Page 43 of Immoral (Park Avenue Kings #3)

BENOIT

One Month Later

T HE VALENTINE’S DAY soiree was in full swing as Shep and I stepped out of the elevator and onto the eighteenth floor of our private Libertine building.

Located off Park Avenue in Manhattan, it was where the most powerful, influential members of international society gathered to network—and where my brothers and I headed up the organization down in our underground headquarters.

The influence we had on governments and corporations around the world couldn’t be understated, and with the cutting-edge technology Alessio created and procured, along with the latest and greatest weapons from Dimitri, we were a secret, elite group that even our members didn’t fully grasp the entirety of.

It was a privileged life I led, no doubt about that, and one I’d always enjoyed.

At least until I’d left Santorini weeks ago.

I’d gone back to business as usual and long dinners with Archer and my brothers, but every night when I went back home it was always the same—empty. Quiet. Alone.

It shouldn’t have felt so lonely, not when I always kept my one-night-only conquests confined to places outside my bedroom. But the weeks spent with Dimitri had changed all that, and God I hated admitting it.

I was perfectly fine before he and all that dangerous swagger walked into my life, or rather, bought their way into my life—before King had issued a challenge I couldn’t stop myself from volunteering for, before I laid eyes on the man I was now unable to stop thinking about.

I hated it. Hated that I thought of him every day and had to hold myself back from reaching out. I’d sent him a text weeks ago to feel things out, even embarrassing myself in front of Alessio to practically beg him to track down Dimitri’s number, only to get nothing in return.

Total silence.

Now that I thought about it, it was the first time I’d ever been rejected by a man, and of course it had to be the one I wanted and couldn’t have.

Wasn’t that always the way? At least from what I heard. I’d never had the unpleasant experience, and it wasn’t something I wanted to repeat or dwell on.

“About time you two showed up. I was about to ping your trackers.” Alessio smirked as he headed in our direction, tapping the shoulder of a waiter carrying drinks on his way and pointing them in our direction.

I didn’t bother asking what the different drinks were, simply took the cutest one—garnished with a swizzle stick of strawberries lying across it—but instant regret hit me when I brought it to my lips and noticed the heart design floating on top.

Ugh. Just drink it down fast and don’t think about any of this lovey-dovey Valentine’s stuff. It wasn’t like this was in the Kings’ usual wheelhouse; it was because King was in a happy throuple relationship and wanted to spread the monogamy vibes, or whatever this was.

But as I looked around at all my brothers, I had to laugh. He was barking up the wrong tree if he thought this group would find love. Well, except for Lucien, but he was always more of a lover than the rest of us. And who could blame him for falling for the cutest young thing I’d ever seen?

A far cry from a certain Greek arms dealer, that was for sure.

Shit , and Lachlan was with someone too, but I couldn’t be blamed for forgetting that anyone found him loveable. He may have been easy on the eyes, but he was a little too hotheaded and trigger happy for me.

Also like someone else I knew, but wasn’t thinking about. At all.

I drained the fruity cocktail, set it on the tray, and then went to choose another, but the love theme was killing me. I flicked off the cupid figurine sitting on the lip of another glass before taking it, and Shep grunted beside me.

“Good to see someone else finds this shindig as nauseating as I do.”

I side-eyed our second-in-command, who was clutching his glass tumbler so hard that I was surprised it hadn’t shattered.

It wasn’t that unusual for him to sport such a serious expression, but the irritation coming off him was new.

Shep was used to smiling under false pretenses, having been raised in the world of politics.

He was also one of the most recognizable people in the world, constantly under surveillance from the press, whether it be for his fashion choices or political affiliations.

So you could imagine the kind of shit that would hit the fan if someone were to find out the son of a former U.S.

president was the second-in-command at Libertine.

But that wasn’t what was bothering him tonight.No, that was the two men hanging off the arms of our boss—Shep’s ex.

“It’s a little on the nose, I’ll give you that.”

“A little?” He swallowed his drink and glanced my way. “Is this really the kind of image we’re hoping to portray?”

I scanned the bustling floor full of partygoers laughing and zeroed in on King’s most interesting choice of partners: James “East” Easton.

He was an obnoxious little shit, that was for sure.

I’d heard about him first through Archer and his man Preston, the latter of whom had gone to Astor—our alma mater.

But never had I expected to have to deal with him in person.

Good thing King knew how to rein him in. And maybe that was half the appeal for him. East and Zac—King’s former teaching assistant—allowed King to be his natural, dominant self. Whereas Shep had always bucked against it.

Two alphas could never work.Hell, I’d learned that firsthand. One had to be willing to bend. The problem with Shep and King was that neither had been willing to.

“I mean, everyone seems to be having fun,” I said.

“Everyone is drunk. Of course they’re having fun.”

I turned to my forlorn friend, understanding his frustration. There was nothing worse than being the only one without a date. But again, this was new territory for me.

“Then maybe you should drink a couple more of those and try having some fun yourself. Forget about them.”

“Forget about who?” Theo stepped up beside Shep, his usual kretek between his fingers, the sweet smoke billowing as he looked across the room. “Oh, no need to answer. I see them.”

“Kind of hard not to,” Shep muttered, and signaled for the waiter passing by with a tray of fresh drinks. “They’re like a fucking boy band.”

Theo looked past Shep’s shoulder, his eyes wide as he caught mine.

Oui , it was very out of character for Shep to be so open in his contempt and feelings in general. But if I thought I was wallowing, I had nothing on this guy.

That would probably change, though, if I had to stand across a room and watch two younger men fawn all over Dimitri.

That would make me feel fucking murderous.

Theo took a drag of the kretek and blew it out. “So. Everything set?”

“ Oui . The second shipment is all safely tucked away.” I knew Shep was probably grateful for the subject change, but all it did was remind me of the man I was trying to forget.

After Dimitri’s first shipment was successful, King had immediately placed another order, and tonight Shep and I had overseen their delivery.

Had I volunteered in the hopes that maybe a certain arms dealer would deliver them personally? Perhaps, but over my dead body would I ever admit it.

“Glad to hear it,” King said, walking up behind me and leaving his two twenty-somethings behind. “Looks like Stavros is proving a reliable asset.”

Asset. The word chafed. Dimitri was so much more than that. He wasn’t just someone who dealt in weapons. He was a complicated, layered, incredibly sexy?—

“Benny?” Theo was looking at me expectantly, but I hadn’t the faintest idea what he’d said.

And that was the problem. The reason I had to get my mind off Dimitri. He wasn’t even around and he still had my attention as if he were standing beside me.

“ Pardon? ” I said, but Theo was no longer looking at me.

Actually, none of my brothers were. They were all staring over my shoulder, a mixture of expressions on their faces that ranged from surprise to confusion to wariness. Except for King, who put his hand on my shoulder, gave it a squeeze, and then turned me around in the direction of?—

Mon Dieu. My breath caught in my throat as the music stopped and every head in the room swiveled to look at the unexpected guest who’d just walked in.

But…it couldn’t be. Whatever was in that fruity cocktail had hallucinogenic properties and I was conjuring up a vision of Dimitri, because there was no way he’d be here, certainly not within the privacy of Libertine headquarters, and certainly not without his ever-present guards.

I blinked, expecting him to vanish, and when he didn’t, my hands started to shake.

King gently took my drink off my hands and nudged me forward. “He came here for you. Better not keep him waiting.”

I nodded faintly, willing my legs to start moving, but they refused, and all I could do was stare at Dimitri in his all-black tux looking like a vision from my dreams.

A lethal, stunning, completely unreal vision.

Those dark, piercing eyes met mine, making my heart stutter, and then he was walking toward me. The crowd parted for him, no doubt feeling the dominance that radiated off him, the whole room silent as he made his way across the floor.

I drank it all in, from the slicked-back hair to the thicker stubble that lined his jaw. How was it that he looked even better than I remembered him?

But more to the point, how was he here?

And…for me?

Dimitri stalked me from across the room, laser focused like a predator on the hunt, and damn if my heart didn’t skip several beats at the idea of being his prey.

I’d dreamed about this moment, fantasized he’d come to get me, and when he stopped in front of me, so close we could touch, I breathed in his familiar scent and all but swooned.

He was here. For me. I wasn’t going to question it anymore.

And just when I thought all of my romantic fantasies had come true, Dimitri’s eyes shifted over my shoulder to the crowds behind us, and his jaw tensed. “You better not be here with a fucking date.”

Well, that was romantic as far as Dimitri was concerned.