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The bass hammered through Club Fetish like a drumline while I tracked Santari’s every move.

Her body rolled with the music, that rich mahogany silk skin shining amid the red and purple lights draping her overhead.

Metal catwalks crisscrossed above the dance floor while my Omega Theta Tau brothers strolled and danced to the music.

Usually, those fools would keep my attention occupied with their theatrics.

Especially the twins Damien and Draven, who loved the challenge of pulling gorgeous women.

And Lil Mike, who was being his usual self – elbowing Osirus and motioning to women they’d stopped to dance in front of.

But my gaze was stuck on the Goddess in the middle of the dance floor, as were the attention of other men.

My jaw clenched as I watched three different vultures edge closer to Santari, their eyes hungry, their drunken stupor apparent.

Smoke drifted through laser beams cutting across the room, shining its light on different areas of gyrating bodies.

I brought my glass to my lips, letting the bourbon coat my tongue.

The burn didn’t ease the tension coiling in my muscles, and I knew I would need a night of unhinged sex or murder to relax me.

“You look ready to slaughter someone,” Cruz said, materializing at my shoulder.

I narrowed my eyes on the men closing in on her.

“I might.” I knocked back the rest of my bourbon, the ice clinking against my teeth as I slammed the glass on a nearby table. It cracked, and Cruz yanked it away before I could shatter it completely.

“For fuck’s sake,” he muttered. “Either kill someone or dance with her. You’re costing me money doing this shit.”

“As if you give a fuck.”

The music shifted to a darker tune with a heavy beat that made the floor vibrate beneath our feet. Santari moved through the crowd, her straight black silk press hair whipping around when she spun. It brushed across her shoulders and the bang covering her forehead created mystery over her eyes.

“She’s got half the club ready to risk death tonight,” Cruz said, nodding toward the bar where men stared openly. “More than usual.”

I cracked my neck. “Let them try.”

“Is that what you’re waiting for?”

“I’m waiting to see how far she pushes it.”

There was intention in the way she moved, how her hips waved, how she poked her ass out, and flipped her hair before training her eyes back on me. My dick grew stiff in my jeans.

Fuck.

I was trying to let her have a good time by not crowding her space, but I was losing the battle. And somehow, I felt like that was her intent.

“Storm is not himself,” Cruz said. “He’s been pacing at odd hours of the night — standing by the pool, staring off into space.”

“I noticed. Did you talk to him?”

“Briefly. He would mumble under his breath and walk off before we could discuss it.”

“And what was in his mumblings?”

“He thinks he made a mistake but can’t pinpoint where or how.”

This took my attention off Santari, and I cut my eyes at Cruz.

Storm, Cruz, and I were The Paradox—businessmen by day and hitmen by night. In our line of work, mistakes couldn’t be made, and I abhorred them.

“What kind of mistake?”

“Motherfucker, didn’t I say?—”

“Find out what it’s about.”

“I’ll let him figure it out. He’ll let us know if it concerns our operations when he does.”

I locked my jaw, nostrils flaring as I glanced at Omega Theta Tau then back at Santari.

She lifted her arms overhead, and the hem of her black bandaged dress rose just enough to reveal her red panties. From across the room, I could tell her nipples were hard as they pressed against the tight fabric, and that was enough to make my feet move.

I shoved away from the wall and eased through the crowd as her daring eyes drew me close like a silent spell.

Steady on me, her eyes drove down then up, and when our gazes locked, her floating scent tingled my senses and warmed my blood.

It was sweet serenity wrapped in lemon. Her mouth curved when I reached her, those full lips beckoning me to suck them in my mouth and devour her whole.

I grabbed Santari’s hips and yanked her against me. The heat of our connection slammed into my libido, sending my dick aching to be inside her. But I had yet to penetrate her wet pussy. I was waiting for her to starve for me just as much as I starved for her.

“I think you want my attention.” I leaned and bit her earlobe, then nibbled down her neck.

“It’s about damn time you noticed,” she purred, her southern drawl dripping like honey with an edge of erotism.

“You know I’ve kept my eyes on you all night.”

“Then what took you so long to get over here?”

“I was trying to give you space to have fun.”

“I have fun when you don’t give me space.”

She turned in my grip, pressing her back against my chest and rotating her ass in my crotch as the music pulsed around us. Her hands reached up, her fingers sliding over my waves as she moved to the beat. The friction intensified my arousal, sending sparks through my system like a fireworks show.

“You’re making a scene,” I growled in her ear, tightening my grip on her hips. “And you know I’d kill these motherfuckers if they dared to touch you.”

She turned her head, those doe eyes and long lashes looking back at me.

“Good. I like it when you get territorial. Now show them who I belong to.”

My hand slid up her side, feeling the rapid beat of her heart through her ribs.“You’ve been torturing me all night,” she purred. “Making me dance alone.”

“I like watching you move.”

A laugh vibrated through her back into my chest. “That may be so, but I know you were counting caskets, too.”

I smirked and bit into her neck. Santari gasped and moaned, her body trembling against me.

The music shifted again, a sexy R&B beat that dragged our bodies deeper against one another. “Fuck, you’re gonna make me tear you apart.” Santari turned to face me, her arms sliding around my neck.

“Do it.”

A snarl pushed through my mouth. “Don’t fuckin’ test me.”

“I will if I want to.”

“That’s a bad idea.”

“Why?”

“Because you know I’ll do it.”

“You’re a businessman. People here know you own the five-star, upper-echelon Primal Luxury Resort. I might get away with calling your bluff.” She pressed closer, challenging me. The swell of her breasts against my chest made it hard to think straight.

Movement flickered in my peripheral. One of the men from the bar was drunk enough to be stupid. His hand shot out toward Santari’s arm, and I throat-punched him, then bent to meet up with his eye level as he crouched and wheezed in agony.

“Touch her, and no one will ever find a piece of you.” I smacked his face. “Respond, motherfucker!”

His eyes watered, and he nodded frantically. I smacked him again, this time with a backhand. “I can’t hear you!” I grabbed his throat and lifted him.

“Titan.” Santari’s voice was low and sultry. She pressed against my back but couldn’t reach my earlobe, even in high heels. She glanced up from the side of me, tugging on my biceps. “Not in the club.”

I slapped him upon release, and he slid across the floor, gagging and scrambling backward—the urge to follow and finish what he started burned in my blood.

Santari’s fingers dug into my arm. “Take me home.”

I turned to her, seeing the same dark hunger in her eyes that I felt. She wasn’t afraid of the violence in me, and that made her more dangerous than anyone else in the room.

“Now,” she demanded.

We burst through the exit into the Miami night. The humidity was lighter than earlier, but the sudden absence of the club’s heat made Santari shiver. “You can’t protect me from everyone, you know.”

I pushed her against my bike, caging her between my arms. “Watch me.”

She reached up, and her fingers trailed over my jaw. “I don’t know why your badassery turns me on so much, but I love it.”

“And you have no idea what you do to me.”

“Show me.”

A group stumbled out of the club behind us, drunk, and laughing. Santari’s lids lowered as she pushed off the bike.

“Take me home, Titan,” she said again. “Before I make you fuck me right here.”

I swung onto the bike, feeling her slide on behind me as the motor roared to life under us. Her thighs pressed against mine. She fit perfectly behind me. Her arms tightened around my chest, and we rode off into the night.