Page 34 of Bitter Prince

“What are you going to do?” he demanded.

I shrugged. “It wouldn’t be the first time I was denied entry into a club. I’ll just go home.”

He took a step toward me, eyes blazing with anger. “Alone?” he growled.

I stepped up to him, so close that I had to tilt my head back even more than before. “Amon, you’ve really got to stop with this. Yes, alone. I’m only ever in trouble when you’re around. Besides, I’m quite capable of taking care of myself.”

His jaw tightened as he looked above my head. “Cesar, let this woman and her girlfriends in.” Then he entered the club without a backward glance.

I blinked.

That wasn’t very gentlemanly. I’d hoped he would escort us inside. Dance with me. Or at least talk with me for a bit. I definitely didn’t expect him to leave me without a second thought.

“Whatever,” I muttered under my breath. I turned on my heel and yelled, “Girls, over here.”

They pranced over to me, glad to be rid of the men who were harassing them. Cesar grimaced, but he showed us through.

“You’re the best,” Raven beamed. “How did you make that happen?”

My eyes darted to Phoenix, feeling her eyes on me. “Just an old friend.”

We made our way inside, past the cloakroom bathed in red lights and toward the bar area. The floors were glass and you could see a glimmer of water moving underneath. We made it past the wide doors where the dance floor was. Lights flashed—purple, red, blue, yellow—casting a soft glow against my bare arms. The panels beneath our feet changed colors too. The beat vibrated under us as if the floor were alive with its own heart.

The club was crowded. We made our way to the bar, took our first shots of gin, and headed for the dance floor. “Ruin My Life” by Zara Larsson blared through the speakers as the bodies on the dance floor moved together, limbs touching and hips rolling.

Phoenix could hear loud music and feel the vibration coming off the bass. I loved seeing her like this, her face lit up and her eyes glimmering with excitement. I knew how much she hated silence, not being able to hear something as simple as an everyday conversation. It made me forget her earlier reluctance to come out now that we were here and dancing together.

We danced to one song, then the next, and another after that. A drop of sweat ran down my back, gliding down my skin. I ran my hands over my neck, lifting my curls, and looked up.

My breath cut off and my movements froze.

Amon stood next to a beautiful, tall woman with silky black hair, wearing a black minidress that barely covered her hips, her arms wrapped around him and her lips brushing over his neck. My mood soured. Her body was curvy, her boobs bigger than mine, and her legs so much longer.

She might be beautiful, but I bet her bra size ranked higher than her IQ with the way she kept giggling despite Amon never even moving his mouth. It wasn’t nice to judge people, but I just couldn’t help myself. The woman was on my shitlist.

I started dancing again, grabbing the closest man next to me. Unfortunately, it was Roberto, the guy that worked for Amon, but jealousy drove my reason away.

I continued dancing with him while forcing myself not to think of Amon and the woman I’d seen him with. I focused on the music and the roll of my hips. It was slower, sexier. More sensual.

But deep down, I was mad—furiously jealous—that he had someone else. I flicked a glance his way just in time to see the woman say something to him while trailing her filthy paws all over his chest. He responded, but his eyes were trained on me. My body yearned for him, hoping he’d leave her and come down to the dance floor to join me.

Holding his stare, I kept dancing to the music and lip-syncing lines of the song, but disappointment flooded my veins when Amon turned his back.

I watched him walk away with his woman trailing alongside him, feeling a strange sensation in my heart.

It was hate. I hated that it was her and not me.

18

AMON

The attraction was forbidden. Wrong on so many levels.

And then there was the revenge I was plotting against her father. Everything about Reina was unsettling, and it burned with such intensity, it triggered something deep inside me that I didn’t want to examine.

So I left, deciding to get back to work. The plan backfired because my mind played all kinds of scenarios of her dancing on the floor, her long legs tempting the men in this club. Her hair drove me wild, especially when it was down and framing her heart-shaped face. Then there were those damn lips that always seemed to hold a soft smile.

I shook my head, pushing her out of my mind.