Page 13

Rocco laughed, grinning even wider in surprise when he glanced over to see Emilio’s reluctant smile as he navigated the evening traffic.

His plan to manipulate Emilio into ending things did not seem to be working at all , despite Emilio’s clear frustration with him.

Wolves were known for being stubborn in their loyalty to pack, but he’d thought for sure he could put him off by just removing the social filters he usually used to pass in polite society.

Emilio should’ve been fighting tooth and claw for his freedom after all the shit Rocco had pulled. How far would he let him go before it was too much? And why did the thought of this game dragging out excite instead of frustrate him? If he wasn’t careful, they were going to actually end up married.

Emilio was a blur of motion as soon as they pulled up to the red carpet.

Rocco had barely put his hand to the door handle before the shifter had got out and tossed his keys to the valet standing out of shot of the camera lenses already flashing in their direction.

Before he could open the door, Emilio was opening it for him, offering his arm like he was some damsel who needed assistance.

Rocco smirked up at the man and took his hand instead, letting Emilio pull him to his feet before spinning them so the shifter’s back was to the car and ravaging his mouth with a kiss.

The press went wild. So did his fiancé. Emilio’s eyes flashed with the gold of his wolf as he pressed a knife to Rocco’s ribs where no one would see.

Rocco grinned and nipped at Emilio’s lips, ignoring the sharp blade in favour of gripping his nape to tilt his head to the exact angle he needed to devour him.

“Asshole,” Emilio gasped, before subtly sheathing the knife and using his superior strength to push Rocco off him.

Rocco slipped an arm around Emilio’s waist before smirking at the gathered journalists and calling out, “Couldn’t help myself, sorry. My fiancé’s too hot for words, don’t you think?”

Emilio sighed in exasperation as they paused to pose for the deluge of flashing cameras, journalists shouting over each other to try and get more information. The press might not know they were a wolf shifter and a witch, but they knew the Lunettis and the MC were rival criminal families.

“They had a whole announcement planned inside,” Emilio said.

“Did you really want to sit there and listen to some speech? This way, we can relax for the night and maybe have some actual fun.”

Emilio scoffed. “Nothing about this is going to be fun.”

“You want to bet?” Rocco asked, drawing on his magic and letting his senses extend through the particles of air until he could feel his power brushing against his fiancé’s muscled chest.

It wasn’t the same as touching him for real, but in some ways, the sensory feedback was more sensitive.

Through his connection to the element, he could feel the thrum of Emilio’s pulse speed up as he brushed a cold finger of air over his nipple, encasing it in a vacuum of pressure that pulled the nub hard and taut beneath the ministrations of his magic.

“Stop that,” Emilio murmured under his breath, voice catching as Rocco increased the pressure, pinching with his power.

“You know what you need to say or do to stop it,” Rocco said, curious if Emilio would use his safe word.

The shifter ignored him in favour of sending a smouldering look out at the gathered onlookers. He might stick to the shadows usually, but Emilio knew how to work a crowd. Rocco smirked and pressed a kiss to his temple as the press continued to lap up the tension between them.

“Good puppy,” he murmured, letting his power settle into a low thrum of cool vibration against both his fiancé’s nipples.

Just enough to keep them rubbing against the expensive cotton of his shirt.

It was a shame Emilio was wearing a tuxedo jacket so Rocco couldn’t visually appreciate the effects of his toying.

A groan left him as Emilio retaliated by giving the spelled plug in his pocket another stroke and pinching its tip. It took all his self-control not to react. He should’ve taken the damn thing off him.

“Emmy!” a voice called out as soon as they stepped into the foyer of City Hall.

Glancing around as Emilio pulled out of his hold, Rocco watched as the pack’s hacker, Luca came closer along with his twin sister, Aria.

The shifters took turns pulling his fiancé into a firm embrace, scenting him the way pack did to reinforce their bonds.

Rocco’s brow furrowed as he wondered if Emilio still smelled of him or if they’d covered his scent with their own.

Too annoyed to worry about how it would be seen to Emilio’s family, who knew their marriage was a sham, he stepped up behind his fiancé, hooking his chin over his shoulder so he could rub his stubble over his sensitive neck and reestablish his claim.

A low laugh sounded from their left as Marco joined them.

“You mark your territory like a wolf, witch,” Marco said, pulling Emilio into a hug before turning to Rocco and gripping his nape to pull him close and do the same.

Rocco gaped in surprise as the Lunetti Pack Alpha held him close without any hint of threat before dragging a hand down his neck to leave his scent behind. Rocco shoved the arm away too late, which only made Marco’s grin widen.

“What the fuck?” Rocco whispered, careful not to raise his voice too loud and tip off anyone passing by.

“Did you forget you’re pack now?” Marco asked, pressing a hand to his back and directing them toward the ballroom. Rocco was still in enough shock that he didn’t even resist.

Emilio was glaring at his Alpha like he wanted to bite him, but one look from Marco had him baring his throat in apology.

Rocco growled under his breath and pulled away from the dominant fucker who was making it look like he’d betrayed the MC for the pack, slipping his arm back around Emilio’s waist and pulling him under his arm.

“Back off, asshole,” Emilio hissed, but it was too late.

They were already entering the ballroom where everyone they needed to convince they were in love was waiting.