I thought if we both wanted—”
“What we both wanted? You didn’t ask me what I wanted.” He met my eyes, a brief, searching hesitation in his gaze. It wasn’t just sex I was desperate for. The comfort was what I needed from him, even if I struggled to say it out loud. “I…it wasn’t just only…yeah. I hoped.”
“You know I’m upset, and I asked for some time to process what you did on your own. Now, instead of giving me that space, you’re pushing me, even though I gave you space when you needed it.”
I swallowed hard. He was right, and I could see my selfishness so clearly.
“Let’s forget it. I’ll put them away,” I muttered and moved toward the bed and the package, and I had to pass him to do it.
I made it a few steps before his hand closed around my arm, pulling me to him.
His touch was firm and electric, igniting a shiver that raced up my skin.
My breath caught, my body taut as it molded to him, betraying me with the wild clash of fear and longing.
“But you can’t forget it. Even mad, you want it because I’ve spoiled you.”
Anger rose inside me, and I glared at him. “I’m not spoiled by you—”
“You most certainly are.” He was close enough to feel the rush of my breath, the tremble of need.
“I know you, Adelina. You want me so bad that you shook your ass in my face, begging me to take a taste, and I didn’t know what I wanted more: to spank you for doing a public show or fuck you silly.”