Page 32 of Scorned Beauty

Probably because she was avoiding me. Admittedly, I’d been an ass to her. I checked my phone. No response.

So I typed:

Me

Don’t ignore me.

“She probably didn’t want to make the trip, baby,” Sandro replied. “Traffic has been a nightmare.”

“True. The subway is no picnic either,” Ivy said. “Several lines are under maintenance.”

“It’s just she’s so alone during the holidays,” Bianca mourned.

The guilt burrowed itself deeper into my chest.

“She’s been busy with school, right?” Sandro said. “Maybe she just wants to chill.”

“Well, she wanted to go out tonight. I think her finals are next week, so she’s trying to blow off steam before then.”

Fuck, it better not be with Phil Harding. Yes, I had a file on him already.

I sat away from my mother, Sandro, and my cousins. I ended up sitting beside Cesar, who was at the head of the table. My dad sat beside him, so we were face to face. Ivy was on my left, but she was busy chatting with Nico and Sera.

My father, Paulo De Lucci, or Paulie, was Ava’s best friend before she even started a relationship with Uncle Cesar. Pop and Ma were already married, and I was four years old by then. That was why I was closer to Luca’s age than I was to my cousins, despite Pop being younger than Cesar.

Both Uncle Cesar and Pop stayed out of the made man business, so they rarely bugged me about my shit.

“Dom,” Cesar greeted. “All’s well?”

“All’s good,” I lied. I was itching to get out of this dinner and go to New Jersey to confront Sloane. For weeks, I was able to pack her into a corner of my mind, which I took out to play with when I wanted to jack off in the shower or when I woke up dreaming about her. Fuck, those dreams were getting worse and worse and I was getting flashes in the middle of the day of our writhing bodies. I was hoping to squeeze in a weekend with her before Christmas, but the longer I didn’t text her, the harder it became to do so. I knew I was behaving like a dick and at the same time I was trying to excise her from my mind after Ma reminded me of my family obligations. Not that I was considering the arranged marriage, but while working on Grigori to get the properties back, it was hard to be around Sloane.

We made the rules to this affair. We were just hookups. But I was possessive. Probably a trait I inherited from the De Luccis. No one was going to fuck her until I was ready to let her go. But what did I do at the first sign of her moving on? I was in danger of losing my shit.

Hypocrite much?

Pop gave me that concerned-dad look when he handed me the appetizer plate they were passing around. I shrugged and gave him a tight smile. Good thing Cesar pulled him into a conversation about the latest real estate deal Matteo and Nico were negotiating.

The seconds passed excruciatingly slow. Sloane wasn’t answering my texts, but I was tracking her phone. She moved to another pub on the waterfront. At least she hadn’t gone home with that fucker yet. I couldn’t help myself from typing another text.

Me

I’m coming over. You won’t be able to sit for a week.

I was looking forward to spanking her. I wasn’t sure if she was into that shit, but I was feeling very aggressive right now in showing her she was mine…

Fuck…I caught myself.

She was mine…until I declared we were over. I controlled whatever the fuck we were.

“You’re not eating, Dom?” Ma asked.

Fucking Ma. Then I apologized to the Lord for cursing my mother. Everyone’s attention swung to my sparse plate.

My eyes met Pop’s again. I could feel Cesar’s stare burn the side of my face.

“Uh, I had a late snack at the club.” Then I leaned over to look at Ava at the other end of the table. “But you know I love your cooking.”

“I can pack you a box in case you get hungry later,” Ava said.