Page 69 of The Wicked

The inside of the building was bright and had the perfect temperature; warm, homey, and relaxing. There were people in twos everywhere, men wearing black suits and women wearing white dresses, chatting, drinking expensive wine, staring at sculptures or paintings, snapping pictures of themselves, and laughing like they were having the time of their lives.

I looked up at Elio, a smile curling on my lips. “Isn’t it wonderful?”

He looked down at me with a frown. “What?”

“Us… being here together. Anyone looking at us right now wouldn’t know you tried to drown me in your pool just a few days ago.” I laughed, shaking my head.

He watched me intensely. Completely unnerving because he just stared, with no expression, word exchange, or response; he just looked at me, and when my laugh died down, I cleared my throat, looking away from him. “Weirdo,” I muttered.

“Marino?”

“Por favor.”Please.He groaned under his breath; a woman hurried towards us with a drink and a dashing grin on her maroon-painted lips. “Grace,” he said, a cheer to his voice that didn’t reach his eyes or tug a smile to his lips as he detangled my hand from his elbow and turned towards the woman.

She was gorgeous. Her white dress was lacy and looked like the industry’s most prestigious designers fashioned it. The material hugged her curvy, voluptuous body like it was sewn to her skin. Her eyes were the brightest brown, complementing her long curly light brown hair, which added to the shine of her delicate dark skin. She would have intimidated the old Zahra, who felt inferior in the presence of other women with a normal childhood and upbringing.

And if I was being honest with myself, there was still a twinge of that feeling, but I suppressed it and turned my head to study my surroundings.

“What a pleasant surprise,” Grace said.

“Indeed,” Elio said, taking her hand in his and kissing her knuckles like a gentleman. The need to snort gripped me, but I held firm, watching the exchange.

“I really wish we could have gotten visuals,”Milk said.“That voice sounds like it belongs to a beautiful person.”

“Yes.” The woman blinked in a blush, looking like there were stars in her eyes after Elio dropped her hand. “You never attend these gatherings; it’s quite the shock to see you here.”

Without warning, his arm snaked around my waist, warm and strong as he pulled me to his side, so affectionate, I couldn’t hide my shock in time. “Blame my woman,” he said with such fondness, his behavior supplied me a healthy dose of whiplash. “She has longed to attend this event for months; a certain painting caught her eye, and she wanted to see it for herself.”

My woman?

Grace’s eyes shifted to me, a smile on her face. “Oh, hello.”She extended her hand, which I shook. “I’m Grace Alden, a pleasure to meet you.”

“Layla Rahal, a pleasure to meet you too, Grace,” I said, dropping my hand from hers to place it on Elio’s chest, feeling his muscles tense underneath my palm, though he made no move to show his discomfort.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Grace said, gesturing around. “I’ve also wanted to see this for months now. I flew in from London three days ago. I tried to get in touch with Marino, but sadly, he was unavailable at that time.”

I frowned. “Three days ago…” I looked up at Elio, feigning confusion. “Honey, wasn’t that the pool party day?”

His jaw clenched, but he nodded. “I think so,” he said, playing along with whatever this was. “I apologize, Grace, we had people over, and many things were going on simultaneously—”

“Yes, and I almost drowned,” I blurted.

“Oh dear,” Grace said, genuine concern on her face. “That must have been terrible. Are you okay?”

“Yes, fortunately, Elio also happened to be in the pool, and he saved me.” I looked up at him, our gazes locking.

“I did.” His tone dropped. “I would have hated for you to miss all that I have planned for you, querida.”Darling.

My mouth grew dry, almost like the intensity of his gaze sucked every single drop of liquid from my body. The press of my side to his became more prominent in my senses. He was warm against me, and I felt a tantalizing shiver sweep through my body.

His gaze dropped to my cleavage shamelessly, and it felt like someone was blowing softly at my nipples; I felt them press to the material of my dress.

Elio’s grip tightened on my waist, his gaze briefly rising to my lips before he broke the connection, looking back at Grace, who seemed to have just witnessed something private between us.

“I am sorry to cut this short, Grace, but we have places to be after this, and I need to say hi to the mayor; it was a pleasure meeting you again.”

“Yes, of course, take care,” she said before turning to me and going for a hug.

I moved away from Elio’s side to hug her, knowing people like these preferred hugs to handshakes.