AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He glances over all of us, and then ends up at Mariana again. “I’ll do it,” he cuts in. “But you’ll have to wait an hour. Alright?”
She walks back to one of the chairs and picks up a folder of images, sitting herself down with a smile. “Kai's free now. But I’ll wait. Thank you.”
“Kai?” I look up at Viper. “Back room. Now.”
Fuck.
Next ten minutes involves him lecturing me about who I can’t sleep with around here if I know what's good for me, and, low and behold, Mariana Cortez is the first on that list. I try pleading ignorance, but that gets me nowhere fast because, according to him, what was a dude like me even fucking thinking?
I nod quietly, gripping my fists to keep my temper down. The fact that I couldn't defend her is enough already, let alone her thinking I’m a pussy because of it. Add in feeling like I’m being reprimanded for stupidity, even though I didn't know it was her at the time, and my gears are really starting to grind.
Before long, rage starts simmering. He might be doing this with good intentions, but I'm not one for goddamned orders anymore.
“Jesus, Kai,” he spits, bracing his hands on a bench with his back to me. “She’s off limits.”
“You don’t think I know that? Abel caught us together and-” He swings his head around, hatred all over his features.
“You fucked her?”
I scowl at the language, immediately riled further by it for some reason. “None of your damn business. But he did come for her while we were at a bar. Either way, I’m not a kid, so back the hell off, Viper. I'm trying here, but you need to get a check of your mood before I get pissed. I didn't know she was attached to them until I saw him, and I didn't even know what that meant until ten minutes ago when I found out he was her brother. Believe me, I want nothing to do with any of them. I know what he is, and I don't need you giving me shit about it.”
“Me giving you shit?” He laughs bitterly, and a long breath blows out of him as he paces. “Better me than them. Maybe you want something screwing up that pretty boy face, but I don’t, Kai. They’ll fucking kill you.”
I look at the door rather than him, ready to get myself out of here. This crap isn't helping me, her, or him.
“Yeah, well, as long as you know I don’t want that kinda trouble around here,” he murmurs, calming his tone down. “I’ve spent years in a good place with Dragon. Be cool, yeah? Just stay wide of her from now on. You think you can do the tattoo and stay wide? She’s clearly after you doing it, and I don't need her pissed. Her pissed means they're pissed and then all hell comes calling.”
I’m nodding. Thinking. Almost listening. But mainly I’m just trying to keep every muscle in my body at bay rather than let my temper out. Goddamned asshole thinks he's got a right to tell me what to do all of a sudden? I had enough of that with Abel bearing down on me and the guards inside and-”
“KAI?”
“What?”
“Can you do the tattoo and stay wide?”
I snarl. Who fucking knows. Looks like I'm about to try
CHAPTER ELEVEN
MARIANA
It’s been a very long time since a guy has told me no. That doesn’t happen. And I’m even more pissed that it happened after sleeping with him.
I look around the studio waiting for Kai to come back. If he thinks I’m going to take no for an answer, then perhaps he doesn’t know what the Cortez family is really like.
This little trip has certainly opened up a lot more questions as to how Abel and Kai know each other. Maybe it’s a conversation I’ll have to pick up with Viper. At least he seems to have some sense about him. Even though I didn’t expect to go under the needle by coming here, it’s a small sacrifice to get what I want. And right now, I want Kai to have a reaction to me that he acts on.
He’s attracted to me. We had a spark; that’s a fact. All the rest is just bullshit, and I get enough of that from my brothers.
“What’s a girl got to do to get a cup of coffee around here?” I call to the woman behind the counter, looking at me like I’m trash. She tries to look down on me, but I stand, walk over, and cross my arms in front of her. She has no idea who she’s playing with, and she’ll lose. Sure enough, she buckles, looking away and, I hope, going off to fetch me a drink.
There are a couple of folders of artwork open on the desk, and I kill the time waiting by flicking through them. There’s nothing that jumps out at me. Until I flick the page and see something I recognise. Dante’s tattoo covers the next couple of pages. There’s nothing but the ink to identify it as him, but after you see the piece blazing over his back, down his arms, and around his neck, it’s hard to forget. It is a work of art.
“Here’s your coffee. Black.”
“I’ll be sure to let my brother know of your excellent service.” I smile, knowing our reputation will carry a certain amount of fear with a veiled threat like that.
I wonder if my mother had this problem – if she was seen as weak or less of a threat because she was a woman. That’s why she was such a witch because she had to command her power and position. For me, the name goes a long way, but it’s my brother’s reputation that carries that same fear. Not mine.
