Page 64 of Targeted By Desire

“What?” He asked, noticing the downward curve of my lips.

I shook my head. “I just…I can’t figure you out.”

“What, exactly, are you stuck on?”

“You saved me the other night,” I said. “Why?”

He held my stare for a moment, contemplating his answer. His hands tugged me closer against him, practically pinning me against his body. “Because if anyone is going to take your life, it’s going to be me,” he whispered, his voice dripping with sensuality and darkness. “And I’m going to do it with my hands wrapped around your pretty little neck.”

My breath hitched as the alarm bells rang again. This time, heat accompanied them, searing through my lower abdomen and between my thighs. There was no way in Hell a threat could sound so good.

“Simone!” My sister’s voice cut through the novel tension simmering between us.

I looked away and saw her squeezing through the crowd, her bright smile glowing between the masses.

“There you are!” She said as she reached me. “I was just looking all over…” She trailed off as her eyes shifted to the man I was dancing with. “Who’s this?”

I opened my mouth, prepared to tell her it was no one and tow her back to wherever she came from.

“Mateo,” he said before I could.

My neck damn near snapped as I looked at him, surprised he answered her. My brows rose as he had the nerve to release me and extend his hand.

“You must be Isabelle,” he continued. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Simone talks about you all the time.”

Isabelle’s eyes flicked between us as she politely shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Mateo.”

The sight of her hand, pure of any sin, wrapped in the devil’s grasp made my blood boil. I grabbed Isabelle’s arm, ripped it out of his, and tugged her away. “Come on,” I said, not caring how rude I appeared. “I assume Mom wants both of us.”

Isabelle didn’t protest as I pulled her along. She kept up with my quick pace in her heels. “Who was that?” She asked.

“No one,” I replied.

“Well, clearly, that was someone. Is that your secret admirer?”

“No,” I snapped. “He’s just some guy I was chatting with.”

“Then, how’d he know who I-”

“Simone,” my mother’s scolding tone scratched my ears. Her smile was tight as Isabelle and I approached her. “Where have you been? Mr. Tony Monticello has been dying to meet you.”

I looked at the man standing beside my mother, clad in a gold mask and gold trimmed suit. He flashed a wide smile, nearly exposing all thirty two teeth. “Hello,” he greeted, offering his hand.

Feigning a smile, I accepted hand. “Hi.”

“Your mother said you were beautiful, but I’m afraid the word doesn’t measure how amazing you look.”

Oh my God, I mentally groaned as I watched him bring my knuckles to his lips. This woman really sent Isabelle over here to introduce and set me up with some random ass man. Reason number one hundred and thirty on the list of why I hate coming to these functions.

The tingle from his eyes on me returned, scratching down my back like claws. Glancing to the side, I caught a glimpse of him hidden in a corner on the other side of the room, still confining himself to the shadows despite his mask. As expected, his gaze was fixed on my hand in Tony’s. Underneath that mask, I bet there was a frown to match the lividity in his eyes.

“Thank you,” I replied to Tony. “You’re quite a sight as well. I love your mask.”

He grinned. “Thanks. It was custom-made.”

“From real gold?”

He scoffed. “Oh, please. Our family works with the finest of metals; we wouldn’t waste their value on simple things like this.”